JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
(On what he has seen from QB Trevor Lawrence and what he can improve on) “I thought he did a nice
job with some of our run-pass, kill, alerts, checks, things like that, managing the game that way. I
thought his vision was good down the field. The nice, deep throw to Christian (WR Christian Kirk) is what
I’m thinking of there. Some of the things he can fix is just get through the progression a bit sooner,
maybe throw the ball away a little quicker, maybe take those hits off of him, things like that.”
(On how he handles his QB when there have been a couple incomplete passes in a row) “You don’t shy
away from anything but maybe try to find a completion that is a little bit easier to find. Run the football,
play action pass, something to get them on the move, things like that to maybe get him into a rhythm,
up tempo. A lot of teams will try to do a little up tempo to try to get their quarterback to settle down or
at least get into a rhythm.”
(On if there are any regrets on not getting the ball to RB James Robinson and RB Travis Etienne Jr. more)
“Not really. When you look at the game and how it kind of unfolded, we had opportunities to hit those
guys even in the passing game to make plays. First opening drive of the game, we just missed Travis in
the endzone. Missed him on a fourth down. Those are touches. Those are opportunities to put the ball
in their hands. I’m a believer, too, that you throw to score in this league, and you run to win. We did
some things, put ourselves in position to score at least 17 in the first half.”
(On if there is any kind of pass-run balance they try to have) “No, but we monitor it during the game. I’m
big on keeping run-pass ratios. All play callers and offensive coordinators are, just to make sure we’re
staying as balanced as we can. I probably lean more toward the P and 10 stuff, the first down, the first
and 10 stuff, just staying away from indicators there, potentially earn first downs. Things like that.”
(On if it’s hard to keep the run game going given the league’s trend to more passing, especially when the
team falls behind) “I think it can, but I never felt, even during the game, that we were out of it. We just
hurt ourselves with penalties and mistakes, illegal formations, and these are things we don’t do. That
was kind of our bread and butter during the week in practice, was using some unique formations trying
to set up some play-action, set up some runs, and we just boneheaded those things, and we can’t do it.
That’s really what set us back in the game.”
(On the sting of the loss) “They should all sting. You’ve heard the phrase, ‘You should hate losing more
than you like to win,’ especially when it’s self-inflicted. I can handle a loss if we get beat, right. Both
good games, it goes back and forth, comes down to the end, and you get beat. When you make the
mistakes that we did, the amount of mistakes on both sides of the ball, it’s harder on your stomach.
Listen, it’s Week 1. We’ve got a young football team that’s eager to get back on the practice field and
correct a lot of those mistakes.”
(On if he tries to simplify anything going forward given the struggles in the red zone) “I think you can run
the ball more down there. You get down there, the field is a little more restricted, lanes are tighter, it’s
more of that touchdown checkdown mentality, ball out of your hand, and it’s just a matter of being on
the same page. We’ve just got to continue to work at it and get better at it and still find ways to get our
playmakers in positions to make plays.”
(On if he senses that QB Trevor Lawrence is still a bit uncomfortable trusting things around him in
games) “No, I think he trusts the things around him. We’ve talked about this before, it’s semi-new, and
he’s still learning, and this is the first time in a while, and each week kind of becomes a new week in the
sense of he’s working with these guys day in and day out. Now we’re down to the 53, down to the 48,
down to the 11 on offense or so, or 21, 22 on offense. These are now the guys that we’re working with.
We’ve just got to make sure that we’re all on the same page. Keep working with the skill guys, the backs,
tight ends, and continue to push through, but he trusts us as coaches, and we’re going to put them in
great positions, then he ultimately, bottom line, has to go perform.”
(On how much he has changed QB Trevor Lawrence’s game prep this year) “He’s always studied the tape
and just kind of listening to him verbalize way back in the spring his process and stuff, and it’s our job to
help him take it to another level, what to study, how to study it, build cut-ups for him that he can look at
at home, get with his receivers, get with the offensive line during the week, just show him those types of
things he can help himself and help the team win. Those are all ways that we’ve done. It’s great having a
guy like C.J. (QB C.J. Beathard), too, a veteran quarterback, who’s been around it and kind of knows how
to do it and can help show him the way.”
