JAGUARS HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
Jaguars vs. Rams
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021
Q. Talk about the frustrations of the day, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Looked like you had a window, a small window in that second quarter to get back in it and then the zone read fumble just kind of seemed to sabotage it.
URBAN MEYER: Yeah, kind of felt like our guys were — obviously we’ve got a lot of talent we’re playing against there, and on the road, and all of a sudden we drive the ball. It’s 10-7, our defense is playing excellent pass defense. We’re playing excellent field position, complementary football there. I’ll find out what it was, but the average starting field position, we had them pinned down there most of the first half, and you felt pretty good about it. Hold them to a field goal, and what’s it, 13 or whatever it was, 16- 7, 13-7 at halftime, and we’re getting the ball. That’s kind of where you want to be on the road against a good team, let’s go move the ball, and we didn’t do it.
Q. How stunned are you just by the lack of production? You’ve got to feel good about your game plan going in, but it’s like six weeks in a row where the production hasn’t been there. URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I’m not going to give you guys a lot because I wish I had all the answers, and I’d give them to you. I don’t know the answers other than I know this, that you’re going to keep swinging and keep working together. Is there a confidence issue? Any time you’re not successful, that’s something we’ve got to fight through. Confidence is a result of success, and right now we’re struggling with that.
Q. (RB James Robinson) James’ fumble again, and I think he was out for 20 plays. Did you bench him after the second fumble?
URBAN MEYER: He’s still not 100 percent. He’s not practicing during the week. James is as good a guy, a tough a guy, team player as you’ve got, that I’ve ever been around. Your heart bleeds for the guy just because he’s not able to do what he does well. He hasn’t been that way since Seattle. He’s not able to practice, but he wants to play, and he’s still a very good player. You’ve just got to take care of the ball.
Q. Do you think you’re better off sitting him?
URBAN MEYER: We had that conversation as a staff, and everybody felt that he was the best option right now, even not 100 percent.
Q. So he wasn’t hurt after the fumble, he’d still be back in?
URBAN MEYER: Oh, sure.
Q. He came right back in afterwards? It was three possessions before he got back on the field. URBAN MEYER: Yeah, we were just giving Carlos an opportunity, and then obviously we failed there, as well, or the ball went on the ground.
Q. Carlos also had the fumble late in the game, too, back on the field the next drive. I’m just wondering if there was — if it wasn’t a benching, it was just all health with Robinson? URBAN MEYER: You’d have to ask (Running Backs Coach Bernie Parmalee) Coach Parmalee. I don’t get too involved. I don’t micromanage that. I know he’s been dinged up, so I don’t know if he’s back with the tent or what’s going on, but I know there’s injury involved.
Q. Is that (Running Backs Coach Bernie Parmalee) Parmalee’s call or (Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell) Bev’s call, putting him back in based on injury?
URBAN MEYER: Well, James is unique because he is fighting injury. If someone is not producing and you sit him down, that’s a whole different conversation, but this is really injury based.
Q. At the end of the first half, you guys were in a good spot, 13-7, you get the ball four minutes midfield. I can’t imagine you could draw it up any better, down on the road by less than a score. I don’t want to use frustrated. I know it’s frustrating, but you’ve got it right where you want it, get the ball coming out. Is it baffling that you can’t seem to execute?
URBAN MEYER: You know, I don’t want to go on a baffle. Yeah, we’re searching for answers right now. How do you find answers? You go to work, and we’re going to go back to work. I don’t mean to be redundant and coach-speak, but there’s nothing else I can tell you. Is it frustrating for everybody involved? Absolutely. Are we better than that? Absolutely are better than that. Do we have better players than that? Yes. Do we have better coaches than that? Yes. Now it’s time to go produce, and like you said, we’re right there, so 13-7, I believe you’re right, and then we have the ball, and then we get it also in the second half. That’s when a team that knows how to win right there, you take a lead and you play field position football with them.
Q. Are you concerned at all about the growth of Trevor and the development of him given your lack of production and confidence as a unit?
URBAN MEYER: I’m always concerned about young players growing. He’s a 22-year-old player, first year in the NFL. He got hit too many times tonight, a couple times that I want them to look at what happened, too. I saw a couple videos. But I’m anxious to hear the results on that. The question was am I concerned about his development. I’d like to see everyone else around him and everyone else just play a little better. I wish I could give you something more than that.
Q. You’ve seen the video of the Jalen Ramsey play?
URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I just saw it real quickly in the locker room. I saw that one and I saw another one.
Q. As a coach in all your years, you’ve coached many, many excellent quarterbacks and many of them were very young. How do you keep him on track or prevent him from –
URBAN MEYER: Losing confidence?
