HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
(On status of RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “He’s going to be okay. He just got rolled up on his surgically repaired
foot. Just caution and precaution, just wanted to make sure that he was and will be one hundred
percent moving forward, so we were just more precautionary in that game than anything else.”
(On if RB Travis Etienne Jr. is in a boot) “No, no. He’s nothing like that, he was good. He got his
treatment today and it’s more too, sometimes, a piece of mind with players, especially coming off of a
repair like that. Just rest their minds a little bit that everything is going to be okay moving forward.”
(On if there was a thought of putting RB Travis Etienne Jr. back into the game yesterday) “I mean, yeah.
We have that discussion right away. They took him into the dressing room, checked him out, they
might’ve even tweaked some shoes and different things to see. Then, once he came back out, it was just
a matter of having conversations with him. You think about putting him back in, but at that time, we
knew it was probably not the best thing for him as a player and his health. We just made the decision to
keep him out of the game.”
(On if RB Travis Etienne Jr.’s injury is a sprained ankle) “That’s about what it is, a sprained foot, yeah.”
(On if it’s a different type of injury than a Lisfranc injury) “Yeah, it’s totally different. It’s more of a
sprained foot than it is on that Lisfranc.”
(On if RB Darrell Henderson Jr. will be ready this week) “We got to get him some touches this week in
practice, we got to get him caught up. We will spend these next couple days meeting with him and
getting him going. I think it’s possible that, obviously, working him into practice, but he could be a player
that we might need for the game.”
(On the surface of the playing field at the Detroit Lions) “I haven’t been there, it’s been a while since I’ve
been there. I remember the last time we were there it was pretty good. It was a really good surface to
run on, so I would anticipate nothing really being out of the ordinary with that.”
(On the decision to play three safeties yesterday) “You kind of do that with teams that get into their 22
personnel and bigger personnel groups, 13 personnel, things like that. It’s something that we see three
safety looks sometimes against our offense, when we get into certain personnel groups. It’s kind of a
week-to-week package for the defense.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s performance in yesterday’s game) “He played well. He played tough. He
played smart, took care of the football, other than one strip sack there towards the end late in the
fourth quarter. I thought, man, I thought he played really well. He made some really big throws, took a
step in the right direction as I mentioned after the game. Great for his confidence, a win like that and
the way we won, I think can just build more confidence within the team.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s confidence after the final drive in yesterday’s game) “Yeah, I think it’s been
eight times this season that we’ve been in that situation. It’s just good for the whole team to be able to
finish the game. We talked about that during the week, and we talk about that all the time, but just
learning how to finish and learning how to win a game just goes a long way for everybody’s confidence.”
(On C Luke Fortner’s fumble recovery in yesterday’s game) “I mean, yeah. That’s a huge play. You lose
the ball there and the game’s probably over. Great awareness by him to be on point, get on that
football, and be able to keep us on the field at that time was big.”
(On the offensive line’s performance in yesterday’s game) “They played good. We’d like to get more out
of the run game, but you’re playing a really good run defense. Sometimes you have to do what works
and throwing the football yesterday was the deal. I thought watching it today, those guys are not
perfect but at the same time, they battled. They really kept the pocket clean for Trevor [QB Trevor
Lawrence] and did some nice things. This is a talented group, as we’ve talked about, Baltimore is, and
they can present some problems. Their linebackers are active, and I thought our O-line did a nice job of
handling that.”
(On performances of LB Chad Muma and LB Devin Lloyd) “Chad did well, for the first time, I didn’t think
the game was too big for him and he really settled in. You could see the communication getting lined up
and all of that. When Devin came in for the three-backer look, Devin was good. Devin was fine. I think
right now it’s something that we can continue to build upon with both of those players.”
(On LB Foyesade Oluokun’s performance with defensive changes) “I think it’s possible, I also think that
Mike [Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell] did a nice job of just simplifying some things defensively so
the guys can play freer too. There’s not as many moving parts out there on defense, and the guys really
just settled into their roles. I think having Chad [LB Chad Muma] there did maybe calm some things
down for Foye [LB Foysade Oluokun], to free him up on some plays. He played aggressive, he played
downhill. He was great on that fourth down stop during the game. All of that with a little bit of
simplification helps the whole group.”
(On preparing the defense with playing so many different guys playing yesterday’s game) “Yeah, I mean,
that’s just it. You carry 53 for the week and then you got to come up with five guys who have to be
down each week. It just depends on the team you’re playing and the matchups, right? I think giving guys
opportunities to play and it was really good to see between Buster [CB Montaric Brown] and Campbell
[CB Tevaughn Campbell], there wasn’t a lot of action their way, but for the most part they played within
themselves and did what they were asked to do, which is good. Having the three linebackers is
something new for us this year, but against this type of offense, you’ve got to have that kind of stuff. It
just helps with the growth of the players and the growth of the defense.”
