INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
SUNDAY, NOV. 14, 2021
POSTGAME QUOTES
JAGUARS HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
What did you see on the blocked punt?
“There was a twist. I just saw from those little things you look at on the sideline, the pictures, it was a looper and we just made an error. I don’t know exactly what happened- I do, but I don’t want to say anything until I know exactly what happened.”
How out of sync is the offense right now?
“It was awful. The first half, it was an accumulation of errors, but they responded, and they came back with defense. You know, one thing about that locker room, they fight for each other, they care about each other, but I saw what you saw. Out of sync is probably not a strong enough word or description of that offense. But then second half you came down with the ball in your hand and had a chance to go win it. So, I’d rather focus on, well focus on getting things fixed, but also focus on the relationship in that locker room we’re dealing with right now.”
Why do you think Trevor Lawrence is struggling right now?
“I think it’s the transition from college to pro, I’ve heard that forever from some of the players I’ve coached and from other guys, but you’ll continue to hear this as long as I’m around, when a quarterback plays great, everyone else around him plays great and when the quarterback really struggles you can find it everywhere. Three holding penalties or a position had three or four penalties, what is that? That’s not the quarterback, but it’s cumulative and he’s the quarterback. So, when the offense is playing great it’s because their quarterback and everyone around them is playing great, when they struggle, everyone around them struggles.”
How confident were you when Trevor Lawrence got that first down on the drive in the fourth quarter?
“He did it in London, you know, that was a fourth quarter moment, but I think we practice hard, and you see it in practice. If you didn’t see it in practice, then there’d be zero confidence. I’d be shocked if you had interviewed anybody on the sidelines that said we weren’t going to go down and win this game, even when we didn’t perform well in the first half. I think the wideouts, everybody felt we were going to go down and win that game.”
Do you feel like the team is getting close to playing good football?
“I just said on the radio culturally, I’m a big believer in culture, I am a big believer in leadership, I also have an alignment by working together. And enough with the almost, almost, almost, when we figure that out, that’s when you win. I like what was said. I didn’t say much after the game, some players did, and we’ll see how we show up next week against San Francisco in front of our own crowd. I hate to say this, because I usually try not to when you lose, but that second half where they’re on the road against a very good team, they played their tails off and it wasn’t pretty, but they could have sucked their thumb and left after the second quarter like you see some teams do, but they didn’t do that. So, I hate to use word proud, but I am.”
Do you feel like the defense is where it should be at?
“It was awful the first drive. They were gashing us in the stretch play and (Jonathan) Taylor had some nice runs, Carson (Wentz) made some plays, but like I told you, you guys saw what I saw the second half, we were getting the ball and the most disappointing part of the whole day was, to me, was when our defense, you know the whole playing to win and that field position chart we live by? We were living by it exactly, we were punting the ball down in there, holding them, getting the ball back at about the 40-yard line and we didn’t do anything with it. That’s a problem.”
Are you worried the consistent mistakes has now become a part of the team’s identity? “No, because I’ve seen when we played at a high level, and I just have a stronger belief that we’re fragile. You can’t make a mistake, but I’m not sure who in the NFL can. Every week I watch, and I’m amazed at some of the scores. 17-0, I don’t want to say I was having positive thoughts at that moment, but sure enough they come roaring back and the sideline was phenomenal. Myles Jack was out his mind and playing like it. So did Josh Allen, Malcom Brown and “Ray J” (Rayshawn Jenkins), but no we’re not just saying that’s who we are because I don’t believe that’s who we are.”
What changed against Jonathan Taylor after the first quarter?
“You have to ask Joe (Cullen) when you talk to him, but I just think we tackled better. We weren’t knocked out of the gaps, but I’d be remis if I – can’t give you that answer but I will later on.”
Do you worry how the losses could affect Trevor Lawrence?
