JAGUARS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DARRELL BEVELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCT. 7
(On the offense’s production in the Thursday night game against the Bengals) “I really liked how we handled the week and played on a short week. I thought the guys did a really nice job with retaining the information that we had for them and then I thought it showed in the way that we played. I like what we did. [It was] probably our best game offensively as a whole. We ran the ball well, we threw the ball, we were pretty good on third down, we were good in the red area, a lot that we’re improving on. That’s what we’ve been talking about, the process of this thing, so I like how we came out in the last game. Now, we have to finish. We had a good half and the interesting thing about the second half is we had the ball three times. It was interesting. We only had eight drives in the game, which is, as you guys know, that’s a low number. Both teams didn’t turn it over, which we were excited about that as well. But we also had longer drives and so the opportunities were less with only eight drives and three in the second half. You have to make the most of those.”
(On incorporating WR Jamal Agnew more into the receiving core) “It’s still developmental. [Jamal] Ag[new]’s a young player at the wide receiver position and again, we’re trying to find the best way to implement all these guys because they all have great skill sets and what’s the best way to put their skill sets to use. We got him a couple touches last week and he’ll be even more involved now that we lost DJ [Chark Jr.]. [We’re] trying to get the ball to really all those guys the best way we can.”
(On WR Laviska Shenault Jr.’s role with the injury to WR DJ Chark Jr.) “He takes a bigger role. He steps up and when we have two wide receivers out there, he will be out there. He’s just going to have more opportunities that way.”
(On WR Laviska Shenault Jr.’s growth this season) “I’ve really liked what he’s done since he’s been here or since I’ve been here. He showed us some versatility. He can do a lot of things [by] just getting the ball in his hands. Like the first play of the game, he goes for 11 yards on a -2-yard pass. Those things are ways we’re just trying to get the ball in his hands. Just like the other guys, how can we get it to them in the best places for them to make plays?”
(On TE Dan Arnold having a full week to prepare, unlike before the game against the Bengals) “I thought it was really impressive what he was able to do last week. He showed up a couple times in the game. I really liked the one where it was the boot to the right and he stuck his foot in the ground and got up the field. You saw a little bit of his speed there. But just to be able to go function and play in the game was really impressive. [Tight Ends Coach] Tyler Bowen really worked hard as did Dan [Arnold] to gain enough information to get out there in the game and feel comfortable to be out there. Another week under his belt will only help and we’ll continue to try to get him the ball.”
(On getting TE Dan Arnold prepared with a short week last week) “We were trying to see where there’s some carryover. To be honest, at first it was just going to be a small package and then the way they grinded [changed that]. He was here a lot, [Tight Ends Coach] Tyler [Bowen] was here a lot and even the day of the game just sitting at the table the whole time going over every play. Basically, he could’ve gone in there and done almost anything that we had that was in the game plan. That’s not the whole book, but with things that were in the game plan, he could’ve done it.”
(On converting on third downs) “I’m concerned about third down as a whole and I thought we made improvements that way last week because our numbers haven’t been good. But the thing that helps you there is your first and second down and last week I thought really played into it. We had a bunch of third-and-1s, third-and-2s, third-and-3s, so you have to do good on first and second down and not have those negative plays where now you’re at third-and-10s, third-and-12s and make those a lot more difficult to convert. [It] kind of goes hand in hand; we have to do better on first and second downs and make those manageable and then we’ll continue to work on the longer yardage situations.”
(On WR Jamal Agnew’s toe-drag catch) “It was a highly impressive play. It was last second on the throw and great accuracy on the throw and then the great job by [Jamal] Ag[new] to get his feet down. I know that we work those drills. I can even go back to Detroit and at Detroit, those were some of drills that we worked with wide receivers and that’s something that you work all the time. I’ve seen him do it before, so it didn’t surprise me, but it was a nice play.”
(On RB James Robinson the last two weeks) “Just keep giving him the ball as long as we’re blocking for him. We had that conversation in here about when you run the ball and you get positive yards, it’s easy to continue to give it to him. I love what I’ve seen from him.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s first game without turnovers against the Bengals) “That’s a big deal and it was a huge deal for him, for us as an offense. You see how the game’s different when you don’t turn it over. You’re in the game, it helps you do different things offensively. [It was a] great job by him protecting it, but protecting the ball is a job of all of us. It starts from the center-quarterback exchange. You can’t take that for granted. Then every guy that’s entrusted with the ball, they have to do a great job of securing it down. But it was a big deal, big deal.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence making a big step in his improvement last week) “Absolutely and I really thought he made great decisions in that game. There was a lot of really good decisions. Even the decision when he got out of the pocket, he was like, ‘You know what? I can’t make a play here’ and he threw it away, so you saw that happening. I believe that you guys should see, and everybody should see, the evolution of what he’s done from Game 1 to Game 4, how he’s improving. Every rep that he gets is invaluable and he’s learning from each one he gets, just like last game. It was awesome to see him go out and was, ‘Oh, nothing’s there. I have to get rid of this one.’”
