OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2024
(On what he learned about QB Mac Jones after the win at Tennessee) “I thought he just did
a good job leading the offense and taking what was there. Obviously, we got something
going late in that game which we’ve got to find a way to get that going sooner. That’s kind of
happened to us in these last couple of weeks, just finding some rhythm late in the second
half. The challenge is getting it from the opening kickoff.”
(On his conversation with Head Coach Doug Pederson about getting the ball to WR Brian
Thomas Jr. more) “It’s always the plan to start with getting your best players the football.
Sometimes there’s things the defense will do to take it away. Sometimes something comes
up during the course of the play that prevents that from happening. There’s a lot of times
we called plays and he’s the primary and for whatever reason the ball doesn’t find him. So,
it kind of just became, we’re going to force him the ball at some point in time. You don’t
always want to go that way, but we felt like that was something we needed to do. It was
more just, we’re going to put him over here, we’re going to call a screen, we’re going to call
some drop backs and the ball’s going to go to Brian. Ultimately, that’s what got us sparked
right there. However it gets there, you’ve got to find ways to be able to incorporate all your
good players and give them opportunities to affect the game.”
(On if it’s hard to give the ball to the best players every play) “Definitely. It’s not as simple as
that. There was a point in time where we weren’t having as much success and needed to
just—this is what we’re going to do. At the same time, we didn’t have a ton of opportunities.
We had three drives in the first half. One of them started from our minus-two that
eventually became a two-minute drive and a half. So, you’ve got to get the snaps, you’ve
got to get opportunities with the football to be able to put yourself in those situations. There
are times you call things—we’ve had some wild ones this year. We called a screen to
Brian—the ball didn’t even get thrown for one reason or another. We’ve had different things
where you think you’re forcing it to him and it doesn’t find him, a different way, or a pressure
look, or the quarterback changes the play. Whatever that may be, some of those things
come up from time to time. It’s on us to continue to find ways to feed him opportunities to
affect the game.”
(On Jones saying Thomas Jr. “demands him the ball” and if he likes that in a wide receiver) “I
understand he said that. I think it’s very different than probably the perception you think
when you think of receivers demanding the football. He’s not over there throwing his
helmet down, yelling about getting the ball, in anybody’s face, anything like that. I think he’s
a guy that wants the ball like anybody, but never once has he shown his character to be
something different than we know it to be. He’ll do whatever we ask him to do, as long as
it’s helping the team win. That’s the big thing. All these guys, they’ll do anything as long as
they think it’s going to help us win. So, we appreciate that, and he is awesome. He’s been a
pro through-and-through. Like anybody, when we’re losing there’s frustration, but Brian’s
certainly capable of helping us win games and we need to continue to get the football to
him.”
(On the phrase “think players, not plays” and if it is something they go back to when game
planning) “Yeah, certainly. There’s always, every play you put in, you look at who the
primary is, who the secondary is, where you think the ball is going to go based on what the
look is. Every play then takes on a life of its own once the ball’s snapped. So, things change.
But we’ve always started players, not plays. When we go through opening script, top third
downs, top red zone calls, top back-up calls, it starts with who do we think is going to get
the ball first. We always kind of build from who we think has an opportunity based on
tendency, based on skillset, based on what those routes are, what that play is of who the
better ball carrier is on this certain play. How does that align with what we’ve shown in our
past as well? So, that’s always something we’re very conscious of, yes.”
(On what role he envisions for WR John Reynolds in the offense) “I think Josh, like we
mentioned last week, Josh is experienced. We’ve always kind of had that guy that’s, not
necessarily a role player, but a role player in a way of they do a lot of things really well. I
think that’s Josh. It was cool to see him learn the offense, communicate things back,
because that’s the hard part. Every play we run is a play someone else runs as well, we just
communicate it probably differently than what he’s used to from L.A., Denver, Detroit,
wherever he’s been. It probably sounds a little different, but he recognizes it and so it’s how
quickly we can get that learning process in there for him. We did one-on-ones yesterday, he
ran a great route out of the slot. He did something outside that was good. He’s got a lot of
length, he’s got speed, he’s got burst, he’s got intelligence. So those are all things that
continue to introduce him without overwhelming him. I don’t know if that’s fair to him to
just assume he’s going to go out there and run every single play in the game plan.”
