JAGUARS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DARRELL BEVELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021
(On what the next steps are for QB Trevor Lawrence) “Just to continue to master what we’re doing. I think the last few weeks, he has continued to progress. I mean, we turned the ball over on the last play, but he’s been protecting the ball. But just continuing to master our offense and we’ll be able to continue to move along with it.”
(On the situation when RB James Robinson wasn’t on the field on Sunday) “I mean, basically, the bottom line is we have to execute what’s called. We didn’t do a good enough job at executing the play, I don’t think it’s going to matter who’s in there. I have a lot of respect for Carlos [Hyde] and his ability to run. He was down in the red zone in the series before he was in there. After James [Robinson] had a 58-yard run, I think it was. So, we put Carlos in there to give him a breather. But I trust both those backs and I think both of them have the ability to get the ball in. I’ve got to get us into a better situation, I think that’s really the bottom line and be able to take care of it more that way.”
(On what he envisions for RB James Robinson long term) “Well, I like what we’re doing with him. I think he’s a very strong running back in terms of reading, hitting the holes, putting the ball up on feet of the linemen, making his cuts. I think he’s doing an outstanding job with that and we’ll just kind of continue
to move in that direction. I think the progression for us, we’ve stayed in better situations, so his carry numbers have kind of gone up over time. We’ve talked about this—the first few games we got behind the sticks, we got behind the score, it changes the complexion of the game. But when you’re in the game, you can see how we like to use him and I love giving him the ball as much as we can, when he gets tired, I love giving the ball to Carlos as much as we can.”
(On how they get more consistent impact from WR Laviska Shenault Jr.) “I think one of the learning experiences for him was just the load. How many extra plays that he was playing, not having the time coming off the field. So, I think that affected him a little bit. But I’ve got to do a better job of getting him involved, there’s no question. It is different when he’s on the outside and I’ve had games where you go into the game saying, ‘This guy is going to get this many.’ And he ends up like that, it ends up where the defense or the reads or the coverage dictates it. But there’s no question, we’ve talked about it, we want to get the ball in his hands. He got one play, makes an amazing play. So, we’ve got to continue to find ways to get him the ball.”
(On getting the ball to a player of WR Laviska Shenault Jr.’s size and skillset) “Yeah, I mean, I go back— what was the play In Dallas? Where he caught the ball and he turns it up and he’s dragging guys all the way down and he almost scored with it. So, he has great ability. He is a really physical presence, probably one of the more physical receivers in the league. I mean, he’s got great size, great strength, he has a really good knack for when he has the ball in his hands, that run after the catch stuff. So, again, we’ve got to find ways to keep him involved.”
(On whether they think about how they can get WR Laviska Shenault Jr. one-on-one with a defensive back down the field) “Oh yeah. We’re trying to get all of it. I think there’s the line there, in terms of how to get him the football. Some of them are: Do you use him—I don’t know if these are the right words— but like a running back style? Just to get the ball out there like we have. And then finding ways to find him down the field as well is still important to make it happen.”
(On whether confidence in the kicker impacts his ability to be aggressive with his play-calling) “Yeah, I mean, it is a big factor. I think it has to do even with your psyche as you go down and get points and you finish drives with three points. I think that would’ve been—we fumbled on the first drive, then we went down, had a great answer, scored on the second drive, had a decent drive the next one and then the next two we had scoring drives again. So, we’re going to score three out of the first five times we have the ball. But one of them, we don’t make the field goal. I think there’s kind of a little bit of a mental lull there. So, one, we’ve got to react better than that. And then to kind of go with your question, I mean, it does change it a little bit. What I’m trying to do is I get a line where the distance is from the kicker and I go, okay, from the coaches like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make it to this line.’ I’m always trying to get it as far inside that line as I possibly can to make it even a more sure field goal, if we need it.”
(On whether he has ever coached in London) “I have not.”
(On whether he’s been to every NFL stadium in the U.S.) “I believe I have, yeah. I haven’t been to this one, though.”
