- 10 hours ago
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco joins the show to break down Jags vs. Texans and what’s really at stake this week.
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00:00Also encouraging is when we get an opportunity to talk to someone like this on the phone line.
00:04We turn to the phone line now.
00:06It is, uh, CB, how you doing?
00:10Good, what's up, guys? How are you?
00:11Hey, man.
00:12Doing quite well.
00:13Well, I'd be lying. That's lying.
00:15I'm a little bit hesitant about this team right now, this Texas team, as I'm sure that you might understand.
00:21Even going into a game against a known opponent in the Jacksonville Jaguars,
00:25I'd like to ask you about the Jags, in particular their quarterback,
00:28because it's been a number of years at this point with Trevor Lawrence coming out of Clemson.
00:33And can I ask you the simple question of, do we know if Trevor Lawrence is good yet?
00:37No, you don't. And that's part of the problem.
00:40I mean, look, there's been many reasons that have held him back.
00:43You know, you can go back to injuries.
00:45You can go back to learning, playing, well, playing for Urban Meyer will send anybody back two years.
00:50That was a disaster when he was a rookie.
00:52You look at the systems that changed.
00:55I thought the offense last year was poorly designed.
00:58And it didn't work with him.
01:00And then he got hurt.
01:01And so I think combine it all.
01:03And this was the year he was supposed to have his breakout year.
01:06And it hadn't happened.
01:07You know, Liam Cohn is supposed to, you know, fix the quarterback.
01:10And they've done a lot of good things with the quarterback.
01:12And he hasn't been awful.
01:14But he hasn't taken the next step.
01:16And there have been problems.
01:18Don't get me wrong.
01:19There's a lot of pre-snap penalties.
01:21You know, a lot of times Travis Hunter didn't know where to line up.
01:23And he's learning too much of the offense.
01:25They've had led the league in drops by far at wide receivers.
01:29So it's hard to get into a rhythm.
01:30But he continues to make bonehead decisions like he did last week against the Raiders when he was picked in the end zone.
01:36So has he taken the next step?
01:38No.
01:39Do we know how good he is?
01:40No.
01:40I always say this.
01:42I say, he's not one of the top quarterbacks.
01:45And he's not one of the bottom ten.
01:49Yeah.
01:49Well, with that as the backdrop, Pete, you know, the next logical question is, are the Jaguars for real?
01:56Or what we see, or is what we're seeing legitimate?
02:00And are they going to, you know, are they going to make some noise?
02:04Well, when they run the ball on offense, they're pretty good.
02:07And, you know, they did run the ball in the second half against the Texans the last time I played them.
02:11And so I think that's the key.
02:13And you saw that last week.
02:14Even in overtime, when they got the ball, they ran it seven straight plays to go get the touchdown.
02:18That ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
02:20It's hard to evaluate this team in large part because, like everybody else in the league, the injuries have just been crippling.
02:27And, you know, you take a look at the injuries for this game.
02:30And, you know, you mentioned the guys coming back for the Texans today.
02:34But, you know, Stroud's not playing.
02:35And Petrie's probably not going to play, right?
02:38I mean, he's got a concussion.
02:39Isn't Titus Howard in the concussion protocol, too?
02:42Yes.
02:42I mean, those guys, it's hard to work back in a week to play.
02:46You know, and you've had a bunch of other injuries as well.
02:49I mean, look, you go back to Joe Mixon.
02:51Let's start there.
02:52You know, the wide receiver position.
02:54And so I think when you look at it, the injuries have decimated the Texans.
02:57But the injuries have decimated the Jaguars.
02:59You know, you're talking about Brenton Strange, who's their best blocking tight end
03:03and was becoming a legitimate threat in the past game, gone for the last four weeks.
03:07Travis Hunter, not there.
03:08Brian Thomas Jr. is dealing with an ankle sprain.
03:11The left guard, Ezra Cleveland, is probably not going to play.
03:14You go to the defensive side of the ball, and Trayvon Walker's playing with a club on his hand
03:18that he can barely even grab anybody.
03:20And he hasn't played that well.
03:22Devin Lloyd hasn't played the last couple weeks.
03:24You know, you lose the safety, you know, Murray in the back.
03:29They've had so many injuries just when it looks like they're going to get going.
03:33And so I think this league has become more of a survival test than it has become winning games nowadays.
03:38Yeah, and that's one of those things we've talked about here on this program,
03:42especially as it relates to the possibility of adding an 18th game.
03:45So don't get us started there with that.
03:47But I'm glad you brought up Ezra Cleveland because this has been an offensive line
03:51that has helped contribute to a really good run game for the Jags.
