Jags Wire’s James Johnson discussed his offensive, defensive, and other takeaways from Monday and Tuesday as the Jags wrapped up minicamp.
In this week’s episode of “Bleav in the Jags,” Jags Wire’s James Johnson discussed some key takeaways from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ mandatory minicamp practices. Most of them came on the offensive side, however, there were some important things discussed on defense and special teams, both of which are units with solid competition.
Afterward, James discussed why the Jags make so much sense for HBO’s “Hard Knocks” and why fans and the team should at least consider it. With a decision needing to be made on the team (or teams) who could be featured on the annual show, this is an episode fans might not want to miss as the Jags could have a solid chance to get the nod.
The episode can be heard below in the media player, while archived episodes can be revisited here.
Let me be entirely awenest, my friends: I’m still (sips Wawa coffee) not over (munches the hoagie I keep two feet from my right arm at all times) the death (flings Mike-Schmidt-era Phillies hat) of Detective Colin Zabel (switches to a Yuengling-Rolling Rock double fist, or as I call it, college.)
But life goes forward, and there’s a mystery to solve, and we’re here to help you do that as we trudge through the last hours of waiting for the seventh and final installment of HBO’s Philly-riffic, Kate Winslett-driven series Mare of Easttown (tonight, 10 p.m. ET).
Naturally there will be some spoilers here, if you aren’t current with the series. But, also, I’m not sure you’re going to understand anything I say in this article if you haven’t seen the show.
Episode 6 ended with a dastardly cliff-hanger. It was so unfair that I’m contemplating buying tickets to Delaware men’s basketball games this season so that I can throw things (a great Philly sporting tradition!) at Blue Hens coach Martin Ingelsby, whose brother Brad is the writer and producer of Mare.
The ending scene has Mare chasing after Billy Ross, who earlier that day confessed to his brother John that he, in fact, killed Erin McMenamin.
However, back at the Easttown Police HQ, Erin’s best friend Jess Riley has arrived to reveal that she retrieved a photo out of Erin’s diaries, before they were burned by ex-boyfriend Dylan Hinchey, and that it may have some bearing on the case.
Chief Carter looks at the photo and quickly tries to have Mare contacted. But we never see what’s on the photo. We only know it’s going to change the direction of the narrative.
With that being the case, let’s take a look at the possible suspects and why they do or don’t make sense. I’ll weave in some of my own observations as well as the best of many, many, many theories making the rounds on the internet.
With Urban Meyer and likely Trevor Lawrence coming to town, it could be Jacksonville’s year to host the HBO docuseries.
HBO’s NFL docuseries “Hard Knocks” first debuted in 2001, and since 2007, it has been an annual series. In that time span, 14 different teams in the NFL have starred in the show, but Jacksonville hasn’t been one of them.
That could change in 2021.
In an article from NFL.com listing potential candidates to be the centerpiece of this season, writer Dan Hanzus predicted that the Jaguars will be the featured team. Jacksonville was listed among other candidates like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, but Hanzus said that he thinks the Jags will get the nod due to the excitement around new coach Urban Meyer and, presumably, first overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
Though teams in the league can be forced to participate in the show, they have the option to opt-out if they meet one of three conditions, including having a first-year head coach (meaning the Jags have that choice). But if they were chosen, it seems unlikely they would opt-out.
The two-part Tiger Woods documentary covers numerous aspects of his life and controversies, his rise and fall and his subsequent comeback.
In 1996 Nike debuted its first Tiger Woods ad. It’s considered groundbreaking but the story behind it, and what it signifies, is one of the more fascinating parts of a new Tiger Woods documentary on HBO.
Part one of the documentary Tiger debuts on Jan. 10 and the second on Jan. 17. It covers numerous aspects of Woods’ life and controversies, his rise and fall, and his subsequent comeback is explored in detail.
It’s a well told story by HBO and is the second such exploration of Woods but the most important part of the series is what it does perhaps inadvertently. Let’s go back to that Nike ad.
HBO interviews Jim Riswold, who worked on the Nike commercial, and he says initially there was concern about creating an ad that dealt with Woods’ race.
“Golf was very lily white and there was some discussion, I brought it up, of do we play the race card?” he says in the doc.
(Note: there is no such thing as a race card. Race cards are not yet offered by Visa and race cards are not in a deck of cards. You don’t slam a winning poker hand on the table and say “race card! I win!”)
Riswold said when they discussed the concept with Woods and his father, Earl, their reaction was, “‘(Expletive) yeah, let’s do this.'”
Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 15th hole during the final round of the PNC Championship at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club on December 20, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
It’s one of the best parts of the doc because it illustrates how Woods was willing to use his unique racial makeup when it was convenient, and perhaps even profitable, for him, but as he became more mainstream, he became more reticent to discuss race. In fact, he’s rarely done so since those days.
The documentary may not have intentionally sent that message in recounting the story behind that first Nike ad, but it’s impossible not to see it. That scene is also a window into not just Woods and his views on race (then and now) but also into the rest of us. The reaction to that commercial in some corners of the media and country was astounding.
After the ad ran, an anchor for ABC News said: “Now this is the first time we can remember when a company like Nike used racial discord to help sell its products. Used it as a way to give a tough new edge to a very nice young man.”