(On whether he has any concerns for coaching in Wembley Stadium) “No, I wouldn’t say really concerns. I’m very interested. I’m excited to go to this game and you still have the flight and all of that stuff. I’m interested to see how we manage it. I love how we’ve handled the week up to this point with the installations and getting the game plan in and having a couple days when we get there. So, I’m just excited to see how it works out.”
(On whether he’ll go sightseeing while they’re in London) “You know, since it’s a Friday, it would be like our normal Friday at home. Maybe we’ll end up doing something.”
(On who he hangs out with from the team) “Just some of the coaching staff, like Will Harriger, ‘Ballgame’ we call him, he’s one of my guys. Coach Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] is one of my guys. I mean, really the whole offensive staff, so probably one of those guys.”
(On what he’ll do on the flight) “Well, I think on this one, I want to make sure that we have everything prepared for tomorrow. So, once that’s all prepared, we’re basically going overnight, so I think it’s the best to get some rest.”
(On how impact from tight ends helps open up the offense) “Well, any time you have guys making plays at different spots, it presents different issues for the defense. So, when you have a guy inside that can make plays as a tight end, they have to say, ‘Okay, how are we going to cover him?’ And then, if you want to double that guy, then it opens up other guys or we’re doubling this guy, then it opens up the inside guy. So, I think for a defense, it just makes it harder on them to how they want to handle it. If you have Marvin [Jones Jr.] going, if you have Laviska [Shenault Jr.] going, if you have Dan [Arnold] going, I think it just makes it harder for them to decide how they want to handle us.”
(On whether they’ve worked the quarterback sneak yet) “I wouldn’t say we haven’t worked it. I’m kind of glad you asked, but this is just from my perspective. So, first of all, Trevor Lawrence is capable of doing anything that we ask. But the second thing is, I think this goes back to our conversation early, from all these college quarterbacks coming into the NFL. I think it’s, ‘Hey, it’s a quarterback sneak, what’s the big deal, right?’ But there’s a lot of nuisances to a quarterback sneak and then obviously, the first and foremost one is even getting the snap. So, I’ve never put the guy in a live situation. It’s even different if it’s a third-and-1 in the field as opposed to a fourth-and-1 or fourth-and-inches on the goal line. Now, the center is in a four-point stance, that snap is going to come up different. For me, I was not comfortable putting him in that situation without having enough reps built up. My job, each and every week, is we go out here, we put a game plan in, we practice the game plan. There’s times during the week where he’s like, ‘You know what, that play is not game-ready. I can’t put that in this game.’ So, we’ll continue to practice it, maybe for the next week. So, there’s always a point where I have to decide, ‘Is a play game-ready?’ And I didn’t feel like that play was game-ready, so we’ll continue to work on that.”
(On how tough it is for a young quarterback to handle a quick snap for a quarterback sneak) “I just think it’s something that’s taken for granted, to be quite honest with you. I mean, I’ve played the position, I’ve been down there in a fourth-and-1 and I took snaps my whole life, I started under center. And knowing on the goal line, it just—the ball comes up different. I mean, the guys are nose-to-nose on the goal line, the collision is a little bit different, the center is in a four-point stance, that’s a little bit different. So, all that stuff, it messes with the ball and then you have to possess the ball and then get that first [down] before you can do anything else. So, I’m not trying to make too big of a deal of it, but I do want—it is taken for granted a little bit. Like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s just a quarterback sneak, just get the ball and go.’ And it’s something I think that really needs to be worked.”
(On whether it’s hard to get the quarterback sneak play game-ready when the quarterback is wearing a red jersey during practice) “It is hard. It is harder. So, that’s when you’ve got to be creative and try to work through a few things in practice to be able to get that done.”
(On whether former NFL QB Drew Brees showed QB Trevor Lawrence his jump-over while he was here in Jacksonville) “Yeah, I mean, that’s another part of it, too. So, there’s all those little nuisances. I mean, watch Tom Brady, one of the greatest of all time at running the quarterback sneak. So, just continue to work it.”
(On what he sees from the Miami Dolphins defense) “Yeah, I mean, they present different issues with how they use their personnel. They have many different personnel packages. Obviously, they have good cover guys and corners on the edges, so it’ll be interesting. They’re a game plan specific defense. So, they’ll have a specific plan for us. You watch the games, they don’t plan everybody the same way, so there will be some in-game adjustments that we need to make during the game.”
