HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
(On the opportunity to clear up the rumors of the USC coach position that opened up) “There’s no chance that—I’m here and committed to try to build an organization.”
(On whether they will prepare differently for this week’s game compared to Week 1) “We’re still evaluating it. I mean, we’re going to have a good practice this week. Obviously, last week is completely different because it was following a bye—or an off week—so, we’re just going Wednesday and Thursday, day-by-day. Still looking at some things.”
(On whether it’s tough to not overact) “Yeah, it is. But the locker room is the most important thing and I just see good players, I see good people. It’s a build and we’re building.”
(On the challenges that the Denver Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio’s defense presents this week) “They’re really well-coached. First of all, fundamentals. I don’t know Coach [Vic Fangio] very well, but I know people who have worked with him, and you can see hand placement and just physicalness at the line of scrimmage. The coverage they do, it’s called a push coverage, but they have a lot of variations off of it. So, just a very well-coached defense.”
(On what makes him confident that the issues from Week 1 won’t be issues in Week 2) “I just said the quality of players and the quality of people. And I’m very transparent with our players and [I have] a lot of respect for these guys and I have not waivered on that. So, we all have to do just better, getting ready to go and playing better.”
(On whether he has expectations from his leaders coming out of a loss) “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to probably meet with them. I met with them somewhat individually as we go, but [they’re] good quality leaders. I was warned many, many, many, many times. It’s a journey, it’s not a sprint and we’re healthy, attitudes are good, we have good players and we’re building something. Our special teams, we’re incredible, some really good efforts. Josh Allen had some really good efforts, we’ve got to get rid of the damn penalties and we’ve got to not turn the ball over. It’s going to be that way for a hundred years from now.”
(On his perspective of the journey now compared to when we first became head coach of the Jaguars) “I think every team—I don’t ever want to fall into that trap of saying this is a 4-year plan, a 3-year plan. That’s not fair to players. This is a one-game plan and then we’ll worry about the next game. So, that’s not fair to the [players]. There are some guys that have played a lot of football in that locker room and they deserve our very best and that’s what it is. Other than a bruised soul that we all have right now, we’re still swinging away and like I said, you’d probably see a different look on my face if I had bad guys. That’s not the case at all.”
(On whether he thought this process might’ve been smoother) “I thought it was very smooth until the game. Once again, I thought training camp [was] relatively healthy; we had [Travis] Etienne and Tre Herndon. That was the biggest concern, my first training camp, ‘How do you make sure that you’re treating guys right?’ Our whole sports performance model—knock on wood—has been very positive. The general approach to the player-coaching staff relationship have been very positive. So, it’s just—we lost a game.”
(On whether he expected to have so many critics) “I don’t know who they are and I don’t—I’ve probably got an idea. But I learned about six years ago when I read something that was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. I’m good, I’m done, I’ll never read it again. Amy [Palcic] helps me with that, she sends me just the positive stuff. It’s been kind of small, but—.”
(On what he read) “You’ll have to ask Amy, I don’t read [it]. I promise you I don’t read this narrative and I don’t read the silliness about our players, or about—and she knows that. She’s just—‘Hey did you hear?’ and I’m like, ‘Oh is that right?’”
(On the evaluations of his body language) “I’d rather just talk about the game, if that’s alright.”
(On WR Laviska Shenault Jr.’s performance) “Pretty good. Once again, he has a narrative of being hurt all the time and he hasn’t missed anything. He’s been fantastic. We’ve just got to get him in space a little bit more. A good young player, a really good young player.”
(On whether there’s a chance that RB Duke Johnson and TE Jacob Hollister will play this Sunday) “I don’t want to say anything, I’m just not sure yet. We’ll know more after today.”
(On what was the most disappointing thing about the defense) “I think you look—it was also against New Orleans and also Cleveland threw a couple up there, just playing the ball in the air. And that’s something that we know they can, I see it, but you think there were three 50-50 balls last week and they caught them all. But Tyrod [Taylor] threw, even when he was getting hit, falling backwards, [he] throws it to the tight end and the others were just scramble and launch it down the field. We’ve got to make those plays.”
(On the focus of the offensive line) “Yeah, elimination of penalties, even though I hadn’t necessarily agreed with them all, but no one asked my opinion on those, so it’s a penalty. But we did, we ran the ball decent, but we just got behind the chains and next thing you know, you’re down by a couple scores and you get the panic feeling a little bit. That’s not what you should do with a young quarterback.
