JAGUARS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOE CULLEN
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
(Opening statement) “Like always, [I] always appreciate everyone being on. [It’s] the last game, last home game, [an] opportunity against a really good divisional opponent, a rival. Shoot when I was here before it was like every year we split [the series]. We swept them one time and you know what the record’s been the last six years. We had a great game against them, went down to the last drive the first time we played them. They are a heck of an offense since that game, and they have a hell of a defense, but I’ll speak on behalf of the offense. They beat a good Buffalo team, that many people thought was going to be the favorite to win the Super Bowl, 41-15 at Buffalo. They pounded New England for 200 and some odd yards rushing. They were up 20-nothing on them. They beat Arizona, so we have our hands full. But like anything, the motivation this week is one last time, sell out. You can always sell out for one game and knock them out of the playoffs. With that, I’ll open it up for questions.”
(On staying in Jacksonville next year and defense’s performance this year) “Well first of all, people ask that all the time. I mean obviously I love Jacksonville. It’s a great place, special place in my heart. It’s my third time being here. The chips fall where they fall. I will leave it at that. I think obviously we had some really good moments this year. The middle of the year we were doing a great job and unfortunately the last couple games kind of fell off. [I’m] not going to give anything with COVID as an excuse, not practicing, everyone has those problems. Our job is to stop people and we didn’t do it in New England. We’re going to put our best foot forward and do it here.”
(On the defense having the right pieces to build upon for next year) “I mean all that goes into factor. You don’t know what the scheme is, if there’s a new coach, new coordinator, you don’t know who’s under contract coming back, so that’s really a question you have to wait. But there are some good pieces here and some guys, I think the young pieces that can continually get better.”
(On why the performance of the run defense has dropped off in recent games) “The first week against the Jets, the quarterback [Jets QB Zach Wilson] had 100 yards rushing, so you can’t do that. If a quarterback has 100 yards rushing, you’re going to have a bad day. Last week in New England, we had guys in place to make tackles, we missed tackles in the hole. We had guys at certain times out of gaps, so when that happens it’s not going to be a good day.”
(On limited Colts RB Jonathan Taylor in the second half of their first meeting) “Good question, good point. You think about [Colts RB Jonathan] Taylor and you think about [Titans RB Derrick] Henry, you think about [Steelers RB] Najee [Harris], the big backs that not only can break tackles, but he can go to the house. If you’re out of a gap, he’s gone. You look at a lot of his first carries of the game, our first carry went for 38 [yards] I think. I mean you look at New England when he broke that last one for 70 [yards], guys missed tackles in the hole. So, not only can he run you over, but he has game-breaking speed where like a Derrick Henry, he kind of keeps building and Derrick has the same type of speed. I
think the thing after the first quarter, guys had their gaps, guys made the tackles, and it’s just about being gap sound. We played good fundamental football.”
(On S Andre Cisco’s performance as he’s getting more playing time in recent games) “I’ll tell you, he’s really made a couple really good breaks on the ball like in the Jets game. When we reviewed the one, he’s an inch away from that being an interception. He made a nice play in the New England game where it looked like that thing might be a touchdown and he broke the play up. He has speed. He’s starting to see things faster, so I think [Andre] Cisco’s only going to continue to get better. You have to remember he missed all last year. He didn’t play last year.”
(On DE/OLB Jordan Smith’s performance in the game against New England) “He really impressed me on the first kickoff, he ran down and made the tackle. He had two tackles on special teams. He got some valuable playing time and that impressed me about him.”
(On how to improve the defense) “Sometimes when you look at [it], it’s how the game went, where the points come from. Obviously, you don’t want to give up 50 and you don’t want to give up in the 30’s, but we had a stretch there where we were really trending going in the right direction. It’s a combination of things, playing complimentary football number one. Sometimes there’s points given up when you’re not even on the field, so those go against the defense. There’s been some of those. I mean it’s just a combination of playing better all the way around. I don’t care about veteran leadership and who do you have to get in here to do this and do that. The bottom line is your job is to stop them, you have to stop them. It’s as simple as that.”