(On whether he’s been happy with the way their receivers have handled seeing man coverage) “Yeah, I mean, we’re doing pretty good there. There’s different identifications and ways that you need to be able to see, maybe get some pre-snap reads that help you out as well. Defenses are getting pretty good at trying to hide some of those nowadays, but yeah, I think we’re doing okay there.”
(On how he feels about the offensive line without two of their starting linemen) “Yeah, well, last week, Ben [Bartch] did a good job in there at guard, for A.J. [Cann]. We really miss A.J. but I thought Ben did a good job. There were a couple—there’s always going to be—but there were a couple plays [where] he
could’ve been better. But overall, for him to step in there and start in the game, I thought he did a good job. And we’re very fortunate to have a guy like [Tyler] Shatley. Brandon Linder is our leader, you can’t really replace a guy like that, but we’re very fortunate to have a guy that has experience, experience at snapping the ball, experience at making all the calls that you need to—because that guy is really directing it and particularly with a younger quarterback. So, we’re excited that we have Shatley, that we can work with him.”
(On which player snaps if Tyler Shatley gets injured) “KC [McDermott] probably will be the guy.”
(On how much control QB Trevor Lawrence has at the line) “He has full trump card to do whatever he needs to do.”
JAGUARS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOE CULLEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021
(Opening Statement) “[We’re] getting ready for a big trip overseas [to] face a really good Dolphins team. We’re expecting [Dolphins QB] Tua [Tagovailoa] to come back, but whoever lines up there we’ll be ready to go. Just to recap last week quickly on the game, [Titans RB Derrick] Henry obviously is as good a back as you’re going to get in the league and I thought our guys did a great job executing the plan, how we wanted to stop him, how we wanted to tackle him. You look back over the years, whenever we needed a play, it seemed like he always had that crack flip, that crack toss on the edge, but at the half he had 2.8 [yards per carry]. Our guys, we were gang tackling him and until that last four minutes, he had 91 yards, 3.1 [yards] a carry and then it didn’t end well. Big plays continue to hurt us and it’s not only a big play in terms of when you look at the [stat sheet]. You can say we got shredded back there in the secondary, [but] they had 180 yards throwing, 180. They were averaging 400 in terms of total offense. But it’s just big plays at the most opportune time and it’s coverage not [being] nowhere near them. There’s been four of those, so we have to clean that up. You can say all you want [that] it’s communication, it’s guys knowing who they have, guys taking their guys. Usually, the last three that happen like that, if we had our guy, it probably would’ve been a sack. But we just have to finish better and we’re going to do that this week over in London. And with that, I’ll open it up to questions.”
(On the difficultly of dialing up blitzes with the challenges the secondary is having in coverage) “Well I think in terms of whether it’s a zone, whether it’s a man coverage, rushing coverage, [we] have to work together. I thought when you look at last week’s game, our rush really came alive and when you look at the pressure we had on [Titans QB Ryan] Tannehill, we had 3.0 sacks, we had eight quarterback hits. The coverage was outstanding, so [with] the rushing coverage, he wasn’t able to throw the ball. We had tight coverage, allowed our rush to get there. We just have to do that more on a consistent basis.”
(On P Logan Cooke being able to provide great field position for the defense) “Obviously, when we pin those guys back deep, it’s great and we just have to make sure we keep them there.”
(On P Logan Cooke compared to punters he’s had in the past) “When I was in Baltimore, we had a great punter [Ravens P Sam Koch], and he did the same thing. Having an opportunity when you pin them deep or boom it and change the field, it’s great.”
(On reasons why a lot of passes are being completed between the linebackers and the safeties) “Well, when you look at third down, looking at like a third-and-3 or 4, first of all, a guy’s not going to cover for that long. When [Titans WR A.J. Brown] 11’s running a crossing route, he’s eventually going to get open. It’s just mesh routes and pick routes when you’re in man [coverage] are a tough deal. I mean it’s just one of those things you have to fight through it, we have to get off the field. It’s [an] age old thing [when] you look around the league.”
