JAGUARS PASSING GAME COORDINATOR BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021
(On taking over play calling responsibilities) “Well first of all, I’m honored that [Interim Head Coach Darrell] Bev[ell] has the confidence in me. I understand what it takes to call plays in this league and again I understand what he’s trying to do. He’s wearing a ton of hats right now as the head coach and that’s hard. He’s doing a great job with that. When you look at it, we’re going into what, game 15, we kind of have an offense that we know, that we’re comfortable with. Are there going to be certain things that are different? Absolutely there will be, but I think more of it, my job, my responsibility is just to be me. I’m going to call the game the way I call games, the way I’ve done it for the past 13 years, try to get our players involved the right way, have nice balance. Again, what it looks like all depends on how the game’s going. But I do think our guys have had a good week of practice and I’m excited about the opportunity and see our guys go out and compete against a team and a stadium that I know very well.”
(On where he will be during the game) “I’m going to go up. Just talking through it with [Interim Head Coach Darrell] Bev[ell] and you see it better up there. There’s no question about it. You do see it better up there. Again, Trevor [Lawrence] and I will still be in good communication. We have phone lines and thing. Bev’s down there to handle some of that stuff. Again, a guy that gets a lot of credit and really has been my right-hand guy on game day has been C.J. Beathard. C.J.’s a great sounding bord for Trevor so I’m very comfortable going up that I’ll see it better and still have no problem with communication between myself, Bev, and then Trevor.”
(On how to extend good drives throughout the entirety of the game) “It’s multiple things. We certainly came out of the gates, we were playing well last week early in the game. As you guys know, there’s things called drive killers. What are drive killers? Drive killers are sacks, penalties, things like that. Last week, [it was] a few drops, missed opportunities. But each drive is its own entity, it really is. When we’re playing well, you normally see us ahead of the sticks, you see us getting into third down-and manageable. We do hit some explosives, but each game is different, each drive is different. I think in the second half, when you look back at it, we had some more long yardage situations which is harder to deal with. Defenses do a good job of sometimes laying back, make you throw the ball underneath. But again, each game is different and this game itself will be its own unique opportunity for us to go out there and perform. Again, I’m excited to see our guys. It’s been a good week of practice to this point. [We had a] big emphasis today on third down, short yardage, and goal line and just put together another good day of preparing getting ready for the Jets.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s progression) “There’s no question that you can’t not progress when you’re. playing as much football as he’s playing. There’s things that he’s learning every day. We’re coming off a walk through out there just now and there’s things that come up in two-minute drills that he’s like, ‘Oh yeah, that makes sense.’ He’s the ultimate, ultimate student, truly unbelievable in the classroom with taking notes and learning. His preparation has really grown. The things I get excited about are some of the wild plays that he has, some of the wild throws that he has, whether it’s him moving or he hits
Tavon [Austin] a couple weeks ago on the back end line. That gets me excited. He’s going to be a terrific player. If you look at rookie quarterbacks, not just this year but you go back, I remember I was dealing with coaching [former Jets QB Mark] Sanchez back in 2009 I guess it was. We played the Bills, and he had a five-interception game. I mean what do you do? Do you pull the reigns back? No, you coach him through it, you help them continue to grow. You hope that they take it seriously enough, like Trevor [Lawrence] does, like Mark did to say, ‘Okay, I have to understand how important taking care of the football is.’ Certainly [there’s] a tremendous future in my opinion for Trevor.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence overcoming the distractions this season) “The maturity that he came in here with was very evident. He’s just a very down to Earth, humble guy. I think he’s handled all those things that you’ve talked about very, very well. He just has his head in the right spot. I’m seeing him communicate better with his teammates just in terms of making sure that they’re on the same page with things. But he has not come in after a long stretch or maybe some games we struggled in and held his head low. He’s come in on a Monday or Tuesday ready to get to work, ready to get better. Again, that shows you the sign of a guy that’s going to work through the issues, work through the problem and become a championship type player.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence being in the right system for his skill set) “That’s a tough question. It’s a fair question. I don’t take any disrespect out of that. I mean this is a performance-based business and offensively we’ve not done a good enough job. He certainly can play better, I certainly could’ve coach better, and we all need to do better. We take responsibility for that. Again, I think as we look back on this year, there’s been a pretty good balance of things we’ve tried to get done. I think we know him better now than we did Week 1. We know him better now than we did in Week 6 or 7. So, I think that’s one of the things that we’re going to look at in this game and these last couple games: What are his strong points, what do we do well offensively, because it’s not just about the quarterback. Of course, the quarterback’s the one everyone wants to talk about, but again it’s how does the run game function? Are we better running the ball this type of run scheme or from this formation? All that stuff goes into play, so I think where it’s an easy response for people to be like, ‘Oh, is he in the right offense?’, what does that mean? Does that mean you just live in empty and you don’t ever run the ball? Is that an opportunity? Yeah, some people might believe that, but I think Trevor Lawrence is the type of player that can fit into any system. He’s that good. He’s going to be that good. I think it’s good that again we understand [him more now]. I’m able to sit in meetings with him every day. We have real conversations every day about what he likes and what he doesn’t like. Some of the things maybe people on the outside think he wouldn’t like, playing under center and some of the play pass stuff, he actually really like that stuff. He’s never done it in college, but he really likes that stuff. [It’s] a much deeper conversation to be had as you move forwards because it’s certainly a longer conversation piece.”
