JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
(On Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell’s game) “I thought he called a really good game and ultimately
it comes down to the players making the plays and being in the right positions. I thought the preparation
during the week is what stood out to me and how we practiced last week. But Mike [Caldwell] having
that plan and putting that plan together and executing, that was really good.”
(On the defensive shutout) “It is [impressive] and again it does come down to the players being in the
right positions and that’s a credit to [Defensive Coordinator] Mike [Caldwell] and his staff on defense
for, again, coaching them up last week and what they asked the players to do. They felt comfortable. It’s
like on offense, when you’re having success, it seems like everything works. But overall, I thought Mike
did a nice job putting that plan together.”
(On the locker room after yesterday’s win) “It’s great. It’s great to celebrate with your team and your
teammates. I was honored that they did that and Marv[in Jones Jr.] presented that and to get the first
one here in Jacksonville for me. But listen, like I told the team, it’s a group effort, it’s a team effort. We
win and lose as a football team and that was my message to them, but [it was a] special time.”
(On East Coast teams playing on the West Coast) “We understood too it’s a long flight number one. My
first year in Philly in ’16, I think we went to Seattle. Left of Friday, went out there and didn’t have very
much success on Friday going out there. I believe it was that time. Then I did some research with some
of the sleep experts and some of the people that are kind of more professional that way and come to
find out if you kind of keep your body on East Coast time and leave on Saturday and just treat it that
way, you tend to have a little bit more success on game day, especially when you wake up and you feel a
little bit more refreshed. We’ll go out on Saturday; we’ll keep everything as if we were here at home on
East Coast time. It just seems to work out. We have to make sure the players stay hydrated and the
nutrition aspect and work out some of the flight issues. You might have some inflammation and things
like that on the flight. We’ll work all that stuff out when we land and just prepare ourselves to play a
game. You have to have good teams to go out there because historically too, those teams here have
been pretty good on the West Coast. This is a pretty good team we’re playing this weekend.”
(On the team’s growing confidence) “Again to me, it goes back to practice and the way they practice is
the way they play. They expect to practice well so they expect to play well and win those games. Credit
the players for having that mindset and having that attitude each week. It just shows confidence in them
and kind of where they are, the maturity of the football team. Not every weekend’s going to be like that
but yesterday it was and it’s something I think that the guys can kind of feed off of.”
(On balancing RB Travis Etienne Jr. and RB James Robinson in the run game) “It’s either the hot hand or
it’s just the way the plays are being called, who’s in the game. It’s not against one back or the other.
They’re both going to get playing time, both did an outstanding job again yesterday in the run game.
Travis [Etienne Jr. was used] a little more in some of the screens and things like that to have an
advantage there, but both are doing a really good job.”
(On WR Christian Kirk’s versatility) “That’s why we game plan and try to put our players in position.
Trevor [Lawrence] and Christian [Kirk] have worked on that. We actually had that play up the week
before [in] the Washington game and we just didn’t use and just felt it was good this week in the red
zone and pulled it out. But it’s about matchups and again trying to put our players in positions to be
successful in the game. Defensively, they’re doing the same thing. They’re putting their players on our
best players too and sometimes they’re going to get us and sometimes we’re going to get them. But it’s
good when you have a guy like Christian, Zay [Jones], Marv[in Jones Jr.], the two running backs [RB
Travis Etienne Jr. and RB James Robinson], Evan [Engram], you can move them around in your
formations and create those matchups.”
(On S Rayshawn Jenkin’s performance against the Colts) “He played well. He played sound. He’s one of
the leaders back there. He played physical the whole game. Took on a shot from their runner and stood
in there, so yeah, he played real well.”
(On staying grounded after a win) “To me, it’s up to the team, it’s up to the players really. But for me,
it’s kind of easy because the message is always going to be the same thing. It’s all about us and going 1-0
this week and it doesn’t really matter what we’ve done in the past. It’s a short-term memory each week.
It’s a new set of challenges, so it’s my job to make sure the guys stay focused that way and never lose
sight of that because that’s when you get beat and you start kind of feeling full of yourself just a little bit
after something like this on Sunday or you have success a couple weeks in a row. You want to build on
the momentum of course, but at the same time, you have to stay humble and grounded and continue to
improve at what you’re doing.”
(On what QB Trevor Lawrence did well in yesterday’s game) “I just think the way he controlled and
managed the offense, his efficiency, getting the ball out of his hand, he saw the defense extremely well,
found the right guys in the right spots. Again, we talked all last week about the [Colts Defensive
Coordinator] Gus Bradley type of defense, you kind of know where they’re going to be, so we have to
maintain that discipline on offense and Trevor’s part of that. He did an outstanding job in the game just
delivering the football and [he was] very accurate too. It wasn’t a lot of back shoulders or low balls,
things like that. He was very accurate with that.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence being able to throw rolling to the left right-handed) “It’s a tough throw. It’s a
tough throw, but it’s one of the things we try to do as much as we can. We feel like we can go either way
with Trevor [Lawrence] because he’s very accurate out of the pocket. [He] made a couple tough throws
going to his left, obviously the one to Marv[in Jones Jr.] and the one to Christian [Kirk] down the field.