(On what younger players that didn’t see much playing time, like DE/OLB Jordan Smith and DT Jay Tufele, need to do to make an impact in the future) “Like anything, when you draft those guys, the guys that were ahead of them were better, they were more mentally ready for the NFL, they were better at their position. They just have to continue to get better. We drafted [Ravers OLB] Jaylon Ferguson who broke [former Ravens OLB] Terrell Suggs record in sacks [in college], he didn’t get a hat for seven games in Baltimore. It took guys to get hurt and then we had to start him. He had growing pains, then he went back, and we had other guys and he didn’t get a hat again. It’s just a matter of both those guys getting stronger, having a full season of an offseason, and getting to understand and know the scheme. Those guys are going to be fine in time.”
(On the improvements DL Dawuane Smoot made this season) “He just became a much more consistent football player. Not only spot duty as a pass rusher, he played the run really well. Someone asked me the question a couple weeks ago, [it’s] the consistency in practice, the consistency in the games, and obviously it’s paid off for him. He’s a lunch pail guy. I have a lot of respect for D[awuane Smoot].”
JAGUARS PASSING GAME COORDINATOR BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
(On identifying QB Trevor Lawrence’s areas for improvement and his big strides) “Number one, it’ll be a long conversation. Listen, this season hasn’t gone the way any of us wanted, but when you talk about the quarterback position specifically, certainly Trevor [Lawrence] is no different. There are things he’s learning each and every day, there are things that he’s learning each and every game and there’s positives that he can take from each game. There’s [also] negatives and things that he can learn from. But again, when I point back to the year, I think we’ll just kind of go back from the start of training camp, talk about routine, finding a flow. Again, he’s got a lot of grasp of what we’ve been doing. But just every time you go out and play, 2-minute drives and things like that, situations that he’s learning that he needs to be able to bank that to use that moving forward. Last week, a cover-zero opportunity comes up, he’s on top of it, makes a great signal and we don’t execute it as a group. It’ll be a long conversation, I look forward to it. He’s going to be a terrific player, I really believe that he’s shown that. A lot of young quarterbacks come in the league and they have the struggles and the ups and downs and I have no question that Trevor is going to be a terrific player.”
(On the reason for the unresolved scoring issues) “I think that’s, again, a long answer. I think you can point to different things each week. I mean, last week was a little different than maybe Week 1 or Week 2. Last week, we did a really good job in the first half on third down. The second half, we weren’t able to sustain drives; I think we were 0-4 in the second half last week. We’ve gotten behind some in games, but you can’t point it to one thing. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to all of us collectively, coaches and players alike, calling games, making adjustments, having the players prepared, the players executing the calls. It’s bigger than one thing and we’ve got one game left to try to go out there and put points on the board. That’s what’s required to win games in the National Football League. We all know that, that doesn’t surprise anybody. But it’s not—none of these are easy answers where we can sit here in a 15 to 20-minute press conference and answer all those things. I certainly understand why you’re asking them, I just—again, the answers are longer and more in-depth.”
(On specifying one area where QB Trevor Lawrence can most improve upon) “I think if you ask me to pin it down to one thing, I would say number one is you can’t turn the football over. Again, a lot of quarterbacks do that. But like I told him last week after the New England game, the great quarterbacks don’t throw multiple interceptions in a game. They might throw one, there’s a situation like his first interception, right? He throws the ball, Ryquell [Armstead] tries to catch it, tips it up, there’s a zone defender sitting back there. That’s going to happen. But with him [Trevor Lawrence], he has to protect the football. That’s what the great quarterbacks do and he understands that. He had been taking care of it in terms of the passing game much better the last few weeks. Again, last week, he didn’t do that. So, the number one thing I would say that he needs to improve on is just taking care of the football better. What that leads to is he’s got to understand how to manage the play when people are covered. Defenses in this league are good and there’s going to be times where they’re going to cover everybody.
What’s his response? I think all those tidbits and everything that he’s learning will help him to improve that and make –I believe—very quick strides in his progression over the next couple years of his career.”
