JAGUARS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR HEATH FARWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
On K Ryan Santoso
HEATH FARWELL: I knew that question was coming. Yeah, he’s doing a good job. He’s doing a really good job. But the reality is every single one of these guys are competing against all these other rosters. We’re going to keep taking a look across the league. Right now he’s our guy, and let’s see what he does with it. He’s going to get a lot of opportunities today. He’ll get all of them. He’ll get off the kickoffs today as well as on the preseason game this week. We’ll see what he does with it.
Right now what’s working in Ryan’s favor? What’s he doing that you like the most, both in terms of field goal, extra point team and kickoff?
HEATH FARWELL: He’s got elite leg strength. That’s hard to find across this league with not only kickoffs but field goals, as well. Great leg strength, accuracy is improving. He’s doing a good job for us, so we’re happy where he’s at. Like I said, let’s see where he goes with it. I think he’s had a really good camp, and he’s put some good stuff on tape, and like I said, I love what Elliott was doing. They had a great competition, but unfortunately the situation is what it is. But let’s see what Ryan can do with it.
This has got to be the tallest kicker-holder combination in the NFL, right?
HEATH FARWELL: Absolutely. They’re giants. They’re giants. They look like they could play other positions on the field. That’s a good thing. I’d rather have that with the leg strength both those guys have. That’s a big part of their size for sure.
Last week you gave a couple of young guys some love for the work they’ve been doing on special teams. It looked like on Monday night the guys were getting after it a little bit in some of those drills. Did anybody else catch your attention and start to earn that trust from you?
HEATH FARWELL: They all improved, whether it’s those young rookies or some of the veterans. We had some good competitions out there. We had 11 guys reach their all-time max speeds, and that’s just not this season, that’s the last two years. I think that’s a credit to those guys. They’re working, practicing really, really hard, competing. That’s what we’re looking for, who’s going to compete. That was under the lights. That was a cool atmosphere. But guys are starting to really feel that pressure, and that’s — we want to see what they perform under pressure. Yeah, we had some great battles. Some of the young players, Josh Thompson did a good job, Montaric has done a good job. Those guys are all really stepping their game up, trying to prove they can play on Sundays for us. Those are two guys right there that I think have really stepped it up and they’re coming along really nicely.
Looked like Tyrell Adams and Chapelle Russell were getting after it on Monday night. What do you like about those guys out there?
HEATH FARWELL: Yeah, Deuce and KC had some good battles, TA, those guys are battling. That’s the reality of this team is there’s 90 guys out here now, and we’re going to get down to 53 here real quick in the next couple weeks. It’s a matter of they’re feeling that, and that’s a good thing. That’s a really good thing. They understand the urgency of it, and so guys are battling, but I think the best part is they battle out there in that one-on-one drill and you saw some tensions, all that good stuff, some good competition, and then we go to a punt drill and they have to work right next to each other and communicate and they were helping each other, and that’s what the team is about. We can compete against each other, get each other better, then we’re having to punt and I’m having to work with the guys right next to me as a guard or a tackle or a wing and I have to work with him and communicate with him and be on the same page.
Jamal Agnew has been working his way back, but when he’s healthy does a kick returner have such a thing as a green light to return at any time he wants? Do you believe in that? Does that exist? HEATH FARWELL: I love it. When you have a guy like him back there, as far as I’m concerned, I trust him to make good decisions depending on that hangtime. But yeah, I’m going to give him the green light. He’s a guy that I trust, making great decisions. He’s shown to be an elite returner in this league for a long time. Yeah, we’re lucky to have him, and he’ll definitely have the green light to bring him out.
There’s always something you have to worry about, but how comforting is it when you have the punter and the kicker and you don’t have to worry about those guys?