03:54How load-bearing is Ezra Cleveland and what they do?
03:58Well, he was good for the beginning part of the season, and last week he struggled.
04:03And actually when he went out, Cole Van Lannen, who went in, actually played better.
04:08And so, you know, look, Cleveland went into this season with his job on the line.
04:13And he was, you know, he came back and responded, played well early in the season.
04:17But it's kind of, you know, last week he kind of tailed off a little bit.
04:19So I don't think there's much of a drop-off with him and Van Lannen,
04:23as people would think.
04:24In fact, some people think Van Lannen should be in the lineup.
04:26So I think they can get around that.
04:29The problem is the left tackle's been a problem at times.
04:31He's been an issue.
04:32Walker Little has struggled.
04:35You know, the right guard, McCary, has been banged up.
04:38He's fought through it, and he actually played pretty good last week.
04:41But you mentioned it.
04:42Their offensive line, the coach deserves a great job because there's, you know,
04:45three-fifths of that line is back.
04:47And those guys have all played better, particularly Anton Harrison at right tackle.
04:50What about the head coach?
04:52I'm just going to admit it freely.
04:54You know, I was predisposed to not want to believe in Liam Cohen.
04:57I don't know why.
04:59Maybe it was the Duvall thing or whatever.
05:01What are you seeing there?
05:02And then one step above with Gladstone.
05:05You know, when you hire a guy to the ball, you automatically wonder, okay,
05:11can he handle big picture?
05:13Because you know he can call plays, and it works that way all the time.
05:16A defensive coordinator can call defensive plays.
05:18An offensive coordinator can call offensive plays.
05:19That's why they get hired.
05:20But how do you handle a room?
05:22How do you handle things when they go bad?
05:24And I think he's done a great job with that.
05:25I didn't know him very well.
05:28I've gotten to know him.
05:28I really like him.
05:29I think he's candid.
05:30He answers your questions.
05:32The players respond to him.
05:34He gets it.
05:35And he's a really good play caller.
05:38And so I think he's answered those questions.
05:40I thought going into last week was a telling week for them.
05:43Because you lost back-to-back games, and then you go out on the road against a bad team.
05:49Can you respond with all the injuries you've had and find a way to win that game?
05:52And they did.
05:53Now, did they get lucky at the end?
05:55Probably a little bit because the guy was wide open in the end zone for the two-point conversion,
05:59and the defensive lineman happened to bat it down.
06:01But you still found a way to win.
06:03And, like, one of the guys in their building told me, before the season, if you would have said we were 5-3 with victories on the road against San Francisco
06:12and home against Kansas City, would you have taken that?
06:15And the answer to that question is yes.
06:17So I think he's done a great job.
06:19And Gladstone, wheeler dealer, I mean, he gets it.
06:21He understands that you build through, you know, getting good players that believe in your system on the roster.
06:26And I think he's going to do a good job.
06:28Now, some people will question Travis Hunter trade.
06:30I think that's still to be determined because he was just getting it going on offense.
06:34And quite frankly, if he hadn't hurt his knee last week in practice, he was going to play both.
06:40You know, they had to kind of ease him into that.
06:42He was going to be a full-time starter at both, I think, going into last week.
06:45We're talking to Pete Prisco of CBS Right 610.
06:49I want to come back to this because I've got listeners texting in saying,
06:52hey, shout out to Pete for holding it down and calling the Texans to win against the Broncos this past week.
06:57I did want to ask you about that.
06:58What are you seeing in the Texans that gave you the confidence to make that pick this past week?
07:03I love the defense.
07:04I mean, the defense is nasty.
07:06And, you know, they get after it.
07:08And when you can rush the quarterback and play coverage on the back end, it makes it really tough on an offense,
07:13provided they don't run the football on you.
07:15And I think that's why you look at that defense across the board.
07:19I always look for teams that have young players who are ascending.
07:22And when you have young players who are ascending and you look, you know, Will Anderson ascending,
07:29Stingley ascending, Petrie, I still think he is, you know, Lasseter.
07:33And those are the kind of defenses you mix in some veterans and they're going to be good in terms of what they do defensively.
07:39So that's why I picked them last week.
07:40I thought they would limit the Broncos offensively.
07:43By the way, Bo Nix has struggled other than in the fourth quarter.
07:46So it's kind of why I picked them last week.
07:49And I thought there were some good things you saw from the offense before Stroud went out of the game.
07:53So progress is being made on the offensive side of the ball.
07:57Yes, but you were just talking about, you know, handling the room and offensive coach, defensive coach,
08:02obviously D'Amico on the defensive side.
