QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2024
(On being voted captain for a fourth-consecutive year) “I mean, I think obviously being a
captain is important. I take a lot of pride in that, and all of our guys do. I think it says a lot
about how your teammates think of you. Of course, I’m very appreciative and don’t take it
lightly. Every year that I get an opportunity to—because your team changes every year. So,
you build new relationships, you’ve got to lead every day. Every season it changes a little
bit, the dynamic. For me, obviously, it’s a big honor and I know the other guys feel the same
way.”
(On recalling his first NFL victory in 2021 over the Dolphins) “It was awesome. Had to go
overseas to do it, but yeah, obviously we started and finished pretty rough that year. We
started out 0-5. So, to get that win in London against this team, came down to the end, Matt
[former Jaguars K Matthew Wright] made that kick. I remember all that. That was a fun
game.”
(On the challenge of scouting the Dolphins’ new-look defense) “Yeah, it’s challenging. Early
games in the season are always a little tough, but especially when it’s a new defensive
coordinator. You try to piece it all together: some preseason stuff, some Baltimore stuff, all
those things you’ve got to kind of try to take your educated guesses on. What you’re going to
see, and you’ve got to prepare kind of for everything. Obviously, it’ll be a big game where
you adjust as you go and you kind of see what they’re doing. Obviously, everyone has a
game plan. So, once we go in and we figure out what theirs is, it’s on us to make the
adjustments and try to execute what we think is the best plays versus whatever they’re
doing.”
(On the process of him, Head Coach Doug Pederson and Offensive Coordinator Press
Taylor creating the opening script of plays, and how much input he has) “Press puts a lot of
time into all that stuff, and all the tape and the breakdowns and all that. Obviously, I do my
own studies and stuff I like to do every week, but he already has a pretty good idea typically
of what he wants to do towards the end of the week. He’s putting it together and we’re kind
of piecing everything, Doug and Press, we’re all talking about, and myself. Usually, I’ll talk
with them, I’d say probably Thursday, Friday, we start to kind of talk about the openers and
then by Friday, Saturday, we definitely have them in place. There are a lot of different things
that we do, it just depends on the week. Obviously, it changes every week, but with every
play, there’s a purpose and you’re trying to see how the game unfolds and how they
respond and all those things. It’s definitely like a chess game. There’s a lot that goes into it. I
don’t do all the prep work on that, but obviously, I feel, or I have a say on if I’m not
comfortable with something or if I want to add something. He asks me if he’s deciding
between a few things. So yeah, we talk about all that.”
(On this thoughts about Taylor being on the sideline this year) “I think it’ll be good. I said
early on, besides just being able to communicate faster, I don’t really know how much will
change. I think it’ll be good and he’ll be able to feel the game. It’s just different being in the
box, I’m sure. I haven’t been up there, but you’re separated from the players and the game
on the field, and it feels a little bit different being out there. So, it could bring a new
element. I think it’ll be good to be able to run over there and talk to him face-to-face instead
of through a headset or through a coach that has a headset on because I’m not keeping my
helmet on, on the sideline. So that communication, I think, will be even sharper. Besides
that, I don’t think it’ll change too much, but I think it’ll be good for us if anything.”
(On his advice to the rookies going into their first NFL game) “Yeah, just to settle in and
remember it’s the same game you’ve played since you were a kid. Obviously, you’re playing
against the best of the best, and you’re in the NFL now and it’s all the bells and whistles,
but it’s the same game. We play it because we love it, and it is a game. Just remember that.
Keep it in perspective. You’re prepared. You’ve put all the work in. At that point on Sunday,
you’ve put all the work in there in practice throughout the week, preparing, watching tape.
At that point, that’s the fun part. You get to go play, and not every play is going to be perfect,
but you’ve just got to live for the next play. That’s something that is important to just remind
yourself. I’ll definitely remind the guys before we go out there, ‘Hey, we’ve got each other’s
back. Just go out there, play. You know what to do. Play free. Don’t think and just let it rip.’ I
think that’s the biggest thing.”
