JAGUARS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE CALDWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022
(On if LB Devin Lloyd reminds him of any LB he played with or of himself) “I really wish he did (remind
him of himself). No, but really, he’s unique in his own range. He’s so long, you really don’t understand.
He’s so long. You go back, he really puts me in the mind of K.J. Wright back in the day, played at Seattle,
played a long time, but the length enables him to do things normal guys can’t do.”
(On if he thinks LB Devin Lloyd is ready to take the step to start for an NFL team as a rookie) “When he
made it through the game and made it through practice, and you saw him in the game and no hesitation
about the leg, and the way he continues to progress, we’re just ready to throw him out there and see
him go to work.”
(On his conversations with OLB Travon Walker going into this first NFL regular season game) “Same thing
(not looking at him as a number one draft pick). Then I tell him the same thing all the time, just be
yourself. Be yourself. Don’t try to live up to anybody’s expectations, just go out there and play the game
you’ve played your whole life, and play the way you’ve played it your whole life, and you’ll be fine.”
(On what allows them to have relatively smaller and fewer large defensive lineman) “I think there is
more 11 in the league now. You don’t find big fullbacks anymore. There’s a few teams that run two
backs, but most of the time it’s an 11 or a 12 with two tight ends. It’s kind of changed a little bit, but you
still need girth up front, and we have that, but then you can sprinkle in pieces of strong and quickness to
be able to get the job done.”
(On unique players like DL Arden Key and DL Dawuane Smoot) “It’s just a different look when you put
those guys inside, we talk about the strength and the quickness, it really shows up. They might not have
the 315-pound body, but they play that way with their hands, and they’re strong, but the quickness
really takes over inside, so we’re pleased with what they’re doing, and we’re happy to have them.”
(On DL Arden Key being only 240 pounds and able to do what he can do) “It’s really unique to him. You’ll
normally get a linebacker that can walk up on the line and possibly rush, but he is able to go inside, and
he really has a high win level inside, and you like that about him. He’s inside, he’s violent, and he uses
his quickness, and he’s smart. He knows how to play the game, and he knows how to use his slender
body to get through cracks.”
(On his confidence in his defense’s ability to rush the quarterback) “That’s the plan. With the guys we
have there are certain guys that are responsible for getting after the quarterback and getting to the
quarterback, and they understand that. We’re just going to sit back and watch them do it.”
(On what about the Commanders run game can make them dangerous) “Really the backfield, the backs
they have. They’re missing one, and hopefully he’s recovering well, they’re missing one, but 24 has
played a lot in the league, and he’s been successful. Then they have a different variety of backs. They
have power backs, they have scat backs, then they have versatility back there, and put it along the
offensive line, a veteran group with the receiving corps, they’re a formidable running attack.”
(On stopping the run game) “That’s what we hang our hat on. Not just Sunday, it’s every Sunday. We go
out there, and that’s what we preach to the guys that’s what we believe in, so we’re going to go out
there and stop the run first then let them play after that. That’s their main focus there, handle the run,
then try to pressure the quarterback.”
(On if DL Folorunso Fatukasi is progressing well enough to be available Sunday) “Right now, he practiced
a little bit yesterday, so we’ll just wait and see. He’s a guy you would love to have out there, and he’s
working day and night to get back out there, but we’ll let the trainers make that decision.”
(On if LB Foye Oluokun is what he expected to get) “He’s really more. You watch him on film, and you
see him, you always see other middle linebackers controlling that defense, and when you bring him here
and have the expectations we have that you’re going to be the guy that you’re controlling everybody.
You’re getting everybody lined up, and he takes it, and he runs with it. It’s almost like I can think
something, tell him, and then he’ll go out there and execute it, so it’s really easy for me to be able to
put that much pressure on a guy and he stands up to it and he’s been doing a great job.”
(On what dominance will look like on defense) “Really, when we have one more point than the other
team, that’s dominant. And that’s the key; when we talk about being dominant, first thing we got to do
is we got to win. And that’s our mindset. When we go out there, we’re trying to win the game. And after
that, everything else takes care of itself.”