[It’s] difficult to do, but he makes it seem pretty easy.”
(On if he’s impressed with the defensive front) “Yes because I take what we did in the Washington
game, and they learned from that game and then they came out yesterday and performed well and they
stayed disciplined. Other than the two long runs where there were some communication issues, they
stayed really disciplined in their lanes and trusted each other backwards, with downhill. But the d-line
getting after them in the passing game, putting pressure on [Colts QB] Matt [Ryan] all day was the
difference really in the game as a defensive perspective. So, [I’m] very pleased with the d-line and
something they can obviously build on.”
(On the rookies adjusting to the pace of the game) “I did [see it] and again that’s that jump between the
first and second game. We saw it and I think you’ll see another jump between the second and third
game, obviously on the road. But I think things kind of calmed down for them a little bit. They can still
calm down a little bit more, but they’re all smart guys and they play extremely hard, they play within
themselves, and do some good things.”
(On leading the league in turnover differential) “It’s very important. We talk about creating turnovers
and try to get as many in practice as we can, whether we’re punching the ball out or catching
interceptions. It’s good to be in that position now but it’s something that we have to sustain. We have to
maintain it throughout the course of the season. Anytime, I think even in this game, where [there’s] an
interception on the first possession of the game and then the offense goes 15 plays in 9 minutes and
scores a touchdown and then a fourth-and-3 in there and some nice plays, that’s complimentary football
and it just helps gain an extra possession for your offense. Any team would say if you can do that, you
can win more games if you’re on the positive side of that.”
(On expecting the defense to create turnovers) “You expect to create some turnovers and you also
expect the offense to keep the ball and not turn it over. But defenses are taught to punch and swipe and
get the ball out and the Colts are one of the better teams at doing that historically. They’ve always been
good at it. But it’s something that we talk about during the week with our team. We keep talking to our
defense about creating turnovers and go front there.”
(On any awkwardness interacting with Colts Head Coach Frank Reich after the game) “No, not at all. This
is the second time, I believe, him and I have faced off against each other. [I] have a lot of respect for
Frank and what he’s doing and just wished him well and told him we’d see him in a couple weeks.”
(On what he does differently postgame following a win) “Nothing. Obviously, it was at home, so it’s just
going home, relaxing with family, had family in town, just watch the rest of the games on Sunday and
then really in my mind just go through the game. You’re just kind of rehashing everything, every
decision, every call, every aspect of the game in your mind. You’re sitting there just relaxing and then
you know you have to get up early and get in here Monday and get ready for the next week.”
(On what stands out about the Chargers ahead of this week’s matchup) “We’ll get on to the Chargers
today and the rest of this week, but number one, they have a great quarterback. [He’s] a big, physical
guy, throws the ball well, [has] some targets to throw to on the outside, [Chargers WR] Mike Williams
and [Chargers WR Keenan] Allen, if he makes it back this week. We’ll see there, but defensively we
understand they do two outside linebackers, d-end type guys in [Chargers OLB Joey] Bosa and [Chargers
OLB] Khalil [Mack] that are tremendous players. They can get after the quarterback, and you saw that in
the Chiefs game Thursday night how they can put pressure on the quarterback. We’re just in the
beginning stages really of watching them and putting a plan together, but [Chargers Head Coach] Coach
[Brandon] Staley has a pretty good football team out there.”
TIGHT END EVAN ENGRAM
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
(On thoughts of playing for the Jaguars home crowd) “Just the atmosphere, first home game, it was just
different. Different atmosphere for me, so I knew once come regular season it was going to be jumping.
They’re just in it the whole game, obviously we played really well, again, a lot of things to be excited
about. But we feed off that, and we fed off it yesterday. Couple of plays and a lot of plays the guys
made, couple of touchdowns, I made a couple of plays. It was just a good atmosphere to go be great in.”
(On stiff-arming Colts CB Stephon Gilmore) “Yeah, it was a big third down. We really strive on being
successful on third, and it was a strong play that I expect myself to make and just the situation we were
trying to drive, go get points, made a third down. It was a pretty nice stiff arm so I felt great. Like I said,
just feeding off their energy and getting in my swagger, getting into my zone. It was a cool moment, and
it was a big moment for our team, too.”
(On trying not to smile while saying the answer to the last question) “No, it felt good for sure.”
(On the offense’s performance last game and throughout the season so far) “We’ve had a lot of great
days. A lot of great days in training camp, going against our defense. The defense that was on the field
yesterday, we saw them every day. We had our battles and we definitely got a lot of work in. Iron
sharpens iron, in that case for sure. We were just clicking, the coaches did a great job with our game
plan. We were focused all week on executing and doing our job. When the opportunity presented itself
yesterday, we just cashed in. There’s still some things that we can be better at, for sure. But it was just
all around effort from everybody, coaches, and players involved.”