(On how comfortable he feels about the offense being able to stay on the field for longer,
particularly with respect to the running game in the event the game turns into an offensive
shootout) “Yeah. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of confidence in our defense. You’re always
hoping it’s not that. I’ve got a lot of faith and belief in them. Reality is you play against a lot
of good teams every week. You’re playing against great players. So, that’s always a
possibility, but I’ve got a lot of faith in our defense and am not concerned about it. But to
your point, there are times where we’re going to have to pick up the load and carry the
defense a little bit, and vice versa. They’re going to have to, some games, carry us, when
we’re not getting anything going, we’re a little bit stalling out drives, they’ve got to come up
with some big stops, and vice versa. If another offense gets rolling a little bit, we’ve got to
be able to answer. We’ve got to be able to hold the ball, have some long drives, finish drives
with touchdowns in the red zone instead of field goals. All those things are important, and it
just depends on what the game is. That’s why it’s a team sport. You never know how it’s
going to unfold each week, but you’ve got to be prepared to do whatever you need to do to
win. I think having Travis [RB Travis Etienne Jr.] and Tank [RB Tank Bigsby] both playing great
ball, and D’Ernest [RB D’Ernest Johnson], we’ve got three great backs that have played
really well in camp and are really bought into the system, and I feel great about. So having
those guys, the run game and obviously all the weapons just everywhere we have up front,
passing game, all that is going to help us, too.”
(On if he feels any nerves or excitement to get back out on the field) “Excited. Yeah, really
excited. I always get a little game day nervous, stomach’s tight, it’s harder to eat in the
morning, stuff like that. But once you kick it off, you settle in really quick. So, I wouldn’t say
there’s anything added to it except for just excitement. I think as you play longer, at least
going to my fourth year, you get really excited when you get to actually game plan and
prepare for an opponent because you go through training camp, and obviously training
camp is very necessary and really important, but towards the end of training camp, you’re
like, ‘All right, let’s just get to Week 1 and let’s play somebody, and let’s game plan and do
all that.’ Because you’re running your same stuff throughout training camp for four weeks
and you get to the point where you’re just like, ‘All right, I want to have a game plan and
know what we’re attacking.’ That part of the game, I think, is fun. Our coaching staff, I know,
feels the same way. That’s why you play is to plan for certain opponents and you get to go
do it on Sundays. That’s what’s really fun.”
(On if there’s any added comfort with WR Christian Kirk being available to play on Sunday)
“Definitely, definitely. Obviously, he’s an important part of our offense, our team, what he
brings to the table. I think we all saw how important he was last year when we were missing
him. Just the things that he’s able to do really in every aspect of the game. He contributes
and he’s a playmaker. Very dependable and it’s going to be great to have him back out
there.”
(On how much more comfortable he feels rallying the guys pregame going into year four as
a captain) “I think everyone’s leadership is a little bit different. For me, I’m not the big ‘rah-
rah’ speech guy. It’s just not my thing. We have guys that do that and are good at it and it
comes natural. I think for me, it’s having those conversations with our group, whether it’s
the skill guys, the offense, whatever, throughout the week, but also on game day, and just
reinstalling the confidence. On game day, I don’t like to change my personality because I
think it kind of gets you out-of-sorts a little bit. So, I’m a little quiet. I want to make sure that
my mind is at peace, I’m settled in and I can do my job to the best of my ability. Of course,
there’s little things I’ll talk to guys about, whether it’s Christian or Evan, or Gabe [WR Gabe
Davis] and BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.], obviously, are new this year. You feel out everyone’s
game day process. Some guys don’t like to be talked to at all. Some guys are loose and just
hanging out and you wouldn’t necessarily know it’s a game. They just want to feel
comfortable and loose going out there. Everyone’s different. I definitely feel comfortable
speaking up when needed. If I feel like the team needs to hear something whether it’s
halftime, before the game, there’s definitely times where that happens.”
(On who feels the most comfortable giving a speech to rally the guys) “Cam [OL Cam
Robinson] is good at it. Cam does a great job. Foye, for sure. He’s always getting the
defense up in the locker room. Foye does a good job. Those are probably the two main
guys, one on each side. Typically—you see the dynamic—you can’t have more than that.
One guy goes and then it’s the next guy’s turn, and he goes again. It gets a little repetitive
and it’s like, you can’t stand sometimes, you have like 25 breakdowns on game day. I’m like,
‘Alright guys, we get it.’ We’re playing and we’ve done a good job. We’ve kind of limited it a
little bit. But then it’s like, ‘All right, now it’s your turn to say something.’ So, our group does
a good job of handling that and we kind of know who feeds off that too because there’s guys
that like to be in front of the team and they want that, and it gives them some juice. Like I
said, Cam and Foye are really, really good at that and they bring some juice for sure.”
(On getting to know OL Mitch Morse as a player, learning from him and their
communication process together) “Communication’s great. Really smart player. Obviously,
he’s played a lot of ball. The thing is, when you’re playing with a veteran guy, a guy up front
that’s seen a lot, and he’s run every different run scheme and protection stuff. He’s seen
every look and he’s very clear and decisive on what he likes, what he doesn’t like, his
opinion on different things. I think he does a really good job of voicing that and we’ve
communicated. Obviously, this is our first opportunity to actually prepare and plan for an
opponent, so that’ll be a different element of, all week, you’re looking at different things and
you know the defense and the looks you’re going to get. Obviously, like I said, this week it’s
a little bit tough because it is a new defensive coordinator. But it’ll be interesting, and it’ll be
fun to work through all that with him. There’s so much communication that goes on
throughout a game and the adjustments you have to make in-game too. It’ll be good to see
how this goes this first week, but I’ve got a lot of confidence and we’ve communicated great
so far. I have no concerns.”