(On WR Tryon Johnson being ready to take a bigger role) “We’re working [in] that direction. I’d love to see him get out there. We continue to press him. I tell these guys the practice field is where you have to make it, so he has to continue to work out there to get more opportunities.”
(On why WR Tyron Johnson hasn’t been on the field more) “I think the biggest thing is anytime you get put out there, there’s trust factors, I think trust factors with the coaches and the players and then players to players as well. You need to know that you’re going to react the correct way in different situations, sometimes the different looks that a defense can give to you, the post-snap, pre-snap looks, and it changes. You have to be able to react the right way and that’s still what we’re working on.”
(On the fourth-and-1 call at the end of the first half against the Bengals) “I never like to talk scheme, but the play was we really had two opportunities on the play, and it didn’t come off the way that we needed it to. Without getting too deep into it, the way the play played out, Trevor [Lawrence] keeping the ball is what he ended up needing to do the way the play played out. But it could’ve been different, let’s say that.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOE CULLEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCT. 7
(Opening Statement) “I appreciate everybody being here. It’s a lot cooler in here. I’ll recap the game. Thursday night, quick turnaround, I thought the guys did a phenomenal job preparing for the game, getting ready for a tough Cincinnati team that had been playing at a high level. I’m very familiar with them, being in that division for the last five years. But the plan, it was—the guys executed it well the first half. They did a great job. We always want to start the game with a kill, and a kill is three drives in a row without a score—not necessarily three 3-and-outs, but without a score—and we had four. Usually in those situations, you win the game; and our offense was rolling, doing a great job. But we’ve got to play four full quarters, that’s what it comes down to. There were key situations in the game, a couple third downs where unfortunately we didn’t make the plays that were called to be made and we were in position to do it and we will do it moving forward. We’ll get better at that, it’s a growing process and learning how to win when things start to unravel a little bit, you’ve got to shut the nail in the coffin right there and make a play. We had a play made and I’m not going to get into penalties, we had a sack early in the game, we had a sack on the last third down and unfortunately –I don’t get in the officials or anything like that—if there was a flag thrown, then there was a penalty. We’ve just got to learn. The biggest thing is penalties, mental errors and LOS (line of scrimmage), I learned a long time ago, get you beat. There [were] a couple critical—our guys are playing hard—but a couple critical situations where we’ve got to take care of business and we will, moving forward.”
(On why the defense has performed well in the first half of the past two games but not the second half) “I think when you look at the Arizona game—because we looked at it really from the Denver game on, the same thing like you said—Arizona, they came out (in the second half) and we had a pick on the first drive. So, we’re rolling right there, feeling good. I mean, Dewey [Andrew Wingard] has been catching everything, he had a near pick the other night, he ran through the ball, unfortunately he was out-of bounds by half a foot. He had a pick yesterday in practice. But again, I’ll go back to the Arizona game as well. They’re a good team, they’re going to make some plays, but there were a couple—and I said it last week, there’s usually three to five plays where you don’t know when they’re coming, where you have a breakdown. And that’s learning and communicating, making sure we know who’s covering who, making sure the rush is getting there. It takes all 11 [players] and that’s what we’ve got to do a better job of. When you do it for a half, you’d like to get it to three quarters and then finish it this week with four quarters. And that’s what we were excited [about]—it’s a great opponent coming in, it’s a great opponent. I was here before and it’s a smash mouth, knock you back. They’re going to tell you when they’re running the ball. I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach [Mike] Vrabel. They’re going to tell you when they’re running the ball there, they’re going to say, ‘Can you stop it?’ and then when you stop it, they’re going to run their boots, their play actions. They just do a great job and I’ve played them four times in the last couple years and obviously, it’s a rivalry game. I’m excited to get—the week has been great preparation wise and I’m excited to get to Sunday and let the chips fall.”
(On whether the Titans take physicality to a new level) “They want to be the bully and they do a great job at it. They’re going to run stretch, they’re going to run zone, they’re going to run it ‘till the cows come home, until you stop it. And it’s physicality, Gene, you’ve got to match it and it’s a great point you’re making. That’s what it is. Especially when you’ve got 22 [Derrick Henry] back there, I think he’s the last back—and correct me if I’m wrong—but two straight years of 2,000 yards. Maybe Earl Campbell did it, I can’t remember the last [running] back to do it in a row. And they’re going to feed him until you stop him.”
