JAGUARS HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Friday, August 20
(On speeding up the offense in practice this week) “To be determined, but I thought practice was much better. I get the first game [being slow], but now I want to try to have a little bit of success.”
(On the heat) “We’re still under camp rules, which means you have 90 minutes between walkthrough and practice. The heat hit us pretty good, so we just moved the walkthrough, combined walkthrough and practice, so I get them [out]. Plus, we’re later in the week, so I was going to cut practice anyways. I met with some of the leaders and [asked] what’s the best way to do this, so that’s why we moved it. Yesterday was Gainesville hot, swamp hot.”
(On why OL A.J. Cann was not at practice today) “Inconclusive Covid [test]. We’re hoping he’s back tomorrow. He is vaccinated.”
(On his plan for playing time for QB Trevor Lawrence) “More time than [the first game]. It’s just going to depend on the health of our team, still have a lot to evaluate, so we’ve talked, but not in depth yet. That’s [a] tomorrow conversation; health of the team and then also we have to get him some reps.”
(On the missing offensive linemen affecting the starting quarterback decision) “Sure. We have not even had that chat yet. We’re just trying to get through practice right now, but tomorrow is a big conversation about that.”
(On giving his players a voice and asking for feedback) “Well, it depends who it is. You have to earn that right and quite honestly if I thought they didn’t earn it, then there’d be no voice. We have some really good people here and I really trust a lot of these veterans and they’ve been really helpful to me.”
(On cutting competition to get QB Trevor Lawrence more reps) “If he wins it, which that hasn’t happened yet. So, as soon as that happens, then you give him the one reps, all one reps.”
(On what he needs to see to name a starting quarterback) “Just competition, performance.”
(On a timeline to name the starting quarterback) “We do. I do in my own mind, but once again, it’s a conversation that the three people are having daily.”
(On the decision not being made until after the last preseason game) “In theory it could, but I’d it rather not.”
(On planning for three preseason games instead of four) “That’s why we went to game week. Usually, you go two with just an extension of training camp and then your third and fourth are game planned. So, with a new staff, we, [Offensive Coordinator Darrell] Bevell, myself, and [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Cullen] thought it was important to go ahead and game plan. That’s another reason why we shifted the schedule. This is basically an in-season schedule modified because of the training camp rules still. We want to get them a feel. Plus, our coaches are game planning from 5 o’clock until 10 o’clock every night, and then bang, you go in the morning. I like it. It’s kind of more of a schedule I’m used to anyways
(On the potential joint practice with the New Orleans Saints) “We were [but] there was some protocol stuff about Covid. We were all set to. I’ve never done it. I’ve heard about it, I’ve been reading about it, I hear the positives and negatives, I hear there are some injuries too that you’re dealing with. Those are all things that [General Manager] Trent [Baalke] and I’m counting on the veteran coaches on my staff. I actually talked to [Saints Head Coach] Sean Payton a lot about it, [Patriots Head Coach] Coach Belichick about it. There’s certainly value in it, but there’s also you’re rolling the bones a little bit.
(On his evaluation of DL Roy Robertson-Harris) “He’s doing good. He’s doing good. He’s an extremely talented guy that still I think the upside’s, we haven’t seen the ceiling of his ability yet. [He’s a] great guy.”
(On the player vaccination rate) “Pretty good. I think it’s up over 85 percent. [Vice President of Football Communications] Amy [Palcic] can help you with that, but it’s pretty good.”
(On expectations for his first NFL away game) “Just the travel piece of it, it will be my first one in an NFL travel [situation]. The home was a little bit different but not that much different. I haven’t really even thought about it yet.”
(On keeping players in the hotel while on the road in New Orleans) “Once again, I’ve told our players if I’m worried about that, we may as well not practice because we’re going to get our brains kicked in. If that’s one of those kinds of teams, I’ll let you know, and the record will show it. If it’s a bunch of grown men serious about their careers, then this is a good place for them to be. If it’s not, it’s not.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence starting against the Saints) “I haven’t even talked to those guys yet.”
(On S Andre Cisco) “He’s been doing good. He’s in the hunt for a starting spot.”
(On getting the roster down to 53 players) “I don’t know [if it’s] mind-boggling. I studied this thing for a long time. I’ve been dealing with my former players when I start seeing these cuts. [We waived] [CB Luq] Barcoo, we made a decision bring to DT [S Daniel Thomas] back after his COVID. It’s tough. Like I told you guys earlier, I just want to give every player an opportunity. Take the subjectivity out of it, I’ll let them go perform.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
(On how this week went) “It was good. We have had a good week of prep, so today just finished up our second full game prep day. It was good, kind of getting into more of a flow — game planning is a little bit different than last week, kind of transitioning out of camp so it’s been good. It’s a little bit new for me – this schedule – compared to college. It is a little different so still getting used to it, but I have my routine mapped out and I will make some changes here and there based on what I like and what I don’t like. I feel like we are in a good spot.”
(On if the heat impacts him) “Everywhere I have lived it’s been really hot and you know Georgia, South Carolina so I am kind of used to it, but I don’t know if you ever really get used to it. When summer rolls around every year it is like, ‘man it gets hotter every year’ but it has been good for us. I know we are going to be in great shape, and we are going to be conditioned to it because yesterday – we actually got a little bit of a break today, it was a little bit cooler – but yesterday it felt like it was over 100 [degrees]. We had a great day yesterday, so it has been cool to see all the guys work and it doesn’t really matter the conditions. We have all just gone out there and gone to work.”
(On if the quarterback competition has impacted him) “No, it doesn’t bother me — I think that is the way to run a team honestly. You have to compete for everyone’s jobs, you know the best player has to play and you have to compete and as a first-year player coming in, it’s kind of what’s expected. You want to compete for the job and there is a right way to do things. I think they [the coaching staff] have handled it great. We are in a great spot, and we are just going to keep working, and I am going to take advantage of every opportunity I get and that is all I can really do.”
(On if he feels prepared based on the number of reps he has had in practice) “Yeah, I think we do a good job of managing it. Obviously as a young guy, you want as many [reps] as you can just because every look you get is something new you are seeing and something you can learn from. For me, I just want as many as I can get, and we are at that point now where we have been practicing for so long and it is more about getting a lot more mental reps too because we can’t go out there for three hours every day as the season starts. Guys have to take care of their bodies and you just have to be careful, but I think we have had great prep up to this point. Great camp and for me I have learned a lot and I’ve gotten a lot better, I think, at taking care of the ball — decision making, knowing the offense but the more reps I can get, obviously the better and obviously I would like that.”
(On getting into a rhythm despite sharing reps) “It’s tougher to get in a rhythm that way but it is just something that is part of it. Everyone has to deal with it, and I can get better at that for sure. Just consistently making plays and taking advantage of every play that I am in there. That’s just something I can do a little bit better of a job of but that is part of every — competition, every practice in general with groups rotating in and out. That is something you always have to deal with.”
(On playing a road game and the effects of crowd noise) “I am not really sure, I have played in some loud stadiums in college. I have actually played in New Orleans twice, so I am pretty familiar with that stadium. It gets really loud in there, it’s the dome and obviously Saints fans are pretty rowdy so we are expecting the worst. We are expecting as loud as it can get and then we will adjust from there. It is always better to expect that and then you get in there and it might not be as loud and it is easy to adjust from that but when you did not prepare, it is kind hard to get ready for the noise.”
(On if he played indoors in college) “Syracuse — we played in Dallas in the Cotton Bowl. We have played in Arizona which is grass but it is inside so that one is pretty cool but yeah we have played a few inside.”