“Of course, I do. I grabbed him, and I think our whole team does. I mean, I think he was second or third in votes. I told you about captains, they love him, name a guy that works harder. We pick each other up so it’s kind of neat to see what happened in there afterwards. Heck yeah, I’m worried about that. He’s got a lot on his shoulders right now and that’s why everybody around him has to play a little better, All of us. Coach a little better, all of us.”
How hard is to get Trevor Lawrence through these challenges?
“That’s not a cookie cutter question. It all depends on who it is. One thing about Trevor (Lawrence), this one stung I could tell, but that’s my responsibility, the coaching staff, and the rest of the team, pick each other up. It has to go otherwise there’s going to be critics, there’s going to be this, but that’s fine. Let’s go out and beat San Francisco. We’re going to go out and get the ball in your hand with a chance to go win game and we’re going to do it this time.”
Did you mean Trevor Lawrence blamed himself when you said this one stung?
“Nah, he just had the ball in his hand and wanted to win the game like we did in London. He threw one of the most beautiful plays of the year to get that ball down, kick a field goal to win and we practiced it. So, when I say he was stung, a lot of guys were stung in there because we felt like we could go down and win that game on the road against a good team when you’re 17-0 and looking bad.”
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
SUNDAY, NOV. 14, 2021
POSTGAME QUOTES
JAGUARS TIGHT END DAN ARNOLD
Can you talk about the last drive and the belief I’m sure you guys had when you were going to take it down and score to win the game?
“Yeah, absolutely. I would say the greatest attribute of this team would be that no matter what people say about us, we’re always going to keep on fighting. I feel like a lot of people can say that about a team, but I think it’s honestly something that I truly believe. There’s people that think that we play bad football and say that we don’t have good players. At the end of the day, we’re just a group of cats that are going to go out there and keep on playing no matter what and yeah, unfortunately we turned the ball over and that’s kind of how this game goes sometimes. We just have to move on.”
How did the two-point conversion open up for you?
“Yeah, I mean it was just a scheme run kind of thing and we knew it could be there if the ends were going to play up field and we just had a shot at it and it worked out. That’s pretty much all there is to it.”
What’s the conversation like with Trevor Lawrence? The last few weeks the offense has looked out of sync and he obviously turns it over here late. How do you keep him heading in the right direction?
“Yeah, I think kind of what I was saying to him at the end of the game was he’s got a lot of football ahead of him. He’s not going to be defined by – like these moments where yeah, he turns the ball over at the end of the game, but it’s going to be how you’re going to respond from it. I kind of gave him a little anecdote about myself when I was a second-year player in New Orleans and I dropped a touchdown pass in the NFC Championship game and there was a lot in the offseason that I let it define me and then I kind of finally just made a decision that I was going to move on from it and I’m going to become a great football player. That’s something I don’t doubt that he is going to be able to do. I have all the faith in him that he is going to be a tremendous player, not only for the rest of this year, but also for 10-15 years. And he knows that too. He’s going to get there, these are just growing pains. We’ll get there and like I said, the biggest thing is that we have a bunch of guys around that are going to support him no matter what and that’s really all there is to it.”
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
SUNDAY, NOV. 14, 2021
POSTGAME QUOTES
JAGUARS CORNERBACK SHAQUILL GRIFFIN
Could you just talk about the effort on defense that you guys had the last three quarters of that game? Jonathan Taylor went nowhere in the last three quarters.
“I feel like we did well on defense, don’t get me wrong. Definitely had some missed opportunities, including my play. I feel like we did really well to turn things around. I feel like the main conversation we had going into halftime was getting back to our ball. I feel like first half, you know, you go back to the last game, we looked very energetic, you know, defense. Talking, communicating, having fun with it, enjoying it. The main thing was getting everybody to calm back down. You know, so going into that third quarter, you could see everybody start to light up a little bit, enjoying this game, talking a little bit more, communicating a little bit more and you start changing this around and you just have to utilize that and keep that and go into each game, each quarter, got to keep playing our ball.”
Do you feel like you guys did enough defensively to win the game today, except for the fact that you weren’t able to get a turnover?