(On what he wants to see from WR Laviska Shenault Jr. in the last games of the season) “I watched the way Laviska [Shenault Jr.] played in that last game and again he’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands. He’s powerful. He’s so hard to bring down. I would say it’s that consistency. There was a play late in the
game last week where he’s on the outside and he was running the deep post and when I tell you he was running as hard and as fast on that play, which was play 65 let’s say, as he was one play one. That consistency of the effort, when 2Live [WR Laviska Shenault Jr.] does that, he is so tough to deal with just because he’s such a big, powerful weapon that’s a matchup both with the ball in his hands, but also on smaller DBs because he’s just too big and powerful for them. So, I would say these last three games, it’s that consistent effort, it’s the consistency of making plays both with the ball in his hands, but also away from the ball, which I definitely saw some flashes that got me really excited over these last couple weeks.”
JAGUARS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOE CULLEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021
(Opening statement) “[I] appreciate everyone being on and want to wish everybody a safe and merry Christmas and a festive one. It’s my favorite time of the year and [I] appreciate you being here. [We’re] getting ready for a big game up in New York against the Jets. To recap last week, obviously the game didn’t go the way we wanted. We had to fight through adversity. We had our opportunities. When you look at that game, until the last play they didn’t have many yards, but we have to a better job of making sure we get off the field on third down. Especially, we had too many third and shorts where [Texans RB Rex] Burkhead did a good job of squirming his way through just to get the first down. We had him stopped a couple times behind the line. we just have to finish better there. Then, obviously in the situation in the last touchdown, trying to get the ball back and if they get four yards, the guy [Texans K Kai’imi Fairbairn] has already boomed a 61-yard [field goal] the last week. So, they are about four and a half yards away from his range and he kicked over 50-yarders, so we wanted to make sure we took care of that and then we just have to make the play on the screen like we did earlier in the game. With that, I’ll open it up for questions.”
(On S Andre Cisco’s performance last week) “Well I’ll tell you, he did a good job. Both him and DT [S Daniel Thomas] did a nice job coming in. Unfortunately, [injuries] happen, and you have to be ready at the snap of a finger like that. He made a heck of a play. We kept him in dime in the third down role like he was. He made a really good play one time getting off the field. They hit a crossing route and he came in aggressive, made the tackle, we get off the field. Some things he was a little tentative, he wasn’t sure. He knew what to do but just go do it. I told him this week, ‘Hey, you get an opportunity to start. Go shoot your gun and let the chips fall.’ I think you’re going to see some good things. I think he has the athleticism and the speed and it’s his opportunity now really to showcase that he can be a starter in the league.”
(On DE/OLB Josh Allen not being a starter last week) “[There’s a] couple things on that. A lot of times situationally if they start in like three tight ends like the last couple weeks, we’ve had what we call a heavy package. He’s not on that. Then we had a big base, he’s not on that. So, it’s just a situational deal. Josh [Allen] is a starter. I have been in situations where sometimes when a guy has had a long streak and [they’ll say], ‘Hey Coach, it’s my 200th game.’ You’re going out there no matter what but [it’s] just situational. He went in on the very next play. [I] would like to see him get back to the form when we were really dominant in that middle phase with Seattle followed up by the Buffalo [game] and then the Indy [game]. Those were his three best games in consecutive fashion. [I] would like to see him finish like that.”
