JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
(On this week’s preparation) “They’re (the players) bought in. We’ve kind of gotten past that with this
team. Great energy, great focus, really, good practices, and that’s what you’ve got to have. We’re still
early in the year, but right now, guys are doing things extremely well. They’re taking from the classroom
to the practice field and executing the game plan on the field.”
(On if he is surprised in how quickly the team has grown) “Not really, because honestly, you’ve got to
grow up quickly in this league. Things go fast. Games happen. Here we are again getting ready to leave
tomorrow, and we’re right back into a game. These guys don’t have time to be young, and they’re
growing up right in front of us.”
(On where “So what, now what?” came from) “First time I heard that was from Dr. Kevin Elko who I
worked with in Philadelphia.”
(On if “So what, now what?” resonates with him) “It does. It’s the so what, now what, so it doesn’t
matter what you’ve done in the past. Win or lose, what are you going to do now with it, with that
information? How are you going to get better as a football team and move forward? You can’t live in the
past. History is history, you learn from it, but you move on.”
(On if this is an easy phrase for the team to understand) “Yeah, it’s not complicated. Very simple, but it
carries a lot of weight when you really think about it. It doesn’t matter what we’re faced, whether it’s in
life or in sport, learn from it, and move on.”
(On if it is a rephrase of “One game at a time”) “Yeah, you’re always trying to find different ways to grab
their attention or teach it a different way. Then when I hear something, I try to test it on the team and
see if it sticks, and some things do, and some things don’t, but this one does.”
(On if the good weeks of practice typically translate into games) “This game is funny. Obviously at
practice you wish things were perfect and crisp and sharp, and no mistakes are made, but I’d rather
mistakes be made in practice so we can correct them in the afternoon on tape, then if they come back
the next day and learn from it, right? We’ve seen that. From week one to week two, we’ve seen the
corrections made. Then there’s times you go through the week and think, ‘We’ve had the best week
ever,’ and you go out, and you don’t play so well. It’s gone both ways that way. You just stay in the
moment, stay present, and focus on one game at a time.”
(On if they are expecting a lot of pressure in QB Trevor Lawrence’s face after the Chargers’ pressure on
Patrick Mahomes last week) “He’ll have to play the whole game that way, honestly. It’s a good front and
good edge pressure. They can pressure with their backers inside and really put guys in the lap of your
quarterback, so we’ve got to be smart about it. We’ve got to understand it. Our offensive line is ready to
go. They’ve had a good two days so far, and it’s going to be fun to watch them play.”
(On if it will be a big contrast from last week) “It’s different. I thought last week the interior guys are
solid. They have two good edge rushers in Indy, but I thought the inside guys are pretty good this week.
It’s kind of the opposite, the two outside guys. Washington was a combination of both with Montez (DE
Montez Sweat) and the inside guys. These guys do a great job because they mix their fronts up. They’ll
give you five down, four down, odd, they mix it up and challenge you in many different ways.”
(On how difficult the Chargers’ receivers make it on the secondary) “They’re big and physical, and when
you have that going against you or with you, you’re going to come down with more of those balls.
Williams (WR Mike Williams) is that guy. He’s a big, physical guy, and that’s what we’ve seen these first
couple of weeks, and having Keenan (WR Keenan Allen) back is obviously another weapon for that
offense. It’s a challenge. We’ve got to be physical with them just like they’re going to be physical with
us.”
(On if he thinks the defense will go after QB Justin Herbert more with his recent rib injury) “I don’t think
so. We’ve got to focus on our job and focus on the details of the defense and each week try to get hits
on the quarterback. That’s part of the game. I don’t think you go out of your way to do anything because
that’s when you get beat, when you try to do something or take things into your own hands that way.”
(On if he has ever coached against a coach who is as aggressive as he is) “Obviously coaches are all
different, and they use analytics differently, but that’s one of the things I appreciate about Coach Staley,
how he utilizes it, and he’s helped his team win football games because of it. It’ll be interesting,
especially when it comes down to it.”
(On if he thinks about it much in the moment) “Not so much in the moment, but obviously leading up to
it, and how would he react in a certain situation, or how do I react in a certain situation, whether it’s
first half, second half, first quarter and making those decisions to help your team win.”
(On how difficult it is to defend a running back like Austin Ekeler) “It’s a challenge. You’ve got to stay
disciplined, within the scheme, and really, when you can tackle him, tackle him and get him down. He’s a
little slippery. He’s physical and strong and he can break some arm tackles. Guys like that can be hard
because you can also throw them the ball, screen to them. It makes it a challenge, but I think it’s a great
opportunity for our young linebackers really to go against a good back like this.”
(On if having a skillset like LB Devin Llyod is helpful in defending someone like RB Austin Ekeler) “It’s
possible. Devin’s got to stay disciplined, too, in what he’s doing and understand his role, but yeah, I think
that’s a good matchup there. Devin’s settled in. He played well last week, and he just needs to show that
improvement each week as he goes. This will be a good test for him, too.”
(On the sixth captain for this week) “Marvin Jones. San Diego guy.’
(On handling game management and play calling) “It can be a challenge, especially if there’s a call made
in the game, and you’re trying to talk to an official. Whatever the situation could be, but that’s why
Press Taylor (Offensive Coordinator) is there, to lean on him a little bit, and he’s always there with a play
ready if I need it, or if I’m late in the count, we can get a play in. It’s not about me, I’ve got a great staff
helping me, a lot of communication. Phil’s (Offensive Line Coach Phil Rauscher) on the headset with runs
and things of that nature, so it’s a good combination, good work in progress with what we’re doing and
how we’re handling it.”