(On if there was a moment where the offense seemed to click) “Yeah, it was the defense getting that
interception on the first drive. Their first possession, getting the ball back to us, and then us going down
and scoring. That was big for us. We wanted to set the tone offensively from the jump, they got the ball
first. So, the defense kind of propelled us into that energy and we capped it off the first drive with a
touchdown. That’s what we know we can be, so we try to do it to the best of our ability. That drive really
set the tone for the day after the defense really set the tone for us, too.”
(On the versatility of play calling for himself and WR Christian Kirk) “Yeah, it’s just a lot of accountability
on our part. We have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things, the coaches know that. Our coaches are
really smart and they game plan really well. We have a lot of great concepts and the offense fits what
we have. I think we all just hold ourselves accountable to knowing a lot of different positions, knowing
all the nuances of what they’re asking us to do. We have a lot of different personnel, so I can be in one
spot in one situation and we have that same situation and I’m in a completely different spot. It’s just
accountability on our part, knowing our job, knowing that we can be anywhere on the field and try to be
a weapon.”
(On carrying the offensive success week to week) “Just taking our preparation up another level. I think
we were really pissed off last weekend, and that led into a great week of preparation. Now we got a
better result yesterday, and now there’s no room for complacency. We all can even find another level to
hit in our preparation. We have a really tough opponent this week and we’re going to need to prepare
even better than we did last week.”
(On ability to gain yards after some catches last game) “Yeah, it’s just a mentality. We want to make the
defense tackle us. There’s great tacklers in and across the league that do a really good job of that, and
there’s other guys we can attack and take advantage of. So it’s just a mentality, when the ball comes our
way, we want to be smart and have good ball security, but be aggressive and be strong with the rock.
Try to make the most of each opportunity.”
(On the reaction in the locker room after the win) “We really expected to win. We really expected to do
our job and come out with a victory. It was a division win and we were at home, we wanted to protect
our house. The biggest thing is we expected to go out there and get a victory. That’s a big part of
winning in this league, every Sunday is a battle. Every game isn’t promised. I think it was our mentality,
like I said, and our preparation going into the game of settling for nothing less than a victory. I’ll just give
credit to our mentality going into that game, knowing that we wanted to come out with a win. We were
going to go earn the win, and we did that.”
(On preparation for the game against Chargers with S Derwin James) “Yeah, he’s a great player. I saw
him in college and watched him kind of blow up in the league. He’s a freak athlete, a great player. We’re
going to have to account for him. But they have dogs all over the place, so we have a huge responsibility
in our preparation this week in trying to maximize our opportunities against them and attack them while
still trying to go at them, too. They have a great team, a great defense, and it’s going to be a great
challenge for us.”
(On challenges of west coast trips for games) “Yeah, it’s just accountability and the biggest thing is really
just taking care of your body. Having a west coast trip like that, you got to get on it now. Be consistent
with it in the beginning of the week, we’re going to have a couple hard practices so everybody’s got to
take care of their bodies and be accountable with that stuff. Just stay focused, it’s going to be a long
flight, time change, all that stuff. Just staying focused, staying locked in our mission and our goals. When
kickoff happens on Sunday, it’s just football and we’re ready for it.”
(On the satisfaction of seeing the game outcome on social media) “Yeah, we know what we’re capable
of. We hold ourselves to a high standard. We work our butts off every single day. The media, all the fan
reactions, all that stuff, you guys are the professionals in that stuff. We’re professionals going out there
playing football. We’re trying to win as many games as possible and be a successful team. We’re just
really pumped because we work really hard. We work really, really hard. Everybody. We deserve that
one and we’re going to keep working hard to go get more.”
(On thoughts of Head Coach Doug Pederson’s way of using him as a tight end) “Yeah, I’m a big team guy.
I just love doing what I have to do for the team, whatever makes it successful. That’s the rest of the guys
in the tight end room, too. We’re all just bought into doing whatever we can to produce a win. By
nature, Doug asks a lot and this system asks a lot of the tight ends so we have a lot on our plate, we take
pride in it. There’s going to be games where we get a lot of footballs, there’s going to be games where
our hand is in the dirt and we got to be dirty, be really physical in the run game. There’s multiple
opportunities for us and it’s a long season, so we’re going to have our shots to go make plays and be
involved in the pass game. We’re asked to do a lot in the run game, too. It is a big job and Coach Angulo
(Tight End Coach Richard Angulo) does a great job of preparing us each and every week. We’re all just
really bought in to do everything we can to win.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s performance last game) “Yeah, it was just a big game plan and being smart.
Taking what the defense gives us. We want to go out there and call a bunch shots, make all the plays
down field, and have a lot of explosive plays. The way that defense played, they gave up a lot of stuff
underneath. They give you those easy pitch-and-catches and that kind of leads to that yards-after-catch
stuff when defenses rally down. I think he (QB Trevor Lawrence) played a really smart and decisive
game, he made a lot of plays, a couple scramble drills that we succeeded on, and just made a lot of
smart throws. We still had shots, one shot kind of led to a penalty that extended the drop. It was just a
smart performance by him, being really decisive and smart with the ball, no turnovers. Our defense took
the ball away a lot, and if you do that on Sundays, you’re in a great position to win.”