(On if he sticks with his two-back game plan or lean toward one if he is hot once the game gets going)
“Obviously if there’s a hot running back or receiver, you try to maybe find more ways in the game plan
to try to keep getting them the football. If they’re both still in the game plan and you’re still looking for
ways to move the football, then you keep them both going, but I thought in the second half where
Christian (WR Christian Kirk) became the hot hand so to speak in the passing game. Evan’s (TE Evan
Engram) targets started to increase a little bit, and really, James (RB James Robinson) and Travis (RB
Travis Etienne Jr.) were still pretty hot. You just continue to find ways to get these guys the ball.”
(On the high number of penalties in the game) “That was a shock to me. I thought during preseason we
kept those to a minimum, especially with the starters. You look at the film, and we sent some in to get
some clarification on and see, but we’ve got to do better. The guys understand that. It’s too many.
You’ve got to keep that number down, five, six at the most. They can cost you games.”
(On how it will feel going against Colts Head Coach Frank Reich) “It’s always fun to go against coaches
that I’ve worked with and have a relationship with. Frank’s a great guy, great coach, what he’s done
there in Indianapolis. They’ve built a championship and a playoff team. It’ll be good to see him, but as
we know, when it tees off, kick it off, we’re on the other side, and we’re trying to beat each other. It’s a
lot of fun. A lot of respect for him.”
(On if there was a point he knew that Frank Reich would be a head coach one day) “Yeah, it’s
interesting, because when Mike McCoy (Jaguars current quarterbacks coach) was the head coach, he
was Mike’s coordinator, then things changed there, and I was able to get him in Philly. Frank just has
that demeanor. He’s got a head coach demeanor. He’s kind of got the quiet strength. He’s a patient guy.
He kind of leads more by example. He’s been around this league a long time, played in this league a long
time. He knew back then how to lead our offense to a championship, and now he’s trying to do that in
Indy.”
(On looking at the Colts’ tape from last week) “That’s kind of their game. Everything is going to run
through Jonathan (RB Jonathan Taylor) and through that offensive line, and everything else comes off of
that. Just watching that game and how they kind of got on track in the second half, that’s who they are.
It’s just like on defense with Gus Bradley (Defensive Coordinator), it’s who they are. You know exactly
where they’re going to be, and they do it extremely well. They run the ball extremely well, and they play
defense well, so it’s a good test for our guys. You’ve got to stay disciplined with a group like this. We’ve
got to be better up front, D-line, in our gaps against the run, and linebackers have to have vision, and
you have to get your safeties and corners involved in tackling, and we’ve got to be better there because
obviously we weren’t on Sunday.”
(On what he thinks of the secondary after Sunday’s game) “They were good, not great. There was some
communication issues back there that cost them big plays, explosive plays in the game, things that we
were able to show them on tape on Monday and fix, and as we move forward early in the season and
iron some of these things out. It just comes down to you’ve got to lock in for that one play and be on
point and never let your guard down.”
(On if Sunday’s game validated what a good complementary running back system he has) “More than
anything it solidified who James Robinson (RB) is for us. I’ve seen him on tape, but we didn’t really see
him much in preseason other than practice late. What he was able to do excited you moving forward,
and we knew what TJ (RB Travis Etienne Jr.) is and was because of his ability to play in preseason. It’s
good to have two different runners like that, mix your run game up, mix the play-action pass game up,
screen game or whatever it might be with two guys like that.”
(On if he felt like CB Tyson Campbell had good coverage on Washington’s game-winning touchdown)
“Yeah, I thought he was—heck of a throw and a catch—but I thought he was right there to make that
play, and credit them. They made it, and Tyson was there, and I know he feels bad for not making that
play, but it’s going to make him better in those situations. I thought he overall played well and did some
good things in the game.”
(On looking forward to his first home game at TIAA Bank Field) “Oh, yeah. Certainly. We practice here
every day with no fans in the stands, so it will be nice to get them out there. We saw what it was like in
the preseason, but I think with a full stadium and a division opponent coming in here, it’s going to be
exciting.”
(On if he looks back at how the Jaguars have defeated the Colts at home several years in a row) “I don’t.
Our goal and focus is to be 1-0 this week, and that’s our focus. I know that’s their focus, and I don’t
worry about the past, that’s why they call it history.”
(On if he mentioned to the team that the Colts’ loss last year kept them out of the playoffs and that they
will be fired up this week) “You don’t have to. It’s an AFC South opponent. If you want to get to the
postseason, you’ve got to win your division games, and that’s probably more of the message right there,
understanding that. We know this is a good football team coming in here, and obviously they’re
disappointed just like we are, so it should be a great football game.”