(On LB Myles Jack’s play and how he is handling not practicing consistently) “Well, I’ll tell you. Myles [Jack], if you go way back to when he was drafted, I mean everyone loved him. The injury that he had, that’s a significant injury. I just think it’s been great the way he’s been able to play and play full speed this long. Sometimes the veteran that he is, the wear and tear on that knee now in these last few weeks, we’re trying to save that pain from him. We’re just going with the direction of our trainer. He gets every rep in the walkthrough. He’s wired in and I think he’s played well. Obviously, he’d like to play better, [I] would like to see him play better, but I think he’s played well. You look at the Tennessee game, he was physical, he was dominant. There’s certain things that he can do better and we’re looking for him to improve on those things the last three weeks.”
(On DL Dawuane Smoot’s consistency) “Great, great point. He’s really been Mr. reliable. He’s not the fastest guy, he’s not the quickest guy off the edge. One of the things he does, he plays the run well. He’s going to beat the tackle. He knows how to rush, he has a feel how to rush, not down the middle. He can beat him with quickness, and he can beat him with power. I think he’s had his best year. I followed him really closely. I went and spent a couple days up at Illinois working him out. We really liked him when I was at Baltimore. But I think he’s really been consistent and he’s on the verge really if he finishes strong in these next three games, he can, one, could help us to a victory, that’s the most important thing, but him in a personal note, having career bests in everything. He’s played really well and consistent and that’s the biggest thing. There’s 17 of things [games]. Some guys are going to be so fired up for one, it’s really hard for 17 games to have that emotional high and the physicality and the bruises and the bumps. He’s practiced every day and he’s the same guy every day in the meeting and that’s what I love about him, and on the field on Sunday.”
(On former Jaguar LB and current Jets LB Quincy Williams) “Well you go back, I remember when we brought [Jets LB] Quincy [Williams] up on a visit when we were in Baltimore. He’s fast, he’s explosive, does a lot of things really well. Certain schemes suit him well. Obviously special teams, when you look at that third and fourth linebacker, [they] really factor in. I’m happy for him. He’s playing, doing well. We’ve kind of followed them in certain games and you see him. But I always liked him, and I thought he was fast and explosive, and he could hit.”
(On the difficulties on third down last week against the Texans) “I think when you look at earlier, I said we had too many third-and-1s. We had like three third-and-1s where two of them we had [Texans RB] Rex [Burkhead] stopped behind the line of scrimmage and we have to get more people to the party where now he’s not squirming or turning or twisting. So, they converted three of those. There was a couple of those intermediate ones where they just get the ball through the windows, and we just have to do a better job with that.”
(On what stands out about Jets QB Zach Wilson and the Jets offense) “I’ll tell you what they’ve done a great job, [Jets QB] Zach [Wilson]’s an athlete. He gets out of pressure, he gets out of trouble, he can move, he can run. They’ve done a great job in their scheme in terms of the last couple weeks coming out of the gate, marching right down the field, trick plays like you’ve never seen, double passes, throw back to the quarterback. We’re going to have to have the ends on alert when they’re in the gun, now that guy’s an eligible receiver. They did that down in the red zone, so they did a really good job. Really, they caught Miami kind of a little bit off balance with those. The double pass, they run the reverse, throw it back to the quarterback and then launch it. You look at [Jets WR Jamison] Crowder, I mean he has a pretty good arm. They’re in a third-and-15, they throw the ball out, and then they throw it back to him and then bang, he throws it. It’s double passes on third-and-15 where they converted, so we’re going to really have to be on our rules, on our details early because they jumped out 10-nothing on Miami and that really got them off balance. Through the course of the season, the one thing, Zach, he has the strength, he has the arm strength, can make all the throws. One of the things with a rookie, you’d like to cloud the windows. He’s throwing into some tight windows and people are able to, either through tips or just going and attacking the ball, getting the ball. That’s the big thing. We have to knock the run out. They have three good backs. They really do. When you look at [Jets RB Tevin] Coleman, he’s a veteran. When you look at [Jets RB Michael] Carter, the rookie, and then [Jets RB Ty] Johnson, they run the ball well. The offensive line is scrapping, they do a good job getting a hat on a hat. The biggest thing is weathering that first drive, making sure we’re off the field. When you look at last week, would’ve, ould’ve, should’ve, but we have a three-and-out and then you have a penalty. I mean a dreadful pnalty that you can’t have, can’t have. You’re three-and-out, then you get the ball for the offense, they’re probably going to go down, and the way they were driving the first couple drives, maybe score and then it’s a whole different. We just have to make sure we start fast and no balls over our head and no trick plays hurting us.”
