OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2024
(On if he thinks the offensive line has improved more in protection or run blocking during
training camp) “It’s a good question, because again still, you don’t have all these live
periods, so it’s always hard to really get an evaluation of where we’re at with things. We do
feel very good about the progress we’ve made in both aspects, but particularly the run
game. Just our targeting, our identification of what we’re trying to get accomplished of
getting essentially 11 guys on the exact same page with every single look we see. Now, in
terms of moving a defender from point A to point B, that’s the part that you’re not 100
percent sure you’ve been able to see yet. Other than when we get into these games. We
haven’t played all five of our guys together at the same time yet—our anticipated five. Not
too many snaps at the same point yet. That’s something we’ll continue to see. Again, we
have time moving into Week 1 before we get ready for that, but we’re confident in where
we’re headed with that.”
(On how RB Tank Bigsby is meeting his expectations, particularly in yards after contact)
“Yeah, I think he’s tough to tackle. I think that’s the biggest part of it. He just continues to
grow and be more consistent in what we’re looking for. I think [Running Backs Coach] Jerry
Mack has done a great job coaching him on what the expectation is with each single
scheme, what the looks are, Phil [Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Phil
Rauscher] and Rich [Tight Ends Coach Richard Angulo] and those guys, [Assistant
Offensive Line Coach] Greg Austin, those guys have done a great job just trying to simulate
as many looks as we can see. Give those to all, not just the line, but the backs as well. It’s
very important that they get a chance to see what these combinations look like in their zone
schemes, what these down blocks, what the puller looks like in certain looks. That’s the
value of the joint practice, too. Now we, all of a sudden, saw a lot more five-down fronts
and some different looks from Tampa that we’re able to kind of test our schemes against.”
(On TE Evan Engram’s work ethic) “Yeah, he’s just kind of the ideal professional. The time he
puts into his craft from his physical maintenance to just getting his body ready to go for
practice. I don’t even know if you guys see it, he’s the last one off the field as well most
times. Now, it’s cool to watch, you look outside and [TE] Brenton Strange is right there next
to him. So, Evan’s still the first on the field, he’s the last off the field and he’s bringing
people along. I think part of it, we try to tell our young guys, watch the right guy in your
room. There’s somebody in every single room that we think those guys can model their
game after or just their approach to work after. It’s cool to see the young guys. Parker [WR
Parker Washington] was kind of Christian [WR Christian Kirk]’s shadow all last year.
Brenton’s become Evan’s shadow as we move forward. Anton [OL Anton Harrison] and
those guys following Brandon [OL Brandon Scherff] and Cam [OL Cam Robinson]. It’s just
cool to see the young guys follow the older guys that have done it for a long time that had
success in this league because there’s no secret to success in terms of just the work ethic
that it takes to be a consistent pro. We have guys that can model that well.”
(On the evaluation of and the decision to sign QB E.J. Perry) “Part of that was just that C.J.
[QB C.J. Beathard]’s health just moving forward to make sure as we go into this next game,
just not limiting our ability to play this game out as we go. And so E.J. is a guy we obviously
have trust in and he’s been around us. He’s a guy that we can bring in at the very last minute
and he is going to know 50 to 75 percent of the terminology from the jump. Guys are
familiar with him, which I think that’s a part of it as well. Not everybody’s played with him,
but a lot of guys have been here just through his time on and off the roster. So, a guy that we
have confidence in as a coaching staff can help us through a game situation here.”
(On the importance of the starting offensive linemen getting game reps together as a unit)
“Yeah, I think that’s a big thing. Aligning in the huddle next to each other, breaking the
huddle, communicating next to each other, and then there’s still the timing of game reps, of
how fast things happen. I would still say preseason is not quite the step that regular season
is going to be, but it’s just one more step in the progress that we want to take to get ready
for Week 1.”
(On OL Cole Van Lanen’s consistency during training camp) “I think that’s fair to say. He’s
done a great job really since the spring, of kind of just buying into everything we’re trying to
coach in the run game and protection world as well. He’s really flashing the run game for us
on the backside of a lot of concepts and we’ve kind of noticed that from way back when. It’s
cool to see him play well in these preseason games as well.”
