 Doug Morone the head coach of the Jaguars joins us now he plays the Jets this weekend in Jacksonville Doug it's Michael Don and Peter how are you Michael now when you play a team from your hometown does that special meaning or is every 16 every one of the 16 games equally as important no I think I think anywhere where like you're gonna be or you go back you know you kind of it's kind of like you know the Titans you know my wife from Nashville and you know we lost him last week so you know it's kind of tough when you go back you know back to see her parents or friends or you know when I see a lot of my you know you know we grew up with them we grew up with some Jets fans and you know they're gonna give us a bunch of crap when we go back there so you know you like to be able to win so you don't you don't have to hear that crap and you can kind of walk around and and you know people are gonna be like look at gosh you know you got you grew up with Michael and Michael reminds us all the time that he grew up with you he's big fan of yours or you go around telling everybody I grew up with the boys of the Yankees Michael K there's no doubt and when people don't know is how good of a basketball player Michael was and and a good athlete he was I'm telling you now I'm telling you he post you up down low and he had this little like jump hook shot he was tough we're gonna have to live this down for a very long time you're a respected man in this industry what was Michael's best game as a kid I mean he was good he was he was a good athlete he really was I'm not I'm not not be asking you guys I'm serious I mean you know we were all very competitive and everything that that we did growing up I mean you know we had to be better at knowing batting stances of players on different teams stats of different teams we played basketball softball football then we play football we didn't have any grass I mean we were playing you know you know the light pole was the first down and the next light pole the touchdown so you know we were just very competitive and everything we did and that's the one thing I've always appreciated you know people are like oh my god you grew up in the Bronx blah blah blah I'm like hey Michael K grew up with me too now so don't knock me that bad by the way and talk about loyalty this man Michael K may have picked we do five we pick five games we forward forgive it five what we do we pick four week Michael may have picked the Jaguars 13 times less is I can't pick against you well at least it's 10 if it was during the regular season 10 times he was right so does the one thing we grew up we don't we don't gamble where we grew up so that's the one thing I just want to make sure everyone understands there you go now does you guys game so close to the Super Bowl is that something that haunts you and is this whole season geared toward getting back to that point well I think I think you know sometimes when I go back and I think of my time let's say when I was at well well when I was with the Jets you know we're in a second round of playoffs where we went up to Pittsburgh and we know we missed you know and it wasn't because of the field goals is the way we play we missed two field goals and if we would have hit one of them you know we would have gone to the AFC Championship with a chance to go that that always lingers and then when I was in New Orleans my first year you know obviously we went to the NFC Championship game and you always I think you know you go back and you say and then obviously last year here and I think you will always go back and say you know what could I have done a better job to get us to that game because you know we're all in this profession to to get to that game and win that game and that's why we do what we do now in that playoff game not to bring up bad memories because obviously things are off to a good start again for the Jags but as a fan it felt like watching it you could see in the second half momentum what the Patriots were doing and if they were it was leading to this very Patriots like situation are you cognizant of the feel of something like that in a game or is it just a play-by-play kind of situation no I think you know I think that's the one thing that that that you always have to fight against is like kind of your past with teams like what's gone on in the past or you know things you might have done you know I remember we you know it was a second quarter we were in Buffalo and you know we were gonna go into a two-minute mode and and we felt real comfortable about it and you know we gave the ball we had a 40 yard play and then you know we get a fumble and then all of a sudden they get the ball back and they go score and the momentum switched I think I think a lot of times in the past when you play teams you know you'll remember some things but I think to do a better job you have to say okay this is the team that I that I'm with now and this is the this is where we are right now with this team and what is best for this team to do but don't get me wrong I think you're correct I think there are things that come up especially coaches in the past that you know may lead to decisions and that's where I've got to do a better job we're talking with Doug we're on the head coach of the Jaguar so the Jets this weekend Doug you like their defense a lot don't you I'll tell you what now they they can fly it out play and they getting everybody back so what do you do against them how do you counteract that well I think you know what you have to do is you know you got to find a way to create some leverage you got to you got to get some plays you got to you know when you have the opportunity to to be able to attack you've got to be able to you know execute I mean really at the end of the day it comes down to execution and you know they got talent at all three levels schematically they give you some issues if you if you don't stay on track I think that's the one thing these past couple of weeks where you know we've gotten ourselves we have had too many penalties whether it be in a red zone or we have penalties out in the field and you know we're not able to overcome them so I think an important part is being able to stay on track and move in the football and give yourself the ability to get in a red zone which is difficult to do you know to score touchdowns and obviously we didn't do a good enough job of that last week what do you see of of darnold on tape do you like what you see I do I really do I think that you know we're coming out obviously seen him at USC he was someone that you you would say hey listen this guy can make all the throws you know everywhere on the field he's a he's a heck of an athlete you see him moving the pocket and the one thing that's that's a night I give him a lot of credit for is that a lot of times when you know if you're a young quarterback and you're moving in the pocket you'll take your eyes off the receivers down the field I think he does a great job of when he's able to move in the pocket or gets flushed from the pocket his eyes stay downfield and still gets you know complete some deep balls and then I think you know the other thing is he's very he's you know people are saying that he's the youngest quarterback but that's not how