JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23, 2022
(On the approach when coming back after the bye week) “The bye week is kind of two-fold.
One, it’s a chance to get away, get healthy and recharge. The second part of that is to kind of
reflect and go back and either rewatch or go back through your performance as a player, as a
coach, and evaluate. Then as we get into this week and get back into a normal week, as far as
preparation goes. It’s really my job, as the head coach to make they stay focused and locked in.
Having some time away is good, but at the same time, now it’s time to get our work in.”
(On how he sees the situation at linebacker with Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma) “I think both guys
have shown us enough that they can both play, play in there and play well. I think this back third
of the season or half of the season, I think you’ll see more of a rotation with those two guys. It’s
a great opportunity for both of them. This week, in particular, because of the unique style of
Baltimore’s run offense. You’re going to have to use probably as many of those linebackers as
possible.”
(On what type of player QB Lamar Jackson is) “A really, really good one.”
(On how to contain a QB like Lamar Jackson) “You just hope to slow him down, honestly. I’ve
gone against him before, and he definitely can beat you both running and throwing. You’ve just
got to be committed to the discipline of your job. It just comes down to that. You’ve got to win
your matchups on defense, and you can’t let your eyes wander. You’ve got to be disciplined
there, and like I said, hope to contain. He’s going to make his plays. He’s that good. When you
get a chance to tackle him, you’ve got to make sure you wrap him up because he’s strong
enough to get out of that, too.”
(On his biggest takeaways from the first part of the season he hopes the team can fix in the rest
of the season) “On defense, we’ve got to shore up the pass defense, obviously the pass rush and
some of the assignments on the back end. Sometimes, too, it comes down to maybe just
simplifying some things on defense. Just kind of make sure we hone in each week on the game
plan as far as players go and coaches are presenting it in a manner that they can understand it. I
think offensively you look at the red zone as glaring. The turnovers in the red zone. That takes
points off the board. Even though number-wise, offensively we’re in a good spot, and we’ve
been playing well there, those things really hurt you. Not only take points off the board, but it
can lead to losing football games. Third downs have been a little inconsistent the first ten weeks.
Those are areas that we’ve got to improve and be more consistent in those areas.”
(On how they can improve the pass rush) “The guys have got to continue to work. The coaches
have got to put them in a position to be successful if that’s more games and stunts, if that’s just
straight rush, whatever that is. Again, it goes back to winning your matchups. That’s something
that the guys have to really focus in on. The coaches have to do a great job of putting them in a
position to do that.”
(On the value of a strong pair of quarterback and tight end) “It does (go back to what he did with
the Eagles). I’ve always said this, the quarterback’s best friend is a tight end. I think those three
teams you mentioned (Eagles, Chiefs, Ravens) all have the quarterback and the tight end, and
those are dynamic guys. There’s some, not only familiarity, but there’s comfort in knowing
where that tight end is going to be in the passing game for the quarterback. It goes all the way
back to my days in Green Bay. We had great tight ends. We’ve had them in Philly and places I’ve
been and even here. I really enjoy this room and making sure that we’re all on the same page.
Having that dynamic becomes hard because it goes back to winning your matchup, whoever’s
assigned to guard the tight end and whoever’s assigned to rush the passer, we’ve got to be able
to do both at the same time and do it well.”
(On if tight ends that are used so dynamically with their quarterback are hard to find these days)
“They are, but there’s enough of those guys out there that you could bring in and develop.
There’s a lot of good athletes that are playing tight end. They’re not as big as maybe Andrews
(Ravens TE Mark Andrews) is. Goedert (Eagles TE Dallas Goedert) and Kelce (Chiefs TE Travis
Kelce) aren’t big guys, but they know how to run routes, they’re smart, they’re savvy, and they
spend a lot of time with their quarterbacks. You can find those guys out there and develop them
and hopefully turn an offense into that.”
(On the impact of still having seven games remaining this season) “It encourages me as a coach
because I still believe everything is right in front of us. Our goals are still obtainable. Yes, we’ve
put ourselves in a hole a little bit, and we’re climbing out of that hole. We’ve got a seven-game
schedule. Seven games, it’s a new season for us. It’s an opportunistic year, and we’ve got to just
clean up some of the things that sort of plagued us in the first half of the year and just focus on
us and keep doing the things that have given us success. Go back and look at the games that we
won and see what we can take from that. You’re right, it’s a little different having seven games
left. Two, with a young football team, we’ve got to keep pushing, keep the guys with sort of the
hammer down to let these young guys know. Most colleges are wrapping up this coming
weekend, and then bowl season, but we still have a month and a half of football.”