(On whether it’s tougher on pass protection when the offense gets behind the chains) “Yeah, but the pass pro, if you had to say a couple of positives— we threw the ball 51 times, one sack, a couple pressures, but it’s also the NFL. So, we’ve got to talk about the challenge for this week now.”
(On conversations about QB Trevor Lawrence running the ball at all) “Trevor has got to become Trevor a little bit. That’s part of the game, not designed necessarily, like they ran it at Clemson and we ran it at Ohio State or Florida—I’m not saying we won’t, but there’s also the element of he’s a big, fast athlete that gets you some yards every once and a while if you have to. So, I didn’t really have a chat with him yet about that, but he’s a very studious player and he sees it, I’m sure.”
(On whether QB Trevor Lawrence looked hesitant to run on Sunday) “Not necessarily. One of the things we train our guys [on is to] keep your eyes downfield as much as you can. But there’s also that element, ‘Get us to second and three whenever you can.’”
(On how cognizant they are of Denver Broncos OLB Von Miller or OLB Bradley Chubb) “Yeah, Von is going to line up to our right side, we know where he’s at every snap. He’s that good of a player. He’s also good against zone read and those types of things. But he’s a dynamic, generational pass rusher, so you just have to know where he’s at and you have to have a plan for him.”
(On the importance of getting RB James Robinson going on the run game) “Yes and yes.”
(On his anticipation of playing a regular season home game in Jacksonville) “I just want to win that darn game and give our fans something to—we all have a dream and my dream is that stadium erupts. But we’ve got to do our job.”
(On correcting the miscommunication on defense) “Yeah, we simplify and we have to do a better job. That’s first game type stuff, not fourth game. So, we shouldn’t have that, and we’ve got to get it fixed.”
QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
Wednesday, September 15
(On the ball from his first touchdown) “I have it actually. I forgot to ask for it and then our equipment guys, who are awesome, saved it for me. I got it in my locker.”
(On his plan for the ball) “I don’t know. [I might] keep it, might give it to family. I’m not really sure yet. I’ll probably hold on to it. It’s kind of special, so [I’ll] hold on to it.”
(On why the offense was inconsistent) “It’s pretty much how we felt after the game was spot on. Obviously, you find a few things that are good and a few things that are bad that you didn’t know before when you watch the tape, but really [it was] just penalties. We have to be cleaner. We have to be sharper, have to be quicker in and out of the huddle procedurally. For me, [it’s] just taking care of the ball, like I said, some bad decisions, and then Houston did a good job, have to give it to them defensively just always being around the ball. There were a couple plays that were tipped or whatever that they almost picked too, so they did a good job. They had a good game plan, but I made it easy on them in some of those turnovers just throwing it to them. I have to do a better job, take care of the ball. It’s so important in this game, especially in this league. You go down in the margin minus three, it’s going to be hard to overcome that. It’s all of us though. We all have to be better, but it starts with me for sure. Those turnovers are a direct reflection of me.”
(On the challenges of the Broncos defense) “It’s a lot different. This is still a big zone team, but more match principles, so they are really good athletes that can carry and play man. Their disguises are really good in the backend. Up front, they have the two linebackers. They’re really like d-ends but can drop, play coverage, Von Miller, Bradley Chubb. They have a lot of other guys too that can roll in, but those two guys on the edge [have] great pass rush. They make it tough to break contain because they do such a good job setting the edge, and they have the coverage players too. They do a good job mixing it up in the secondary, showing you something pre-snap and changing it. We have a challenge in front of us for sure, but I feel like we had a great first day of prep and I like our plan so far.”
(On getting reps with TE Jacob Hollister) “I think he’s great. We haven’t gotten a ton of reps, but we’ve taught him a little. He’s really smart, picks up on it quick, always is where he’s supposed to be, can run too. He’s a good athlete. That’s probably the first thing I noticed is that he’s pretty quick. We connected on one in practice today which was great, probably need to get a few more reps with him just because he’s a newer guy, but I love what he can do.”
(On what the Texans defense showed last weekend) “Honestly, they kept it really simple. If you watched the game, it was almost all cover two. They didn’t really disguise it. The only thing they did was some double mug stuff with the front, but they dropped out 80 percent of the time. They weren’t even trying to hide it; I was just not patient with the coverage. That’s designed to prevent big plays and I got a little bit greedy on a couple and trying to take too much and just wasn’t patient. That’s a direct reflection of the turnovers. That wasn’t a crazy disguise game, but like I said of them just always being near the ball, turning tips into picks, and if you’re off on a throw, they’re going to make you pay for it. That didn’t always happen in the preseason, but that’s just how it is. There are great players everywhere, so you have to take care of it. You have to play well.”