he looks on film you know here's someone that came in you know through an inception in his first you know and then now all of a sudden he's a team back and throw like three or four touchdown passes afterwards so he's he's a he's he's a guy that's going to be in this league for a long time he's going to get better and better he's someone that we're always going to be challenged by and Jeremy Bates who's the offensive coordinator he and I have worked together I think he does an outstanding job so it's gonna be a great challenge for our defense and we're aware of all the weapons that they have on offense to what's the latest on for that day-to-day you know I mean practice today and a limited basis and you know I was optimistic two weeks ago I think you know it's tough you know when you have a hamstring and you're running back and it's a tough injury to come from now you know a fat guy like me I choose I never had a hamstring I never had to worry about it so it's difficult now you played the Giants earlier this year because of Tom Kaufman in your organization was that a game that you really wanted to win for him you know Tom's not like that I mean coaches coaches the same he never changed I got a ton of questions about it and everything you know and you know coaches gonna do you know his normal routine and doing that and you know it was big for us because obviously they're a new staff I have a ton of respect for coach Schirmer he's an outstanding person you know we were really concerned you know about their their talent on the offensive side of the ball and and Barkley and Ingram and obviously Odell and Shepard's the guy that's probably a little bit underrated and Eli's obviously a big guy that can make the throws so you know we were you know and home openers are difficult I think you know Herman was told me it's a long time ago he said you know the closest you're ever gonna get to a playoff game during a regular season is is opening day and I used to say to myself I go that's the case I don't are we doing a good enough job coaching because the players should play like that throughout the year he's like that's just the way it is so you know you really get spent a lot on when you play especially on the road a home opener and you're able to get a win then you come back and you have your home opener at home you know which is obviously a big game so those first two home openers however you play them really take a lot at you a lot out of you and you have to be able to come back because that's what the NFL's about we have Steve Young lot every Monday and he always harps on the fact that the first month of the season is almost an extension of the preseason you're not really going to know what a team is until you get deeper into the year do you agree with that do you feel that teams will change and it's hard to really get a feel what a team is this early in the year yeah I think I think in the beginning it's tough I think once you get you know the four games three to four games on a team during the regular season I think you have a better idea of what you know they're trying to accomplish I think for us as coaches we'll go through the preseason you know it starts obviously with OTAs and the mini camps and you have a feel of what direction you want to go then you go into training camp when the pads come on when you're when I say you're really playing then you have a better idea who's going to be productive or who you want to get the ball to or how you want to be from an identity standpoint of what you can do and then the other thing that comes into play is you start to get injuries you know and then you know now guys are stepping up and can you be that same team you know now what you have to do to move the football or stop teams from moving it so it's kind of a constant flow of what you're doing during the season but I do agree you know the first I feel much more comfortable you know after after you played three or four games all right before we let you go not to rehash past history but there were rumors that you were close to getting the jet job you didn't get it Todd balls did does that drive you even more when you play the Jets no it doesn't I think I think you know I did it was a lot of bad things you know said about me I understand that I just always wish that you know I someone would have called me and asked me what my you know beliefs gave me an ability to answer those questions and I never got that opportunity at that time now it's obviously too late to go back and rehash that it's hurtful you know when it's when it's your hometown and things are said about you that you know are not true but I didn't hold that against the job I just felt that you know I think when you go and interview for a job you express what your philosophy is what you believe in and it's not a matter of not doing a good enough job let's say an interview it's just maybe that that's not what they're looking for which is I'd rather it be that way I think coach bold has done a great job Mike McCagan and I obviously know each other he's great it's about the wording you know a couple times after that we're in we're good I mean as far as he and I and you know I'm happy to have this opportunity down here and and I love it here and I think that you know sometimes things work out that's how I look at it and I think both sides are good and you get it as a game that you know hey I want to do this or get back because I always believe that if the most important thing for me to do is do the best job for my team and I think in any league or anyone if you ever becomes like an agenda where it's personal and it's my personal agenda to do something I don't think you can be doing the right thing for the team and that's just what my philosophy is are you still eating bologna all the time you know what I get so much crap about that the answer is absolutely it's it's my favorite deal you know and I just can't you know what I found out Michael this is what I found out I found out that people look down on people that eat bologna it's a way it's like all of a sudden like you become in this category of you know you eat this I know yeah and and Don's a big ball I've come into work coach with a bologna sandwich and I get shamed by Michael K I don't care I just eat I enjoy it yeah exactly you know I look back in my life and I can honestly say I've been bullied by by eating bologna breaking meat news we wish you good luck on Sunday and everybody I mean I know that every guy who grew up with you at Throgsneck we're so proud of you really are I wish you only the best all the time real quick story so I was on it the New England one the New England week with the New England media right and I guess don't know how big of a Yankee fan I am because it's truly the only team that I'm a true fan of and so I asked them after that we were doing the local media and I'm like hey how about the Red Sox what do you guys feel like oh yeah yeah they're great they're great I go that's great I'm glad you guys are overconfident I'm happy and they're like I'm like yeah I'm a Yankee fan and they're like oh that's unbelievable so hey we got to get this thing going I'm fired up for it too well good stuff good luck on Sunday Doug all right Michael thank you very well