JAGUARS HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021
(On this week’s gameplan being more run focused) “Not only important, I don’t want to over emphasize. It is essential to who we are and how we are built. We went into last weeks game with that intent and it didn’t work so well. All of the sudden when you give the opponent ten points, that is not the way to start a game. We played our best when we have established a run. You guys saw it against the Bengals, you could see it against the – I am trying to think of our best first half, the Arizona Cardinals. To establish the run is really the essence of football. It is certainly the essence of our football and it is why we wanted to build this thing and when we have played our better football, that is what we have done. The bottom line is you can’t hand the ball to the opponent.”
(On the Titans not struggling despite losing RB Derrick Henry) “Any great running back will tell you that they have a great offensive line and that is one of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL. Very well coached, they ran for 270 against the New England Patriots. I didn’t want to see that. When I saw 22 [RB Derrick Henry], no one wants to see a player hurt but I said, ‘Okay well that guy is down and they are very productive.’ You look at our game against and in the second half we held them to 2.8 yards per carry. First half, they did typical Derrick Henry stuff. We have to hold up against the run.”
(On rumors of Tight Ends Coach Tyler Bowen and Defensive Line Coach Tosh Lupoi leaving at the end of the season) “Tyler Bowen, nothing has been decided and after the season we will have those conversations. I am getting phone calls about our staff, that has happened many times. I met with Tosh yesterday and there is no substance to anything. Does that mean he does not get [conversations]? Really good football coaches get conversations. I never stood in the way of [an assistant coach] being a head coach or a coordinator. That is something that is pretty good stuff. Tyler Bowen has been really good for us, but also our focus is on the five weeks and doing the very best we can for our players. Anything after that, we will make those decisions at that time.”
(On a lot of coaches starting this process around December due to the college season ending) “Well I have had two national championships where I went with coordinators that were actually employed by another place. Dan Mullen left me to go to Mississippi State and came back and we beat Oklahoma for the title. Tom Herman went to Houston and handled it. The one thing I just always ask is be so professional about it and those two examples you couldn’t be more professional. Tyler Bowen [has a] chance to be a coordinator, he is going to consider it and he asked me. First of all, he asked me my thoughts on his ability to do it and I think he is a really good football coach. Okay, that is enough of this, let’s go worry about beating Tennessee. He has been fantastic. I have been lucky, I have not had a lot of the nonsense you hear about. I am very transparent with them and likewise with me. There are two kinds of coaches, the ones you want and the ones you don’t want.”
(On the impact of Cincinnati making the College Football Playoff) “It is the good news, bad news. It is good news because you’re in the playoff and bad news because you’re in the playoff. That means you
better perform and that was my biggest fear when I was at Utah. We were the first non BCS [school] which drove me nuts when people said that and I was horrified. What if we show up and not play well, that is going to hurt teams down the road. There is a lot of responsibility at Cincinnati to go perform well. It is great for them.”
(On Cincinnati’s appearance in the College Football Playoff helping with recruiting and fundraising) “Of course, unless they don’t play well. Then it can be that double-edge sword.”
(On this being the first time playing a divisional opponent for a second time this year) “We spent a lot of time on that because we lost but there is times where that offense is executing at a high-level. Somewhat of a rivalry game is my understanding, I am relatively new to it but not that new anymore. There is a lot of competition between these two organizations and obviously Tennessee has had a nice run here, so our players feel it and I feel it. We have to do our very best.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence giving input on more things similar to way he did with the RB James Robinson situation) “Yeah, he is doing better. Once again, he is 22 years old but he has been a leader for quite some time. He walked into Clemson’s campus and became the leader of Clemson’s football team and they won a national title. I encourage it and I have always been very fortunate for the most part to have quarterbacks that [I ask], ‘What plays do you want to run? What are your thoughts here? What are your thoughts there?’ and he is very involved in all conversations. I see the growth that we need to see and there is a long way to go but he is great.”
(On expecting RB James Robinson to play) “James actually practiced really well on Wednesday, first Wednesday practice in a while. The James thing, the biggest thing is I always look at not conversations, but I look at fundamentals. If a receiver is struggling catching a pass, I don’t want to hear his coaches saying catch the ball. I want to go back and watch the video tape and say, ‘Why are we not catching the ball?’ If someone lays the ball on the ground, I don’t want to hear the screaming, I want to go back and figure out why. When you see a player like James, or Carlos [Hyde], or whoever touches the ball, who are elite fundamentally, holding the ball the way we teach it … We were [doing the correct technique] earlier in the year but we slipped and so why do you slip? We are not practicing enough and we are not emphasizing it enough so as a coach that is all I worry about. I let other people worry about the other stuff.”
(On the value of having OL Tyler Shatley) “Yeah, he is my MVP. First of all, he is a good player, second of all he works every week as if he is the starter. Back in 2017, I remember our owner was telling a story about when [Brandon] Linder went down and Shat jumped in there and you didn’t miss a beat. I can’t imagine a more valuable player on our team, at that position.”
(On CB Tyson Campbell’s accension) “Everything about him, the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he handles his business in the training room, the way he is fighting through an AC injury that a lot of guys would not be able to play through it. He had a toe injury which he did not play through and just the maturity, growth and work ethic on the practice field. I credit Tyson but I also credit his coach, Tim Walton has done a really good job with him and that is usually how the correlation works. When someone is playing really well, that position coach is knee deep with that player and I see it every day. It is a little bit like Rudy Ford. Rudy Ford went from a guy that the narrative was that he could not play defense, couldn’t do this, couldn’t do this. Really good special teams’ player, I said that is not true. I credit Rudy, but I also credit Joe Danna. Joe Danna is with that guy 24/7. I always joke around that if you
spend enough time around one person that you start to look alike. I tell those two guys and they don’t want to hear that.”
(On the value of having CB Shaquill Griffin to take CB Tyson Campbell under his wing) “Yeah, great and same with Ray-J [S Rayshawn Jenkins] and even a guy like Tre Herndon is a veteran. Veterans have helped him [CB Tyson Campbell]. You’re not asking me about Rudy Ford, but I see two days a week, Shaq taking Rudy Ford and working on man coverage post practice. To me, that is a sign of great leadership and that is how it is done. That is the best part of this job when you see that stuff.”