(On if it is worse for a player to be losing confidence or a player to have too much false
confidence) “That’s interesting. I would say the one that’s probably the harder is probably the
player that is losing confidence because there’s so much self-doubt, and it just starts creeping
into their thinking a little bit, and sometimes that’s hard to recover. I was in a situation in Philly
where I took a receiver, and he was a first-round pick, and had to put him on the bench for a
week because that doubt was creeping in. He struggled catching the football. The media was on
him, fans were on him, and it was just tough. All that self-doubt and the confidence, you could
just see it each week. You feel bad for the player, but at the same time, you’ve got to do what’s
best for the football team. By putting him down for a week or two there allows the player to
sort of free his mind a little bit and start building confidence back slowly. When he came back,
he was one of our better players the back half of the year. There’s ways of coping with that and
dealing with that and helping players who might have a little bit of self-doubt. It is tough. It’s
tough for young guys. This is a tough business, and it’s a performance-based business, and as
coaches we’ve just got to keep encouraging and keep coaching and teaching and helping them
work through it.”
(On former Jaguar, current Raven DT Calais Campbell) “He’s big and long. This guy is an
unbelievable player, still can get after the passer. I think of all the Ravens, it’s such a long, tall,
defensive group. I think there are about 16 batted or tipped passes this year. I think the league
average is about eight and a half right now. They’re doing a tremendous job of that. I would say
he’s one of the leaders of that defense. He’s sort of the heart and soul and a great person on top
of that, and he plays the game the right way. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him.”
(On how they can avoid having the run game shut down again) “I thought the last two ball
games the teams that we played did that. Early on, that was kind of our strength, the perimeter
game. It forces us to adjust and make some decisions that way, but that’s just game planning.
That’s just the game. We’ve got to get back on track this week. We’ve got to try to run the
football. That just opens so many things up just like it does for Baltimore in the run game. You
dabble in a little bit of everything in the run game, just kind of see what works throughout the
course of the game, and then you stick to it. I think they’re a top three run defense and haven’t
given up a 100-yard game to a team this year. It’s a tremendous group. They present a lot of
problems because what you’ve got to understand, these guys have played a lot of football
together. It’s a vet group, played together, even though it’s a new coordinator, scheme-wise, it’s
the same. They’ve played a lot of football together. There’s a lot of confidence there, mixed
fronts, mixed personnel, can blitz you at any time, and they create some havoc that way. It’s a
challenge to run the ball, but you still have to try.”
(On how the Ravens have gotten the number of sacks to increase in the past couple weeks) “I
think what is showing up is that team are falling behind on first and second down, and there’s a
lot of second and longs, third and longs, what any defense would want to get you into as an
offense, and that’s what they’ve done. They’ve been able to cut their guys loose. Again, it’s an
active group, and they’re getting after the passer, and they’re getting more sacks that way,
creating more opportunities.”
(On what he stresses to QB Trevor Lawrence this week with such an aggressive secondary in the
Ravens) “You’ve really just got to be disciplined, really got to study the film and understand
coverage, because it’s going to be different every snap. It’s not like Indy where you kind of knew
where the guys were going to be or something like that. These guys are going to mix coverage,
and you’ve just got to be on point, ball has got to come out, you’ve got to make great decisions
pre-snap, then trust it. Trust the read, trust your eyes, and be accurate with your throws.”
(On former RB Fred Taylor being named a semi-finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame) “I’m
excited for him. I can remember him as a player, tremendous player for the Jags and a tough
one to bring down. Just excited for him and pulling for him, and hopefully it works out.”
(On the importance of getting off to a better start in games) “We’ve got to be better in the first
quarter. I thought the first eight weeks we did a nice job in that first quarter scoring points and
kind of having leads, but that’s something we’ve got to get back to. You never want to be down
17-nothing, especially to a team like this that’s playing well right no. It just opens up a lot of
stuff for them. It’s crucial that you try to come out and score early.”
