HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2022
(On having OL Tyler Shatley step in to replace OL Ben Bartch) “Yeah, any time you have veteran backups,
swing guys that go in multiple spots is beneficial. Shatley is one of those guys, whether it’s guard or
center. It’s just valuable to have. You have him, you have Walker (OL Walker Little) sitting there, Cole
Van Lanen (OL Cole Van Lanen) used to play guard and tackle, so we got options.”
(On adding OL John Miller to the roster) “Well, when you lose a player like Ben (Bartch), you get that
spot, right? We did our due diligence the last couple days and brought a few guys in to workout and we
really feel comfortable with him. We just got to get him up to speed and he’ll be in that rotation for
potentially that seventh or eighth spot.”
(On if the expectation is that OL Tyler Shatley will start this Sunday) “Yes.”
(On having a quick turnaround to play the Colt’s again this weekend) “Oh, yeah. In the NFC East, the last
four games of the year we played our division. Four games, and I believe it was the Giants twice. It’s a
quick turnaround, but we’re excited for the opportunity. Going to their place, it should be a great
environment, great fan base there. Looking forward to it. We know it’s going to be a different game, it’s
just going to take a good week of preparation and guys are excited for that.”
(On the difficulty of preparation for the next game) “Yeah, it’s never easy. Preparation is never easy.
That’s the one thing about knowing your opponent, they know you and we know them. You’re not going
to fool anybody or trick anybody. It just comes down to your hard work and preparation. This is a well-
coached team, it’s a good football team, it’s a disciplined team. You see it on film, I expect a much
different ballgame than the first time.”
(On offense going up against different defenses week after week) “Well, that is the conversation. The
thing is, when you play teams with defenses like this, last week Houston and now this week. The Lovie
Smith’s (Texans Head Coach Lovie Smith) and the Gus Bradley’s (Colts Defensive Coordinator Gus
Bradley) of the world, those coordinators. Their defenses, they don’t do a lot, but what they do, they do
it well and they’re very disciplined. From an offensive mindset, we have to stay disciplined and we have
to be patient and even as playcallers, myself. We have to be patient with that sometimes. They keep
everything in front of you, they don’t want to give up the big play. That’s just the mentality and that’s
the mindset as you play teams like this.”
(On going up against different styles of plays) “It can happen. Again, that’s why these defenses play this
style. They want to frustrate the offense. They want you to make the mistake. It’s like playing New
England, they’re going to give you the same thing over and over and they expect you, the opponent, to
make the mistake and that’s when you lose the football game. Games are lost more than they are won,
we’ve got to have a good week this week and get ready to play.”
(On the patience to have with QB Trevor Lawrence) “There’s got to be patience with that. We can’t wait
too long, but at the same time, it’s our job as coaches to make sure that he’s improving every week.
Pointing out the good and the bad. That’s just how you grow and how you learn. I remember back my
days in Green Bay under Mike Holmgren (Former Green Bay Head Coach), Andy Reid (Former Assistant
Head Coach for Green Bay), coaches like that. Just learning that system was very vanilla-basic compared
to what we’re teaching today. We always said three years, that’s the benchmark. But, I don’t think you
have three years. You got to get your players ready to go now, but there has to be some improvement.
You can’t just put it all on one player, we know that. It takes all three phases to win games.”
(On the impact of QB Trevor Lawrence’s first year in this coaching system) “I think it impacts it some, but
again, you look around the league at some places where there has been turnover this year and some of
those teams are having success. You got to look at the whole picture in what we’re trying to do and
what we’re trying to accomplish. We have a young quarterback who’s learning and growing. We strongly
feel that he’s going to be good in this league and he’s going to be sustainable. That’s why I’m here, that’s
why Press (Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor) is here, Mike (Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell) is
here, so we can get him heading in that direction.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence’s season could be seen as his rookie year due to circumstances last year) “It’s
really hard for me to go back and get in the minds of the coaches that were here. I’ve got a lot of respect
for them and what they do, but I just know that Trevor’s young, he’s learning this game, and one thing I
appreciate about Trevor is his work ethic and how hard he wants to improve and get better and help
this team win. I also want him to understand that he doesn’t have to do it himself. There are 10 other
guys out there and the coaches to put him in a position to be successful. It’s the fact that, I keep going
back to this, new coaching staff and coordinator last year, when you came out of college a couple years
ago, then again this year. When you have that kind of turnover, you’re learning a new language every
single year. It’s hard to get consistency, and that’s what we’re trying to get to. Really with the whole
team, building that consistency week in and week out, showing that, as we say, one percent
improvement every day, every week and building off of that. Finding the positive in everything and
going from there.”