(On S Rayshawn Jenkins being out this week) “Rayshawn [Jenkins], he’s a guy that’s…. This league is a next man up league. There’re injuries all over the place. You’d love to have him, but we don’t, he was hurt. We’d love to have Ray J. He’s been a great leader back there. He plays physical, he plays hard. But again, it’s a next man up [league] and [it’s an] unbelievable opportunity for [S Andre] Cisco and DT [S Daniel Thomas] and they did good job going in just like they did in [the game against] San Francisco. But now really, take the bull by the horns and go secure that position.”
JAGUARS CB SHAQUILL GRIFFIN
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021
(On this week preparing for the Jets) “The week’s been good. Our main thing is still figuring out the things that we’ve been doing wrong, we feel like we’ve been slacking in. I feel like we made a huge improvement this week. I can honestly say the guys are still locked in and I feel like that’s the best part. Everybody has a chip on their shoulder. We still have a lot to prove and everybody’s feeling the urgency. I think that’s the main thing, everybody’s starting to feel this urgency of trying to get this right. We attacked the week really good. It’s actually been a great day today going and working on third down. That sense of urgency is there, and I love that.”
(On doubt that the team wouldn’t have that sense of urgency given everything that’s gone on) “Of course. Dealing with some younger guys, I wasn’t sure how they may respond, but man, I take my hat off and commend those guys for responding so well. You know you’re dealing with a team that’s going through so much, who’s seen so much, or who overcomes so many scenarios, situations. It’s easier for guys to be like, ‘You know what, I’m going to just check out. I only have a couple more weeks left, let me just get it over with, get it done.’ That’s not the right way to think and honestly, I love the fact that these guys are attacking, the way we’re attacking in practice. The urgency there is showing. The guys, the way they’re responding it’s amazing to see and that’s something we can definitely continue to build on when you’re trying to figure things out in an organization. It’s been awesome.”
(On reasoning behind the chip on everyone’s shoulder on the team) “[It’s about] proving that we still have the right guys to make this happen, understanding that I came here to change this organization around and as fast as possible. I feel like I’m not getting that done, so of course I have that chip on my shoulder. You talk about guys that’ve been here for the last couple years who felt like they haven’t gotten that done, they have a chip on their shoulder. Guys that feel like they still have something to prove to put on film not knowing what’s next for this organization. It’s so much that everybody has to show, so much that everybody has to prove. Everybody’s walking around with a chip on their shoulder and that’s the reason I feel that sense of urgency is still there. I love that part because everybody, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re at, whatever your role is, you have something to prove, so that’s where the chip comes from.”
(On his alma matter UCF playing UF in the Gasparilla Bowl tonight) “You know I’m going to walk around the locker room, talk a little trash, and see who bites first. I’m excited for this one. I have to root for my guys and we’re going to make this happen. I’m going to throw some stuff around the locker room, see who picks up the bait and see if I can make me some money on this one.”
(On S Rayshawn Jenkins getting injured in last week’s game) “It was tough. It hit me different even watching it during [from] the sideline. You try to bounce back and I felt like I gave up a big play the way it touched me seeing Rayshawn [Jenkins] going down being he’s like a brother to me, being close for a very long time, even got closer now being on the same team again. It’s tough to lose a guy like that, a
captain, a leader, a solider who’s willing to go through a brick wall for anybody on this team. We all felt that. The main thing is we want to continue to do right by him, continue to lead these guys the right way and continue to spread his word as I continue to spread mine. The conversation we’ve been having is just to reset, get a chance to spend more time with the family, rest up, get his mind back right, taking it slow, understand that it’s no rush and guys are still fighting for you. We know he’s going to bounce back quick. He’s a tough guy and that’s my boy. That’s definitely the conversation we’ve been having, but he’s just spending more time getting the mental back right, getting his body back right, spending more time with the family. He’s going to bounce back and he’s going to be stronger than ever.”