Q. That kind of thing.
URBAN MEYER: That’s part of the position of being a coach, quarterback coach with (Quarterbacks Coach Brian Schottenheimer) Coach Schott, (Offensive Coordinator Darell Bevell) Bev, myself, to make sure that all of us — once again, if it was a simple answer, we’d do it. Simple answer is getting confidence. Okay, how do you get confidence? Have some success. We’re putting together game plans, and a lot of it is through the lens of the quarterback, how do we get this guy some success early on. After that nice drive — he did a heck of a job on that drive. He scrambled, he made some nice plays, and we go down and score, and you’re feeling pretty good about life, and then all of a sudden it goes in reverse again. First down was the biggest problem today, first down and second and 10, second and 11,
second and 9 against that defense, that’s not what you want to be in, and that’s where I felt like that was — especially in the second half because that’s when things went in a different direction for us.
Q. You’ve had some pretty nice highs this season and then you have a stretch like this you’re going through. For you as a coach what’s it been like?
URBAN MEYER: I told the players just after the game, when you lose it plays with your mind. You start searching for what’s the answers, what can you do better, what can we do better, and I think that’s where my mindset is right now. What can we do better? We’ve got five more opportunities, and some opportunities I think to win some games. There’s no simple answer or everybody would do it.
Q. The up tempo run pass option was a big emphasis this week. What did you see from that in this game?
URBAN MEYER: I know we did some of it. I’m sorry, I can’t remember exactly how it went. I’ll have more for you tomorrow, I guess, or Monday when we meet.
JAGUARS QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
Jaguars at Rams
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021
Q. After a game like this where it seemed like nothing seemed to work –
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, there’s not much to say. After a similar message like San Francisco a couple weeks ago, we’ve got a lot more than that, and just didn’t play well. Kind of saying the same thing, but we’ve got a lot more to offer than that, and we’ve got to do better. We’ve got to figure it out. Obviously if we knew the answer we’d be doing it, but got to keep plugging away, go back to work this week. Got to get better, because that was — especially offensively. I thought the defense did a good job early and then we had a good drive, moved the ball down I think it was 14 plays, 12 plays, something like that, but then after that just couldn’t get anything going. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to move the ball, got to make plays, and trying to figure that out.
Q. Could you talk a little bit about it looked like you were going to do a zone read keeper on the play that you tried to pull the ball out of Carlos’s belly, just a classic play where the ball just slipped out? TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, yeah, exactly right. Trying to pull it, get on the edge there. I thought there was a good look out there, had blockers. Just trying to make a play there on 3rd down. Felt good about the decision, but just got to secure the ball. Kind of got caught on Carlos’s hips. I’ve just got to make sure if I’m pulling I’ve got to get it all the way out of there before I start running, so just got to be cleaner there.
Q. How much of those plays come down to chemistry with the team?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I mean, that’s something that we’ve done. You’ve seen this year we’ve done it hundreds of times. It just happens every now and then. It’s on me as a quarterback. At the end of the day I’ve got to make sure if I’m giving it, it’s clear, if I’m pulling it, it’s clear, and maybe I was a little late. I’ll have to watch it. I don’t know if I was late pulling it or not. That’s on me. It’s not a chemistry thing, that’s just one of those plays that happen, along with some other ones today.
Q. Obviously you want to grow as an offense, as a young player. Are you finding it hard to see some of your growth through this stretch? It’s six weeks of really not a lot of productivity offensively. TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I mean, you’ve got to — like I said, we’ve got to get more going. I mean, there’s not one thing you can point out and say, this is what we need to do better or we’d already have it fixed by now. We’ve got to really take a look at this along with the other games and we’ve got to figure something out because we’ve got to play better than that. We’re not going to win any games if we can’t move ball better than that. It’s on all of us; it’s on players, it’s on coaches, it’s on everybody. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to look at it and watch the tape and keep going. We’ve got five more games left. Can’t stop here. Just try to find a way to get better and get ready for Tennessee next week.
Q. Is there something you’re pulling out that maybe everybody else doesn’t see, something that you feel like you’re still making some progress, command of the offense, things that you can pull away each week?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I mean, I think obviously I think I’ve done a better job taking care of the ball. That’s one thing. But I don’t really want to talk about the things that are positive right now. We’ve just got to play better. Even if there’s a couple things that we’re doing well, we’ve got to do a lot more things well to win games.
Q. Was this could you say one of the more difficult days you’ve experienced in your football life? TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I mean, that was a really good team. We didn’t play well. We didn’t help ourselves out, but at the end of the day you do have to look at that team, and that’s a good team you’re playing against. The way we came out at the beginning of the game, it was 10-7 felt good. Even going into halftime I think it was 16-7, felt good about where we were at, and then second half we just were very unproductive, stagnant, didn’t move the ball, and then just didn’t play complementary. Yeah, it was a tough day. Obviously when you get beat 37-7 it’s not a good day. I want to move past this one and go get the next one.