HEATH FARWELL: That’s huge, and I would also add the snapper. Those are the three positions that — those guys, to have a solid group you can trust is so valuable, so I can worry about the other guys. I have a million other positions I’ve got to worry about even just even in the preseason of getting 11 on the field, which is such a tough task for special teams coaches at times because there’s so many guys up and down and rosters and all that. To be able to trust those guys to do their jobs every single time and then I can focus on the coverage units a little more and punt protection, all those little details, it’s so valuable.
Can you do some things on punt coverage based on the fact that Ross is down there sometimes? He’s kind of sneaky and getting involved in getting downfield after he makes a snap. HEATH FARWELL: Yeah, some of these other guys on punt team would probably be sad to hear this, but Ross is leading our team in tackles in the preseason. He’s a fantastic cover guy down the field. We don’t do anything different as far as our coverage, but I think it’ll affect other teams. They’re going to have to account for him. A lot of times you get those snappers run free and just to have your returners make him miss, that doesn’t happen with Ross. It’s something they’re going to have to game plan and be aware of where he’s at and probably have to put a body on him like you do the other linebackers and interior guys.
To be clear, when you talk about those guys reaching max speed, you’re talking about guys on coverage down the field?
HEATH FARWELL: Yes, and that drill we did the other night, that one-on-one drill, we had 11 guys reach their all-time max of the last two years, so that just shows you the ability to compete, where our guys are at physically going into this camp. I think it shows what they’re realizing what it’s going to take to not only make this team but to also make this team get better is the way we have to practice. I think that’s super important. It’s something I don’t take lightly. I think it’s something that we can’t miss as a group, and it’s something we’re kind of celebrating, that this is what it’s going to be to take us to where we want to go.
Gunners in a lot of the special teams units tend to lean toward those defensive depth positions, but are any of those backup receivers in the conversation for some of these gunner spots and different spots on special teams?
HEATH FARWELL: Yeah, we have a couple young receivers that can do it. Tim Jones has done a good job out there. Kevin has done a good job. We have a couple guys that have stepped up to do it, and I know a lot of times it’s Rudy out there, it’s Claybrooks out there, but those young guys are competing just as much, and they’re getting better. That’s the cool thing. I think we have a good group of depth at that gunner position that have all done really well, and you saw some of that the other night. But even in the preseason games they’ve done a good job out there.
Joint practices next week; how beneficial are those for your special teams unit? HEATH FARWELL: I think they’re huge. There’s so much we can’t do just because of depth. We’re having these guys run down the field, a million reps just because you wear them out. They can’t run, and scout teams it’s tough for. So to be able to compete against another group, it’ll be fantastic to compete. You saw the competing the other night. Well, it’ll be even more when you’re competing against another jersey color. I think it’ll be a great test for our guys and a young team, that’s what you need. Let’s see what they do versus another team. It’s another kind of preseason game-ish to kind of evaluate.
Do you have to pay close attention to a depth chart, not the special teams depth chart but the offensive and defensive depth chart to know, okay, I love this guy on special teams but he might not make the team?
HEATH FARWELL: Yeah, I don’t necessarily look at the depth chart, but we have great communication between all three coordinators, and Trent and Doug, as well, of who they like, who I like, and kind of work together on it because it does factor in. If it’s somebody that Press likes, then I’d better give him some more reps to see what he can do for me, and vice versa. We work really well together. If somebody I like, well, he’d better probably look at him more at a certain position on offense. Those are things we look at all the time. That’s what good staffs will do is communicate and try to get those guys in those positions, and it’s part of evaluation.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
Doug talked about this week being sort of like a normal game plan week. How do you look at it from an offensive perspective, and just talk a little bit about Trevor Lawrence and what you want to see out of him this week.