(On OL Walker Little’s strides this season and projection for his future) “Yeah, I think you’re talking about a very talented young prospect that has played well. Really, I believe it was the Bills. He played very well against that group which had a very, very good pass rush. The group last week, they didn’t present as many problems from a match-up standpoint, but certainly with gains and some of the exotics that they had. What you love about Walker [Little] is he goes out there and he just does his job. He does a great job with his fundamentals and techniques. You watch some of the steps that he takes, his body position, his hand placement with his punch. And you’re talking about a guy that probably if he doesn’t opt out with the COVID, the talent that we all saw on film was very evident. So, any time a young player can go in and be thrown into duty, I mean, he wasn’t expecting to play against the Bills and he played well in that game. That always gives you the confidence as a coach when a player can do that, have their number called at the last minute and go out there and perform at a high level.”
(On the challenges that the offensive line might face this week against the Indianapolis Colts defense) “Well, I think you’re going to start obviously in the front seven with Darius Leonard, one of the best, if not the best, inside linebackers in the game. Both run and pass, his ability to create takeaways is as good as probably Peanut [Charles] Tillman going back when I first came in the league a long time ago. But the ability for him to lock his wrists and punch balls out is uncanny. We showed it to our guys again this week, I mean, it’s easy to find. He’s got the ability to go out there and make tackles, but also his first strike is with a closed right fist, trying to punch the ball out, and he gets it out more times than he doesn’t. So, we’ve got to be great around that. And then his ability to play in some of the zone coverages is amazing. And then I would say you go to [DeForest] Buckner, a guy that I’m comfortable playing against from being in San Francisco, I was glad to see him leave. The guy’s a dominant, three technique, size, athleticism, speed, really good change of direction, and he’s a tough match-up on a lot of guards. So, this will be a really good challenge for us. Matt Eberflus does a great job schematically mixing it up and they’re playing at a very high level right now with a lot of confidence.”
(On whether he gives QB Trevor Lawrence pep talks) “You know, we talk after every game. I normally end up spending five or 10 minutes at his locker with C.J. Beathard just talking about, ‘Okay, what can you learn from this game? What can you take from this game? What were the positives? What were the negatives?’ I really believe that. If you talk to all the great players—We don’t want this year to be lost on the fact that there’s a thousand things that he should learn. How to handle a 2-minute drive, how to handle cover-zero, how to handle frustration when something bad goes on. I mean, there are so many things that if he doesn’t get those in his brain now while it’s fresh in his mind and then he takes off for a couple weeks after the season, you’re just not going to remember that stuff. I remember hearing an interview from Peyton Manning, I know Drew [Brees] was this way with us in San Diego. He needs to take these first couple days and kind of take a notebook and write down all the things he did well and all the things that he needs to improve, what he learned and break it down into very specific parts: third down, red zone, using my check downs, checks and alerts. I mean, there’s so much knowledge that he’s gained this year from playing. Lack of confidence? Absolutely not. This is a very humbling game and young quarterbacks struggle all the time. This guy has been a terrific player his entire career, he’s going to be a terrific player. I have zero questions about that.”
(On everything QB Trevor Lawrence had to endure during his rookie year) “Yeah, I mean, you nailed it. It’s a hard game anyways, it’s a humbling game anyways. He’s been challenged, we’ve all been challenged, we know that. The coaches, that have been doing this, like myself, for over 25 years, it’s still
hard for us, [there are] still frustrating moments for us. But the things that he’s been tasked to do has been a lot—on top of playing and preparing—with some of the things off the field that he’s had to deal with. He’s handled them all really well, which gives you confidence, which gives this organization confidence that they have the right guy. But again, I believe he’ll play well in this last game. I believe he’ll take these next few days when the season ends to kind of unwind his brain and really take some time to think about all those areas, both good and bad—what he’s learned, what he needs to address and he’s going to have one hell of a plan leaving here whenever he gets out of town. And like I said, I keep saying it, I really believe that the guy is going to be a great player. I think we’ll all look back in three to five years and be like, ‘Who would’ve thought in year one that he’s doing what he’s doing now?’ You look at Troy Aikman, you look at Peyton Manning, they all struggle. He’s got the right stuff to bounce back from this and he’ll do that.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s leadership qualities) “Yeah, he definitely has the right makeup. He’s very poised, he gets frustrated, he gets angry, but he talks through it. And you like that, you’d rather he talk through it, work through it and say ‘Okay, let’s go back, let’s talk about how we could’ve handled this better.’ Those have been some great conversations. His leadership style is great because it’s true to who he is. He’s going to lead the way that he is, he leads with that positive, upbeat nature. He’s not a rah-rah guy, but he’ll address issues, he’s gotten much more comfortable addressing issues. I believe as he continues to take ownership, that this is his football team, it will continue to get even better.”