(On what stands out with the team from the early days to going into Week One) “In the early days, we
talked about, when I first got here, I think I mentioned and talked about how hard they played on film,
and that’s carried over. I think they’ve increased it. We talked about building your identity, and I think
they’ve done that. You get here, you don’t have any expectations, and you go out there and we’re going
to form our team. And I have some things that I expect different position groups to do, and they’re
doing it. So that’s their identity, and we’re going to continue to build that.”
(On turnovers during practice recently, if there’s a possibility for those turnovers to happen on game
day) “That’s the thing, Coach Sutton and I talk about all the time about creating turnovers. We focus on
it, we talk about it, and they come in bunches. Yesterday, we had a good day with practice and guys
were locked in. Today we get another chance to go back out there and continue to hone our craft and
get ready to go for Sunday.”
(On if the defensive unit has formed a personality or are in the early stages of creating one) “I really see
it, but I’m going to let them do that. They’re going to go out there, they’re going to take ownership of
this defense, and I told you, I have my expectations and the identity I want to see, but it’s their team.
They’re going to be the ones that take us to where we need to go. So, they’re going to form their own
identity.”
(On if the player’s expectations are higher than DC Mike Caldwell) “Well, I don’t know if they’re going to
be higher than mine, but they’re going to be high, but, when you play this game, you play this game for
one reason, and that’s to be the best player you can be and have the best unit you can have. Then, have
the best defense you can have, and everybody is focused on doing that, so we just are out there working
hard and trying to get it done.”
(On feelings going into the first regular season game as both a coach) “Really, everything is day one for
me. Like, yesterday was my first Wednesday practice of the season. Today, is my first Thursday practice.
Everything is day one for me. My first time going through it. There’s not jitters, but it’s excitement. I
wake up in the morning like, let’s go get it. So, that’s what we’re here to do: go get it.”
(On the challenge of covering Washington WR Terry McLaurin) “Well, I call him a five-star. I know that
might be a college term, but he’s a five-star. You’ve got guys that are go-to guys, and he’s a go-to guy.
And he has a speed, has the routes, has the hands. So, he’s going to be a challenge for us. So, we’re
going to go out there and just like we’re going to do every week, we’re going to go out there and
compete against him and see what shakes out.”
(On what is seen through CB Shaquill Griffin and CB Tyson Campbell that shows confidence to handle
upcoming game) “I’ve seen the work they’ve been putting in here, the techniques that they’ve been
learning, and just the confidence they have. They’re going to go out there and again, they’re going to
line up, we’re going to line up and we’re going to have a great game on Sunday. We’ll see how it shakes
out.”
(On if a player is wanted to shadow Washington WR Terry McLaurin) “Really don’t have to, right. Right
now, we’re thinking to stay left and right. But, if we need to do something like that, we can do it. But we
have confidence in our three starting corners that we can go out there and do what we need to do.”
(On CB Darious Williams missing a lot of camp, confidence of him going into Week One) “It’s really a
timing thing. I think he’s been strong throughout, and he’s getting stronger every day. But the way he is
in the classroom, you understand that he’ll ask a question that no one else has thought about yet, and
it’s good because he missed the time, but he was locked in mentally, so, that’s going to translate onto
the field.
JAGUARS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR HEATH FARWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022
(On the core special teams players) “We’ve got a bunch of good guys. Shaq [Quarterman] has done a
really good job. He’ll play all four phases for us. Some of the new guys could contribute to that. Dewey
(S Andrew Wingard) has done a really good job. He’s a core guy for us, person protector. He kind of
leads the group. We’ve got a bunch of guys contributing in all phases. Dan Arnold is another one that
has done a fantastic job for us, from the tight end position, but we have a bunch of guys contributing.
We talked about Tim (WR Tim Jones) last week, he’ll be out there. Got a good group. Happy with our
group plus the additions we added to bring us along. I’m excited to see what they do in the next couple
days.”