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, certainly you get a little closer, and more so I think what coach is referring to is we get into more of the game planning process. We spend the day doing kind of normal down-and-distance stuff, but at the same time that gets tough because you’re still technically in camp mode, so we’re spending a lot of time scripting these practices, and right now like today’s practice is against the Jaguars’ defense, so we’re doing some different stuff install-wise, not necessarily geared towards the Pittsburgh game plan. That’s kind of a fine line of you’re not necessarily game planning for your opponent like you would in a normal week, which is — it makes it fun, it makes it tough, because the guys then you’re trying to within a couple days cram through hey, here’s their defense, show video clips, build all this of here’s what you’re going to play on Saturday, but we need to go have a good practice today and continue to work on things that we want to work on as an offense and work through that. But as far as Trevor has handled that all really well. Sometimes it’s a little unfair. You don’t get all these live reps of things, but we ask you to do into a game and now you’re seeing a different coverage than you’ve seen for the last two weeks with limited reps against it. But that’s kind of the training camp or the preseason really, it’s your standard operating procedure of here’s how we do things, here’s plays we’ve put in since day one that we know the ins and outs of. Now, maybe it’s not perfect against this coverage, but we want to see you go find a completion or work through your progression right here on this type of play. He’s done a good job handling all that.
Have you decided if you like the booth or the field yet for you in terms of play calling?
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, we may still work through it a lot, but I do like being upstairs in the box a little bit. I can spread everything out, I can clear my mind a little bit more. It’s quiet, it’s calm up there. I enjoy being up there. I’ll probably be up there again this week and continue to feel it out and do what’s right for us.
What did you see from Trevor in terms of the game against the Browns, and where do you want to see him progress against the Steelers this week?
PRESS TAYLOR: What I really liked was just the communication and the operation of everything. There were no pre-snap penalties, everything got off clearly. They communicated really well as a unit, the ones all did, and functioned well, and then you want to continue to see all the details. The ball security in the pocket, the ball handling with the running backs, the little details in their footwork of things we’re working through. There’s even some plays that we’re not sure we love yet, but it’s like, well, this is the time to call them and see what they look like and work out the kinks of some things. So there’s been some of that going on.
But you just want to see them continue to play faster, continue to master the details, be a great communicator, find completions and be accurate with the football. That’s what we’ve continued to see with him since the day we got here for training camp through today.
If he’s going to work out the kinks in some things next week going to Atlanta for those joint practices, how important is that for the offense to kind of be able to put those guys in some situations that may not come up during the preseason that you want to see?
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, those are huge. We really get a lot out of the joint practices of being able to control the environment, control the situation, but then see your guys really compete. It gets amped up a little bit when they’re going to go against a different opponent than they have regularly, so guys get fired up to do that, and just work through the whole process. Tt’s a good experience getting a chance to work with those, and a lot of it falls on the head coaches. If you go and have — if you’re working with a team that they have a good culture in their building then you’re going to get a lot out of those practices.
Do you evaluate Trevor differently when he’s going against that different defense that isn’t structured like the Jags that he’s been seeing for weeks on weeks on weeks?
PRESS TAYLOR: I wouldn’t say you evaluate him differently, but you definitely probably — I would say you maybe put a little bit more stock into it just because, all right, he got really comfortable against these guys, we know what they do, we know what we’re trying do against them, then all of a sudden it’s a different opponent, and can he still go through the same process and things like that.
Any concerns about the backups? They seemed to struggle in the fourth quarter.
PRESS TAYLOR: No. Again, you haven’t schemed everything up and tried to put everybody in the best possible position at all times through these preseason games. I wouldn’t say there’s concern from the depth. We do expect when the backups go into the game to meet the standard that we have as an offense, so when the ones go out and score three times and we don’t score the rest of the game, obviously that’s frustrating for all of us. There’s a number of issues with that, but we feel like we have the depth here to contribute.
Obviously you look at the whole roster, not just your offense but the entire team. When you see the defense, what it looked like when you took the job and you see the one now that’s been upgraded both through the draft and free agency, how different is it in your mind?
PRESS TAYLOR: Well, I got to play against this defense, the personnel, twice last year, and we had a tough time with them when I was in Indy last year. The defense came to play both times and played really well against us, so I had a lot of respect for the unit they’ve already had, and obviously we added some key pieces and we’re excited to see how they all gel and play together. But yeah, we have ultimate confidence in our defense. They’ve done a great job. They obviously challenge us every single day, so we know how good they can be.