JAGUARS LB MYLES JACK
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
(On driving back from New York after the game against the Jets) “Y’all heard about that? I didn’t want to stay in a hotel and everything, so me and one of the trainers, we just had to make the drive. It was smooth. There was a little bit of traffic in Virginia, but I maxed it out in day. I just wanted to be in my own bed and just get over the sickness because COVID was real for me. I think on paper it’s like 14 or 15, but real life it’s like a 20-hour drive. [We stopped] for gas and like Starbucks and stuff like that, but it was like a lot of traffic in Virginia. Virginia added on a good three, four hours. That was really what slowed it up.”
(On choosing the make the drive instead of waiting to take a plane) “I’m an environmentalist, so buying a private jet, I think it’s bad for the environment and I think it’s not economical, you know what I mean? I think it was cheaper for everybody to just take a drive, so that’s kind of the route I took.”
(On how much of the trip he drove himself) “I drove most of it. I switched with her [a Jaguars trainer] in Virginia, but for the most part I drove. She did Virginia, like the whole traffic route and then I did the rest. I’m good at the driving. I can do that, put some music on or a podcast or Game of Thrones and it’ll be over soon. I’m good at that.”
(On his relationship with Defensive Coordinator Joe Cullen and if players would be happy if he was retained by the next head coach) “Yeah, absolutely. Me personally, I feel like me and [Defensive Coordinator] Coach [Joe] Cullen had to grow so fast just because we had a season together and then just trying to figure out everything, but I support him 100 percent. I feel like our defense has made strides. Obviously last week was atrocious and we didn’t hold up our end of the deal at all. It was bad. But I truly feel like what Coach Cullen is trying to instill is just… I think it’s more so he’s a leader of men. He can get people motivated to do things and you believe what he says. He’s a very aggressive defensive coordinator. I have his back 100 percent, so I love Coach Cullen. Everybody has a great relationship with him. To be honest with you, he called me every single day when I had COVID. It’s kind of like he has those conversations with me one-on-one, so we really developed a relationship and he’s done that with every other player. It’s good to see how we’ve grown with him and how he’s been able to kind of adjust to us as well.”
(On Defensive Coordinator Joe Cullen being in contact with players on the COVID list) “We were actually joking about it. It was me, Josh Allen, because we were on that COVID list and I was like, ‘Did [Defensive Coordinator] Coach [Joe] Cullen call you every single day making sure you were on track to get back and everything?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ We were kind of joking about it but Coach Cullen, he checks on
people. He wants to make sure you’re okay and he cares about you even if you have a good game, a bad game, whatever. He’s going to call you late at night and tell you exactly what he thinks. I respect it. Anybody that’s honest I respect.”
(On experiencing another coaching change in his career with the Jaguars) “It’s definitely not a situation you would want to be in, but I mean it obviously puts a fire under you because nobody knows what’s going to happen. It’s going to be a new coach. We don’t really know what’s going to happen position wise with anything so it could be a whole new group of people here and you may or may not fit their scheme. There’s a lot of stuff that runs through players’ minds, so it’s definitely not a favorable situation. I’d rather be at this time talking about how we’re going to go to the playoffs and fun stuff, but this is real life. It’s just kind of time right now where we’re all just excited to be together for the last time, enjoy each other, and whatever may happen may be, but this is the last time all of this group of people will be together.”