Q. After you tackled Jalen on the fumble, it looked like he kind of slammed your head into the turf. What happened there?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I don’t know. I heard about it, but in the moment I didn’t realize that happened. It’s football. Things happen fast. I don’t really know. We’ll look at it and see.
Q. Those last few minutes of the first half coming out of the gates, you guys (indiscernible) several times now over the last 10, 12 weeks. Can you guys do something to emphasize that time frame of the game a little bit more? It was 10-7 or 13-7 at the time and you had the ball, like four minutes to go and had good field position, I think?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, you’re right, 13-7, good field position. I think that was when we had the mesh issue and that made it 4th and 6 or 7, had to punt and give the ball back, they kicked a field goal. Yeah, you’re right. That is something maybe we need to emphasize more. I think we do, but it’s really important when you win the toss and defer, the end of the second and the beginning of the third are super important, those quarters right there. If you can get the ball back and get a field goal or get a touchdown and then you can double dip, get some more points when you open up the second half. That would be huge, and that was what we were trying to do there. We were on a good drive there. I think we were on the 50 when the mesh issue happened. Again, that’s on me. Can’t happen right there. But yeah we need to definitely get better at that because you saw even against Atlanta last week we had an opportunity after the interception and didn’t get any points there and then coming out got the ball, I don’t think we got any points coming out of halftime, too. That’s something we definitely need to get better at.
Q. Is there something you’re able to do to deal with all the frustration that you’re dealing with here? TREVOR LAWRENCE: Just kind of remember who I am and just be the same person, regardless of highs, lows, whatever it is. Obviously it’s been a challenging year, but just got to be the same person every day. That’s something I pride myself on, and not get frustrated. We’re all in this thing together. You’ve got a building full of people trying to right the ship, and we’re working our tails off to try to turn this thing around. It hasn’t happened as fast as we wanted it to, but you’ve got to keep working and making progress, and I think this year we’ve made some progress, but obviously right now we’re not playing well, and that’s something we’ve got to just be honest about and move on and start playing better.
Yeah, I mean, but to your point, I think just like I said, get some time to myself to really evaluate and keep reminding myself who I am. Obviously my faith is something that’s very important to me. It kind of keeps me steady through all this, and even in college the highs and now the lows and a few highs, whatever it is. That’s something that keeps me grounded and I think is important, especially in times like this. Yeah, I’m always going to be the same person, and we’ll get this thing figured out sooner or later.
Q. Your first look at Aaron Donald who might be the best defensive player –
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, great player.
Q. What was that like, you probably never saw a guy play like that. What kind of disruption did he present?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: A lot, run game, pass game, everything. You just see that guy flying around. He’s tough to block. Wouldn’t want to be an offensive lineman going against that guy. He’s tough to block. I thought early in the game we did a good job with the pass rush and we protected, we were moving the ball well. I think obviously when you start getting down, that pass rush increases because they’re not really worried about the run as much, so it makes it hard for the guys up front. That’s been the case in a few games this year where we get down and then we have to throw the ball more and we’ve got to whatever and the pass rush gets on us fast, right. We’ve got to stay in games. We’ve got to be more productive early in the game, hold on to the ball, put long drives together like we did at the end of first quarter, beginning of the second, and that helps us out. But yeah, he’s a great player and is tough to deal with.
Q. Was there an adjustment you saw in the second half because you guys were down and they were able to unleash the pass rush?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, that’s always the case. We’ve had a few games I remember in Houston, first game of the year, and a couple games down the stretch, Arizona, today, where they know you’ve got throw the ball because you’ve got to move the ball. You’ve got to get chunks, and then they can kind of just pin their ears back, and that’s always a challenge. I think that wasn’t necessarily the reason we weren’t moving the ball. It was just other things, and like I said, I don’t want to speak too soon. I want to watch it and make sure I know what I’m seeing and get with the guys. But yeah, there’s just — we’ve got to play better.
Q. The season on a whole, what has this taught you about being patient?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, just you never know how things are going to go, and if they don’t go as planned, you can’t go off script. You’ve got to, like I said, keep being the same person, keep going to work, and I have a lot of belief and faith in this organization, myself, this team, the locker room full of guys. I think we’ve got a great locker room that we’re going to get this thing figured out, and you’ve just got to keep believing that and keep going to work. You can’t grow weary. The season gets long especially when you’re not playing well down the stretch, and you’ve just got to keep plugging in, and that’s the thing I think I’ve done a good job of. Obviously it didn’t show today, but I think guys have done a good job of that, and you’ve got to finish, got to finish the season.