(On if only three players will play in all four phases of special teams) “No, there’s going to be some more
guys. Right now we’re still just trying to figure out who’s our best guys on the field, our best 11. Are we
going to use some of the new guys? We’ve had good players here throughout training camp, so just kind
of keep going with those guys and see what happens.”
(On the difficulty of choosing who is going to play what phase with all the roster changes that have
occurred) “We took a good look at them on tape, that’s the start. Just put them in the right positions
based on what we saw on tape and getting to meet them, talk through what they’re comfortable doing,
how they feel playing, then also how does that fit in our scheme, and what does it look like, so we
started competing when we first got them. Hey, is he better than him? Is he playing better than the guy
we had out there before? That’s something still in evaluation. It’s Thursday. We’ve still got two more
practices to figure out who’s going to be active on game day, so that’s something we’re still looking at.”
(On LB Caleb Johnson) “He’s done a great job. I’m very pleased. He did a great job for the Bears, and
that’s one of the reasons we got him here, but he’s done fantastic. He’s catching on. He comes in my
office all the time to get caught up on the scheme. He knows how to play the game; that’s obvious. It’s
more just can he learn our communication, our terminology? That’s the adjustment for him. What the
Bears were calling it or whatever team they were from, it’s different here, and that’s to be understood.
They’re willing to learn. They’re here, they’re working at it, trying to get on the same page, so much of
special teams in general, punt, more specifically, is communication, it’s talking to the guy next to you,
how does he see that, what is the communication so we execute. It’s such a big deal protecting on that
punt, so getting it where those guys understand what they’re doing and how you’re going to play out
each individual rep. You’ve got to get them all on the same page.”
(On the confidence in K Riley Patterson) “I’ve got a ton of confidence. He’s done a great job since he’s
been here. He started out the first two practices 10 of 11. He did a really, really good job, exactly what
we thought he’d do. Yesterday wasn’t as good, but that’s what practice is for. So much of getting him
caught of to speed of the timing, the timing aspect of our snapper, with Logan’s (P Logan Cooke) holds,
what does that look like, when does he leave? I say when does he leave, I mean when does he approach
the ball? You’re talking 1.2, seconds to get there and get the kick off, so we’re just working through that
timing of it. Nothing but confidence in him. I think he’s going to do a fantastic job. We’re kicking again
today, so that’ll be good to get one more look at it before Sunday.”
(On how important the long snapper is to special teams) “It’s huge. The quiet snapper, don’t hear a
word, don’t know his name, that’s the best. The good thing about our guy, Ross (Matiscik), his snaps, to
the average person isn’t a big deal, but his ability to snap with velocity, keep the laces away where
Logan [Cooke] rarely has to turn them, that’s huge, so that kicker gets to look at that ball without seeing
the laces, no spins, just nicely in a good position. His ability to block, his protection, his ability to move
his feet, get in front, his strength, pad level is fantastic. He was our leading tackler in the preseason on
special teams, so his ability to go down the field, a former linebacker, to go down and be a factor is
something other teams have to be aware of and potentially have to account for him.”
(On how excited he is to see WR Jamal Agnew) “We held him back, and that was by design. It was one of
the reasons why I took this job. Ags is a fantastic returner. He can make something out of nothing. He’s a
spectacular returner, seven returns (for touchdowns) in his career. He is super talented and to get to
coach a guy like that is a great thing because we can draw it up as much as we want, but when you have
a returner that can make something out of nothing, it’s a big advantage for us. We’re hoping we get
some returnable footballs. I’m sure they’re going to try and kick touchbacks. We’re going to get that
every week, but if we get a chance, we’re going to have some good opportunities, and we’re looking
forward to seeing what he can do.”
(On if there will be two returners back) “We’ll just have Agnew back there. We don’t want another guy
touching it. We do have some other guys who can do it, but Agnew is the guy. We want him touching it
every time.”