(On if he talks with the team about how more protective calls will be made after recent incidences
across the league) “No, I don’t have that conversation, I just want our guys to play hard, obviously play
within the rules but play hard, play fast. It’s a physical football game and things are going to happen.
Calls are going to happen that we may agree or not agree with. I don’t want to put that in our players’
minds or in their heads. You still want them to play fast.”
(On evaluating the pass rush from Sunday’s game against the Texans) “It can improve. It can get a little
bit better. We pride ourselves on getting after the quarterback, and there were flashes of it where we
disrupted Davis (QB Davis Mills) a little bit, could’ve done better there, but the guys take a lot of pride in
their work, and that’s something that they’ll get back here on the practice field and fix.”
(On if he sees RB Travis Etienne Jr. getting more comfortable the more reps he gets) “He is. He’s
understanding his role, he’s understanding his responsibility within the offense, he understands the
offense. Even where each week, where we’re trying to use him within the framework of a formation or
play, and he’s done a nice job with that. He’s handled it well, and when he’s had an opportunity, he’s
impressed, and we’ve got to keep him going.”
(On how RB Travis Etienne Jr.’s ability to product explosive plays can help the offense) “It’s a boost. It
helped us Sunday as we moved the football. Early in the game he got some big runs there, just like
James (RB James Robinson) a couple weeks ago, but that’s all a spark, sometimes, you need. You’re just
looking for one guy or one side of the ball to make a play, and he has been able to do that for us, and
our goal now is to finish those drives in the red zone. That’s been kind of the struggle, especially last
week, and we’ve got to make sure we do a better job there.”
(On OLB K’Lavon Chaisson’s injury and time on injured reserve) “K’Lavon is going to miss some time. He
should make a full recovery and be back.”
(On balancing trying to be a pass-first offense and taking advantage of when a running back is having a
good game) “It’s a challenge. You do whatever it takes to win the game, whether it’s throwing it or
running it. I think we saw in the two wins a nice balance there, which is typically the case for most
teams. You’re looking for, again, that one spark. It might be a TJ (RB Travis Etienne Jr.) rattling off a 30
yard run or we get an explosive pass to Evan (TE Evan Engram) down the middle, something like that.
You never know what it’s going to be. You still stick to the game plan as much as you can and what
you’ve practiced during the week, and somewhere, somehow, somebody needs to make a play, and kind
of get things going.”
(On if he thought they got the ball out fast enough in this game compared to the wins against the Colts
and Chargers) “I thought so. We kept the quarterback, kept Trevor (Lawrence) pretty clean all day.
Protection was good. Again, it’s just a matter now of we have to evaluate the scheme. Was the scheme
appropriate for what we saw? That falls back on us, so as a staff we can do better and help our guys out
there.”
(On TE Evan Engram so far this season) “Yeah, he’s a guy we try to get the ball to. You see his physicality
in the run game. He’s not a big guy, but he still wants to pride himself on being physical, and he does
that. You saw Sunday how he can stretch the middle of the field. Even the first game against the Colts,
playing big and playing physical, playing tough, breaking some tackles, key third downs, things like that.
Just exactly what you want. Again, one football, trying to get everybody some opportunities is a bit of a
challenge, but he’s everything you want though.”
(On the toughest throw for a quarterback) “All of them.”
(On if the seam throw is tougher) “If you go back and look at that seam throw, most of those seam
throws are over the top of those second level defenders, and those are as pretty of throws as you’re
going to see in the NFL. Every throw is different. Throws to your left, throws to your right, the short, flat
throws to your left for a right-handed quarterback can be a little difficult at times because it’s all about
transferring your weight and opening your hip and shoulders and getting your eyes and target line
heading in that direction. Then on top of that, you’ve got the rush barreling down on you, and you’ve
got to stand there and make an accurate throw. That’s why I said all the throws are pretty tough.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2022
(On how long it takes him to forget about Sundays, good or bad outcome) “I’d say usually Sunday you’re
pretty frustrated, especially after a game like that, or if you win, you’re kind of celebrating, hanging out,
whatever it is. Monday kind of relive it, go back to the film, make those corrections with everyone, hold
everybody accountable when you’re all together. After you finish Monday, it’s on to the next. I start my
prep for the next opponent Monday when we break meetings here, and from then on, not really looking
back. You’re still frustrated in the back of your head, and you carry that into the week of practice, kind
of gives you a sense of urgency. The team has that after what happened Sunday, the past two weeks
really. You carry that, and you use that as fuel, but you can’t really dwell on the past. You have to move
on to your next opponent.”