“No. The main thing is we do whatever it takes to win this game and we didn’t get this W, so we have to do more. You know, I’m the type of guy, I’m very, very, very hard, especially on myself, so you talk about the play I could have gotten my hands on it and it was six. I get that ball in my hands and I score, it’s a different game, so I got to do better. I put that on me.”
Did T.Y. Hilton get his hand in there on that play?
“Yeah, but it is no excuse. It touched my hands, I got to grab it. Simple as that and I got to do better.”
How frustrated are you personally over those missed opportunities in the season? “I’m very frustrated. I know what type of player I am. I feel like I’ve been doing, you know, a normal job up so far, but it could be even better. You know, you talk about the plays I have been making, if I get those interceptions, it’s a whole different season for me and I know my team and this organization need this, so I have to do better and like I said, I’m the person that’s going to coach myself harder than anybody ever could, so like I said, I’ll take this by myself. I have to do better. I have to.”
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
Did you believe going into that last drive that you were going to take it down the field and you guys were going to win the game?
“Oh yeah, we had no doubt that we were going to win that game. Give us the ball, felt like the offense had finally got a little bit of momentum towards the end of that second half. I’m just frustrated, obviously, in myself, but yeah, we had no doubt we were going to drive down the field. We were putting a good drive together. I think we were on the 50 (yard line) or plus-45, somewhere around there, and I just have to take care of the ball.”
Did you feel like even when you knew you were going down that you had taken care of the ball enough so that it wouldn’t get out?
“I mean this is a team – that’s what they do is take the ball away. We talked about it early in the week. That was a point of emphasis. As I was going down, someone came from the backside and punched it out, and I just have to take care of it. I didn’t think the ball was super loose, but at the end of the day, he punched it out and that’s on me. I can’t give that one up in that situation.”
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
SUNDAY, NOV. 14, 2021
POSTGAME QUOTES
Urban Meyer said this one really stung you. Can you elaborate on that a little bit? What did it mean to have teammates coming up talking to you?
“We have a lot of belief right now in that locker room. I’m pretty hard on myself, and when you have a chance to win the game and you fumble on the last drive, especially when you have a great drive going and we had all the belief on the sideline, that just stings when you end the game that way. I’m disappointed in myself, frustrated, but I know how far we’ve come. I mean, you look back, compared to the first couple weeks of the season, it’s night and day of where we’re at. We have a locker room full of guys, coaches and players, that believe and we’re on the right track. But this one hurts, just because I’m frustrated with myself. I had a chance to go win the game, and (I) have to do that. I had no doubt we were going to win the game. The whole offense believed it. Just have to finish.”
You knew you were going to have to go through stuff like this. But there’s the abstract of knowing you’re going to have to go through it and then being in it – is it so totally different? “It’s just – it’s part of it. Like I said, I’m hard on myself, and I expect to play really well every game and put us in a position to win and just a lot of reasons. Offensively, we just didn’t play great today. I thought we picked it up a little bit at the end of the third (quarter) but mostly in the fourth quarter, but we just have to play better, and that starts with me. So, I’m hard on myself. We have to get better, but yeah, there are going to be things you have to go through. Stay positive – that’s what I’m doing right now and the locker room is in good spirits. Obviously, we’re pissed off. We had a chance to win that game. We should have won that game and didn’t, but the locker room is good and I’m good. Just have to let it simmer for a day and then move on. We have to go play San Francisco.”
The last three weeks things have been a little out of sync on the offensive side. Are they giving you some new things in the system or are things just not getting executed, whether it’s drops or penalties or your throws?