(On if he looks back at the last Colts game) “No, it’s just a new scheme, move on.”
(On DL Folorunso Fatukasi playing on Sunday coming off of a calf injury) “Number one, he came out
healthy, a little sore, but he came out healthy and ready to go this week. I thought he did some really
good things in there. You can see some things, too, by not playing the last couple weeks that kind of
showed up that he can fix and correct and be better for it this week, but I thought overall, nice
performance by him and really gives us depth on that D-line.”
(On what it means to him coming out of Week 1 with no other injuries) “I feel for the guys in
Washington because they lost a few players in that game, and we just came away with a few bumps and
bruises. It just shows, credit to Cedric Scott (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) in the weight room
and leading the guys there, and our conditioning and how we came out of training camp. Just credit to
the guys for how they’ve conditioned their bodies to start the season.”
(On what he thinks of the Colts’ pass rush) “We know Yan (DE Yannick Ngakoue) is a great pass rusher.
DeForest Buckner (DT) is long at 6’7, 6’8 in the middle. These guys have a good first two-step get-off.
They play extremely tight to the line of scrimmage to the ball, and that’s something that we’ve got to be
aware of as we watch tape and prepare for the game is just controlling their front four. Not a blitz-heavy
team at all. You kind of know where they’re going to line up on defense, and they play it well. It’s a good
test for our offensive line. It’s a good group and guys that can and have gotten after the passer.”
(On types of problems a wide receiver like Michael Pittman Jr. can cause the Jacksonville secondary)
“That’s just it—size and strength and athleticism. He’s a big target. Matt (QB Matt Ryan) has always had
big targets when he was in Atlanta, guys like that, so he’s used to those guys running down the field
easier to find. Kind of put the ball in that direction and they tend to find it. Work’s cut out for us in the
back end. He’s a tremendous receiver. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, and our guys will be ready.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
(On the upcoming first home game of the regular season) “I’m pumped to be back home. Obviously,
those are the ones to really look forward to; to be back in our stadium, have our crowd here. It’s going
to be awesome. First one of the season, especially a division game, too. It’s a big one, anytime we play
the Colts or any team in our division, it’s a big game. So, it’s going to be really exciting.”
(On his performance on Sunday after reviewing film) “Looking back on it, I just lacked consistency. I think
from myself, from everyone really, just being more consistent around the whole offense, including
myself especially. I think you look at the red zone and that’s something where we had a lot of
opportunities and didn’t capitalize on them. Whether it was a missed throw, a drop, whatever it was, a
few things. Obviously, I’m in that as well with a missed throw. A couple of them that were missed, one
to Zay (WR Zay Jones) as well that was close, it probably missed a little bit wide. You look at all of those,
and everyone kind of sees that so those are obvious, but you just break down the game and you’re
kicking yourself because you had so many opportunities to win the game and you didn’t. That’s
frustrating, but to see how we started off really slow in the first half, offensively and defensively, then to
be able to flip it after halftime. Played really well pretty much until halfway through the fourth quarter
and then, we just got to finish, but, to see us battle back and just have that confidence. To go down two
scores but it didn’t really matter, we know we got what it takes to get back in the game. I thought that
was huge, but just keep building on that. Like I said, divisional game this week, these are really
important. We’re just moving on and getting ready for the Colts.”
(On the inconsistencies being due to a lot of newness this season) “I think that’s a little bit of it, but also,
that’s every team every year. You got new guys and you got to adjust, you got to make plays and that’s
just what it comes down to. We have the guys to make those plays so at the end of the day there’s really
no excuses, we just got to go make them. We missed some this week, but that’s why you get 16 more
opportunities to go do it. I’m excited. We’re taking it one game at a time. A good Colts team coming in
here this week and we feel really good about our plan so far.”
(On the franchise having a history of slow starts, how the team can get better early in the game) “I think
there’s a lot of factors. Every game is different, the way we started, we had a great drive. We got down
there and ended up kicking a field goal. You love to score touchdowns, and that’s when I missed the
throw to Travis (RB Travis Etienne Jr.). That’s one where we can look at and say, ‘Definitely should’ve got
seven here, just missed the throw.’ That’s on me, we can kind of chalk it up to that. But then, just
looking at the first half in general, I think just too many self-inflicted wounds. Making sure we come out
crisp and sharp, not making any mental errors, alignments, assignments, all the simple things that the
defense doesn’t affect and just making sure we’re sharp. I think that’s a big part of it.”