(On the extent to which the new injured reserve rule will affect roster decisions in certain
position groups) “Yeah, it’s certainly a tool that you kind of use as a roster-building tool. So
now it changes a little bit of the formatting of how you’re maneuvering guys on cut day
because there’s always different ways people do things to try to keep guys, there’s kind of
the first wave of cuts, the last wave of cuts to try to—different ways that people will
massage the roster-building aspect of it. I think that’s a tool that can be utilized. It’ll be
interesting to see how we use it necessarily.”
(On WR Brian Thomas Jr.’s progress throughout camp) “I think it’s similar to what we were
talking about. You keep seeing these steps that you want to see. Again, I don’t think he’s
where he’s going to be when we kick off whatever day our first game is, September
something. I don’t think he’s there yet, but he’s a lot further ahead than he was when we
came together at the start of training camp. For that to carry over, for him to make a play in
that first preseason game, you just saw his confidence rise, for him to perform well in joint
practices against Tampa. You just see this progression and you see a little bit more of him
becoming who we knew he would be. Again, I think he’s a long way from where he’s going to
be in two weeks, let alone 18 weeks from now. It’s just been cool to see him build the
confidence in himself, build the confidence in the work he’s put in and I think he’s just going
to continue to grow from here.”
(On how impressive Thomas Jr.’s sideline catch was on Saturday vs. Tampa Bay) “Yeah, I
mean that’s kind of what you see is a guy that when he’s going to get free access, has a little
bit of route technique to him that does a good job, and then being friendly at the top of the
route breaking the sideline, catching the ball on the sideline. I thought that was a good
catch going out of bounds. But that’s something—always using the threat of speed. That’s
something you want all these receivers to do, but we’ve talked about guys get defended
based on their reputation. People are going to know he’s a 4.2 guy. So, he’s going to get that
respect in some aspect so it’s how does he utilize it every single route? It could be a six-
yard route. Can we get him to sell speed from the jump and then it could be some of those
routes where it’s a stutter comeback that gets him up to 18 yards, something like that? It’s
just kind of him owning each route and what it looks like. It’s going to look different on one
side than it does on the other based on who’s running the route.”
(On if the in-game success of the first-team offense will dictate how long they’ll play for on
Friday) “Coach [Head Coach Doug Pederson] will always kind of give them, ‘Expect to play
this amount of time,’ and then I think that always just leaves it to be determined. If he wants
them to play longer, they’re ready to play longer. We just tell the guys, ‘Be ready to play,’ for
however long that is. Sometimes, you get into a game like the other night, and we had an
11-play drive I think the first time, and Coach will go in the headset, ‘Hey, I’ve seen enough
from so and so, he’s out,’ or, ‘Let’s get so and so a little bit more,’ and keep going. We kind of
give them a general idea, but they know it could be shorter, longer, whatever it is. I think a
lot of these guys, once you tell them they’re going to play, they get themselves ready to play.
They don’t, I think, concern themselves with, ‘I only need to be ready to play 10 plays, 20
plays, whatever that is.’ There’s a lot of guys that we’ll pull them out and they’re like, ‘I was
just getting ready to go, I’m fired up, let’s keep going.’ Because I think it takes a certain
mindset and a certain physical preparation to get yourself ready to play a game whether it’s
10 plays or you don’t know if it’s 75 plays, so these guys are always pretty geared up to
play.”
(On his takeaways from the game on WR Elijah Cooks and WR Tim Jones) “I thought both
those guys have done a great job, and a lot of those guys kind of competing on that back
end for this down-the-line receiver spot. Again, there’s an aspect of it that is offense,
there’s a major aspect of it that is special teams as well. So, there’s a lot that goes into the
evaluation. We will give our opinion based on where we anticipate using these guys in the
offensive role. Then Heath [Special Teams Coordinator Heath Farwell], Luke [Assistant
Special Teams Coach Luke Thompson], those guys, will provide their input for the special
teams role. Sometimes, it can change week-to-week based on who’s available throughout
the course. If you’re missing one of your top three, maybe there’s more value in an offensive
role for that player versus if you have everybody available to you or it’s a game where you
anticipate more 12 personnel, 13 personnel, then maybe there’s not much of an offensive
role expected for that player and now somebody else gets it. Those guys have done a great
job just being consistent and understanding what the role is with each given play. There’s
sometimes where you’re a primary on third-and-10 there’s sometimes where you’re a point
block on first-and-10, toss crack to you, or you have to dig out of safety on the backside of a
run. There are all these certain looks that I think those two guys really understand and
embrace what they’re being asked to do. That’s a valuable role for us as well.”