(On missed opportunities in his running game in Week 1) “There wasn’t many where it was like it was for sure one where it was wide open, I should have ran. But I think just in general using my legs and extending plays and not just sitting the pocket, that’s a part of my game that I think helps me, helps the team and can keep plays alive. That’s something that I do well, so continuing to do that. We talked about that in the preseason, and I feel like I got a little bit better and then this week, kind of could’ve done a little bit more. It’s something I’m always going to work on, but that’s usually a pretty natural part of my game, so I’m not too concerned. I think the more comfortable I get, that’ll start to show.”
(On the offense becoming more balanced) “[It’s] very important. You see kind of we got in a hole there, had to throw the ball a lot, which is just how it is. It’s tough, but like I said, even though we did throw it 50 times, we had a lot of opportunities for big plays that I missed, the turnovers, like I said, a lot of things. Even though we were in that hole, we did have a lot of opportunities. But obviously, you want to have a balanced attack and we do. We have the guys to do it, so I’m not concerned with that. But it’s just about playing cleaner early so you don’t get down 17, 21, whatever it is and then you kind of have to play catch up. That’s the idea is just staying in the game by not shooting yourself in the foot and we did that too much, so [we need to be] getting better with that.”
(On his first regular season home game this weekend) “I’m excited. I don’t really know. Preseason was great, but I’m excited to see what it’s like for the first regular season game and obviously to have family and friends here [to] see my first home game. But I’m just happy to be at home. We played three straight away ones, so it’s nice to just stay here for the game. I’m excited for that though, it’s going to be awesome.”
(On how many tickets he gave to family and friends) “I don’t even know, probably like 20 or so, but I don’t really know.”
(On getting back on the field following a loss) “That’s the thing about football that kind of sucks is obviously you need the time between games because it’s so physical and you have to get healthy. But when you have a rough game, it’s like, dang, you have to wait a whole week to play again. Baseball, basketball, you get out there and get to play two days later and kind of flush it. That’s the thing, but we have a lot to work on so I’m glad we got a week of practice to get better. I thought we had a great day today, addressed some of the issues, and guys have a great attitude, we’re ready to go and get a win.”
(On the last game he played a week after a loss) “We lost to Notre Dame last season. I was out with COVID, but still, that was in the regular season, so I guess that was that last. I didn’t play, so you’re right. It’s never really [happened].”
(On the 12 straight pass plays to open the game) “It was just one of those games. Obviously, you look at that, that’s not the plan. I don’t think anyone tries to go throw it 12 times straight coming out of the gate, but you look at the penalties and [getting] backed up and the third down situations, you just have to. Then I had an early miss low on the out to DJ [Chark Jr.] that put us in third down or second down and screen. All that and some of those were screens too, which they were passes but obviously that’s for run after the catch so that’s a little bit different. That’s obviously not what you want, so we all have to do better. That’s not the offensive coordinator[‘s fault], that’s really us on execution and putting him in a bad spot.”
(On missing out on the name, aimge and likeness opportunities for NCAA athletes) “I’ve thought about it but I kind of like to keep things simple. I’m glad that I wasn’t really a part of that. I think it’s great for people that are still in school, but I loved my experience and I wouldn’t change it. I know that that brings a lot of stress too like I know the situation I’m in, sometimes less is more. Now knowing like I can go to these endorsements and make money and do whatever marketing, sometimes less is more. Sometimes you worry a little bit about guys doing too much just because at the end of the day you still have to go to school, you have to play ball, you have to do what got you there. You just have to be careful, but I’m super happy. I have some friends that are still in school that are loving it and it’s been great for them to make some extra money. I think it’s a good thing and I think it was the right move, but you just have to be careful.”
(On simplifying the offense) “I think we’ll have a good plan. Short answer, yes. I’m not really sure of what exactly we’re going to change in that, but I know that we have a good plan as far as personnel. Today, it was really clean substitutions and we’ve done a great job addressing it. That’s not really my conversation as to necessarily the personnel as [it is for] all the coaches and who they want in the game. But today looked great, so I’m not worried about it.”
