CORNERBACK MONTARIC BROWN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2024
(On how it felt for the defense to hold strong vs. Tennessee, particularly on fourth down,
and carrying that momentum through the rest of the season) “Yeah, we definitely can. We
had a great week of practice and that carried over. We had a good game plan for this game,
and it worked out.”
(On if the defense did anything differently to stop Tennessee) “It wasn’t really different. They
ended up executing and making plays.”
(On the growth and impact of CB Jarrian Jones has had on the defense) “Jarrian, he’s a great
dude. He’s steady-growing and he’s always willing to learn each and every day. His growth
is just incredible. He’s just a great player, making great plays. He’s being consistent and
doing the right things. All of his hard work is paying off.”
(On if practicing against Titans WR Calvin Ridley last season helped him defend Ridley on
Sunday) “It definitely translated. It felt like practice last year. Just going against him in the
game, I felt like I was just calm, and it just felt like last year at practice. It wasn’t anything to
it for me. I felt comfortable out there and I had a great time competing against him.”
(On how comfortable he feels this season, and the challenge of being patient for his
opportunity) “I’d say this year is the most comfortable I’ve been. My past two years, it really
helped me. My second year definitely helped me. I got the most experience that year, last
year. That carried over to this year and I just feel comfortable out there. The game has
slowed down, obviously. I’ve gained more football knowledge. I just know what’s coming. I
feel more comfortable.”
(On which area of his game he feels he’s made the most improvement in) “I’d say the pass
breakups. I like when I get pass breakups, and I’m just looking to get interceptions. That’s
the main thing, just need more interceptions. The pass breakups are cool but need more
interceptions.”
(On if he has come close to recording more interceptions) “Yes.”
TIGHT END EVAN ENGRAM
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2024
(On QB Mac Jones’ improvement during the game, particularly in the second half) “I
definitely think it’s kind of everybody settling in. Obviously, we’d love to start faster and get
the ball rolling faster, but that’s kind of been the story for us on offense during the season.
We kind of get going later in the game. I think it’s just a credit to him, just continuing to
battle, continuing to stay in the game, continuing to overcome adversity. Obviously,
overcoming bad plays and then staying composed in the good plays. Mac has done a great
job at that these past two weeks for sure.”
(On what the win meant to the team) “Yeah. I mean, winning in this league is hard. This
season has been tough. A win is a win, and we needed one badly. Just proud of the guys,
proud of how we finished yesterday and left there with a win.”
(On if the win was vindicating towards the work the team has put in) “Yeah. That’s what has
made the previous weeks so tough—not coming out with a win. I said it all last week:
obviously, this season is tough, but guys are still committing. Guys are still buying in; guys
are still coming in here every day trying to make it right. You reap a good harvest if you don’t
give up. Yesterday was a great win for us and we’re going to look to continue to finish and
see what we can do in these next four.”
(On how high the ceiling is for WR Brian Thomas Jr.) “Definitely one of the most polished
rookies I’ve ever been around. Very locked in and focused. Very mature to be a rookie in this
league, especially at receiver. Sky’s the limit for him. He’s a playmaker for us. He has great
releases; he runs great routes. He has a lot of really small, really good details about his
game. I like to say, ‘polished,’ for a rookie is the perfect word. We’ve seen how explosive he
can be. I think he’s the fastest ball carrier this year. The list can go on. The future’s bright for
him. He’s rolling right now. We’ve got to continue to get him the ball. He was a big part of
our success in the second half as well yesterday.”
(On why it’s important to get the offensive playmakers the ball earlier in the game) “I think
that’s the tale of football. It’s players and not plays. It’s getting the ball to your playmakers
and getting in the rhythm. We’ve got a lot. We have Parker [WR Parker Washington], we’ve
got B.T., Brenton [TE Brenton Strange] is a weapon, Luke [TE Luke Farrell] is a reliable
option, myself is in there. We have a great roster of playmakers. Obviously, it’s one football,
so it can get tough at times, but we’ve got to continue to build on that. I think as long as we
continue, moving forward, to work to build off of each other’s success, I think that will be
great for us. How can I help B.T. get open on this concept, and how can we use B.T. to open
up Parker? How can we use me to open up Brenton? Continuing to build off that talent we
do have, and I think once we continue to get better at that, we’ll find ourselves in a more
consistent, better rhythm.”