(On if he thinks that QB Trevor Lawrence has the best players around him on offense this
season) “I think that’s a big part of it. I mean, I don’t know if I’d get into comparing year one
to year two to year three, personnel-wise. But I think when you look at the guys that are
continuing to be around, Christian is so much better than he was two years ago when we
started the system, to Evan… I think just the knowledge of Trevor’s relationship or
knowledge with those guys that are playing and how they play and what they bring and what
he likes to throw to them or how they like to see certain things, I would think that there’s
progress in that aspect. In terms of player-to-player, I don’t know if I’d get into that
comparison to begin with.”
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN ANTON HARRISON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2024
(On he and the offensive line’s development in the run game) “I feel like it’s been good.
We’ve all been getting better at it. Just starting off with the little things like coming out of
three-point stance and everything. We try to find everything to help us improve. We’ve been
taking it day-by-day. I feel like we’ve grown a lot from last year.”
(On where “FoodTakeTonn” came from) “I cook a lot, I like to cook. It’s just me and the guys,
we’d be on the game or something and I’d be telling them. Everybody said, ‘I’m crazy,’ so
one day I said it on Twitter, and I just kept going.”
(On how much planning he puts into his food takes) “Some days I wake up, make some up,
some days I plan them before, put them in the drafts and save them for the next day. It just
depends.”
(On his worst food take) “I don’t have any bad ones. I don’t have any bad takes.”
(On his most controversial food take) “A lot of people got mad at me about the watermelon
one. I don’t eat biscuits or cornbread. Probably sugar in spaghetti.”
(On how it feels being able to make strong plays for the offense) “It felt good. Me knowing
the type of player I am, knowing I can do that every week. Really just me coming down and
doing it, knowing what type of player I am and just doing it and being the best player I can
be.”
(On his first to second-year jump) “Definitely, I’d say for me the biggest thing is really just
that confidence. Coming in my rookie year to second year, just knowing what I’m coming
into. I really had a real offseason to prepare, don’t have to worry about the Draft, Combine
and all that. So, having a real offseason definitely helped me a lot too.”
(On if there’s a level of comfort playing next to OL Brandon Scherff for the second year)
“Definitely. Brandon, he’s one of those vets I grew up watching. Being able to play with him
my rookie season was a blessing. Being able to learn from him and now keep playing with
him, we’d grown together my rookie year bad to good, so we feel really good playing next to
each other.”
(On how it feels to have had a fully healthy offseason) “I feel great. Don’t have to worry
about anything. 100 percent ready to go.”
(On how much it took off his mind not having to worry about rehabbing) “A lot. I can throw
my arms fully, punch fully, don’t have to hesitate, not second-guessing, just going out and
playing ball.”
(On if watching practice from the sideline helps at all) “Definitely. Obviously, I’m getting my
work on the side with strength coaches and things like that, but I’m also taking the mental
notes knowing I’m going to be back out there soon. So, taking the mental notes, trying to
get better and perfect my craft.”
(On if one preseason game with the anticipated starters is enough to build chemistry)
“Yeah, I’d say it’s good to be out there in a game against another team with all five of us. I
feel like we got a lot of work in camp. It was good. We had some guys like me who where
down and up, but it’s going to feel good all five of us going out there and playing together.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2024
(On the impact of TE Evan Engram’s work ethic) “I think it rubs off on your teammates.
When they see that over time, and everyone has their own process and does things
completely different, I don’t do things the same way Evan does, but everyone has what they
feel is best to get them ready for whether it’s practice or a game, anything during the week
to get themselves ready for the game. Evan is just very committed to his process and what
he does and I think when people see that, especially young players, they see a guy, Evan,
who’s on year eight, and he still has that drive and hunger to be the best player he can be.