(On people telling him he can’t let that impact him going forward) “Yeah, you can’t let that stuff bother
you. You can’t it affect you, for sure. The worst thing you can do is hold onto that as far as just mentally
and let that affect, whether that’s your confidence, or you’re hesitating a little bit because of what
happened the week before, or just in general, you can’t let that affect your next week because you’ve
got to get ready to play a totally different opponent, especially when it’s a division game. We’re going to
get another chance at those guys in January. We’ll see them again and kind of circle that one when we
come to it, but for right now, we’ve got another division game in Indy, huge game. They’re going to
come out ready to play, and we’ve got to prepare ourselves as well.”
(On the line between taking what is safe and trying to hit a home run) “I think that’s something you’re
always, you’re never going to be perfect on that. As a quarterback, you’re going to make some mistakes,
but it’s what we talked about, especially yesterday, and it’s kind of my goal moving forward, and I’ve
always thought about it, especially now after the last couple games, just don’t make a bad play worse. If
we didn’t get the look that we necessarily thought we were going to have or first couple guys aren’t
open, don’t make a bad play worse. Throw the ball away, scramble for no gain, a yard or two, whatever
it is and move onto the next play. That’s the lesson to learn. You relearn these things all the time playing
this sport because you think you’ve got something, then you make that mistake again, and you just have
to keep going back to the little things. I think for me, it’s just being a great player is, yes, making all the
routine plays, even the great plays, but it’s also, how do I minimize the bad plays. Maybe I misread
something, but it doesn’t turn into an interception, it’s just an incompletion. You throw it away. Stuff
like that. I think that’s where the great ones, that’s what they do really well. They don’t make bad plays
worse, and they really minimize them.”
(On balancing utilizing WR Christian Kirk in the offense) “There’s a fine line because we have a lot of
really good players that can help us. Kind of spreading the wealth. One, it helps everyone. Everyone is a
part of the game plan, but also it keeps the defense on their heels because you have so many different
weapons and different ways to attack certain parts of the defense, so it’s important for a lot of different
reasons, but obviously Christian is a great player. We’ve got to get him the ball. You’ve seen how
productive he can be and how much he helps us when he gets a lot of touches, so obviously, that’s
important. Any great player you have, you’ve got to find a way to get them the ball. That’s an every
week thing. He’s no secret. People have seen what he can do. It’s not going to sneak up on anybody, but
for us, it’s just put him in situations to succeed and be open to get touches and all that.”
(On the experience that OL Tyler Shatley will bring to the offensive line in place of OL Ben Bartch) “I love
both those guys. Those are two of my favorite teammates, honestly. I’m not just saying that because I’m
up here. Those really are two of the best guys. Obviously, I hate that for Bartch. I hate it for our team.
He was playing great. Made a lot of strides. He had a great offseason. I thought he was doing a really
great job, so I hate that his season got cut short, but I know what Tyler brings to the table, a guy that’s
always ready. That’s a guy you want on your team, as far as the type of person he is but how he
prepares himself. Every week it’s like he’s a starter, whether that’s at center or guard. Any of those
three spots in the middle, if something happens, like what happened to Ben, he’s ready to step up, and
when he’s in there, it’s really seamless. Obviously, they’re two different players, but he’s done a great
job. Same thing, had to come in the game, wasn’t really expecting to play and had to come in end of, I
don’t know if it was end of the first half or somewhere in the second half, I can’t remember exactly
when that happened, but he came in and played the rest of the game and played well.”
(On if when the offense is playing well, does it seem to go through WR Christian Kirk) “It really just
depends. We have the type of players who, when their number is called, can make that play to spark us
and kind of get us on a roll. Then we have running backs that can do that, guys on the outside, Christian
in the slot or on the outside, tight ends, all that, so it really depends on the game. I think if you look at
our success, especially early on in the season, it was stemming kind of starting with him a little bit. He
kind of sparked us. He does a good job at that, and like I said, he’s just a guy that really knows how to
position himself, runs great routes, just really smart, so naturally, he’s in that spot that is going to get a
lot of touches. I think that’s part coincidence, part just the design and the type of player he is.”