(On if K Riley Patterson will be doing kickoff) “Yes sir. Absolutely (feels good about his leg strength).
That’s something that was part of the evaluation in training camp was just kind of take a look, can he do
it, how does he do it, does he have the leg strength, and he does. That’s the good thing about it. We
practiced it last week. We’re going to get more looks of it today to get him more accustomed to our
system and they way we do it. But yes, nothing but positive thinking on the way he can kick off and the
way he kicks field goals.”
(On if WR Jamal Agnew always has the green light to go if he sees a play he can make) “Agnew has the
green lights anytime. He can do whatever he wants. Just let those good players play, that’s my
philosophy. He’s a good player, makes great decisions back there. We’ve had those conversations at
what point does he put it down, at what point does he fair catch, and he has as good of a feel as
anybody as far as understanding those hang times. Is this a ball I’ve got to fair catch, is this a ball I’ve got
to put down on a kickoff? Those are those things that make him special, just having a good
understanding of the situation and situational football.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022
(On play calling between himself and Head Coach Doug Pederson) “That’s the benefit of having spent
five years with Doug. Knowing what he expects on the headset, what the communication is like, and
through the four preseason games as well, of everybody kind of understanding what that is. I think I
have a good feel for what kind of communication he expects and he likes, and kind of when he’s in his
flow and kind of give him time to make a play call. There’s not a lot of extra chatter on the headsets for
him. Usually, we’re in lockstep with most things, you know, we’ve gone through scenarios whether it’s
throughout this week as we build each section of the game plan, to even Sunday morning we’ll get a
chance to sit and meet before the game, in the locker room, in the air conditioner, kind of talking
through ‘Alright, if you get this, what are we thinking? Where are we at?’ Both of us just bouncing ideas
around and so we’re all kind of on the same page. So then, once he’s going, he’s got it going.”
(On how comfortable it is to point something out to HC Doug Pederson) “Oh, one hundred percent. And
that came up in the preseason. There were a number of times and there’s a couple coaches. If you see
something that you believe in or you’re onto something, Doug encourages all of those ideas. So as long
as the communication flows the right way and we hit a situation and you suggest the play, you can find
it right then and it gets called, we’re usually all pretty much on the same page. Because again, we’ve
spent so much time, that’s what we do all day right now. That’s why we spend the hours to make sure
we all see it the exact same way, and really, eventually it’s communicated to Trevor (QB Trevor
Lawrence) so he sees it and he isn’t caught off guard when a call comes through.”
(On veto power against HC Doug Pederson) “Doug has the ultimate veto power. I can suggest it, but
Doug has the veto power absolutely.”
(On if HC Doug Pederson is open-minded to specific plays mid game) “He absolutely is. And again, you
got to have a reason for it, and I think everybody kind of knows with Doug (HC Doug Pederson), if you’re
suggesting something, we’re far enough along in this thing together that if you’re suggesting something,
you have conviction in it, you believe in it. Now, Doug has the ultimate power of veto. If he’s got
something else on his mind, he wants to call this, he’s going to call that. Nobody takes it personal. We all
understand where we are, and we’ve all gone through these conversations here in the air conditioner to
where nobody’s caught off guard to what happens on Sunday.”
(On the importance on TE Evan Engram to this year) “Yeah, you know, obviously we’ve had good tight
ends in the past and that’s kind of, you could say tight-end-friendly, quarterback-friendly, whatever it is.
It should be. We should make the game easy for these guys and we had strong tight end play in our time
in Philly, so those guys were obviously going to be a feature of things. If you have good players, you
want to feature them. We feel like we have a number of great players here in a lot of different positions.
So, we hope it’s built to where the ball just goes to where the ball is supposed to go based on the way
the defense plays and we’re always taking what’s given right there. If there tends to, throughout the
course of the game, be a matchup that’s strength for us, then we would do everything we could to
explore it and I think that’s the right thing to do.”