(On this being the hardest year in his career) “I’d say yeah definitely. It’s definitely been challenging for sure. Obviously with the record being not good, the expectations and everything, what we set out to do and what we thought we were going to do and how things kind of went about, it’s definitely challenging. This year is tough, man, to be honest with you. It’s really tough. Last week was tough. It’s tough. It’s not what we want to do so it’s hard. I think I would say that because it’s the freshest one. It stings, so it’s tough.”
(On what has made this season harder than other) “I’d say just because more so, how can I explain this? I’d say more so we felt like at the beginning of the season we had established the culture. We just really felt like we had established an identity and we felt like we really believed that good things were going to happen. I fully believed and I always believe, but this year it was almost like it didn’t make sense, like it
was undeniable we were going to win. Then obviously it was a whirlwind of stuff that was going on. It’s no secret what was going on, you guys are reporting on it. As a player, it’s so much stuff going on we’re not even talking about football. Then kind of on the outside looking in, I don’t want to say scandals, but just like stuff that doesn’t have to deal with football that now is a part of the Jaguars name. I’d much
rather be known as a football team that’s out there kicking ass on Sunday than all the other stuff and losing. It’s not fun at all. I just want to win, that’s it.”
(On the fan’s plans to wear clown costumes to Sunday’s game) “I’m not honestly too familiar with it. They were trying to fill me in as I was walking in, but could you fill me in real quick and I could give you a good, educated answer on that. Hopefully we just get a win, and they throw the clowns on the field. I don’t know, man. That’s deep. I didn’t know about that but we’re just trying to get a win. Damn, that’s crazy.”
(On what needs to be done to improve next season) “To keep it short and simple, I would just say this organization, like disfunction. I feel like it falls on everybody’s shoulder. There’s not one person in particular, but it’s just kind of been a thing of where… like for example in the games, we shoot ourselves in the foot. We’ll be getting a drive and then we don’t get a stop on third down or maybe the offense has a hiccup that may set them back in second-and-long. We can’t beat ourselves. I’d say that this organization, that dysfunction leads to us beating ourselves to keep it short and like very politically correct. We have to tighten up a lot of little things that end up becoming big things. If I was to say what needs to be fixed, that would be it.”
(On what he wants in the next head coach) “At this point in my career, to be honest with you, what I feel like we need in Jacksonville, like all that player-coach [dynamic] and all that, that doesn’t really matter. We just need, number one, a leader of men, somebody that when they say something it holds weight. Everything’s detailed. You can tell it’s a finished product, like they’re giving something to us that’s, just needs to be number one a leader of men. Number two, it has to be somebody that it’s just about ball,
it’s about winning. Whatever advantages or disadvantages that we may or may not have, we need to maximize our advantages and minimize our disadvantages, so whatever coach is about just winning. We just have to win. All that player friendly, he’s a nice coach and all that, we don’t really care about that. We want to win. I mean me personally, I’m tired of losing. I just want a coach that’s, one, a leader of men and somebody that’s just truly, truly is all about ball and winning. All that other stuff doesn’t matter at all. I think that’s what we need as a culture.”
(On if him or any other players have met with Jaguars Owner Shad Khan about the next head coach) “Typically in my time here, once the season ends and we have our exit meetings and everything, [Jaguars Owner] Mr. Khan will be here, and he’ll typically ask us different things. I mean right now it’s the midst of the season and everything. I don’t even know if I’m supposed to be talking about that, but he had a meeting with the team and was basically like, ‘Just finish out the year strong and do what you need to do.’ When we do have the opportunity to speak to him, I’ll definitely be one of the first people to say that for sure if that question comes about.”