Q. You guys put in a lot of work during the week, practicing well, you feel good about your game plan. When you’re sitting there the third quarter and you’ve got 100 something yards, is there a level of disbelief that man –
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, no, there is. Sometimes you’re at a loss for words, and a game like that, it’s just — can’t get anything going. Especially when we started off — especially when you start off moving the ball well and then something flips there. It’s hard to put your finger on what it is, especially right
after the game. We’ll have to go watch it, like I said. Obviously the turnovers hurt us. The first one at the beginning of the game, that hurts us, and then the one later, so that’s always — when you go minus two in the turnover margin it’s already hard to win, but then when you’re not moving the ball consistently, it’s pretty much impossible. Obviously that, and then yeah, it’s frustrating. But we’re all in it together, and players got to play better. We’ve got to look at our game plan. It’s just everything. You can’t put it on one individual or one group. We’ve all got to be better.
JAGUARS DL DAWUANE SMOOT
Jaguars at Rams
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021
Q. You’ve been through some tough stretches; what’s this one like right now? DAWAUNE SMOOT: I mean, it’s been, what, three games back to back where I feel like we haven’t had too much of an opportunity to kind of do anything. We kind of spotted them 14 points early, the last two games, 10 points this game. It’s been tough. We’re just trying to rally and come back, come back Monday, Tuesday, and just try to turn this thing around.
Q. At what point — you have to go through that same stuff every week. At what point does it become too much?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: I mean, it’s the NFL. We’ve got to play the duration of the season. Each week it’s like we’re coming to work every day. It’s the same thing repetitive. At the end of the day we’ve just got to come to work. We get paid to come to work just like you, so we’ve just got to keep doing it, keep going, keep fighting and keep trying to turn this thing around.
Q. Do you worry guys will start tuning out, though?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: Oh, no. None of the guys are going to tune out. We’re paid to play football. We’re going to come out there and do whatever we’ve got to do no matter what. I don’t think anyone is pulling out. I feel like we’ve just got to come together as a team and try to get a couple wins in the next five weeks. That’s all we can do.
Q. I’m sure you guys are obviously emphasizing the start of games, but do you feel like guys are a little flat, just takes a little while to make adjustments, and any finger on maybe what’s been a common theme the last five, six games?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: I would just say we’ve just got to come out with a little more fire from the get, from special teams, offense, from defense. From the get we have to be able to come out and start strong. We haven’t been able to do that the last three weeks, and it’s been tough. Not much opportunities on defense to kind of change the game. I mean, we’ve just got to come together. That’s all it is. We have to stay together, don’t get negative, stay positive. Next five weeks, got five more games. We’ve got to be able to just finish strong.
Q. What’s the fine line between the urgency to make a play and then pressing to make a play, especially with a team that I know — every game emphasizes turnovers but you haven’t been able to get a lot of them?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: Right, and it’s a big thing. Turnovers come and they come in bunches. As long as we play as a unit they’ll come. We can’t press it. You press it, you get out of your gap, touchdown. We have to all just work together at the end of the day.
Q. You guys did a pretty good of containing Cooper Kupp for most of the first half. Just what in the second half allowed him to get so many catches on you?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: Yeah, I would just say the defense, we were out there for a while, and there’s only so much we can do when you’re out there for 60 plus plays and you’re just like back to back to back. Cooper Kupp is an amazing player. He’s eventually going to get off. He gets paid just like we do. I mean, we contained him as long as we could, and I felt like our guys in the back end did a really good job.
Q. If you could make a to-do list almost of what the defense needs to improve on, what would be the No. 1 thing?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: I would say like just starting off strong early. Like we’ve got to start strong early. Like in the first quarter, we can’t spot them like even three points. If offense turns over the ball, we’ve just got to go out there and stop them. We can’t spot them any kind of points early on because that’s what’s been killing us, when you’re down and you can’t really turn it around. That’s the checklist. We’ve got to start strong and we’ve got to stay together. Don’t let anything divide us and just stay together.
Q. I know it’s the other side of the ball, but you know how important the rookie quarterback is to this franchise. How much conversation as a veteran guy or guys have no matter what side of the ball they’re playing on with him, making sure he’s in a good place and trying to still develop through obviously the offense that’s really struggling?
DAWAUNE SMOOT: Right. He’s developing each week, and I feel like each time he comes on the field, we’re just letting him know, like we got you. Like you turn over the ball, the defense got you. Whatever you do, whatever, we got you. We got your back at the end of the day, and we know he’s progressing each week. He’s getting better and better each week. We just need to help in the run game a little bit, be able to run the ball, establish the run, and then be able to really start passing the ball around a little bit more. We’ve just got to be able to establish a good game plan.