(On what he’s seen from the younger guys, like S Andre Cisco and S Daniel Thomas) “[They are] showing the preparation they’ve been putting in being able to step up in a major way to replace a guy like that [S Rayshawn Jenkins]. It’s tough shoes to fill and they’re doing a phenomenal job. I commend those guys to be able to step up and be ready at moments like this. Even in practice today, the way they communicate and the way they’re talking, the way they’re being vocal, that shows a lot being a young guy and learning
from a vet. I feel like we don’t miss a beat, being on the same accord, being on the same page. It’s awesome to see, so I really love and commend those guys for being able to step up in a major way especially when we need them the most.”
JAGUARS TE JAMES O’SHAUGHNESSY
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021
(On former Jaguars Tight Ends Coach and current Jets Tight Ends Coach Ron Middleton filling in as the head coach this week) “[Jets Tight Ends Coach Ron] Mid[dleton], I don’t think I can describe it enough what he’s done for my career. Him as a person, him as a coach, he’s one the best mindset coaches I’ve
ever heard, ever been around. He’s one of the best technical coaches when it comes to the tight end position, obviously because he played it, and then coaching it for a long time. Then him as a man, [he’s] just been a great mentor in a lot of ways and making me a better man. He’s done great things for my career when I came into learning how to block, becoming a more well-rounded tight end. I could go on for days. I love Mid and when I saw that, I texted him right away. I couldn’t have been happier for him. He ever gets the opportunity to be a full-time head coach, I think he’d do wonderful things. Like I said, I don’t have enough time to go through all of the things I want to thank him for. But I just know a lot of people here have the utmost respect for him, players and coaches.”
(On how this year has gone for him overall) “It’s been rough, very, very rough. Started off getting hurt early, was banged up in camp, and then I got hurt again Week 2 to come back to obviously a situation that no of us expected or wanted. I would have to say probably the most challenging one I’ve had in my seven years in the pros, and I’ve had some ups and downs in my career. It’s something that obviously right now I don’t think many people are looking at it right now. We have game to focus on. But when I look back at it, I know it’ll be one of the most challenging ones I’ve ever had.”
(On keeping everyone on the team focused and on track) “At the end of the day, we’re all professionals. We have a job to do. It doesn’t matter what noise is going on or distractions we have going on in our lives, we still have a job to do. Sick, hurt, whatever it might be, we have to show up on Sunday. We haven’t been getting it done on Sundays so that makes every day that much more difficult. Our work weeks become that much more difficult. People’s attitudes become that much more difficult. Losing does eat at your soul, it eats at everybody’s souls. It’s been brutal but at the end of the day, we still have to show up the next day and try to get better. I think that’s been the most impressive thing about this group that this is probably one of the best locker rooms that I’ve been around. I know that doesn’t mean much to a lot of people who aren’t a part of it, but to me it does. It makes it that much more painful when we let each other down. But it doesn’t mean we’re not going to keep trying to lift each other up, so we just have to stay at it.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence in his rookie season) “I’ve been blown away since day one with him as a person. I knew he was going to be talented. You wouldn’t be the overall number one pick if you weren’t. Talent helps in this league and it’s going to get you in the lineup, get you playing, but what’s going to make you great, what’s going to put you in the conversation of other Hall of Famers and other greats is your mental capacity, your mental toughness, and then just the type of person you are. He checks every single box, every which way. Everybody in this locker room knows it. Everybody who’s ever probably
been around him knows it. That’s why the narratives about him have hurt every single one of us and it hurts even more that we’ve let him down on too many occasions. But like I said, I can’t say enough about the guy, he an awesome guy. We just need to get better together.”
(On TE Dan Arnold potentially coming back at the end of the season) “I wish we had more time together because I love Dan [Arnold] and he’s super talented. I think that’d be a unique one, two combo at the position that I don’t think the Jags have had here since I’ve been here. Now I will say, we do have Jake [TE Jacob Hollister] too. He’s very comparable in all of that between me and Dan, but just to have him back would be a nice element to our offense and especially to our room. It would bring a lot of versatility that we have right now, but it would just expand it and make everything better, so it’d be really cool. I thought about that, we’ve talked about it. It’d be really nice if we get that opportunity. But at the end of the day, Dan needs to do what’s best for him right now to make sure he gets ready for whenever it’s time for him to come play.”