(On if he has any personal goals for the remainder of the season) “Obviously, I would love to
get the football and make plays to put my team in a great position. But I’ve definitely found
myself in a lot of situations to help out some of these young guys, pour into them, share
some of my wisdom with them, give them some of the expedited experience to help them
come along. At the end of the day, I just want to make our team better. So, obviously, I’m
going to continue to show up when my number’s called—I hope that my number continues
to be called a lot, for sure. But any chance I can get to pour into these young guys and help
them develop their game and develop their craft and become more confident players,
that’s a big mission for me to finish the year. Obviously, continue to do that to try to do that
to try to win out, to try to win these next four.”
(On which point in his career he felt himself stepping into a veteran leadership role) “It was
honestly this season. This year, I just felt how eager these guys are to learn. This year, I
could just tell they’re honestly, genuinely listening. Really, when I was hurt, those four
weeks, there were many instances where I was helping Brenton with a lot of things, and
gave him some tips and then he’d go out and do it in a game, and it worked. Just that feeling
is very addicting as a veteran player, helping young guys be successful. Just kind of kept it
rolling from there. Honestly, I’m learning from them as well. My running game, I felt like I’ve
been really a lot better this year in the running game and it’s because of Brenton, it’s
because of Luke. The example they set, the detail they set in the run game has helped a lot.
It’s a universal thing. I’m definitely blessed to be in that position.”
(On if he’s excited for Ole Miss to play in the Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium) “Yeah, I’ve
been back to Oxford [Oxford, Miss.] a couple of times since I left. It’s been kind of tough
because normally they’re either on the road when I’m on the bye week and if I ever go watch
them play it’s normally just back in Oxford. But yeah, it’ll be cool. I’ll definitely stop by and
support them. Definitely wish we were in the big dance that everybody is excited about this
year, but it’s the SEC. It’s a gauntlet and stuff happens. Definitely excited for them to get in
Jacksonville and be able to stop by and support them, and maybe watch a good football
game.”
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2024
(On any injury updates following the game vs. Tennessee) “I haven’t seen Anton [OL Anton
Harrison]. The players were just basically in for a lift and then out today. We didn’t meet
with the players. Just illness from yesterday, just woke up with it. We had a couple guys
actually. D. Ham [DT DaVon Hamilton] was another one that was sick Saturday. Anton was
a little bit sick and woke up in not too good of a shape. For the game obviously and couldn’t
make it. But imagine he’s feeling better today. Savage [S Darnell Savage] was fine today.
Evan’s [TE Evan Engram] going to have a little bit of a shoulder in the game. But everybody
else came out good.”
(On injury updates to P Logan Cooke) “He made it through, yeah. He made it through. We’ll
see how he goes this week, but there were no setbacks with him or Ross [LS Ross Matiscik].
I think had four punts and did a good job.”
(On if Cooke is a tough guy for a punter) “Sure, as punters go, I guess, yeah [laughter]. I’ll tell
you this, being his plant leg, that’s definitely a little strain on that leg, on that knee. But he
did a nice job, we’ll see how he goes this week.”
(On DE Josh Hines-Allen and WR Brian Thomas Jr, chasing franchise records) “Yeah, I
mean, obviously the sacks, that’s just Josh being Josh and getting the sack. I can’t tell the
opponent to let him, hey, he’s close, let him get a sack. He can’t do that. But then Brian, we
can control that one, the amount of targets and obviously the catches that he gets. So
yeah, with the way our season’s been, I mean, those are a couple bright spots to look at
and really give those guys credit for what they’ve done.”
(On elaborating on his postgame comments about getting the ball to playmakers) “I think
we were talking a little bit about, he might have brought up the fact that it felt like Brian
didn’t get started until later in the game. I think that’s kind of the line of questioning. Again,
it wasn’t for not calling plays his direction because we did. The ball just happened to go a
different place or quarterback had to move. He scrambled early a couple of times, Mac [QB
Mac Jones] did. But it was good to see, it was good to get B.T. going. That was the gist of the
conversation was yeah, we need to do that more in the beginning. Kind of maybe focus on
that a little bit sooner than later. But again, it’s not that we don’t do it. It’s just sometimes
the ball and or the quarterback go in a different direction.”
