(On if RB Leonard Fournette has changed his expectations after his recent performances) “I don’t know if [the expectations] get higher. I know that he’s really doing a nice job for us. He’s second in the NFL in rushing. I really think as the game’s going on, he’s getting stronger. You look at what he’s done in the second half and his second half yards are leading the league. The one thing is, is that because he’s doing such a good job of running the football and just overall all-purpose, it becomes more challenging each week, more teams are going to focus on him, so we have to do a good job as coaches and we need other guys to step up and go, and that’ll keep his production high. I think that if it’s just him, that’s going to be tough for us. But he’s really doing a nice job, so hopefully we can just keep putting him in those situations where he can have the type of production.”
(On the injury situation at linebacker and on the linebackers having a good showing in Week 7 at Cincinnati) “I think anytime you look at the rushing, I think overall, defensively, we did a heck of a job stopping the run. I thought that they had a physical group of guys and obviously [Joe] Mixon’s a heck of a running back, so I thought those guys were ready. I mean, it was getting tough there for a while, guys were getting hurt. Most of it’s just soft tissue stuff, we’re still waiting to hear. Most of its turf-related injuries, which is unfortunate. [I’m] trying to figure out how I can do a better job for our players. That type of turf was tough, so we’ll look. We’ll probably bring in some guys just to make sure we’re working out in case some of these guys are out a little bit longer, and then it’s just kind of that same type of mentality of the next guy up, if we have to do that, hopefully not, and just keep playing through it. Injuries are part of it, unfortunately.”
(On how we will work QB Nick Foles back into practice) “We talked about it. When I say we, I’m talking about myself, Nick [Foles], and [Offensive Coordinator] Flip [John DeFilippo] and [Quarterbacks Coach] Scott [Milanovich]. We’ll take him back, we’ve got time, so we’ll just kind of gradually bring him back in there. I know he’s been throwing on the side, I haven’t seen him throw. I just want to make sure we’re good with the reps and building it up and not trying to do too much too fast. [I’ll] talk to the doc, see where he’s at, making sure that we don’t want a lot of people around him. So, we’ll be smart this week and then we’ll see how it progresses, but we have a pretty good plan. He’ll probably throw scout team, seven-on-seven, do a lot of work on the side getting himself ready, and then kind of see where he’s at and then increase it as we go.”
(On what is causing problems for the offense in the red zone and how they plan on fixing it) “We had a long talk about that, too, today and I think first it starts with me. I’m going to put a little bit more time, get a little bit more reps in there. Situationally, I always thought that’s probably one of the tougher things for young quarterbacks coming in, especially right from college. Things happen so fast and so quickly down there. We just have to get with him, see what he likes, as far as concepts, and then once we get those concepts, we have to hit all of the different coverages and things that he can see down there. So, I think I have to do a better job, which I will, making sure that we spend time [working on the red zone offense]. Then, we have to do a good job of going down there and picking the things that, from a quarterback standpoint, he feels real comfortable with and he can make all the changes, or things like that, depending upon the coverage. And then we just have to make plays down there. We hit a couple yesterday, the two-point play and the touchdown, where we made plays. I thought we had some other opportunities, but it wasn’t as smooth as you would like, it was kind of extended plays. So, we’re going to put more time in that and some more time into third down [situations].”
(On if 25 offensive snaps was the planned workload for TE Josh Oliver and if he expects that number to increase) “I was a little concerned, I was kind of going back and forth, because I haven’t really seen him play in a game because he got injured so early. But I really liked the things that he did. He was able to go through the game and come out healthy. I think nerves comes into play a little bit. I see him playing those snaps, I’d like to get him targeted more, obviously we didn’t target him yesterday. I think he’s someone that can help us in the passing game. So, I can’t guarantee the increase in snaps, 30 percent, 40 percent, somewhere around there, maybe a little bit more of an increase. But I think trying to get him more involved is something that can definitely help us moving forward and I think we’ve got to look for ways to get him involved in the passing game.”
(On how QB Gardner Minshew II is progressing) “He’s progressing well. I think that even though the numbers may not show it, I think that we’re starting to see a lot of different things and his reaction to it, and he’s getting better experience with it and being able to handle it. So, I think those things are going well. Obviously, he did a much better job protecting the football, even though at times there were some things that we still have to work to improve on. He’s done a nice job. He’s not giving up and I think that ability for him to run a little bit, where he got the two first downs yesterday, those things are going to help us as we move forward. So, I’m really happy with the way he’s progressing. I think that there’s a lot on his plate. There are a lot of things that are going on during the course of a game, there are things that we’re working on, there are things that we’re seeing that we can’t really prepare him enough for. He’s just got to go out there and react to it and I think he’s getting better and better. I thought he looked much more comfortable yesterday at times then he did the week before, so we’re headed on the right track.”
(On what he’s seen lately out of WR Dede Westbrook) “Dede’s [Westbrook] very, very important. He’s been battling through that shoulder injury, that’s why we had him listed as questionable. He’s tough as hell now for a guy of his stature. Five of his six catches yesterday were for first downs, which is big. And then the one thing I do like about Dede is once he gets the ball in his hands, he always has a chance to do something well with it. He had about 40-something yards after the catch, so he’s important. Obviously, everyone knows the type of player he is and what he did for us last year. And I think it’s the same thing, I think when you have Dede, and you have [DJ] Chark Jr., and you have [Chris] Conley, and Marqise Lee should be back this week and [Keelan] Cole came up big yesterday – you get Josh Oliver involved, you have Leonard [Fournette] playing the way he’s playing, I think these are all things that we have to do a good job making sure that we can get those guys the ball, that they’re working hard to get open, which they are. And then we can distribute that ball well, so this way teams can’t just rely on shutting one person down and Dede’s an important part of that.”
(On what he saw from S Ronnie Harrison in the Week 7 game at Cincinnati and what he’s meant to the defense) “Ronnie’s [Harrison] still a young player. I look at Ronnie as he continues to get better each week. I think he has all the ability to make plays for us, which I think he’s starting to show us. He’s a physical player, he has 41 tackles. He’s good, he has the ability to take away the ball, he has the ability to defend, too, which is important in man coverage. So, I think Ronnie’s just going to get better and better. He’s an intense player on the field, he plays at a high level of emotion, which I like. He’s in-tune to what’s going on, he practices during the week, he’s available. I think he’s someone that just needs to keep continuing on the path he’s going and he can be, he is a good player for us now, but he has the ability, if he keeps working hard, to be an excellent player in this league.”
(On how the Jets playing on Monday night impacts his staff’s preparation for the Week 8 game) “No, I think we’ll go ahead and we’ll prep. We’ll get in here really early tomorrow and get the game from last night, and just kind of add that in to all the things that we’re looking at and breaking down and seeing what changes there are or maybe aren’t. When we’ve done this for so long, it’s pretty much the same type of process that you go through. With the lack of games with Sam [Darnold] having played, we’ll look at that. We’ll look at a lot of different things from when he was playing, from what they like to do, what the coaches have, so it’s pretty thorough. Probably more so the most important things we’ll see [tonight are] probably about the injuries, that’s the one thing that you’ll look at for the next day. And then, just kind of cross-referencing what’s different, what stayed the same, knowing that they’re playing New England and there are things that New England does that we may not do.”