(On the importance of this first game) “Very important. Every week is. I mean, every week’s
crucial. You just never know, down the line. It’s early, it’s Week 1 and you think you’ve got 17
games, but at the end of the season you never want to be in a position—think of last year,
for example—where you look back and, yeah, of course, we finished the season bad, but
you also look back to the beginning and you’re like, ‘Man, we let some games slip early that
would have gave us even more room at the end of the season.’ So, it’s really important.
Obviously, this is an AFC team too, so that’s important, but every game is crucial. You put
everything into it, and you just try to go 1-0 each week, and you’ve got to keep that tunnel
vision for 17 weeks straight. I mean, that’s what it is, so we’ve got to start with just one,
though, this week.”
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2024
(On any injury updates for Sunday’s game vs. Miami) “Christian [WR Christian Kirk] is doing
well. We’ll expect him to be a full-go for the game. DT [S Daniel Thomas] is someone that’s
going to be more day-to-day. We’re going to get him out there and move him around today
and see how he feels and try to ramp up his progress each day.”
(On what comes to mind about the Dolphins’ offense) “Speed, speed, speed. And a lot of
misdirection, a lot of motions and shifts. Obviously, they do a great job with that in their run
game as well and it kind of can cause you to just distort your eyes a little bit, and get off
your cues. That’s where some of the big plays have come for them. Obviously, we know
Tyreek [Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill] and Waddle [Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle] and the guys.
There’s just a lot of speed and something that we’ve got to be able to at least try to match,
otherwise, be in the right position.”
(On how their receivers’ speed may impact the defense) “I mean, they’re on you fast, right?
When you put the film on, these guys are on you and they’re by you. I think Tua [Dolphins
QB Tua Tagovailoa] does a great job of anticipating where the windows are and where the
holes are going to be, and receivers are in the right spots.”
(On whether he finds Week 1 opponents more difficult to scout due to new personnel or
easier to prepare for since there is more time) “Yeah, I would say time if you knew the
defensive coordinator or offensive coordinator because you have familiarity with them. In
this case, you’re sort of speculating with what you could see. You’ve got a good chance of
what Coach Weaver [Dolphins Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver] has done in
Baltimore. That’s obviously something that teams are trying to, I think, duplicate a little bit
is that style of defense. We’ve got tape. Obviously, we’ve played Baltimore the last couple
of seasons, so there’s some familiarity there. But you’ve just got to trust your game plan.
You’ve got to trust your rules. You’ve got to trust the things that you’ve been doing all spring
and summer and just make the adjustments during the game.”
(On if this year’s training camp was the most rigorous, and if that was intentional) “I feel like
it was hard, being the third camp here. I think the first ones always can be tough too, just
because of the unknown, I guess. But this one was purposeful, just in, I guess, my own
quirky way.”
(On why he made training camp tougher this year) “I don’t know, camp is camp, and you
kind of want it to be hard. You want it to be tough. It’s the—as they say—dog days of
summer. I just think there’s no substitute for the hard work, and putting the guys through as
much pressure and stress as possible, not only on their minds and bodies. I think just the
way we practice can, hopefully, late in the season you lean on. You lean on that, right? You
lean on those tough moments.”
(On who will be calling plays for Sunday’s game) “Still working through that. Press
[Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor] and I are still talking about it.”
(On if there is an advantage of other teams not knowing who will be calling plays) “Oh, I
don’t know. I think if you’re just looking at the offense, studying that, D-coordinators are
looking at personnel, they’re looking at formations, motion shifts, just like we do
offensively. I don’t think it’s really any—not a whole lot of difference. Press and I think alike
a lot of times and converse a lot of times during games and I just think that if you’re looking
at it, there’s probably not a lot of differences.”
(On his message to the rookies this week in preparation for their NFL debuts) “I think just
being able to control their emotions. They’re used to playing in front of big crowds and
things like that, but these are different. Being able to control your emotions and really just
kind of focus on your game plan and your role, your assignments, I think is the biggest thing.
I think too just do what got you here and just trust that.”
(On how Taylor being on the sidelines during games affects their communication) “I mean,
it’s better because we can be face-to-face and there’s conversations that he and I can have
off the mic. I like that part of it. But I think for him too, it’s a comfort level doing it, and he
obviously can feel the game. Plus, for him too, and really, when I did it a couple years ago,
you’re on the field with the quarterbacks too and you’re right there face-to-face.”