(On if there’s a challenge having RB James Robinson back after not being able to participate much in
training) “Tt certainly can (be a challenge). You obviously want everybody to get everything full speed,
and to know without a shot of doubt that they’ve got this, they’ve got the reps, they’ve got the time on
task. That’s the thing; he wasn’t cleared for full speed, live periods until later in training camp, but he
was involved in every single walkthrough. He sat in every meeting, he was here everyday in the spring.
He’s heard everything, he’s been able to walk through everything, and then we’ve been able to get him
in live reps whether it’s a walkthrough or whether it’s practice reps here through the week to where we
feel confident in every aspect of the game plan that he’s ready to go.”
(On if there’s an idea of who the Jaguars are as a team or if it’s still who the Jaguars want to be) “You
know, I think that’s kind of always the give-and-take of a season. We have an idea of who we want to be,
whether it’s going into the season or going into each game, of how we feel like we need to attack this
defense to give ourselves the best chance. But, that’s kind of the give-and-take of the season of a game
where ‘Alright, second quarter, this is who they are, this is what we need to pivot to give ourselves the
best chance.’ So, you always want to have an identity and something you hang your hat on, and we’re
always going to have those things that we believe in. But, we’re not going to have our head in the sand
and say, ‘We can’t adjust because this is what we do.’ We want to be able to adjust and be fluid enough
to be able to do anything we need to do to win the game.”
(On a Bruce Lee quote that is used to describe the offense) “Yeah, we’ve talked about that, the Bruce
Lee thing to just ‘be water.’ Be flexible, you know, water is fluid, it can’t be contained into one thing but
it can become whatever it needs to be, and ultimately, it’s one of the most powerful forces on Earth. So,
we’ve talked about that as an offense. we need to be able to do what we need to do to win the game. If
that means, hey, we’re going to have to throw the ball sixty times to win this game, we want to be able
to do that. If it’s that we’re going to run the ball, we think we’re going to throw the ball and we go in and
we have to run the ball. We want just the flexibility as an offense to be able to do whatever it takes to
win the game.”
(On the definition of HC Doug Pederson and OC Press Taylor’s run-pass-explosive) “We’re kind of, this is
an analytics thing, everybody can be a little bit different, but really, we’ve gotten off 16 yards for pass,
and 12 for a run and I think that’s where, somebody smarter than me, the EPA and all that kind of
changes when you hit those numbers. So that’s kind of what we go off of right there.”
(On what he has seen health wise from RB James Robinson in practice) “Yeah, certainly that’s what
we’ve seen. Now, we haven’t seen him in a game since late December. So, you really don’t know until
you get in the bullets, but we’re confident on what we have seen and what he’s communicated to us
that he’ll be ready to go as much as we need him to.”
(On the flexibility between RB James Robinson and RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “Yeah, I mean, obviously
they’re a little bit different. James is probably a little bit more of a power back, where Travis is kind of
that slasher type. But, they’re both good enough to do whatever we need to do. There’s not going to be
a run that we have in our plan that both of them cannot accomplish in some way, shape, or form. Now,
we’re probably going to feature Travis on things that we feel like he does best, and James on things he
does best. That’s just kind of the way things go. But, we feel like everybody in our offense has the
flexibility to do whatever role they need to do and get the game plan accomplished.”
(On the number of offensive commandments the team has) “We have three: protect the ball, we want
to create explosives and eliminate negatives, and we want to be a great situational offense. So, those
are kind of the three we preach, the three we always come back to, that’s what we believe is going to –
when you look back on a game, and you just throw an umbrella at those three commandments, that’s
going to reveal how you played. Now, it may not always show up in wins, losses, and all that, but those
are the three things we believe are the most important things to dictate the outcome of games a lot of
times.”
(On the players being relaxed going into the first game) “Yeah, we haven’t been together as a group
going into a game, so maybe they’re uptight and maybe I don’t know what loose looks like for them yet.