Do you have a feel for if you’ll have James Robinson for the opener at this point?
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, we just continue to work with whatever they tell us. So however much he’s able to do today. He’s limited; he’s not allowed in contact periods but he can do everything else, or he can be in this period, he’s going to wear the orange jersey. Each day we continue to progress on that, and they give us the ideal timeline and things like that, but right now we just continue to work day by day with him and whenever he’s ready to go we’ll use him the best we can.
When he comes back do you have to be careful to not overload him early?
PRESS TAYLOR: Again, they’ll kind of tell us that, whenever he’s full go, and he is full go, that means he can play every single snap, then we’ll roll there. If they tell us he needs to be on a pitch count, then that’s how we’ll operate as we go. We’ll just continue to go with the advice of the training staff.
How about Jamal Agnew? I know Heath just said he’s got the green light in terms of returner. What is the status on the offensive side of the ball?
PRESS TAYLOR: Same deal. We’re going to continue to mix him in with us, and he’s one of those guys that we’re going to continue to try to find a role for just because we know he’s going to have a jersey on game day, and he’s got a special skill set that we want to be able to utilize. We’ll continue to mix him in with the offense, see what he’s comfortable with. Obviously, he hasn’t done a lot for us full speed up until recently, so we want to continue to work him into that where we can put him in position to utilize his skill set, but not put him out of the realm of what we expect from him.
Where are you at on the right tackle battle? When do you anticipate to make a decision? How are you feeling about those guys so far?
PRESS TAYLOR: I think it’s a great position to be in because both those guys have played so well. They continue to push each other. For the foreseeable future we’ll just continue to rotate those guys and see — right now they’re pushing each other and making each other better, so it’s a good problem to have, and we’ll just continue that process until we need to make a decision on that.
What has Zay Jones shown you the last week or so in the game and then in practice on Monday it seemed like he stepped up a little bit?
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, I feel like Zay has done that since he’s been here. When he came here, he was all in. He knows, we were actually talking the other day about certain concepts. I asked him what he liked in certain things, and he said, I like this concept. I said, I haven’t installed that concept yet. He goes, I know; when I got the playbook when I got here, I was reading through it all and saw this one and I thought it was cool. He’s a guy that he’s been all in since the day he got here. He was all in on building relationships. He’s all in on competing in practice. He’s all in on just maximizing his ability. That’s what we knew about him when we brought him in. He has not disappointed from that standpoint. He’s got a lot of flexibility. The other night we actually played him in the slot more than he has been. We told him the day before, hey, Christian is not going to go; we’re going to move you in here. He said all right, great. He knew everything without missing a beat. The first play of the game obviously has an explosive play when we put him back outside, and the cool thing about that really wasn’t a play — we had never repped that full speed, so that was just — that’s the beauty of preseason. Normally in a week you’d get that play five, six, seven times, work it out. We kind of just said, hey, we want to do this. They both, Trevor and Zay, were like, we haven’t really thrown that, and we’re like, well, let’s get it in pregame. You don’t have to run it but I want to see the throw and we’ll call it good. They went out and were able to execute. That’s just kind of those two being on the same page, being able to work things out and trust in one another, that he’s going to throw this ball where I need it to be, and he’s going to be where I need to throw this.
Have you been surprised by how quickly Zay and Trevor have been able to develop that chemistry? PRESS TAYLOR: No, I don’t think so. Just because of the character of who they are. They’re both great communicators. I’ve mentioned that a couple of times with some of the guys we’ve brought in and the way they all communicate, because again, nothing is going to replace the on-field reps they get together, but the way they communicate really kind of eats up that gap, I guess, of what they’ve been missing for on-field timing.
So they see things the same way. They communicate really well together and they’ve been able to kind of work together from that standpoint.
Did it feel to good to be able to get a full look at Travis Etienne during the game?