(On if he would envision a former Jaguars WR Marvin Jones-type role for Reynolds if he were
with the Jaguars all year) “I think some of that, just being able to do a lot of different things. I
do think he’s got the ability to play inside, outside, to run across the field, to run down the
field, contested catches. As we get to know him and see him up close and personal, you
kind of envision a lot of opportunities for him.”
(On how he is balancing touches between RB Tank Bigsby and RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “A lot of
times it’s just how the game is going. You want to give each guy some opportunities. There
are certain things where this guy does this really well, that guy does that really well. I think if
you were to pick how the season would go and how the course of things would go, they’d
probably both have around anywhere from 12 to 20 opportunities a piece. That doesn’t
necessarily mean they’re all runs, or they’re all passes. It’s a mix-and-match of
opportunities to get touches. That’s assuming everything’s up and running and you’re
getting your 65 to 75 plays a game, you’re in normal-down situations, you kind of dictate
how the game flow goes. But those are two of our most impactful players, and they have
different skillsets. They have different ways of going about it. At the same time, there’s
enough crossover where they’re good at the same things that if one’s up, one’s down, you
can still run your offense through the running back,”
(On what stands out about the New York Jets’ defense) “Speed. They play incredibly fast.
First of all, the defensive line just getting off the ball. Jetting and penetrating into the
backfield, the defensive ends getting up the field. Then just the D-tackles’ burst off the ball
and being able to penetrate gaps. Then you see everything play off of that. The second level
flows sideline to sideline as well as anyone we’ve seen, so they’re trying to put a dent in
your offensive line, and those guys clean up everything pretty quickly. The back end’s
aggressive. They do a good job. There’s not a ton of disguise, but enough things look the
same to where you’re not really sure until post-snap what the coverage is going to be. So, I
think the number one thing that jumps off the tape is how fast they play.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR RYAN NIELSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2024
(On what he’s seen from Jets QB Aaron Rodgers) “Run around, making plays with his legs.
He can make every throw. Ball’s coming out quick. It’s going to be a huge challenge as it is
every time you play him. He’s still playing at a high level. Sees the game extremely fast, and
gets the ball out. We’ve got to do a good job at our rush, not letting him extend. Then in our
coverage, playing tight coverage, no easy throws. Nothing cheap, nothing deep, and keep
him in the pocket.”
(On what kind of pressure Jets WR Garrett Wilson and WR Davante Adams will put on the
secondary) “A lot. Two really good wideouts. I mean, they’ve got a ton of weapons. It’s going
to be a really good test. We’ve just got to play our game. We’ve got to be aggressive with
them. Can’t let them get going, easy throws, easy completions—make it tough on them.
Make them earn every yard. Those types of things. We’ve got to do a good job in the run
game. Don’t give them third-and-shorts, convert and keep the drive going. They’ll be up for
the challenge for sure.”
(On why he rotated S Andre Cisco into the game and if he will continue that) “It may be.
We’re going to continue the rotations, just kind of how we’ve always done. The reason is
just another guy, opportunity, been playing good football and just keep it fresh. Keep it
moving. It’s not good, bad or indifferent, just what we’re going to do. I think you guys have
seen that with just about every position we’ve had. Keeping guys moving in and out and a
lot of guys playing. So, we’ll continue that trend.”
(On what improvement he’s seen from S Antonio Johnson) “I think recently. The last four or
five games, I think he’s played a lot better football. I really do. He’s seeing the game slowing
down for him a little bit. Look, this is a guy who hasn’t played a lot of football in the National
Football League, didn’t play a ton last year and kind of threw him in early in the season. He
went through a little bit of growing pains but give the guy a lot of credit. He’s worked hard at
it. He’s studied a lot with Kris [Defensive Backs Coach Kris Richard] and Cory [Defensive
Assistant/Cornerbacks Coach Cory Robinson]. He’s spent the extra time, he was coming
in, extra meetings, things like that. Starting to pay off for him. Really the last four, five
games. I thought played really well last game, was all over the place. Couple things we still
need to clean up, but he’s trending in the right direction.”