(On giving advice to younger players about going through a coaching change) “I would tell the younger to just basically come in and expect that it’s going to be a new regime. It could be somebody that did draft you, it could be somebody that didn’t draft you, but this last game is basically your tape and your resume. Then coming into the new season, you’re basically going to have to earn your spot and earn your role because there may be new faces and new people who don’t know what you can do. It’s basically going to be a repeat year for you, so expect it to be a long year and just earn your keep because this league doesn’t really wait for anybody. That’s basically what I’d tell them, like keep working, don’t get out of shape this offseason, and stay on it because it’s a new draft every year.”
JAGUARS LINEBACKER DAMIEN WILSON
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
(On his relationship with Defensive Coordinator Joe Cullen and the possibility of him returning to the team) “Yeah, I agree with that. I know we had some ups and downs of the team and as a defense had a lot of growing pains, but in order to get good there has to be a certain level of consistency and just stick to it. If they decide to retain JC [Joe Cullen] then I think everyone would be happy with that.”
(On what he likes about working with Defensive Coordinator Joe Cullen) “I like the scheme, it’s a little complex but a little simple at the same time. Everyone knows what they are doing and everyone is on the same page. Also, I just like Joe’s standard, win or lose he expects the best out of you. It’s not coaching on the result; it’s coaching on right or wrong.”
(On ever feeling pressured to play with an injury in this league and if he has been following the Antonio Brown story) “I think depending on where you’re at, sometimes there might be a little bit of pressure and sometimes it might be you fighting that mental battle and putting pressure on yourself. Antonio Brown is one of those things that we’ll never know about until the 30 for 30 comes out.”
(On if this is the toughest season he has been a part of) “Without a doubt it was the toughest season I’ve had in the NFL. My rookie year in Dallas, I think that was 2015, we went 13-3 but I was a rookie. Fresh clean little baby face in the NFL but now having the success that I have had and knowing a little more and being a little wiser it definitely hit me different. When you’re the starter in the midst of all this adversity and everything going wrong and all these ups and downs and this rollercoaster that we have had all season. As far as something that went wrong, I don’t think there is one thing that you can put your finger on. It’s a collection of things, sometimes us as a defense is letting the offense down, or sometimes us as special teams is letting the defense down or the offense letting special teams down. It’s all together so it’s not just one thing that you can just point a finger at and say this is where it went wrong.”
(On what Jacksonville needs in a head coach) “Just certainty. Someone that just makes decisions with 100 percent bought in certainty about what their doing. Someone that can get a whole identity of a team like this is who we are and this is what we’re sticking with it. That’s pretty much the main thing for me.”
(On if he thinks it’s important to have a player coach relationship) “For me I had a couple position coaches and during my time with them we got to be pretty pretty close. Every coach that I’ve had, they’ve been very detailed at the same time. Very detailed about where they want you to be and how they want you to do something. Just your reads, your keys and your adjustments, that’s the most important thing. It’s good to have a player coach relationship and be on good terms but at the end of the day, this is a job and everyone has to do their job and has to do it at a high-level with the most details possible.”
(On what areas they need to improve in on defense) “As a defense as a whole we have to be gritty. We want to be better at everything. If you were number 10 in stopping the run then you would want to be number five or number four. If you are 12 in the pass then you want to be number six and completely demolish the numbers from the last year. It all starts with the run anyways, every defense will you tell you that they want to stop the run and make them pass the ball and pressure the quarterback. That’s the formula in the NFL for playing defense so there you have it.”
JAGUARS WR MARVIN JONES JR.
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
(On reflecting on this season) “I’ll do that, debrief and do that at the end of the season, at the end of this last game. So right now, we’re only focused on the Colts and focused on going out there and putting on a great show, a great game, and that’s the only focus right now.”
(On how the offense can show improvement in the last game this weekend against the Colts) “We just have to make plays, everybody.”
(On gaining momentum getting a win in the last game of the season) “You never want to leave the field on the last play of the season, the last game of the season with a sour taste. It’s always good to go in the offseason having a great game. It lifts the offense. The same people on this team, on this offense, it’s never the same every year, so you just want to have fun with the people that you grinded with and leave with a good taste in your mouth.”
(On how finishing the season on a bad note can negatively affect players) “It can.”