He’s the first one out there warming up, like I said, he’s staying late, all those things. He’s
doing all of the extra things and I think that’s just a good example for the younger guys and
also just for our team. Talking about being a leader on the team, a guy that comes to work
every day with that mindset. It’s not—he doesn’t change either. It’s not like, ‘I don’t feel like
doing it today, so I’m not going to—I’ve done it every other day but today I’m just going to
just not go out there.’ He’s very consistent, does the same thing every day and it shows in
the way he plays too. He practices very hard and during the season he sits in there with the
quarterbacks after practice when we watch tape. I’ve mentioned that in the past, but he
sits in there once, sometimes twice a week—and we’re in there late on Wednesday’s and
Thursdays. He hangs out and there’s some weeks where we’ll throw a couple things back
and forth and talk about some stuff, and there’s some weeks where he just watches it with
us and sits there and then he rolls at the end. But either way, it’s that constant
communication. I think that’s helped our relationship and our communication and being on
the same page, our chemistry on the field just because we’re always talking. He’s sitting in
there seeing the looks with us, whether it’s third down, red zone. That’s been something too
that just goes to your point of seeing the stuff he does here but he also does that when
there’s not people watching on the field. He does it in meetings and after practice and all of
that when nobody’s here.”
(On feeling more comfortable during camp this year) Definitely. I think every day we’ve built
that chemistry more and more as an offense. I think most of the time you think of skill
players, the quarterback, skill players, running back all that dynamic just because in the
passing game it’s so important, just the timing and route technique and the way I’m going to
throw it and what I expect different looks to look like. I think that’s where you see most of it,
but also up front, I think the guys up front are gelling great. They’re playing really well
together, communicating. Me and Mitch [OL Mitch Morse], obviously, it’s a new center that
I’m playing with this year. So that communication has been awesome just to talk about
different protections. Whether it’s protections or run game or cadence, all those things, you
learn something new every day and you kind of just add it to whatever, throw in the memory
bank just for moving forward. I think you can’t get enough of those looks and that’s why
camp is great because you get to iron out a lot of stuff that otherwise you wouldn’t get to
see. It’s been a really good camp.”
(On how what he wants out of preseason games has evolved over the years) “I don’t think
it’s changed too much. I mean, honestly, I think the biggest thing is just you want to play
clean and obviously it’s never going to be perfect. It’s football. There’s going to be some
mistakes and things are going to happen. That always feels good when you come out of a
preseason game and you felt like whether it’s one series, or it’s four or five series, you just
felt like you were sharp on the same page, communicated. The ball went where it was
supposed to go, you’re on time. I feel like I’m seeing the field well. It’s probably different for
everybody and based on their position of what they want to accomplish. But treat it like a
real game. I think that’s one of the bigger things is especially this week where I’m going to
be playing more. Treat it like a regular season game where just your prep throughout the
week because it is a different process compared to camp. It’s a weird week, so if the game
was on Sunday; Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it’s first, second down, third down, red zone.
Then you go in and you finish your prep after that. So, trying to treat it that way because
camp isn’t that way really. It’s just good-on-good. You’re practicing against your defense,
seeing a lot of different things. It is good to kind of get back in the mindset of, all right, we’re
prepping for another team. I like to use it more mentally, I think, than anything. Obviously
physically on the field, you want to play well, but that has always been good for me, just to
feel that game week routine and leading up to the game and going out there. When you’re
playing a half or whatever it’s going to end up being, you kind of get a groove and get to
settle in the game. Against Kansas City, you just kind of get a little taste, you don’t really get
to settle in and feel out the game. Now we’ll get to do that, so I think it’s really valuable.”
(On the depth and talent-level of the offensive unit playing alongside him) “Yeah, I think the
key is the last few years we’ve had good teams. Last year injuries, unfortunately, kind of
hurt us in some different positions, and so that’s always going to be important to stay
healthy because you need your guys out there. That’s not always something you control.
But as far as depth, I feel great. As far as talent, I think this is the most talented team for
sure since I’ve been here that we’ve had. I think you guys that watch it every day could
probably say that as well. I feel really good. Obviously, that doesn’t win you the games,
though. You’ve got to go out and play well and execute and put your best foot forward every
Sunday and stay focused on the main goal. Go out there every series, every play and go
earn it. But as far as a talent/depth standpoint, I think this is the best team we’ve had,
definitely since I’ve been here.”
(On continuing to develop the connection between him and WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the
game on Friday) “For sure. I think as many live reps with him too as I can get. Just that’s
valuable. Things move a little faster in the game. He’s done a great job the last two weeks
playing well and creating separation and being open. He’s done a great job. But I think
those reps are really important for us just to continue to build that chemistry to get his
timing. Like I said, everything does speed up, especially for those guys once the game hits.