(On stopping the QB run game) “It’s a little different (compared to other running quarterbacks
they have faced this year). Some of the principles are the same, but you see some veer scheme
offensively, there is some zone, read zone stuff, and there’s obviously just quarterback runs,
designed quarterback runs. I think Greg Roman (Offensive Coordinator) does a good job of
designing plays for Lamar (QB Lamar Jackson). Again, it just comes down to all 11 on defense
just locking in on that particular play, stay disciplined, trust their technique, trust the scheme
and try to corral as best they can.”
(On if the approach is to contain QB Lamar Jackson or have someone on him at all times) “I
believe you can mix it up. I don’t think you just constantly have to spy the guy all the time. I
think you’ve got to mix it up and you’ve got to keep throwing different pitches and somehow
keep them off balance the best you can and attack when you can. That’s the beauty of football.
It’s a chess match of the two teams and the game plan and how either team wants to play the
game. The thing is too, with a guy like Lamar is if you can get him on the ground, you’ve got to
get him on the ground. You just can’t let him run in space. That’s where he gets extremely
dangerous.”
(On if this team has what it takes to make a late-season run and make it to the playoffs) “I’m
encouraged by the attitude of the team. I think they’re in the right frame of mind. Anything is
possible. I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it in this league. You get a little luck on your side, the ball
bounces your way. Anything is possible. We’re just taking it one game at a time right now, and
we’re focused on Baltimore.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2022
(On where he learned how to take accountability for his performance in games) “I think it comes from a
lot of things. Obviously, the experiences I’ve had up until this point, good, bad, indifferent. I’ve learned
throughout my own experiences. Really I’ve had good people in my ear, good voices. Obviously my
family. I know my parents did a great job raising me and teaching me, one, I think it all goes back to
humility, too. Whether you win, lose, play well, or don’t play well, it’s never all about me, so that’s the
main thing I try to keep in mind. Always, I’ve tried to just put everything on me, I’d rather take too much
of the blame than not, so even if a receiver drops the ball or it’s a play someone’s got to catch or it’s a
running back or whatever it is, I always try to just, it’s starts with, ‘Hey, my bad. Let’s talk through it,
figure it out,’ whatever it is. That’s just on the field. When it comes to coming up here after a game
where I don’t play well or whatever it is where we lose, at the end of the day, even if I do play well, and
we lose, we still didn’t get it done. There’s always things that you can do better. I think I’ve had great
coaches, too. My high school coach, Coach Swinney (Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney), Coach
Pederson (Head Coach Doug Pederson), all the coaches that I’ve come in contact with have taught me
something. I’ve learned a lot from them and just how they handle the media. I think that’s something
that I had to learn early in my career. Just standing up in front of cameras and reporters and media more
than most people, even starting senior year of high school. I think I learned that early, and always try to
stay out of headlines. Sometimes I’m probably pretty boring up here because I’m like a broken record,
but sometimes that’s the best way to be, so I just try to be that way.”
(On if he is playing with the most confidence he has ever had in his career) “Yeah, I like the way I’ve
been playing the last two weeks, so there’s obviously, like I say every week, every day when I talk to you
guys, there’s always things to improve on. I feel like I’ve played well the last two weeks, but there’s still
a few plays every game that I could do better, whether it’s a missed throw, missed read, get through my
progressions faster, protections, all that stuff. There’s always things I can improve on. There’s little
things, but I do feel really comfortable, really confident. I feel like we’re starting to click more and more
as an offense, especially in the passing game, and I think that’s something that’s important, especially
this time of year. You want to be playing your best football November, December, January. I like where
we’re at as an offense, really. Obviously, we didn’t get it done last week, but as far as the steps that we
took, when you really look at the details and some of the stuff we’re doing, I think we’re making a lot of
steps. Just trying to continue that improvement and keep that confidence for myself and just for all of
us. Obviously, that’s a huge part of the game, playing with that confidence and trusting each other.”
(On the challenge of playing well three games in a row) “It’s the same thing every week, preparing,
forgetting the last one and preparing to go play your best game this next Sunday, using your same
process during the week, not cutting it short, especially this time of the year, even doing a little extra,
especially like we talked about the holidays, family’s in town, still got to get all the work done, get
prepared for the game on Sunday. You stay consistent by consistently preparing the same way. That’s
what I’m going to do, and obviously the Ravens present some challenges. They’ve got a really good
defense. They’re playing well right now, so it will be a good challenge for us, but you do it the same way.
Just prepare like I did the other weeks. That’s what I’ve done the whole season, and obviously I’m
starting to be more consistent, but you’ve got to keep doing it every week.”