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, and again, we’ve had tons of live periods out here. We’ve had tons of competitive periods against our defense, so we have a good feel for what he’s capable of, what he’s going to be really good at. We’re trying to test him and put him in different situations to see. We have a vision for he’s going to be great at this run from the gun, this run from under, do this. But we want to challenge him. We may not think this is where we want to be later in the season, but right now let’s do it and let’s see how good we can get at it so we can introduce it into the season earlier.
Do you think that was a game he kind of needed to play in just to shake a little bit of rust off or get adapted back to game speed?
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, I don’t think it hurts definitely to get used to the speed of the game, get used to taking hits things like that. Now, coach has done a great job of introducing these live periods, which they feel pretty close to games, so I think that has kind of introduced those guys to that speed and that physicality a little bit, and these games haven’t been as drastic of a change from practice.
Have you felt like there’s almost been I don’t want to say a camp wall when it comes to the interior run game, but I know during the game, there were some struggles during practice Monday night, to try to get in between the tackles going? Any idea? Have you picked up on that at all?
PRESS TAYLOR: No. Again, that kind of comes down to scheming your opponent and being able to hit that. It’s not easy to get the run game going. There’s a lot of guys, there’s really 11 guys that have to be in sync with it. Different than the pass game. Pass game, maybe one or two guys gets open, the ball gets thrown and everything looks good, where in the run game you’ve really got to be a coordinated unit. You really want to sync that up and talk about, all right, we’re putting this motion with this run; to have the defense respond this way, you’re going to be able to do this. Where maybe in the preseason you don’t quite as much time getting to do that and scheming your opponent, but I feel like we’ve had good success in practices of being able to run between the tackles whenever we’ve had some of those dialed up runs.
Will Richardson back?
PRESS TAYLOR: Will is still working with the training staff a little bit.
How unique is it to have a guy like Evan Engram and talk about what he did against the Browns last week.
PRESS TAYLOR: Yeah, Evan obviously has a unique skill set as a tight end just with the speed element. Played a lot of receiver even in college and has kind of been that guy in his career. But I think the most encouraging thing with Evan is Evan is a very willing blocker. He’s a very capable blocker. He does a good job of putting his face in there and being targeted on the right spot and things like that. We’ve tried to find ways that, again, we can utilize him, be aware of what we’re putting on film for the defense, making sure he’s in all sorts of spots and everything marries. But he’s definitely a different maker in terms of the speed he has at the tight end position.
As an offensive coordinator when you look at a lot of the top guys on this unit at least pass catching wise, Evan Engram, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, a lot of those guys have had some success, but it hasn’t been necessarily consistent or maybe the level of success you’ll need this year if the offense is going to be really good. Does that put extra weight on your shoulders or do you look at some of these guys
and say, I don’t know how he hasn’t put up numbers like this in his career yet but we know he will this year?
PRESS TAYLOR: No, I think a lot of it is whether it’s free agency or the draft, you’re evaluating a skill set, and so we are able to see what we envision a role being for this guy, and we feel like it’s our job as an offensive staff to maximize their abilities and put them in position where they’re going to succeed well. Not saying they haven’t been in those positions in the past, but again, we’re not as concerned with what they did in the past. It’s what they’re going to do for us here in this position and how we’re going to utilize them and the things we’re asking them to do. So far been very excited about the group we have, and the expectations we have for them are high.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE CALDWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
Do you start getting on edge that LB Devin Lloyd hasn’t been on the field yet or are you confident with the mental reps he’s been able to take?
MIKE CALDWELL: Yeah, right now we’re just listening to the training staff and letting him take care of his body and working through the injury, and when he’s back, he’s back, but standing on the sideline, getting the mental reps, working with him in the film room, he’ll be ready when it’s time.
So your expectation is he’ll be ready to go by Week 1?
MIKE CALDWELL: Can’t put a timeline on it, but we’re hoping that he continues to progress, and then the mental part of it and then the physical part will take care of itself.