(On whether the Jaguars defensive front will be more eager because of the type of game they’re expecting to get) “Well, I mean, every team has a good back and they run the football, but yeah, it’s man-on-man. You’ve got to win one-on-one battles. It takes all 11 [players] to stop the run and I think our guys do a great job up front. But also in the secondary, because if a run breaks—the longest run the other night was 11 yards, so I mean, we’re tackling and getting them down. So, you’ve got to have run fits, you’ve got to have the edge set against this team. And then when he cuts back, we can’t be over pursuing. So, it takes all 11 [players] to stop the run, like it takes all 11 to stop the pass—rush and coverage go hand-in-hand.”
(On this defense having to learn how to finish better) “I think it goes back to when the play is there to be made, the third-and-3 for the touchdown, or the one where they—they’re going to hit a pass every now and then. Tyson [Campbell] is young, they’re going to hit a pass on him. But the week before, he knocked one down, he had a great play on a great wideout. So, they’re going to make plays, they’re a good football team, they’re going to make plays. But when the money downs on third down, we needed two of those—one of them to get off the field that changes the game. We did it in the first half and didn’t do it in the second half. Rush has got to be better, coverage has got to be better, we’ve got to tighten up, everybody doing their job. It takes all 11 [players] to stop a play.”
(On offenses adjusting when CB Shaquill Griffin shadow opponents) “Well, a lot of that too is by the alignments and the formation—there will be games where you can go by the number but there will be games they won’t be.”
(On mental errors on defense) “I think sometimes when—it happens everywhere—but sometimes when all of a sudden, you’re just dominant, I mean, dominant, under 100 yards. Then, we’ve got to run the ball down our throat, and they had two-something a carry at the half, 14 yards. I mean, getting off the field, rush and working together, getting them off the spot, getting them moving—and then all of a sudden, one or two bad things happen, I’ve got to go make a play. You’re going to make the plays you’re supposed to make, by honing into your key, doing your job and when you do that and you’re focused on your keys, the plays will come to you and that’s what we’ve got to learn.”
(On DT DaVon Hamilton’s performance) “He did. Ham [DaVon Hamilton] has been doing a great job for what we’re asking him to do. He’s physical, he won the one-on-one matchup when they zoned it. I mean, that’s what we’re going to have to do because this is a good center, Ben Jones is a good center.”
(On where the rivalry with the Titans stems from in Baltimore) “Well, I think when you look back, I mean, the old days, they were in the division. Back in the old days, that was when Ray and Ed and all those guys. So, that was a huge game and usually whoever won that divisional game went to the Super Bowl or the AFC Championship. So, it was always a rival. But then, when Coach Vrabel took over for Coach [Mike] Mularkey—Coach Mularkey did a great job there, went to the playoffs—we played them every year and then we played them two years in a row in the playoffs. We won the first one, they won two in a row, we won the last one. It became a deal of just great football being played, physicality and usually going down on the wire. And it was just a good, clean, hard football game. I remember way back when Coach [Jeff] Fisher was there, when I was here before Coach [Jack] Del Rio, it was the same thing. I mean, usually we had Mojo [Maurice Jones-Drew] and they had—I can’t remember his name, but he had—yeah, Chris Johnson was a 2,000-yard rusher. So, it always came down to it’s a great game to be a part of and that’s what we’re fired up for.”
(On the cause of pressure on the quarterback not translating to many sacks) “We’ve just got to get them down. There are ways to affect the quarterback other than sacking him. Coverage, rush getting there a little quicker, helping the coverage—so, it goes hand-in-hand and we just keep working at it, keep driving. I mean, the other night, the week before, I don’t think he even got hit, never mind sacked and he got one taken away. We had one earlier. I mean, you’re not always going to sack him, but if you can affect the quarterback early—like, we got him off the spot, coverage was outstanding, I mean, it goes hand-in-hand. But we’ll just keep working at it and win our one-on-one battles.”
(On how DE/OLB Josh Allen is adjusting to his role here compared to college) “Good. He’s doing real good. I mean, we’re a different scheme. A 4-3 [scheme], you’re still going to ask your guys to drop but we had Matt Judon on drop almost 400 times in four years or five years, and I thought he was still one of the best edge rushers. I had Terrell Suggs who’s sixth all-time in sacks, had to drop. Willie McGinest came in and spoke, he said he had to drop. I mean, he’s doing well, he’s dropped 12 percent of the time this year and he’s adjusting well. Obviously, rushers are going to rush, but he’s doing really well.”