(On the importance of following up on yesterday’s game moving forward) “I think it’s big, this is a week-
to-week business. Short term memory, you come in on Monday, you watch it, you make the corrections,
and you put it to rest as you’re onto the next. You got to erase what you did last week, remember, but I
think at the same time, you got to move forward and approach this independently of last week. It’s
another set of challenges for the team, you got to go on the road, you got to do it again, you’re going to
be in a dome, it’s loud. This team has won here lately and they’re playing much better as well. It’s
another good challenge for us.”
(On if yesterday’s end of game performance was a sign of the team’s maturity) “I think it’s a step in the
right direction. Your team kind of feeds off the coaches, too. If there’s panic on the sideline from us, the
players are going to feel that and understand that if there’s anxiety, if there’s that excitement as to what
are we going to do, decision making. That’s one of the things that I’ve been impressed with our staff, in
moments of what seem like chaos on the field, there’s a lot of calm. I think the players feel that, and we
kind of coach through that, so the guys understand it. That, again, it is a step in the right direction, of
understanding the situation. Offensively we had to make decisions, whether it was going to be second
and goal from the 10 or it was going to be a two-point conversion, so we have two different scenarios
working. Fortunately, we had time, as you mentioned, as they reviewed that play, and the guys handled
it well.”
(On the lack of body language and emotion on the sideline in reaction to what is going on in the game) “I
learned that a long time ago as a young coach in this business. I learned it, really, as a player, too, that
you never, try not to wear your emotions on your sleeve. You don’t let your opponent kind of see you
sweat or upset. Cooler heads prevail. It’s something I try to teach the staff. Obviously, we teach it to the
players, and really the only way you get through things like that is to have great communication. The
communication just doesn’t start on gameday. It starts throughout the week and being prepared for
these scenarios and understanding those situations, how much time is left, timeouts, score, what do we
need, field goal, touchdown, all that kind of stuff two-point to win. All those things are rehearsed during
the week. For us as a staff, there’s no clam, it’s more about just the communication and understanding
what we’re trying to get done.”
(On if he has ever slammed a headset or visor) “No. I don’t think so. They’d probably fine me, those
things are expensive.”
(On how significant it was to beat the Ravens, being a team to typically win those type of games) “It’s
one of the things we talked to our team a little about this past week too, is the culture that Coach
Harbaugh (Head Coach John Harbaugh) has established there for so many years and how they’ve built
that team, and there’s a true identity with that team. They know exactly who they are. We’re trying to
get all that established here and learn. That’s a well-coached team, disciplined group. That’s the type of
game that, chances are, they’re going to pull that game out and win that game. Just a credit to our guys
for hanging in there. Sixty-minute football game, battling to the end. I’ll say this, looking at Baltimore
and what Coach Harbaugh has established there, it’s kind of a model, I think, from a culture standpoint,
what we’re trying to get done here.”
(On seeming to be really drained after yesterday’s game) “ (joking) “It just goes back to his point. I’m not
going to show my emotions in a press conference.”
(On how the confidence level of the team appeared to be increasing each week even in the losses, and if
that is strange or encouraging) “It’s a strange year for us. You look at seven losses, and six of those are
one-score games. Then this is a one-score game, two-point to win. You look at a lot of different things
and think, ‘Wow, this should be different.’ You have a receiver that goes for 145 yards but no
touchdowns. That’s kind of strange, right? Typically, a guy has at least a touchdown or two, two-point
conversion, but it’s the oddity of all of that. I’m just amazed by the guys, how regardless of what
happens, the outcome, they’re either happy or they’re mad, but they learn to put it behind them and
get focused on the next challenge. That’s what I’ve seen, and that’s what’s encouraging as we move
forward. Then we have a win like we did yesterday can only enhance the process.”
(On if that lets him know that he has the right core in place) “It does. You have the right leadership,
you’ve got the right guys, you’ve got the right coaches, you’ve got a lot of support in the organization,
and that can, again, set you on a path that you hope leads to more of those.”
(On having opportunities right in front of them, after the Titans loss yesterday) “Exactly. Everybody in
our division is chasing Tennessee. That’s a good football team. Coach Vrabel (Head Coach Mike Vrabel)
has them playing well. Cincinnati, had a good game plan yesterday, beat them. It’s a good football team,
but we know what’s ahead of us. We’ve got some really good teams on our schedule ahead of us are all
playoff-caliber teams that, in order for us to be there at the end, we’ve just got to continue to prepare
the way we’ve done that. This is the next one, Detroit this week. We’ll worry about Tennessee next
week and move on from there, but it’s all part of that plan.”
(On if he has felt that over the season there has been a different vibe about them being a good football
team) “I think the guys have believed all along that they’re a good football team. It’s just one little thing
here or there that’s kept us from winning some of these games, but I believe that they believe in
themselves. They believe they’re a good football team. I remind them of that, but I don’t have to remind
them all the time. They believe that. Yesterday was a great example. The excitement on the sideline, the
enthusiasm on the sideline there at the end is what you want. It’s something, again, that can propel you
into the rest of the year.”
(On if RB Travis Etienne Jr. is expected to play this week) “I think so. Barring anything crazy this week,
yeah. I think he’ll be fine and be ready to go.”