JAGUARS CB SHAQUILL GRIFFIN
September 15, 2021
(On what he learned from last weekend’s game) “I definitely feel a lot better after the game after watching it, seeing what we did good, seeing things we have to work on. I feel like me and Rayshawn [Jenkins] probably had the longest talk about the game after watching it on the plane. I feel like guys like us, you talk about the second play of the game, I have to make that play. [It’s] something I have to work on. The play with Rayshawn, have to bring those in. It’s little details like that that we have to fix, but I think the biggest thing we took from that game is that first series, the energy, the way we started it off, the passion, you can feel it, you can see it. That’s the part that we have to kind of continue throughout the whole game. I feel like that’s the biggest thing. One more thing about the game that we learned was let’s find a way not to get frustrated with how the game is going, but focus on completing each task, each play, one play at a time. We can’t kind of figure out what the offense may do each game, but we can control what the defense does each play. That’s the part that we have to do better at. Once you get to a point where everybody’s trying to make a play depending on what the score is, you have some people that will jump gaps, including myself. I know I have a third but I’m trying to make a play for the team, I start to sit a little bit. I shouldn’t. So, getting back to just doing our job, doing what we need to do, staying poised, staying under control, and doing exactly what our job description is on each play, I feel like that’s the biggest thing, the biggest lesson that we took from this game.”
(On ball skills being teachable) “Most definitely. We can go to my play first. Me getting used to if sometimes I might have to dive for a catch, to get used to just getting the ball in my hands, being able to judge it and just catch it. I have to get used to catching it so it’s not to the point where I have a ton of breakups, but when the ball touches my hand, I have to make that play. So, [it’s] in practice, after practice, catching extra footballs, seeing how it feels, just getting used to just catching. I’m not a receiver, so it’s not something I focus on every single day, but I can. That’s the part I have to improve. Let’s talk about Rayshawn [Jenkins]’s play. It’s little details. If he goes up and it’s still in his arms instead of keeping them short and trying to catch it with his chest, that’s an interception because he goes on top, extends his arms, make the play, it’s a lot easier. So, it’s little details that a lot of people don’t notice, but it can change the outcome of the game. Those are things that we’re working on outside of practice. Today, I’ve never been a punt returner, but I’m back here trying to catch punts because you can see how the ball can change. You start getting better at judging the ball, when it’s coming down, where it’s going. I never noticed how good seeing the ball from a punt perspective, how much it can help. It’s little details I can continue on to work to help my game. That’s probably little extra steps that we have to start doing each and every day.”
(On what has been asked of the captains going into Week 2) “Bringing the guys along, understand this is our first game this whole team really played with each other. That’s game one, but the main thing is we can’t have the young guys feeling like they can get used to losing because it’s not the environment we’re trying to create. For captains, we have to do a little bit more. We have to bring the guys along. We have to keep them up. We have to keep their spirits up and get them starting to believe in something that’s a lot bigger than just that game one.”
(On keeping the team motivated despite the loss) “It’s tough, but now you have the captains who’ve seen it before, been through winning teams, know how it feels to lose games, and how to get prepared for the next one to continue to try to get better so you don’t lose another one. It’s critical for the captains to do a lot more, speak up a lot more. I feel like that’s what a lot of our captains are good at is speaking up and just giving guys hope. That’s the main thing, you have to believe in something that’s bigger than yourself and it takes the captains to continue to show the way, doing everything right, being that leader on and off the field. That’s the part we continue to preach as captains, and I feel like every day we try to come up with something new to try to figure out how to do better, how to get guys to continue to believe. Right now, just off today’s practice, I can see the spirit’s still there. Everybody, the way they attacked practice today, it was awesome because we could’ve sat here and just laid down. The guys who’ve been through this team before and know how it feels to lose, they could’ve just laid down and gave up, but I haven’t seen not one person waver and that’s very important. I love saying that. Now we can reset and kind of do this all over again and make it work, so that’s awesome to see.”
(On controlling his frustration when trailing in a game) “It can get frustrating. When I say that, you start seeing the score kind of get up on you and everybody wants to make the play, so you start hearing coaches [say], ‘We have to get the ball back, have to get the ball back. Let’s make a play. Let’s get a pick. Let’s get a fumble.’ In our head, we’re thinking, ‘Man, how can I do this? How can I be that guy?’ This is myself talking to myself like, ‘How can I make this play?’ One play for a great example, I’m getting a fade ball, but I see No. 2, the inside guy running an out route and I’m looking at the quarterback dead in his eyes looking at his out-route thinking, ’If I throw it…’ and I’m ready to sit down and jump a route trying to make a play for the team, but it’s not my job. That’s the frustrating part. I’m frustrated because I want to make this play so bad, but I know my team needs me to do my job. You start to get that little confused because you’re like, ‘Man, what can I do? How can I do it?’, but at the end of the day, you just have to do your job. I feel like that’s more than enough to make the right play because if I’m in the right position, I know there’s no telling that ball goes over my head, I can try to make that play now. That’s the frustrating part because you want to, everybody wants to be the guy to make that play because they are trying to help their team win. There’s nobody on this defense that’s not trying to do their best to help this team win, so that’s the part that gets frustrating.”