(On if it’s a problem of linebackers and safeties playing different types of coverages) “No, not at all. If we’re in man, we’re all in man. If we’re in zone, we’re all in zone. We have to get to our landmarks, break on the ball better, get your hands up. We did bat two balls [last week]. We’re going to get some of those down. Batted balls, we’re going to get some. On the bright spot, some of the guys like K’Lavon Chaisson had probably his best game, at least since I’ve been here. That’s his standard now and he knows. He knows he left his guy on one of the mans and he knows it. He manned up to it and he had a heck of a game and setting the edge and getting after the quarterback, hustling to the ball. We’re just going to take the positives from that and move forward.”
(On how he can instill confidence in the defense as a coach) “Well I think when you look at it, I told the guys this, the physicality part from last week [was] outstanding. I mean outstanding, the line of scrimmage, knocking people back, all that, and you just have to be more consistent. The young guy obviously, he’s not young anymore, [but] for a young guy [that] has to go out and play, we expect him to play at a high level.”
(On LB Damien Wilson and S Rayshawn Jenkins having the green dot instead of LB Myles Jack) “When you look at that, we’ve done that everywhere I’ve been. We had [former Ravens LB] C.J. Mosely the last place I was at, so we had to give it to a safety, we gave it to Eric Weddle. It went smooth for two games, he said, ‘Why don’t you just keep it.’ Here, Myles [Jack] had it for two years with no issues. You’d like to have a guy have it that’s on the field every down and that was the deal there. But I felt like and we felt like I wanted to take it off of Myles’s plate and we gave it to Damien [Wilson]. We gave it to Damien and then there’s certain times you might signal and then we always have a safety with it with Rayshawn [Jenkins].”
(On LB Myles Jack’s play when he doesn’t have the responsibility of the green dot) “Well I think like anybody, whoever has the green dot, you’re echoing anyhow, just like he did. So, when Myles [Jack] made the call to the defense, Damien was closing the front and doing that, and Myles was doing the
same thing last week. You still have to communicate. Like I said, he had it two full years. Last year, they took it away from him because they had [former Jaguars LB] Joe [Schobert].”
(On preparing LB Shaquille Quarterman to step into LB Myles Jack’s role if necessary) “Like I said, everyone that steps on the field is a starter, and Shaq[uille Quarterman] has done some good things. He filled in great in that second half and was physical. You talk about physical, knocking linemen back, and making tackles in the backfield, he did a great job.”
(On CB Shaquill Griffin practicing hanging on to the ball after dropping multiple picks so far this season) “Well I’ll tell you, he had a great break. That’s a position on the crossing route where you’re not in a great position if you’re in man, but he’s in our trail technique, tailpipe we call it, and then he broke on the ball. Now, that’s a game changer. He knows it, we know it, and he’s going to get it this week. He’s done it before. You have to catch it and then there was 20 yards to go, that’s a touchdown, changes the game.”
(On CB Shaquill Griffin doing push-ups after he dropped an interception) “He definitely did those, but he’s going to get that and we’re going to get that, those tips, those balls right there that are in your arms. K’Lavon [Chaisson], I’ve argued … That [play] right there is a half an inch from being a sack-fumble, we get the ball on the 50 [yard line], changes the game.”
(On facing Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa as he comes back after missing three weeks with an injury) “Obviously, he’s a left-handed quarterback, so now most of those rollouts and the spinouts, we’ve been doing this all year, but most of them are going to go to that side. He’s an athletic quarterback, he has a really strong arm, and it’ll be a challenge.”
(On the Dolphins offense having weapons) “They do. Their tight end [Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki] is big. He’s 6 foot 6 [inches] and he’s like a wide receiver, so he can stretch the field and [is] just a matchup issue there, just jump balls and all that. They have really three good running backs. They have some weapons. The wide receiver corps is really good.”
(On returning to play another game in London) “Well, I hope this trip’s a lot better than the last one. You guys know that. It wasn’t good at the last one we were over there. I think both of us [Ravens and Jaguars] were 3-0 and it wasn’t good. It was 44-7 if I recall. This one will be a lot better.”
(On CB Tyson Campbell returning this week) “He’s working through it and he’s practicing, so we’ll see where it goes. We expect that.”