(On WR Marvin Jones Jr. surpassing 7,000 career receiving yards and being a reliable target for him)
“He’s awesome. We clicked early on when I came in last year, and we’ve had a really good relationship
since then. Obviously, last year was a lot of ups and downs, crazy year, we sat by each other on the
planes to all the road games, and our lockers are really close to each other, so we would talk all the
time, and we kind of bonded a lot last season. Going into this offseason, we got a lot of new faces, but
just being that veteran presence in that room, I think he does a great job. I can see how he’s always
been a huge part of the offense he’s in, especially the last few years, especially with us last season. We
struggled to get things going, and he was always a guy I could rely on and did a great job. Then to see
early on this season, didn’t quite get as many catches or as many touches as probably he would’ve liked.
Obviously, everybody wants the ball, but just the way he came to work every day, never said anything,
never complained, had a smile on his face, just worked, and obviously he had a big game this past game.
For him, obviously, he’d rather win the game. That says a lot about him, just the way he carries himself,
and we’ve got a lot of guys that are selfless like that. The most important thing is winning the game, and
guys aren’t happy unless we win, even if they had 100 yards or whatever it may be, and I think you need
a room full of guys like that, and he does a great job.”
(On if he is seeing RB Travis Etienne Jr. settle in with a few games under his belt now) “Yeah, I think he’s
running the ball great right now with a lot of confidence. I know all of us around him have a lot of
confidence in him, especially the coaches really love how he’s progressed. I’ve known he’s a great
player, but it’s been cool to see him settle in. He obviously didn’t get the experience last year, so it took
him a little while to settle in through preseason, and he looks great. He’s running great, has that burst.
He’s really explosive and just helps us in a lot of different ways, and I think he’s starting to really master
the offense, especially, so we can do a lot with him, so it’s been great.”
(On what it does for him when things may start slow but RB Travis Etienne Jr. can make explosive plays)
“Just as many playmakers as you can have around you, where just whoever it is gets the ball and can
make the play to spark us and get us going, and we have someone like that in every position. That’s the
main thing. You’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys, especially having two backs, and Hasty (RB
JaMycal Hasty) as well, those guys that can just come in and whatever you need them to do, whether it’s
passing game, running game, they can do it all. We rotate those guys, and they do a good job. Same
thing, super unselfish. As long as we’re winning and we’re doing what’s best for the team, they’re
happy, so it’s fun to play with those guys.”
(On playing an opponent twice close together) “It’s a little bit different. It’s nice because you get another
crack at, for example I said the Texans, in January we get another chance to play them. It’s nice having
two opportunities to play a team. Going into this game against the Colts, it’s always a bit of a balancing
act. You know their scheme because you’ve prepared for it for a week already, but you just don’t know
what all they’re going to throw at you the next time. There’s going to be some wrinkles. There may not
be as many as you think, but you’ve got to prepare yourself, and you’ve got to do all your homework.
See all that’s available and make sure you’re covering all your bases. There’s a balancing act of you don’t
want to chase ghosts, but you’ve also got to be ready for whatever could come at you because you don’t
really know. Especially coming off of a Thursday night game, so 10 days to prepare for this one. They’re
going to be well-rested, all those things and having that couple extra days of practice. You’ve got to
adjust when the game starts, see if they’re doing anything different. With Gus (Defensive Coordinator
Gus Bradley) their scheme is their scheme, and they’re really disciplined, and they do a good job, so it
will be interesting to see what the new wrinkles are, if there are any, and we’ll just have to adjust as the
game goes on.”
(On Colts CB Stephon Gilmore having settled into the defense and what he has shown on film) “He’s a
great player, even going into that game, we knew that. His career kind of speaks for itself. I think the one
thing he does really well, among other things, but is really good down the field covering guys vertical,
just doesn’t give guys any space. He widens them, pushes them to the sideline and doesn’t really give
you an area to throw the ball, doesn’t give those guys a chance to get over the top. I think he does a
great job playing all the verticals, and like you said, you can see him settle into the scheme and he’s
feeling more and more comfortable and confident. It’s tough when you play a veteran corner like that
because you know they have their rules of their scheme, then you have a guy like him who’s played a lot
of football and recognizes things, so he does a few things differently than other guys will. He doesn’t
necessary play everything by the book, so you have to have an eye on him. Obviously, he’s a playmaker,
and you’ve got to pick your spots and just kind of know what your matchup is at all times, but he’s been
doing a really good job.”