(On being hyped up versus calm before a game) “I think everyone, especially the opener, everybody is
excited and ready to play; you’ve been waiting the whole offseason for it. I try to keep my emotions
pretty level the whole game, obviously at times I get high and you get excited, you know at the end of
the game when we scored with James’s (RB James Robinson) touchdown, the pitch, that was awesome.
Everybody was pumped. Stuff like that, you get excited, but especially as a quarterback trying to stay
calm, even-keel. I don’t necessarily think it’s that, I just think overall we got to execute better. That’s
what it comes down to, myself and everybody else.”
(On if there’s excitement that the offense is looking the way that’s desired) “Definitely. You have to look
at the positives and the things that we did, I thought we had a great plan. I thought we had them
schemed up pretty good. You look at a lot of third downs, a couple missed throws, and then also a
couple batted balls at the line of scrimmage where a guy was in a stunt up front at the line of scrimmage
and jumped up when I threw. Twice at least, Christian (WR Christian Kirk) was wide open and it would’ve
been a conversion. You look at those things and it’s a positive, because it’s something you had that you
left out there. It’s also a negative because you left it out there. Just to see our guys winning consistently,
Marvin (WR Marvin Jones Jr.) did a great job, he didn’t get much love in the stats, but I thought he did a
great job getting open, winning his matchups. Our whole group of receivers does a good job with that.
We’re just going to keep building and getting better, we’ll hit those.”
(On the game against the Colts last year, how to stay focused for this year’s matchup) “Yeah, obviously
that’s how we finished the season. We talked about that leading into the year. That was a positive note,
something that the team last year could take into this season. But now, we’ve got a game under our
belt, we’ve kind of moved on. This is a different team, they’re a different team, different defensive
coordinator, all those things. We got a new head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator,
everything. You really just have to start over for every week, no matter who you’re playing. Especially a
divisional game with a bunch of coaching changes and personnel changers. We’re not really focusing on
that at all. That was last year. I’m sure that’s something that is a little fuel for them, but for us, we’re just
eyes-forward on how we can put the best plan together to go beat them this game and not really
focusing on the past or too far in the future.”
(On the conversation of Colts having motivation to win after last year’s loss) “I think that’s something
you know, especially playing a team in your division. Those are always circled, those six games, no
matter what it is. If it’s them playing here, we’re playing there, what part of the year it’s in, they’re
always important. Obviously, the way the game went last year I’m sure they’re going to be fired up for
this one, but it doesn’t change anything for us. We got to come out, play our game and execute, and
that’s what’s important.”
(On if the game week routine has changed from a year ago to now) “I think a little bit, the more I’ve
learned, how I like to watch film, my process, the way the week is laid out, and then also with a new
staff, how Coach Pederson and Press (Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor) like to have their meetings
with us during the week, the timing of that, it’s always a little bit different. Now we’re getting adjusted
to that and I feel really good. I felt last week we were clean in all our preparation stuff, felt ready.
Obviously, we had an extra week, so you should be at that point. I thought it was good and just put
another one together this week.”
(On the desire for a win and the amount of losses to this point) “Yeah, it’s frustrating. I don’t think it’s
good to compound all those from the past, but also, it’s important to win. That’s why we’re all here.
There’s a lot of excitement in the city and on this team, in the locker room. It comes to a point where
obviously we need to get a win, and this is a great place to start with a divisional game. The past is in the
past. Last week we had a chance to win that, and that’s frustrating, but you have to move on, take the
positives and learn from the negatives. We got a great opportunity this week. Obviously we need a win,
not because of the losses we’ve had in the past but because we started 0-1 last week and we got
another opportunity this week in the division to get a game, especially those two teams, they tied last
week, so this would be huge for us.”
(On thoughts RB Travis Etienne Jr. and RB James Robinson working together with different skill sets) “I
think this past game was a pretty cool look at what that combination could be. Different skill sets, but
also both of those guys can do whatever you need them to do. They have things that each one of them
are particularly good at, but when you need them, they can kind of do whatever, so that gives us a lot of
versatility in things that we can do, but just to see how they both impacted the game in different ways, I
think that gives everybody a good look at what they can do and what they bring to the table. It’s going
to be fun every week figuring out the best position to put them in to maximize the things that they can
do for us. Those guys are great and they’re going to help us a lot.”