Think about those words. He was saying Woods simply addressing race gave him “a tough new edge” and that not talking race made him a “very nice young man.”
This was almost a precursor to “shut up and dribble.” While WNBA players, LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and other athletes cherish their roles as activists without fear, Woods would eventually shun any such belief after initially seeming to embrace it.
“The world is ready,” said Earl Woods in the documentary, “for a non-white golfer to be successful.”
“I have availed Tiger of this,” Earl added, “and he takes that responsibility seriously.”
He did until he didn’t.
This Woods documentary, like the other one, makes it clear that Woods was well aware of race, and the racism he faced, though he’s only publicly discussed race a handful of times and mostly decades ago.
The night before he’d dominate the 1997 Masters, the documentary notes, Woods was restless. Throughout the Masters, he’d received a series of racially motivated threats, and during the tournament itself, members of the gallery yelled the N-word.
Woods spoke to his father, who told him to just stay calm and do what he does best which is play golf. Woods did and he won by 12 strokes.
“Golf is basically a bastion of Caucasian America,” said Gary Smith, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, “and Tiger was walking into this white world and dominating it.”
As Tiger Woods was making the turn in his first round at the Masters, HBO released a teaser for its upcoming documentary called “Tiger.”
As Tiger Woods was making the turn in his first round at the first-ever November Masters on Thursday, HBO released a one-minute, 15-second teaser clip for its upcoming two-part documentary film called “Tiger.”
The teaser video starts with a shot of a young Tiger striping a tee shot, then spinning around like a helicopter, displaying all the youthful exuberance of a child.
Earl Woods, his father, then comes on the screen. Talking at a microphone, he says: “Please forgive me, but sometimes I get very emotional talking about my son.”
What follows is a series of archive footage of Tiger over the years.
Speaking on a podcast back in May, noted journalist Armen Keteyian said that “Tiger Woods,” the New York Times No. 1 best-selling book he co-authored with Jeff Benedict in 2018, is being made into a two-part, four-hour-long DocuSeries. It was originally expected to come out in 2020, perhaps during this week of the Masters.
HBO has now confirmed the documentary is coming January 2021 to HBO Max.
Keteyian also said that CBS golf analyst and Hall of Famer Nick Faldo, HBO Sport’s Bryant Gumbel and other central figures in Tiger’s life, including some that declined to speak for the book, will make appearances in the documentary.
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak contributed to this article.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is still getting acclimated to an NFL offense.
At Oregon, quarterback Justin Herbert spent most of his college career in a shotgun formation using silent counts and claps of his hands ahead of the ball being snapped. Now, Herbert is being put an NFL offense that requires him to be vocal at the line of scrimmage.
During Tuesday’s episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks: Los Angeles, some of the growing pains were evident with Herbert going through the cadences.
There is a moment where Herbert is under center, and his snap count is soft. The next play is loud.
“Justin, so I am standing there watching you imagining what the defense could be thinking,” coach Anthony Lynn said. “I can tell the difference when it’s a run and a pass based on the way you talk.”
Herbert, the signal-caller who was touted to have a reserved personality, is slowly but surely getting caught up to the speed of the NFL and gaining confidence with the help of his coaches and teammates.
“Just listen to the rhythmic cadence of (Taylor’s snap count),” offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga said. “That first ‘Green 80.’ If he just flies through that ‘Green 80 Green Hut,’ there’s no timing there for linemen to get good jumps off the [expletive] ball. And as a quarterback you want us to get off the f—ing ball.”
While Herbert finds his groove, Tyrod Taylor will be forced to lead the offense in the meantime.
HBO’s “Hard Knocks” has been good so far in 2020, but there are some things that the Jags could’ve offered to make it better.
With a lot going on surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I laid down another episode of the “Bleav in the Jags Podcast” last week. We kicked off our latest episode discussing the decision of multiple college football conferences to not have a 2020 season and how it could impact the NFL as a whole.
In the next segment, we dove back into the Yannick Ngakoue saga with the Jags as the young pass-rusher remains unsigned. However, Dave Caldwell recently told the media that he had made contact with Ngakoue, though he didn’t go into details of the conversation. So, what could that mean for the two sides heading forward?
Lastly, with HBO’s Hard Knocks beginning last week, we discussed why the Jags would’ve been a good fit by looking at some very compelling storylines they would offer. We also contrasted where the Jags would be a better fit than the teams chosen in the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams.
The Chargers being on Hard Knocks side by side with the Rams really highlights how much better the Chargers are in every way. LA needs to wake up and support a real team. #HardKnocks
Ok on #HardKnocks who caught the part where Anthony Lynn pocketed Derwin's Oakleys? And said he couldn't give them back because they were contaminated 😂😂
— 🇺🇸⚡The Mayor of Ramona ⚡️🇺🇸 (@MayorTarantino) August 12, 2020
This season will be interesting to say the least, as no preseason games will be shown and padded practices have yet to take place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nonetheless, it will be fun to see Chargers players back in action leading up into the 2020 regular season.
Here’s how you can watch or stream the season premiere tonight.
