JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022
(On the team’s preparation over the week) “I feel good. The guys have been able to put a lot of the
negativity behind them and really focus on the week at hand. They’ve done a nice job with that.”
(On how the team has responded to his message that they need people to step up and make plays) “The
biggest test will be Sunday and seeing who will be that guy, but I think more than anything, it’s just a
matter of, it’s hard to do that in practice. Guys are going hard in practice and doing their jobs and all
that. We talk about it and talk about it, but it really has to be done. That’s the bottom line with it. I’m
excited for these guys on Sunday to get that opportunity.”
(On CB Shaq Griffin’s injury status) “We’re going to see where he’s at today. We’ll get through practice
today then make a determination on that as we get closer to the game.”
(On his confidence in CB Tre Herndon if he has to play in place of CB Shaq Griffin) “He’s a veteran player.
He’s stepped up in in the past. Sometimes it’s tough being in those sort of back up roles like that, but he
did a nice job in the Charger game several weeks ago. He makes the most of his opportunities, so a lot of
confidence in him going in if he had to.”
(On how tough this matchup will be for the interior offensive line) “It’s going to be a challenge. Those
two guys for the Giants are big and physical, and they’re a load in there, so this will be a really good test
for our guys. Much like the Washington game where a couple guys inside were pretty stout and big, this
is the same type of unit.”
(On if this game can show how far OL Luke Fortner has come since Week 1) “It could be. Obviously
because it’s the next game, but yeah, it will be a really good test for him. Young player going against two
veteran guys that have a lot of experience and powerful guys. A little different technique, though, than
what we’ve seen recently but still two guys that are really stout in the run game, real physical in the run
game and can obviously push the pocket.”
(On what he stresses to the offense when going against a blitz) “You’ve just got to do it one play at a
time and really just trust your rules. Trust how you’ve been coached during the week. The protection
plan, trust that. If we need to make adjustments, we make adjustments in game. That’s just what we do.
Trevor (QB Trevor Lawrence) understands, too, that you don’t just want to sit back there and hold the
ball. Incomplete pass and a punt is okay in games like this. We make the corrections as we move.”
(On involving the position coaches in the draft process) “Even from my own experience, we were a little
more open and transparent and had dialogue across the board at all positions. I think it’s a credit to
Trent Baalke (GM) and his staff for allowing my guys, the position coaches, and voice their opinion on
players. I believe that it can be a collaborative effort. We coach them. They scout them all year. We get a
chance to come together in the offseason and make decisions that way, but we also understand, too,
that it’s not always going to be my way or Trent’s way or the coaches’ player that he wants, but at least
we’ve had that conversation on guys, and that’s one of the processes that we go through in the
offseason that we’ve got to make sure that we’re right on all those draft picks. I felt like we had a really
good draft this past year, our first draft together and something we can build on as a staff moving
forward.”
(On how this draft process was different from his own experiences specifically) “Obviously when you’re
the head coach, you’re in all the meetings, but when I was the position coach, coordinator, obviously on
one side of the ball, but it’s situations, too, where you just kind of read your reports, the guys they give
you to look at, you read your report, and you never know what happens after that because you’re never
involved in another meeting, and you don’t know what goes on behind those closed doors, but this
process was really more than that. It was more than just reading a report. It was more about, let’s sit
together and watch film on this guy. If there’s two different opinions on a particular player, let’s put the
film on and let the film decide the vote, so to speak. So that was different for me as a position coach and
as a head coach. Never really had that much interaction with just watching. We watch tape separately,
but together with the GM, together with the scouts, you spend a lot of time doing that, and you come
away with making smarter decisions.”
(On the impact of first-round draft picks OLB Travon Walker and LB Devin Lloyd) “I think both of them
have definitely made an impact that way. They’ve been positive, they’ve been good leaders on that
defense, a defense that already has some leaders on that side of the ball. Really, from day one, they’ve
been in the mix. They’ve been in that starting rotation, and it’s just a matter of understanding their role
and defining their role, then just working with the other guys, but their impact has been felt already this
season. They’re young, and they’re only going to get better.”
(On when CB Shaq Griffin hurt his back) “It was during the game. Sometimes, too, when players get hurt,
sometimes they don’t feel the injury until maybe the next day, then we get them checked out, but yeah,
it was during the game.”
(On WR Jamal Agnew’s injury status) “We’ll see today, again, see if he does anything, but we want to
make sure that both guys (WR Jamal Agnew and CB Shaq Griffin) are one hundred percent. Two starters
for us, making sure that they feel good, and really, too, mentally. I don’t want that lingering mentally,
because that takes away from them being able to play one hundred percent.”