(On how he would describe the vibe of the team coming back off of the bye week) “This group has been
really good. I feel like we’ve been focused. We haven’t lost sight of what we are trying to do. Obviously,
we had some bumps in the road along the way, a tough stretch. Every day we never really lost that
vision of what’s in front of us and what we still can accomplish this year. I think that’s one thing that this
team has done a really good job of is keeping that in sight and keeping that in the front of our mind of
what we can accomplish and what’s still in front of us. Same thing when we got back on Monday.
Everybody’s ready to work. We’re treating this like a new season, seven-game season. We’re
guaranteed seven games, and after that, it’s whatever we earn. Just putting our best foot forward for
this next 40-something days. If you think about it, anybody can do that. Just do your best every day, and
put yourself in a position to win these games and see where we stack up at the end of it.”
(On how much in high school he watched QB Lamar Jackson when he played at Louisville) “I was actually
at the Clemson-Louisville game, I think 2016, 17, one of those years, I was at that game. It was a really
good one, him and DeShaun (QB DeShaun Watson). He’s a great player. I think it came down to like a
fourth down that they didn’t get at the end of the game in the red zone. Just a guy, honestly fun to
watch. He won’t be as fun to watch this week, obviously not wanting him to be as fun to watch this
week, but he’s just an incredible player. He’s a guy that’s hard to contain, can do so many different
things. Obviously, he’s a great runner but the threat he is with his arm, too. He can make all the throws,
just a freak. He’s a great player. He’s a guy—there’s a lot of them in this league—not exactly like him,
he’s really unique, we played Patrick (Chief’s QB Patrick Mahomes) last week. Every week you’ve got a
new challenge, and this is definitely a big challenge for our defense, and I’m excited to watch them
prepare for that.”
(On if he will try to run for more yards than QB Lamar Jackson this week) “It probably wouldn’t bode
well for us if that’s our plan, to try to out-rush him. I don’t know, we’ll see. I don’t want to give anything
away, but I don’t know if that will be it.”
(On his relationship with QB Patrick Mahomes and QB Lamar Jackson) “I’ve met and talked to Patrick a
couple times, two or three times we ran into each other, always been friendly. We’re not close friends
by any means just because we don’t hang out much, but really just have a lot of respect for him and
hopefully vice-versa, just seeing him along the way. He’s always been a guy, a couple years older than
me, watched the way he’s played, represented himself, so it’s been cool to see and somebody I kind of
look up to. Lamar, I met him I think when I was in high school at some camp somewhere, I don’t even
remember where, but same way with him. I think he’s always carried himself in a respectful way, and
like I said, obviously on the field I think it speaks for itself. He’s a great player. It’s fun to watch both of
those guys. They’re both great players and good people from everything I’ve heard.”
(On DE Calais Campbell) “I’ve heard so many good things from personnel here, staff, guys on the team
that played with him, only heard good things. Heard he is a great guy. Then on tape, same as the other
guys, he’s a great player, presents some challenges for us. I’ve heard he’s like one of Jacksonville’s
favorite guys that’s been here, and he loved it here, too, from everything that I’ve heard. I think his
brother is around here somewhere. I talked to him when I got drafted. He’s a guy that just does it the
right way. You look at the way he plays the game. There’s certain guys that when you watch them play
and how they carry themselves and you just respect the way they go about their business. He just loves
the game, and I think that makes the game better for everybody.”
(On what he sees from the Ravens’ defense) “They’re a really good group. You look at the guys, a lot of
them have played together for a while. Like you said, the front seven is really flying around. They added
Roquan (LB Roquan Smith) who’s a great player, and that made them a lot better for sure. You look at
the front seven, they play hard, they’re physical, they’re fast. I think that’s the biggest thing with their
linebackers. Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith, sideline to sideline, those guys can fly, so that presents
some challenges. Their back end, Marlon Humphrey (CB), Marcus Peters (CB), Kyle Hamilton (S), you
could keep going on. All their guys on the secondary. I’d say the one thing, you can tell they’re really well
coached. They’re all on the same page. It’s a defense that’s been playing together for a while, and you
can see that on tape, and obviously they added Roquan and you see him starting to get more and more
comfortable and flying around. It’s a great defense, and at the end of the day, it’s just another challenge
for us, and we’ll have to prepare in our own way to find holes and find things we can expose. They’re a
really good defense and obviously going to make it tough for you.”