08:04Man, they have had, we've had some discussions about the offense on this show.
08:08And to me, it just keeps going back to what they're doing, what they did on the offensive line.
08:15I mean, I'm just curious on your perspective from that, because it's been, it's been critical for them.
08:21They've been a little bit better though.
08:22Even you guys would agree with that, right?
08:24Sure.
08:24Yeah, they've been better.
08:26I mean, so there's going to be sort of a pretty good player, but you throw him in there right away.
08:33And that's asking a lot of a rookie tackle.
08:36But yeah, I think when they went out and spent their money in free agency and came away thinking they were a better offensive line,
08:42I didn't necessarily agree with that.
08:44And by the way, one of the guys that's actually surprised me is Ed Ingram.
08:48I thought he'd be the worst.
08:49Yeah, I thought he'd be the worst guy in the line.
08:51So did Reggie.
08:52You really just don't throw me under the bus here, huh?
08:55I mean, he was bad in Minnesota.
08:57He wasn't a good player.
08:58And he's been much better in that system than he was in Minnesota.
09:02So kudos to him.
09:03But, you know, the center gets overwhelmed at times.
09:06He's not a big guy, and I think he has problems.
09:09And then that rotation that they do at left guard, I don't get that.
09:12That makes no sense to me.
09:13Pick one and play one.
09:14If you don't like Tomlin's, then don't play him.
09:16But, you know, they paid him a little bit.
09:18So I just think when you look at it, I thought that they were awful on the offensive line last year.
09:24And they didn't get significantly better.
09:26And that's a problem for C.J. Stroud.
09:28Can I ask you, because you've made mention, and we've talked about how the offensive line has at least been not horrible this season.
09:35From your perspective, 30,000 foot of you, what is then the issue with where this offense is?
09:40Because they're clearly not scoring points.
09:43Well, I think they need to play Woody Marks, to be honest with you.
09:46I think he gives you pop.
09:49You know, Nick Chubb is, you know, 4-3, 4-3, 3-2, 4.
09:54You know, you're not getting any pop out of that.
09:56And so when you have a knee that gets shredded the way it did, and you try and come back from that a second time, it's tough.
10:03You're not the same guy.
10:04So I think Marks gives him, you know, Marks isn't great at him.
10:10So I think that's, although he's getting better at it, I thought he was pretty good at it last week.
10:14I'd play Marks, get some more pop in the run game.
10:17And, you know, those young receivers started flashing little bits and pieces.
10:21You know, the problem is there's no real burner.
10:25You know, when you look at it, where's the burner?
10:27And teams play them in a box, and so that's easy to defend when you play them in a box.
10:31Definitely want to get your perspective, Pete Prisco, joining us here from CBS Sports and CBSSports.com.
10:38I'm always plugged into your power rankings.
10:40I want to get your perspective specifically on the AFC at large, and even more specifically the Indianapolis Colts.
10:46I asked if you guys, if you thought the Jaguars were real, I'm going to ask you the same thing about the Colts.
10:52I don't think we know on either one, by the way.
10:54And here's why.
10:55If you look at the two schedules of Jacksonville and Indianapolis going down the stretch, one has a really easy schedule, you know, based on the numbers, and the other one's brutal.
11:06And you base that on the Colts.
11:08I mean, they have a tough schedule.
11:10They're going to have a hard time navigating through that.
11:13And here's the other thing.
11:14They play each other twice, and they haven't won in Jacksonville since God knows when, so they're going to have a problem there no matter how good they think they are.
11:21So I have my reservations, and I didn't like the move they made, by the way.
11:24I think that reeked of desperation.
11:26You don't trade two first-round picks for a corner who hadn't played up to expectations.
11:31I just thought that that felt real desperate on their part.
11:34And once again, in the back of everybody's mind, I don't care who you are, even probably inside that building, at some point they're all sitting there saying, when does Daniel Jones become Daniel Jones again?
11:46Mm-hmm.
11:47I mean, there's concerns about the Colts, no doubt.
11:52I find that interesting, because I feel like if that was the question that you're asking, when does Daniel Jones turn into a pumpkin, I feel like giving up two first-round picks in the next couple of years doesn't help you in that equation at all.
12:02No.
12:03No, which means that they believe in him, and that they think that they're going to extend him, and he's going to be their quarterback.
12:08You're absolutely right.
12:09They just sent that message out loud and clear.
12:11But I'm talking about, for the most part.
12:13And by the way, you know when the last time the Colts won the division was?
12:18When Andrew Luck was there.
12:19Yeah.
12:20Every team in the division has won it twice since the Colts have won it.