(On if he expects Taylor will be on the sideline on Sunday) “I do. Yeah, I do. Unless it’s
raining (laughs). Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to be covered.”
(On if he discusses the implications of this week’s game being a conference game and its
importance on potential playoff seeding with the team) “No. I mean, it’s Week 1. A lot can
happen between now and Week 18. I think in my mind, yeah, I think of it that way. But I think
when you’re talking to the team, I don’t want to put that kind of pressure right now. I mean,
it’s just not—it’s Week 1. You just want to play good football and get off to a good start and
see what happens, but I don’t have those conversations… Not this early.”
(On if there are any unknowns going into this game) “From us, no, but from them possibly
yes, because everything’s a little bit new defensively. So there’s going to be some
unknowns, some things that pop up. But again, it just goes back to we as coaches have to
trust our instincts and coach our players accordingly, make the adjustments.”
(On if he still feels his own internal pressure going into Week 1) “Always, always, always. I
think if I think if you don’t, it’s time to move on, quite frankly. I get nervous for the players. I
get nervous for us, as coaches. It’s just the excitement of playing meaningful games.”
(On what he can learn about the team from their game week preparation) “I think you learn
a lot about your leadership going into Week 1 and coming out of Week 1. Plus, we’re on the
road, first week. I think there’s some little detail things that you find out about guys. And
again, probably more so the leadership of your football team.”
(On the newly elected team captains for this season) “It’s a great honor, obviously, to
represent the team this year. I felt like Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] and Evan [TE Evan
Engram] for the last three years have done a great job of leading the offense and being a
part. Of course, Trevor, being our mainstay and kind of the face of the franchise. Then
defensively, Foye [LB Foyesade Oluokun] and Josh [DE Josh Hines-Allen], two guys that,
again, have just been staples and they lead by example the way they work on and off the
football field. Their conversations with the team, conversations with me. It’s just kind of
fitting. Then, Logan [P Logan Cooke]. Logan’s been, for the three years I’ve been here, going
on my third year now, he’s just been a rock in the special teams department, and he’s been
solid and, again, a leader over there. Those five guys really are deserving of this honor of
being captains and leading this football team.”
(On if he expects DE Arik Armstead’s to be a full participant in Sunday’s game or on a snap
count) “I think with Arik, we’ll see how the week goes practice-wise and see how he feels.
But shouldn’t limit him in any way.”
(On his assessment of and expectations for Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey) “I just wish he
would have played more in the preseason to see, but solid player. I mean, you give him a lot
of respect for what he’s done in his career. The thing you realize sometimes too is he can
play inside: the nickel spot, besides playing outside. So, just got to know where he’s going
to be and understand that, give him his respect. Players like this, these are good players to
have on your football team. He’s one of those sort of staples on defense. He’s physical. I’ve
gone against him a couple of times in different locations and he always seems to show up
around the football. So, you’ve got to be careful where you throw the football.”
(On Jaguars Owner Shad Khan’s comments about the strength of the team’s roster and
whether that creates a greater sense of urgency) “Quite honestly, that’s what I was hired to
do and that’s why we brought these players in here to do is to win football games. We’re not
going to make excuses for why, we just have to go do it. I can appreciate that. It doesn’t add
any extra pressure or anything like that. We just have to go do our jobs.”
(On what challenges the Dolphins’ running back room presents) “It is a bit of a challenge.
They play a lot of different combinations of guys and personnel groupings. Again, it just
goes back to being on point this week in practice. It’s great communication from the
sideline to the field and getting our substitutions right, and obviously, there’s some speed in
that room too. It’s something that definitely has to be accounted for, but it all starts with the
communication process.”
(On his expectations for the Dolphins’ defense) “Yeah, I think Phillips [Dolphins LB Jaelan
Phillips], I think he’s someone that’s going to play. Sounds like he’s going to play anyway.
And he should, I mean, he’s been talking that way and he’s a great player. Then Calais
[Dolphins DT Calais Campbell], we know him, played him last year and obviously a great
player and just a really good solid defensive line that, again, it’s different combinations of
front, different combinations of personnel. [Dolphins LB] David Long, we know is a
linebacker from where he’s been in Tennessee and know him a little bit. It’s a good group.
It’s a good, solid group and their back end is an experienced group as well. It’s a challenge
for our offense and it’ll be a good test for our offensive line.”
(On clarification of the depth chart listing LB Chad Muma or LB Devin Lloyd as starters) “It’s
usually situational, yeah. Situational based, yeah.”