(On when the frustration set in during the game) “Not second quarter. I feel like everybody still had high hopes trying to come back. I feel like you start getting towards the end of the third quarter, the interceptions start picking up more, we weren’t winning on third down as a defense. It starts, ‘How can we make a play? We have to get this ball out.’ That’s the part that gets frustrating, but if you remember, like I said, the first series of the game, imagine that same defense of that first series carried [throughout] the first, second, third, fourth quarter. That’s the defense that’s unstoppable. That’s the part that we have to grab and kind of build off of.”
(On team morale after the Week 1 loss) “Any real competitor is going to feel some type of way after a loss like that. You practice that week, you feel like you gave everything you could, you feel like you have a big step coming into the game the right way, understand that you know exactly what you’re going to get from this team, and it doesn’t go your way. I think [Head Coach Urban] Meyer said it best, it was unexpected because you know you give so much in practice that week. You imagined that you’re going to win that game, but wins aren’t promised. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, but that’s the part that we have to continue to get better at and we’re going to focus on that. But, like I said, a real
competitor’s going to feel some type of way about the loss because you don’t like losing. The energy wasn’t right after the game, but, like I said, we gave the guys 24 hours to kind of look over the game, see the corrections, and you have to move forward. That’s the league and I’m glad that the young guys are starting to understand that part of the game.”
(On the defense’s communication) “There were some great things, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the defense did a terrible job the whole game. There’re some great things we took from it, but I feel like the biggest part was if I had one mistake, another guy had one mistake, then another guy had one mistake. You have one mistake, but you start adding it all up and you’re up to 10, 12 mistakes. That’s the part that can’t happen, so you try to eliminate those type of mistakes. There were so many good things because we did communicate well and it was a great feeling, but the best feeling was the first series. That’s the part we continue to talk about because we have to build off that. I feel like going into game two, it’s going to be a huge difference because we learned so much about each other after playing with each other for the first time a full game. It’s going to be a big difference.”
(On CB Tyson’s Campbell’s NFL debut) “He has a lot to learn from, definitely have a lot to learn from, but I love the way he competed, love the way he fought throughout the whole game because a guy that young giving up any type of plays sometimes they can get into their own little hole and it’s hard for them to get out. He took it very professional[ly] being able to go in each play and try to make another play. That was huge, but now it’s little details, things are a little different. You might have a certain drop and be in that nickel spot, but you have to vet who’s sitting there in the spot where you didn’t think you had to cover. It’s little details that, as a rookie, you have to learn and that’s the part that I’m going to help him with. Even before plays, if I’m giving him a route, I tell him, ‘If I tell you a route, if I feel like I know something, just go with it. I’ve seen it so many times. I’ve been here long enough to see exactly what’s going on. Trust me, it’s going to work.’ That’s the type of trust that you have to have in me as teammates. Like I said, [he has] a lot to learn from, but he’s going to be great.”
(On working with CB Tyson Campbell to help him improve) “Give him a chance to go make a play at practice. Let’s go back to preseason, the Saints game, we misjudged the ball on a post route, so I’m going to give you a post route in practice. See how the ball’s thrown off the quarterback’s hand, be able to judge the ball the right way. Those things that we have to do in practice sometimes just to pull to the side, so he knows what it looks like. That’s the only way you can get better if you work at it in practice. That’s the part we’ve been doing a lot better at, ball disruption, working on it in practice. Like I said, the better we get feeling comfortable with catching the ball, it’s going to come to the games. So, like I said on my play, I have to make that play. Tyson, he has to learn how to judge a ball, but that’s something that we’re working on after practice each and every day just a little extra.”
(On the Denver Broncos offense) “I see [Broncos QB] Teddy [Bridgewater], he’s a mobile quarterback, but I think he’s going to try to sit in the pocket more. I’m not sure about [Broncos WR] Jerry Jeudy yet. I think they put him on IR if I’m not mistaken. It’s a little couple things that we have to kind of figure out what plays they may use, what plays they may take out. But the offense can be explosive. You have to start fast and that’s the part we make sure we focus on is starting fast, getting the best of Teddy, and make him kind of air that ball out, make those guys try to make plays with the receivers. As the backend, the DBs, we have to be the one to have one-on-one battles. That’s what we’re harping on, figure out who you’re going to be facing, who you’re going to be guarding, win your one-on-one battles. Let’s put the game on Teddy Bridgewater and not on the run, so that’s the thing that we’re focusing on.”