12:24And so I think, you know, you talk about desperation.
12:27Chris Ballard has to win, and he knows that.
12:30If he doesn't win that division and get to the postseason, I think he's out.
12:33So are we going to mess around and see Chiefs-Eagles again, Chiefs-Seahawks?
12:38Are the Chiefs just going to be there ultimately?
12:40They better – they're going to have to go the wild card route, I think.
12:45I mean, they better pick it up and get going.
12:47I mean, yeah.
12:48I mean, we've – yes, to answer your question, I think they can get there.
12:51I think Buffalo's for real, though.
12:52I don't think we've seen the best of the Bills.
12:54They're getting guys back on defense.
12:56You saw it last week.
12:57Cole Bishop was really good.
12:58He missed time this year.
12:59They're getting guys back on that side of the ball.
13:01Now, there are some injuries, Ed Oliver being one of them, that really hurts them.
13:04But they might get him back for the playoffs.
13:06You never know.
13:07And then, you know, you look at the rest of the AFC.
13:11I think it's the Chiefs, the Bills.
13:13I think those are the two teams.
13:15You're spot on with that.
13:17But you go to the NFC, and I think anybody can win in the NFC.
13:21I think the Eagles-Packers game this week will be interesting because what happened to the Packers last week?
13:25A classic young team, look ahead, blow out their former quarterback, look great, start reading their press clippings, come home, playing a bad team.
13:35Then you've got the Eagles on a Monday night.
13:37What do they do?
13:38Next thing you know, you look up, and you're in a game, and you can't get out from underneath it.
13:41We've seen many a team do that.
13:42They did it.
13:43So now it's time to respond.
13:45Play good against a good team.
13:46Win that.
13:46Then you can prove to people that you're legitimate.
13:49But the Eagles are.
13:50I think the Packers will be.
13:51I think the Seahawks.
13:52You know, it's funny you mention them.
13:53Somebody in the league told me the other day they think the Seahawks might end up being the best team in the league.
13:57With that defense, that coach done a nice job, and that quarterback, 9.6 per pass play, leads the league.
14:04It's just nasty how they throw bombs down the field.
14:08More 40-yard pass plays than anybody in the league.
14:10But the Rams are there, too.
14:12I think the NFC is pretty wide open.
14:14Hey, Pete, before we let you go, I have a couple that I want to get in relatively quickly here.
14:18You mentioned the trade deadline.
14:20It was pretty active this year compared to other years.
14:22Do you have a feeling as to why that was?
14:24Does that feel like that's just unique, or is there something underlying there?
14:27We're getting more and more to that.
14:29You see it building every year, more and more activity, in large part, a couple reasons.
14:32One, desperation.
14:34I think that that has something to do with it to win.
14:37And, you know, guys look around.
14:39My job might be on the line.
14:40I've got to do something.
14:41Two, teams that have capped hell and stink want to get rid of dead weight and, you know, send it packing.
14:48If you're not going to have the guy, why not get something back for it?
14:50And when you're trying to rebuild, those draft picks are very meaningful.
14:54I'd rather have cheap draft pick labor than an expensive guy if you can draft the right guy.
15:00And that's the key to it.
15:01So I think that has a lot to do with it.
15:03I think the pressure to win and the fact that when we just talked about it, teams in the league right now, and the answer to that question is no.
15:13So if you're kind of close, why not make a deal?
15:16You know, if you think you can make a playoff push, why not make a deal?
15:19Well, and like Jacksonville, they're desperate for a wide receiver.
15:22They're five and three.
15:24Their schedule is favorable down the stretch.
15:26If they won five of their last, what, nine games, all of a sudden you look at it and you go, they could be in the playoffs at 10 wins.
15:34So why not go get a wide receiver?
15:35So I think that's where you're at with these teams now.
15:38And finally, before we let you go, it's a question that here in Houston, people are kind of split on.
15:43But do you believe the Texans still have a path to the playoffs this year?
15:48I think the schedule is too tough.
15:50I said that a couple weeks ago.
15:52And if everybody had been around and the line had played a little bit better early in the season, I think, yeah, they could have.
15:59But, I mean, I look at that schedule and I'm like, wow, it's just brutal across the board.
16:06I mean, I just, you know, you play that first-place schedule and it comes back and it bites you into behind at some point.
16:12So, I mean, what do they have left?
16:15They have Tennessee.
16:16The next two, like they could win this week and should win at Tennessee.
16:20Bills, at Colts, at Chiefs.
16:23I mean, that's a three-game stretch right there.
16:25You better get at least one of those or you're done.
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