“Yeah, it’s just, for whatever reason, one of those stretches where we’re a little out of sync, and we have to get it fixed. It’s just details. All around, every position group, it’s cleaning up the details, being on the same page, and then it’s just as simple as making plays. There were so many opportunities today. I missed a few throws, had some drops. All over the field, we have to make those plays, and that’s on all of us. That’s what’s frustrating is when you lose a game like that on the final drive, you fumble and the game’s over when you had a chance to win. But then you look back, and you had so many opportunities to execute on and put yourself in a situation to get points or to score or whatever, and we didn’t. The defense played great, and that’s two weeks in a row. I love the way our defense is playing. If they keep doing that, we’re going to have a chance to win every game. Us as an offense, we have to take some responsibility and get better and put the right foot forward. So, we’ll do that. We just have to stick together, and we’re going to do that. But (we) definitely need to play better.”
Obviously, the emotions are high right now, but how’s your confidence going through this stretch?
“Yeah, my confidence is great. I came into today and I had a really good feel about our plan and the way we practiced and the way I practiced. I felt really good. I thought I was throwing it well. Like we said though, you just have to make the plays when they’re there, and that’s everybody. That’s every position on offense. We have to do better.”
They brought a lot of pressure. They got credit for like 10 quarterback hits. How do you kind of deal with that in the moment? Does it have a cumulative effect at all?
“They did a good job changing the looks. A lot of the stuff we knew they were going to do – we prepared for. They just do a good job of getting pressure on you. A lot of fire zones and try to drop a couple guys out underneath so you don’t have a quick easy throw, but like I said, we had a lot of opportunities where they would run us hot and there was a free guy, but we’d get the ball off. We just have to be on the same page on the little things like where each other is going to be and getting that completion on those situations, and we didn’t do that. I thought we left a few of those out there, and then there were some other times where we picked up the pressure great. We had a big play with Marv (Marvin Jones Jr.). I
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
SUNDAY, NOV. 14, 2021
POSTGAME QUOTES
think they brought six guys on that one, ran us hot, made a big play on the sideline to Marv. So, that was one (where) we did a good job executing, but we had a few that we missed, and you have to hit them.”
Is there a part of you that – while you don’t want the struggles and all that, obviously – relishes the challenge of fixing all of it?
“I mean, obviously, you’d rather not have all of the hiccups and you’d rather be playing better, but there’s always something to work on no matter how good you play or bad you play. There’s always something to improve on, and we have a lot to improve on right now. And that’s – like to your point, the positive thing is
we won last week, didn’t play well offensively. In a position to win this week, didn’t play well offensively. So, we’re that close. We just have to play better football on offense and put the games away, and we’re not doing it. So, that starts with me, and we have to get better. But to your point, that’s a way to look at it positively is we’ve come so far and we’re giving ourselves a chance in almost every game. We just have to finish.”
What do you think changed for you in the second half when you were able to convert more on third down then you did in the first half?
“I thought we had a few plays, like I said, where we had to get on the same page, and there were some different looks, and we had to get some answers for those. Then after that, I thought we communicated really well throughout the game, and then I just thought guys made plays. There were a few contested catches and tight windows, all of that. I made some nice throws that I missed a few in the first half, and
then guys were making contested catches. That was the thing. That was why we had that long drive where we ended up scoring. That was huge to get us back in the game, but then we had another drive where I think we were three-and-out with seven minutes to go in the fourth (quarter). That hurt us, but then the defense, again, made a good stop, forced them into a field goal. And then we had a chance, so yeah, I thought that we played better in the second half, but still left a lot out there.”
The drops have been kind of a consistent thing, unfortunately, for the offense. What has to be your approach in trying to help those guys collectively dig out of that?
“I think it’s a few things. Obviously, it goes back to like I said, making the play when it’s there. Looking in the mirror, too, I have to be consistently more accurate. So, if I’m putting the ball where it’s supposed to be more consistently, we’re not going to have as many drops, and there are a few where, yeah, they could catch it, but I’m not throwing the best ball. So, there’s a lot out there. Obviously, there are some drops. There are some missed throws. It’s football, that stuff is going to happen, but we definitely have to clean it up. We’re having a few too many. For me, I’m frustrated, because I don’t think I’m throwing the ball as well as I can, and we have to be cleaner.”
