HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2024
(On the team’s success in games after coming back from London) “In regards to the
scheduling, it’s still kind of early in the season. So, taking a bye with the length of time we
have remaining, I like to get right back on the field and just keep playing and push our bye to
a little bit later date, which is the case this year. I think too the guys still kind of feel the
wave of emotion of being together for the 10 days we’re over there. It carries over the next
week. If you play good, then that also carries over. It gives you confidence as a team. So, I
think a little bit of everything sort of has a hand in that.”
(On game status updates) “Cam [OL Cam Robinson], right now, I can announce that he’s
cleared the protocol. He’ll be out there at practice today. We’ll see where he’s at, but
hopefully he’s good. We have to finish him up and contact and stuff, but he can actually be
in practice today. So that’s a good thing. Etienne [RB Travis Etienne Jr.], again, we’ll still
push him today. See where he’s at physically before we make a decision. Probably game
time with him. Foye [LB Foye Oluokun] had a really good week. Trending in the right
direction, optimistic that he’ll be able to step in and play. We’ll see where he’s at today,
tomorrow. Dewey’s [S Andrew Wingard] the same, had a good week of preparation, good
week of practice. I think it’s good for both those guys to get back out there. Again, we’ll see.
I’ve got to see today, really, quite honestly, where he’s at and then make a decision, at least
by tomorrow, but when we turn in or at least have an idea of as far as any standard
elevations, I should say.”
(On if the game has slowed down from WR Brian Thomas Jr.) “Yeah, the game, not too big
for him. Obviously playing at LSU, I mean, playing a lot of huge games there. A lot of big
games played in front of big crowds, things like that. But to me, it just goes to his
preparation and how he works during the week and how Coach Hall [Wide Receivers Coach
Chad Hall] gets him ready to go and all those guys and just understanding his role. But
yeah, it definitely has slowed down and he’s embraced that.”
(On if there is an emphasis to the offense on Packers S Xavier McKinney) “Yeah, I mean,
plays a safety spot, he’ll be deep, he’ll be in the box. He’s a blitzer, he’s a good tackler. He’s
a ball hawk. He’s created five interceptions, I think, so far, so definitely got to be aware of
where he aligns. He’s a good player and you’ve got to make sure that, one, if you need to
block him, you need to be in a position to block him. Because he’s good enough to
physically beat that block and make a tackle. Then again in the pass game, he has a nose
for the football, he’s a smart player back there. So just got to give him credit and know
where he’s at.”
(On what the message is to the defense when facing a confident Packers QB Jordan Love) “I
love that attitude quite frankly from your quarterback. We do the same thing with our guy,
with Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence]. We encourage him to test it and to see, especially during
the week of preparation and week of practice, see what you can get away with as a throw. I
think back to my days in Green Bay, I played with a guy that cut it loose quite a bit.
Obviously, Jordan sat behind a guy that did the same thing for a little while. So, if you’re a
defensive guy, I think you have to read into it that every throw in the book is open and
available. You have to be prepared, you’ve got to be in the right spot, you’ve got to be
disciplined and is he going to make a mistake from time to time? He will. That’s just the
aggressive nature of how he plays and that’s OK because for them, they’ve been able to
overcome that. But you’ve just got to stay disciplined as a defense and trust your instinct
and be prepared.”
(On monitoring Oluokun’s plantar fasciitis season-long) “Probably so. We’ll keep an eye on
him, and he’ll just get treatment on it and all that. But he’s in a good spot though, which is
good. But yeah, probably have to manage a little bit.”