What little steps have you seen from OLB Travon Walker over the last few weeks just in his moves, development, everything?
MIKE CALDWELL: You see it mainly in the run game right now. You see the physical part of it, him getting off blocks, setting blocks and setting the edge for us, and then in the pass game you see the talent. You see the toolbox start to expand. So he’s progressing.
How is Tyson Campbell progressing for you?
MIKE CALDWELL: You look at him, he’s outside. He’s really locked down for us right now. He’s out there handling the techniques, showing leadership skills in the back end. He’s doing a great job.
Do you ever travel him or do you like in your scheme to keep guys kind of where they are? MIKE CALDWELL: Really it’s game-by-game, week-by-week. If we need to, we can, but we feel comfortable on both sides with the guys we have, and we just take care of each team weekly.
Could Tyson have that potential to be that guy? Could he grow to get to the point where he’s always going to be on the opponent’s best receiver?
MIKE CALDWELL: Really with him and Shaq back there together, depending on the match-up and the receiver we’re going against, one guy might like this guy better or match up against this one, so both guys can really be able to travel. Same with D-Will.
Does Tyson seem like he’s able to cover the big guy or the shifty guy? Are you seeing a versatile player that can cover all kinds of receivers?
MIKE CALDWELL: That’s what you see in him. You see the versatility he’s able to play outside, play inside, big receiver, small receiver. He can really cover any type of receiver he needs to, but right now we’ll just focus on letting him play left and right and then if we need to we can have him travel.
What did you see from Arden Key and has he been better than you expected with him coming in? MIKE CALDWELL: He really has. You saw him early on in his career, he developed, and you just see that he’s really an exceptional pass rusher. He runs games well. He communicates well with the other D linemen, and his leadership really as far as pre-practice, working on moves, working on hand placements, talking a game in the meeting rooms, he’s a leader really.
Have you noticed him coaching up some of the younger guys during one-on-ones, kind of telling them some moves, and do you like to see that from your veteran players?
MIKE CALDWELL: Oh, all day long, yeah. Any time that you’re a veteran and you’ve been through it and you’ve seen it, whether you’re going against a lineman that you’ve played in your division in the past or just someone, a lineman on our team. Anything you notice from them expands your knowledge and helps the young guys understand what you’re looking for and just helps them grow.
Most defensive coordinators are kind of like stop-the-run-first type of guys. How much has the acquisition of Foley Fatukasi and Foye Oluokun done to help you run the defense? MIKE CALDWELL: It’s really leadership. Leadership on the front level, leadership on the second level. Those two guys, they’ve played in the league, been successful in the league, and they’ve kind of instilled in us that what we try to stress. They’re going to be physical in the run game and communicate out there and just be good for the whole defense.
What is it about their skill set? Obviously Foye being the leading tackler in the NFL last year isn’t always a good sign. You don’t necessarily want the leading tackler. Could you talk about what their skill sets bring to help fortify your ability to stop the run?
MIKE CALDWELL: When you talk about him and his skill set, it starts with the mental part of it. He’s able to communicate and get all 11 on the same page and let the defense run smoothly because of him standing back there.
Talk about him leading the NFL in tackles, well, you do want it but you don’t want it. You want to share the wealth, let the D-line have some tackles, but you need a guy back there to be able to erase mistakes, and he’s doing that for us and we’re happy for it.
Foley, it’s just he’s a big run stopper with pass rush ability, so that’s really a plus for him. He’s able to help us in the run game and also push the pocket and create some pass rush inside.
When it’s time to get after the quarterback, you have Arden Key and Dawuane Smoot on the inside, Walker and Allen on the outside. How comfortable are you with that pass rush unit? MIKE CALDWELL: Really we’ve got plenty of depth as far as getting after the quarterback. You have K’Lavon outside, we have Jamir, we have different guys that we can package. It’ll be a week-to-week package, but as long as you have guys that are intent on stopping the run and then getting after the quarterback, we’re happy with those guys.