(On what CB Jarrian Jones showed him on Sunday at Tennessee) “He just continues to get
better. I mean, he just shows he continues to get—a couple of PBUs, had a really good
series, had a sack—a PBU and a sack back-to-back. This is a guy that his ceiling continues
to rise. We think that he’s going to be, for many years, a very good pro. With him it’s, hey,
this play, the next play in that game, and just staying on course with that type of mindset
and that growth and kind of one play at a time deal. You just keep putting good plays
together. Kind of defensively, that’s where we’re at. But with him, he played really good.
We’re looking for it again.”
(On how impressive Jones’s sack was) “It was really good. You saw him come off the edge,
and then his dip and get low and turn and get the quarterback down is pretty impressive.”
(On DT Maason Smith’s overall improvement) “Sure, a rookie and he did have the injury, so
that kept him down for a couple weeks. But another guy that’s continued to get better and
he’s made some plays last couple of games, so he’ll be up doing it again.”
(On Smith’s improvements in run defense) “Really, his block recognition and reaction.
Seeing it faster. It’s such a big thing that when you see the block, how you react to it and go
attack it. So, it started out in OTAs and in camp, and working all the way through, he’s
gotten a lot better using his hands and getting off blocks, things, like that.”
(On how he builds off the no-touchdown-performance vs. the Titans) “The next drive, really
play one. P-and-10 against the Jets on Sunday. We’ve got to win that rep. that’s what we’ve
just talked to our guys, look, just play fundamentals, technique, play hard. Be tough, fly
around, tackle. We’ve got to tackle a little bit better this week and take the ball away. But
we’re going to focus on the first play of the game and that drive and let’s get off the field and
get this game started, but one play at a time.”
(On if he thinks the defense has been playing more consistently over the last month) “We
feel like since we’ve been back from London. That game in London, and there were a
couple of games in there that weren’t really, I think, who we are. But I think as a whole,
we’re starting to play better a little bit. A little bit maybe understanding the guys on the field
and making calls and checks. I thought last game we communicated really well. I think that
was a big part—the last couple games communicated really well. Still have a couple things
we need to clean up obviously. It’s never going to be perfect, but we’re getting better. Guys
are getting better and hopefully continue that trend.”
JAGUARS MAKE ROSTER MOVES
JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Jaguars have made the following roster moves, the team announced today:
- Signed RB Myles Gaskin, OL Jerome Carvin and OL Dieter Eiselen to the practice squad
- Released LS Tucker Addington and P Matt Haack from the practice squad
Gaskin was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round (234th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft. Across four seasons with Miami (2019-22), Gaskin played in 38 games and recorded 1,355 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 361 carries, as well as 701 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 101 receptions. In 2023, he had stints on both the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams’ practice squads. This season, Gaskin spent time on the Vikings’ active roster and practice squad, appearing in five games.
Prior to the NFL, the Lynnwood, Wash., native played collegiately at the University of Washington (2015-18) where he set program records in rushing yards (5,323), total touchdowns (62) and rushing touchdowns (57). His 5,323 yards and 57 rushing touchdowns each rank third-most in Pac-12 history. Moreover, Gaskin became the first player in Pac-12 history to rush for 1,000-plus yards and the second FBS player to eclipse 1,200 yards in all four of his seasons.
Carvin originally signed with the Kansas City Chiefs following the 2023 NFL Draft and has since spent time on the practice squad with Chicago (2023-24), New England (2024) and most recently Jacksonville (2024). The Memphis, Tenn., native played in 60 games (43 starts) over five seasons at the University of Tennessee (2018-22). Of his 43 starts for the Volunteers, 21 came at left guard, 17 at right guard and five at center. Over the last 26 games of his career, Carvin allowed only two total sacks and did not allow a single sack in 2021.
Eiselen joined the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 24 regular season games with Chicago (2020-22) and Houston (2023), along with both postseason contests for the Texans last season. In 2024, he has spent time on Denver, San Francisco and Jacksonville’s practice squads. Eiselen is a native of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and played collegiately at Yale University from 2016-19. He made 34 starts on the Bulldogs’ offensive line over his four-year career. In 2019, he was named First-Team All-Ivy League.
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