Friday, August 2, 2019
(Opening Statement) “I thought it was a solid day. We we’re a little up and down. We had way too many penalties, that’s the number one thing that we try to talk about. The number one thing is you can’t beat yourself, and I think we gave them some opportunities, some big plays, some explosive plays to get them in the red zone. But other than that, we’re up and down. I know we’re getting a lot of guys reps with the first unit when you see them versus good-on-good, versus our number one wide receivers and some of our younger corners, and some are standing up and some have to continue to get better. But overall, very, very pleased with our progress. Some things that we’ve changed, our guys are adapting really well, and we’re excited about it.”
(On how Najee Goode preformed with a heavier workload today) “We’ve kind of had this plan with Najee the whole time. He’s very intelligent. He’s been in the league eight years. We feel comfortable with him going over [and] playing Will [linebacker]. We thought he was probably going to be our third flip linebacker anyway, and we really like the depth there. Obviously, it’s too bad that Quincy [Williams] will be out for a little bit, but he’ll continue to study. He was doing a great job up until this point. I felt he was ahead of schedule dealing with rookie linebackers in the past, and he’ll be back, and he’ll be ready to go and we’ll feel comfortable with whoever steps in there and plays.”
(On how the defense is preforming without Yannick Ngakoue and with a new system in place) “We’re trying to adjust our system to every player that we have, and some of the adjustments are for Yan[nick Ngakoue] and Yan’s not here. But it’s a situation that any of our rushers have to do that, so we’re adjusting, trying to get them into a better position to make some more plays than they already have. Some of the front adjustments that we do, some of the things we’re doing in the back, I really like the addition to our package. So, it’s good right now. Obviously, we’re not going to show a lot, but I like where we’re at with the new stuff.”
(On if he’s confident Yannick Ngakoue will catch up quickly when he returns) “Yan? Yeah, Yan can lead the defensive line meeting room. He knows everything. I’m not worried about it. I usually talk to him about every other day and he’s in good spirits and hopefully we can get him in here when we can.”
(On if he recommended Josh Allen to form a relationship with Calais Campbell) “I think any young player in the defensive line room, if they had any brains to them at all, they would gravitate towards Calais, and Josh has got a lot of brains. Calais is a great leader. He’s taken him under his wing, and some of the other guys, because they know that Josh is going to have to play for us and play for us a lot. And so it was just a good decision by him. But I know [Defensive Line] Coach [Jason] Rebrovich has done a good job of pushing him towards Calais and understanding that’s what it takes to be a pro, and Calais is leading him.”
(On the plan to keep Calais Campbell fresh for year) “We’ve learned it a long time ago. I mean, in 2007 we did it with Derrick Brooks. The longer you get in the league we understand the most important thing is we have to get you to Sunday. And I think every coach in the league does that, so we’re going to manage some of the guys that are a little bit older and make sure that he’s fresh when he gets to game day, because we all know if he’s fresh he can be a difference maker for us.”
(On if Calais Campbell likes the plan to keep him fresh for the season) “He wants to be out there competing, but at the same time, he knows what’s best for him. And the same thing, the communication is big between him, myself, [Jaguars Head Coach] Doug [Marrone] and Jason to make sure he’s in on the plays he needs to be in on, and that he doesn’t need to be in on the other stuff that he’s done a million times.”