Joint practices next week, how valuable are those and what do you like about them? MIKE CALDWELL: It’s good because the intensity raises up because you’re not going against your own team. You can see different looks. You’re out here, we’ve been practicing for the last couple of weeks against the same offense, and now it’s time to see a different offense. Week to week you’re going to see different offenses, so just understanding that we can tweak our system for whatever offense we’re going against, and this will be really the third opportunity for us to see a different offense and be able to tweak it.
Is DT DaVon Hamilton someone you’ve seen elevate his game over camp?
MIKE CALDWELL: When you look at him, you watch the film, you see his presence in the middle along with Foley. He’s a big, powerful man, and his pass rush is something that you didn’t expect. You expect a nose to handle the middle, be a run stopper, get off the field, but he has pass rush ability, so yeah, we’re pleased.
Chad Muma, did you see him take a step from game to game?
MIKE CALDWELL: I think he improved, and that’s what you’re looking for week to week. He looked comfortable, got out there, made some plays. Just trusted his technique and went out there and performed.
How was it seeing Josh Allen and Travon Walker on the field together on Friday night? MIKE CALDWELL: It’s always good to have your edge rushers out there at the same time, and to see those guys, and they feed off each other after getting after the quarterback, yeah, it was good to see them out there.
JAGUARS QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
(On the temperature of practice) “Oh yeah, it’s one of the hotter ones we’ve had. Especially after two nights ago being in the stadium at night it was a lot cooler. It’s good to have that day, it was a long day two days ago, and I thought we had a great practice, then come out today, bounce back after a day off to go for another long practice, a lot of competing. I thought offensively we came out a little slow. We found our spots here and there, but we’ve got to be a little more consistent. I thought the defense was really getting after it today. They were really flying around. They did a good job. Overall, it was a good day of competing. We’ve got to be a little sharper on offense, but it was good to see the guys finish that because it was a long one today.”
(On what is different about the defense compared to last year) “We’ve got a lot of talent everywhere— up front; linebackers that can move, that are really smart; our secondary is really good and pretty experienced now—all those things are contributing factors. Then our scheme is just really good. It’s tough. It makes it tough on the offense, you see so many different looks, especially in practice. Usually before a game, you game plan and you know exactly or pretty much what a team is going to do, but in practice you see so many different looks, you just kind of have to be ready for all of it, so some days, we’re catching some huge plays and sometimes they’re getting us on these blitzes. So just trying to pick those up. We’ll have a lot of great film to correct from today.”
(On what he knows now about being an NFL quarterback that he didn’t know at this time last year) “I could go on and on, there’s a ton of stuff. I’d say not scheme-wise, there’s just so much X’s and O’s that I could talk about, but just from a day to day perspective, not getting caught up in what happened today or yesterday and really just zoom-focus in on tomorrow and what’s next. I think that’s the biggest thing. We play a 17-game season. You don’t have any time to dwell on the last game. I think that’s something I learned throughout last year and even every day out here in training camp. You’re going to have good days, not so good days, and really just be able to correct that and get the best of it and move on.”
(On what he has seen from CB Tyson Campbell) “I think just all around the board physically, I think he’s always been a freak physically. Even that, it looks like he’s gotten, it looks like stronger, a little bit faster, this offseason then just looking at his football IQ and the way he reads through plays. We had a play the other night in the scrimmage where it looks like man then he ends up falling off last second and we had a sail, an out route almost picked it at the fourth down, you guys probably saw that one. Just the kind of stuff that he does, the little things. He’s playing with some more swag to him this year. It’s fun to watch. He’s done great. When you have a corner like that that can cover anyone and has great instincts, he’s going to be great.”