So, as many reps we can get together is going to pay off for us and for his development
moving forward. He’s a guy that when he sees something, he learns from it and really
remembers things moving forward and how he plays. You can tell he takes in a lot of
information and does well with that. I think the more experience he gets; he’s just going to
get better and better.”
(On what he likes about WR Gabe Davis) “Just from a personality standpoint, the guy is
nuts. I don’t know if you all have spent much time around him, but he’s a funny guy. The
guys, it’s funny how everybody responds to him. Everybody just opens up a little bit. He
brings a lot of energy. From a personality standpoint, that’s awesome. As a player, I think
just he’s really smart. Understands space, he’s really good in zone, he’s really good at going
and getting the ball whether it’s high-pointing it or being physical. Really physical receiver,
great hands, tough, good in the run game. He can really do it all. I think that in Buffalo,
obviously, they had a really good receiving core and they had [WR] Stefon Diggs. There’s
only one football, so I think it’s helped him because his game is he can do everything,
because, he’s had to do everything. Wherever he could fit in there, he did it and was
successful. Now, I think having a little bit more of a primary role here, it’s going to be great
for him. He’s ready for it and he can make all the plays, run every route. He’s awesome.”
(On if he can take as much out of playing a team that isn’t playing their starters) “Yeah, I
mean, obviously it’s every team’s own decision to decide who they’re going to play. For us,
it doesn’t change anything. We’ve still got the same job to do. It doesn’t matter who’s out
there. There’s a bunch of good players, whether they’re starters or not, and we’ve got to
bring our best game on Friday. We’re preparing the same way and we’re going to be ready to
go regardless of who’s on the field. It doesn’t really change our plan any.”
(On Wide Receivers Coach Chad Hall saying that Davis and WR Brian Thomas Jr. were the
smartest rookies he’s ever coached) “Gabe, I didn’t see him when he was a rookie, but
seeing how he plays ball. Obviously, there’s going to be a learning curve with a new system.
He’s probably run all these plays in his career, or very similar ones, but you’ve got to get
used to what we call them and what our signals are and what our calls and checks are.
That’s what’s different. He knows all the stuff, though, because he’s done them all. As far
as when the play is going and the decisions he makes on different routes, whether it’s a
zone look or finding a void, he’s just very aware, very savvy. Knows football, knows space,
quarterback friendly, all those things. Then Brian, I mean, I’ve been blown away just by how
smart he is and how quick he’s picked up the offense as a rookie. I know I’ve said it before,
when I was a rookie coming in, it was hard. Especially he was very sharp in the spring, just
getting here, too. I know when I got here, I was swimming a little bit just trying to get the play
call out. So, I’ve been impressed with him and he just continues to get better, especially
now we’ve gone through our system three, four times. He’s getting better and better and not
even thinking anymore. He’s starting to be able to play and just go out there and react
instead of thinking about what he’s got to do. He can just go play free.”
(On OL Anton Harrison’s worst food take) “I haven’t seen all of them. He was talking about
something in the locker room, he was talking about Firehouse and Pub Subs. I don’t know if
he said that to you guys.”
(On Harrison disliking biscuits and cornbread) “He doesn’t like biscuits or cornbread?
That’s a pretty bad take. I like biscuits.”
(On Harrison putting sugar in spaghetti) “Sugar in spaghetti? No. Was that his? He likes
sugar in spaghetti? I like biscuits a lot. Cornbread, it has to be the sweet cornbread. Sugar
on spaghetti, I’ve never done that. Do you guys drink milk with spaghetti? I know some
people do that. I don’t do that. I don’t do that. That’s disgusting.”
(On if he thinks it’s important to get reps with the starting offensive line before Week 1)
“Definitely. Just everybody, I mean, especially the guys up front and feeling the pocket
because I don’t get hit out here. In the game, it’s a different sense of urgency as far as my
time clock, getting the ball out, and also just seeing different pressures and stuff. There’s
sometimes in practice, you’ll get beat on a pressure. I don’t see it and they make us hot and
in practice it’s like, I’m hot. In the game, it’s like, ‘I’ve got to get out, I’m going to get smoked
if I don’t get out of here.’ So, all those different things, it just feels different. I think it’s good
to have your starting line and to feel the pocket and to move around and kind of test some
of your protections as well. You do some new stuff, and you want to see how it holds up
against a live look.”
