HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023
(On injury updates across the team) “All of them except Zay [WR Zay Jones] are doing really well. They
should be okay for this week, we’ll see how the week progresses obviously, no setbacks. Walker [OL
Walker Little], Cisco [S Andre Cisco] and Tyson [CB Tyson Campbell] did really well. Zay is just going to be
day-to-day, got a little workout in today, feeling a little bit better, but we’ll just monitor him day-by-day.
He’s getting better.”
(On if WR Zay Jones is a candidate for injured reserve) “We just got to see, we’re getting close but that’s
something that we’ll evaluate if it looks like it’s anything further than or any longer than what it already
is.”
(On evaluating the team through the first eight weeks of the season) “Yeah, we did some good things.
Definitely some things we can improve on this back half of the year. We can improve on third down both
offensively and defensively. Even though defense got better as the season has progressed, red zone is
another area that offensively that we have to continue to improve in. We looked at a lot of different, you
always look at the top teams in the redzone and just see what they’re doing compared to what we’re
doing and see if things fit and all that. We really wanted to take a look at our offense and defense and
special teams to see what’s happening. The turnovers obviously can’t happen, the other night in
Pittsburgh we had two of those that were taken points off the scoreboard. Those are just some areas
that we looked at that we definitely have to improve. Defensively, the takeaways is a big positive and the
offense has been getting points on their opening drives, things of that nature which are things that we
can continue to improve on and also start of the third quarter is another area that we can definitely do
better. So, enough work as we move forward.”
(On OL Ezra Cleveland’s talent) “Ezra we knew was a good player and started the first six games for
Minnesota this year and then he had a setback with an injury. It kept him out of the last couple of games
in Minnesota, but anytime that you can add depth and add value, you can add talent like Ezra to the
offensive line or really any position, it’s something that Trent [General Manager Trent Baalke] and I and
the guys looked at hard. Definitely a lot of different scenarios out there, you look at pass rushers, maybe
even defensive backs, you look at O-linemen and Ezra is somebody that can come in and really provide
the necessary backup guard. He’s very capable, smart, talented left guard. He played some right guard
his rookie year and has been primarily left guard since. It’s just a good value for us and really solidifies an
offensive line that is already pretty good.”
(On OL Ezra Cleveland starting off as a backup player) “Yeah, [OL] Walker Little is the left guard. I want to
be as clear as I can, Walker is the left guard and that’s been communicated to everybody. Cam [OL Cam
Robinson] is the left tackle. That’s our plan and that has never changed.”
(On improving with struggles on third down) “Well, you and I both know you got to do better on first and
second down. It keeps you out of those third-and-longs. Those are hard downs to convert. When you
look at it from what we put ourselves in, whether it be a penalty or a sack, something of that nature that
gets us in those third-and-12-pluses, your quarterback has to hold the ball. We’ve gone up against some
really talented edge and pass rushers. It’s extremely hard, and then the execution, we’ve had some
drops, we’ve had some missed opportunities and missed throws. When you look at it, it’s opportunities
that are there but again, it’s us being better on first down and second down that keep us out of those
situations. When you look at some of the third downs where at the end of the game where we were
pretty good, we stayed in the more third-and-mediums, and-shorts. That’s where Trevor [QB Trevor
Lawrence] is able to use legs a little bit more and convert. The goal is to stay out of third down
completely, but it just comes down to execution. Quite frankly, you could throw the ball underneath and
let your receiver go get the first down, too. It doesn’t always have to be a pass that’s down past the
sticks.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence’s passing touchdowns being a misleading stat based on his performance)
“Yeah, I think so. We’ve been able to rush the ball pretty well. Etienne [RB Travis Etienne Jr.] has had
some good touchdown rushes as well that will take a touchdown pass away from Trevor. The bottom line
is if you end up winning the football game, the other thing too, when you look at it, a lot of these games
we’ve jumped out to leads and we’re playing from ahead and not behind. Maybe you don’t have to
throw as much in the second half and you can rely on your run game a little bit. There’s also some
opportunities that we’ve missed, some interceptions that Trevor has thrown in the red zone that has
kept us from scoring touchdowns there. Everybody has a little bit of a hand in it, but it can be a little
misleading especially based on the win-loss record right now.”
(On difficulty of not looking ahead to the next six games that are approaching) “No, I avoid that with this
football team. We’ve got a great football team coming in here on Sunday and our focus is just on that.
I’ve mentioned to them, ‘Hey, we’ve got a nine-game schedule coming up, we’ve got five home games
coming up’ things of that nature of the nine [games]. But I don’t look at down the road as far as circling
games or opponents that we have coming up. It’s a matter of just staying in the moment, staying in this
week, getting prepared later in this week for San Francisco who we know is a dangerous football team.
They’ve dropped a few games here lately, but they’re coming off their bye just like we are. They’re going
to be gassed up and ready to go. We just live in the moment and it’s one game at a time.”
(On OL Walker Little being the best decision for that position) “Walker has earned that spot. His ability to
move inside, his versatility that way has been a plus for him and a plus for our offensive line. The time
that he and Cam [OL Cam Robinson] were together, that short time they were in together during that
Buffalo game, they played well together. This was our plan all along when Cam came back, so getting
these guys working together this week will be good and he’s earned that spot. He’s earned that right to
start in that position. He’s done a good job there.”
(On OL Ezra Cleveland being a long-term piece for the offensive line) “I think you have to look at that. I
think you have to look at long-term as well. The age of our offensive linemen, [OL] Brandon Scherff, as
great as he’s been playing, he’s not getting any younger. [OL] Tyler Shatley isn’t getting any younger.
You’ve got to have guys that are very capable that are going to be on your roster. You definitely have to
look at long-term I think in situations like this. Definitely the player himself, Ezra himself knows he’s in a
basically a contract-year as well, so he’s willing to come to Jacksonville and be a backup for now
understanding that there are no guarantees in this business. But I do think it definitely could turn into a
long-term situation for him where he could definitely compete and be in a position to help us move
forward.”