(On what is most important when measuring progress) “I think it’s everything. Execution all across the
board, we had way too many third-and-longs, ten pluses. There were five or six of those. You got to stay
ahead of the chains, and then you look at red zone efficiency, not great. We came away one time with
no points and a couple field goals, so turning those into points. We could’ve had an eleven-point swing if
we score on the first drive and if we scored on the fourth-and-three on the goal line. That’s an eleven-
point swing right there that we gave them. Those are the obvious. Then you look at stuff that a lot of
people don’t see. It’s alignments, assignments, IDing things right. There’s always going to be a few of
those a game, but just how we can limit those. I think every week that should get better and as that
happens, we’ll continue to get better.”
(On if it’s hard to plan against this team compared to last year) “If you go back and look at the film, we
didn’t play perfectly. There’s going to be plays where there’s stuff that doesn’t go exactly how you
thought it would. But that’s the goal, you strive for that. You just try to take it one play at a time. That’s
all you can do. When whatever play is called, you just focus on your job, and that’s the message that it’s
always been. Everybody just focus on their job, don’t worry about the guy next to you doing his. If you
just focus on your job and get 11 guys going the same direction, that’s how you start, and you just put
that together. Who can do that more times throughout a game, that’s who usually wins.”
(On if the pass rusher got enough to affect the throw on the long pass to WR Marvin Jones Jr. last game)
“Yeah, he kind of clipped me a little bit and at the end of the day, I think I can still make that throw with
that presence there, so I got to make the throw. Yeah, it affected it a little bit, but that’s a play we’ve got
to make. That’s the one I was talking about when Marvin did a good job winning over the top, it
would’ve been a huge play for us on third down.”
(On the Colts defense this year versus last) “It’s changed a lot. Different D coordinator. It’s a lot of
looking at what Las Vegas did last year with the same scheme. They’re a simple group, they’re really
disciplined, they do their job, they do it well. They’re not trying to necessarily trick you. Third down
might be a different story, but just talking about base down. They’re really just disciplined, their front
does a nice job and obviously their linebackers are really talented. They’ve got some guys in the back:
Kenny Moore (CB), they got the rookie safety, Nick Cross, and then they just added Stephon Gilmore
(CB), so, they’ve got a lot of guys across the board. I think they’re a really sound defense, do a great job
of keeping everything in front of them. It’s going to be fun game planning and figuring out different
ways to attack them. I think we’ve got a good start right now.”
(On the Colts defensive line having long guys affects finding the passing lanes) “That’s something that is
important for me to understand, but also our guys up front, try to keep those arms down as much as
you can, but at the end of the day, you just got to go play and obviously they added a couple guys, but
we played against these guys last year. We kind of know their skillset, know what they can do, and the
issues they can create, so we’ll be ready.”
(On how the play calling changed the offense falling out of rhythm last game) “I thought Coach (Doug
Pederson) did a great job. You look at the ebbs and flows of the game, that’s what we always talk about.
Especially in the NFL where there’s going to be a lot of them. We go down, kick a field goal, opening
drive, move the ball down the field, great drive. They come back and score, we punt, they score again,
we’re down 14-3. Just the highs and lows and staying steady, that’s for the coaches as well. They did a
great job of just sticking to our plan, getting us back on track, and then getting us in a position to win the
game. Like I said, you got to go win it, but we were in position. That’s all you can ask for, and it’s exciting
for sure.”
(On if there’s been any interaction with Colts QB Matt Ryan) “Not much, I talked to him after the Atlanta
game for a second last year. Heard a lot of great things, but no, I don’t really know him too well.”
(On if he was an Atlanta Falcons fan being from Georgia) “Yeah, a little bit. Honestly, as a kid I wasn’t as
much of an NFL fan. I was big into college football, but definitely, the Falcons were a team I rooted for
just because it was 45 minutes down the road from me.”
(On how to avoid a ‘here we go again’ attitude in the locker room) “I think the guys have done a great
job and that’s not really something that’s been talked about. That’s not the thought process at all with
this team. It’s Wednesday now, I think we’ve all kind of moved on. It’s next week, and that’s what it’s
about. You’re not going to play perfect every week, and you’ve got to figure out a way to respond and
go play well the next week and go get a win. That’s the thought process with this team, and I think the
guys have done a great job.”