(On how high Thomas Jr.’s ceiling is) “I still think it’s extremely high. I think he still is learning
the game, learning different techniques by corners, DBs, the leverage, just understanding
his triangle of coverage. It’s corner, safety and next inside defender, and just learning how
to run off of that and run routes that way, and then just use his ability with his speed. So, I
think there’s still a lot that he can continue to improve. As good as he is right now, that’s
exciting that he can continue to get better and potentially be one of the top receivers in this
league.”
(On if RB Tank Bigsby having more carries than RB Travis Etienne Jr. in the run game part of
the game plan) “Yeah, a little bit. Again, good front that we were going against. Two really
good D-tackles in there. Kind of hard to run the ball a little bit. But Tank, obviously the
touchdown run and had a couple, he and Etienne [RB Travis Etienne Jr.] both had a couple
of nice little bursts in there which really helped us out. I mean, it kept us on the field a
couple of times, converting into some first downs. Again, both guys are healthy and getting
them both involved is what we need to do.”
(On DT Maason Smith’s development) “Yeah, I think yesterday was one of his better
performances, quite frankly. He was strong, especially at the point of attack, anchored a
little bit better. Couple times, he got a little undisciplined a couple times. Lost his gap, lost
leverage and they’re able to give up some scrambles and whatnot. But I think for the most
part, probably one of his better games. It’s a bright spot. Something he’ll learn, obviously,
from it and get better and continue to improve. Yeah, it was a good game for him.”
(On what QB Mac Jones has done well during the game) “I think as Mac settles into the
game—and Trevor’s [QB Trevor Lawrence] kind of the same way when we can kind of get
into a no huddle type rhythm where there’s more quick throws, balls out fast—he knows
where he’s going with the football. That’s when he’s obviously the best. A couple times
yesterday protection was a little bit leaky, so he had to scramble and he got some tough
yards that way. But he continues to improve within the system, within the offense. Again,
he’s another one, you’d love to get him going early in the game. We tried early yesterday to
just a couple of quick throws to get some completions going and credit Tennessee for
defending those. But I think that’s something with Mac is just continuing to find those
rhythm throws where he can find those easy completions early in the game to get him
going.”
(On how pleased he was about the team’s attitude towards wanting to win) “I was
completely—I was excited about that. You get asked a lot about your team and where we
are and our record and this and that. But I mean, you guys see it when you watch the game,
our guys, they fight to the end. They don’t quit, they battle. Yesterday we were able to make
the plays right at the end of the game. Defense stepped up huge at the end too really. That
fourth-and-two throw, and then the last one at the end of the game on about the eight or
nine-yard line there to stop them on fourth-down as well. Those are all plays and things that
we keep talking about. Yesterday we were able to finish that and finish the game, and that
was really good to see. I think it gave the guys a lot of confidence. It will give them a lot of
confidence moving forward. But I’ve been pleased, obviously, with the effort, with the
attitude of the guys and it’s been really good.”
(On how Lawrence has been progressing through the concussion protocol) “Yeah, he’s
doing good.”
(On his expectations for WR Josh Reynolds this week) “Yeah, we definitely want to get him
going in the mix, and then kind of cut him loose, and see how he see how he fits into the
offense and get him working. So, I would anticipate him being ready to go this week.”
(On if Reynolds’ experience makes him a quick learner of the offense’s scheme and
playbook) “Yeah, I mean it’s for those guys, routes are all the same. Sometimes the
teaching techniques could be a little bit different. But routes, the way we call routes, things
like that are all going to be the same. It’s just now a matter of just picking up the
terminology with the play calls, the scheme and then interjecting where he can. So I’m
excited to get him out there this week and get him going on Wednesday.”
(On how getting RB Keilan Robinson game experience will help him) “I think it’ll help him
mentally, really. Gives him confidence carrying the football as a returner, but it’ll also give
him confidence if he gets a chance offensively to carry the football. He’s got really good
speed. For young players too, it’s just a matter of continuing to develop and grow and
seeing things. A hole will open quickly, but then it closes quickly in-game. So, all that just
adds to what he can do and what he’s capable of and we’ll just continue to work and
develop with him.”