(On what is to be accomplished before the start of the regular season) “So many things. Obviously the majority of the offense is in. We’re always adding wrinkles, but as far as our scheme, it’s in. So it’s just mastering that with all the guys. All the timing and anticipation, talking through all the adjustments, watching the film, making the minor tweaks, but the mindset doesn’t change. We’re not going to be practicing quite as long or as much, but still, we have a ton of practices before September 11, and we’ve got to make all of them count. We know we want to be prepared obviously when that day comes.”
(On the expectation to make a second-year jump under a different system) “I don’t know. I don’t really know how to answer that. I would say that for me, I want to make a jump because that’s going to help this team win. Like I’ve said before, if the quarterback doesn’t play well, you’re not going to win many games, so in order for us to get where we want to be come January, we’re going to have to play well, so I’m excited to have that opportunity. I think this system offers that, and we’ve got a lot of answers, got a great scheme, and obviously we’ve got talent everywhere, especially receiver, tight end, running back, up front the guys have been playing great, so I’m excited to really see what we can do this year.”
(On the joint practices next week in Atlanta) “Yeah, I think it’s going to be great. I don’t know if we get two or three days up there, but I think that’ll be great work. I’ll see one of my former teammates AJ Terrell, a really good corner. I’m excited just for us, like you said, to get to compete against someone else. It’s great out here competing against one another, but it gives you a little bit of a taste of when the season comes, then obviously we play them that weekend, too, so it’ll be fun to be up there, change scenery, and get that work in for a couple days.”
(On seeing RB James Robinson easing back into practice) “It’s great to see him back, it seems like so quick. Obviously that’s not an easy injury, and to see how’s he’s rehabbed and worked so hard to get back, it’s nice to see him out here with the team, and we’re all excited to have him back. That’s the type of player he, the type of person he is, too, just brings that calm presence into the huddle. Really quiet confidence. He’s really fun to be around.”
(On how big it will be to have RB James Robinson back out there) I think it’s great. When you look at our running back room, the more depth you have, that’s a demanding, physical position, you need to have a few guys, and we’ve got more than a few. To have those guys back there, especially is James ends up making it back, that just gives us more and more weapons, and we were able to see what he could do his rookie year and even last year fighting through a little bit of injury, so just excited to have him back fully healthy, that’d be great.”
(On the Madden game that came out Friday) “I like it. I don’t really play it much. I don’t really play video games. I used to play it a little bit. I haven’t played it since I’ve been in the league, though. A little bit (hearing guys on the team talking about ratings). I haven’t heard anyone yet talk about it. Did the ratings just come out or something? I guess not, then. It depends. Some guys kind of look into that stuff.”
(On how they bounce back from a practice that isn’t as good as they want) “We were just talking about how many different looks you see from our defense. It’s really good for us because you see every look, so in a game if they throw something at you that you didn’t game plan for, you’ve already seen it on the practice field, so from that standpoint it’s great, but it can be tough when you get in these periods where you’re working third and medium to long every play and you’re seeing every different type of pressure known to man, you can’t really game plan for it because they have everything in. Honestly, that’s just kudos to them for dialing it up today. They got us on a few. Just being able to watch that tape and all of us watch it together, talk about how we’re going to protect it, what are our route adjustments, but also protection-wise what would we rather be in versus certain looks, so the more you can get of that the better. That’s just going to help us, but yeah, it wasn’t our sharpest day offensively, but that’s what I was just saying. That’s one thing I’ve learned, you’ve got to be focused on the next day, not worry about what just happened, what happened yesterday, really focus on the next one.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed OLB Wyatt Ray, the club announced today.
Ray spent portions of the 2022 offseason with the Jaguars and has appeared in 19 career games (two starts) and recorded 15 tackles and 2.0 sacks with the Titans (2020) and Bengals (2021). In 2021, he played in 15 games and posted 14 tackles for Cincinnati.
Ray played four years collegiately at Boston College (2015-18) and totaled 114 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 17.0 sacks, including a career-best 44 tackles en route to Third-Team All-ACC honors as a senior in 2018. The Boca Raton, Fla. native attended St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) High School.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have released DT Malcom Brown, the club announced today.
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