We’ll figure that out, but, I think the guys are confident in the plan we’ve put forth so far. What they can
do, the way that they feel like we’re about to try to attack a defense. And again, we don’t know what
everybody feels like on game day. We’ll kind of get into that mode together, obviously, you can never
replicate the regular season in the preseason, so it’s a new experience for all of us and I’m confident
that everybody is confident in what they’re about to do.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s confidence) “I think Trevor’s confident in the plan we’ve put together, that
we’re putting him in a great position as well as our other players on the offensive unit to put their best
foot forward. So, I think you kind of see that confidence, but again, he’s been open with his
communication of ‘Hey, I need a few more reps at this, I haven’t gotten a lot of chances to throw that or
see that versus this look,’ and so, we’ve put it in a walkthrough, we’ve put it in a live period, maybe we
get it off to the side, but, it’s kind of that communication through everybody. Not just Trevor but the
skill players of, you know, ‘I want to run this route another way, do you see it this way?’ Maybe we will
watch some video clips together. It’s all just a fluid process of all doing everything we can to get on the
same page.”
(On if the offense can be mastered throughout the season or through Week One) “That’s something that
I think is a never-ending process of, as a young quarterback just growing but anybody really. You’re
always trying to grow and the game always kind of ends up coming down to unscouted looks. If it was
everything we’ve practiced against and we score one hundred points, great, but it very rarely is that.
And a lot of times, it’s ‘I think I’m going to throw it to that guy, but it didn’t work out.’ Now, what does
the quarterback do with the football? And we want him (QB Trevor Lawrence) to feel confident that he
knows if they take this away, I do this. If they take that away, I do this. We try to, we think we’re great
schemers and we’ve got this all worked out, we know exactly what they’re going to do and where the
ball is going to go and when it’s going to hit and all that. But, that’s not the game. The game is eleven
guys on eleven guys and anything can happen at any moment, and does everyone sink back to the
training we’ve allowed them to do or do they do something they’ve never done before? That’s what you
do practice for, that’s why you meet, to make sure everybody is confident and we know all the answers
regardless of what the defense presents to us.”
(On if having QB Trevor Lawrence was a factor in taking the Offensive Coordinator position) “Oh, it was a
huge factor. Obviously, I mean, you want to look at a situation, you look around at the league and you
look at the strong teams, and the teams that are in it every single year, strong quarterback play.
Regardless of who they are. So, we felt like looking at it from the outside-in, I felt like this was a situation
for strong quarterback play. And that gives your franchise, your team, a possibility of being in it in
January, February, all that. So, that was definitely a factor in being eager to take the job.”
(On thoughts of playing Washington in Week One with QB Carson Wentz) “I can’t say it’s not a thought.
It’s a guy I’ve spent the last six years of my career with, but at the same time, he and I have no direct
impact on each other throughout this game in any way, shape, or form. So, it’ll maybe be a little
different, seeing Carson Wentz and rooting against him, but at the same time, it does not impact our
offense in a way that we attack their defense or the way we see their defense in any way, shape, or
form.”
(On if the defensive staff for the Jaguars inquired about QB Carson Wentz style of play) “I mean, we had
conversations in passing, more so than anything. I think my knowledge of Carson really comes from us in
one system together. I really have no knowledge of Coach Turner’s (Washington Offensive Coordinator
Scott Turner) system or anything like that, so, it’s a whole different dynamic. I could tell them, if Doug
(HC Doug Pederson) or Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts Head Coach) were calling the plays, here’s what
Carson likes, but, that’s not the situation we’re in. So, I really don’t think I have any impact in terms of
knowing what he (QB Carson Wentz) liked in a certain system versus anything else.”
(On what stands out about the offensive team from the early days and then going into Week One) “I
think just the confidence of everybody, of everybody kind of trusting the work they’ve put into this thing
and being able to lay out a plan of ‘here’s what we like in these situations,’ and everybody kind of grows
into that. I think we do have intelligent players that can bring plays to life because they understand why
we want to call this play; because what we expect from the defense or maybe there’s a ton of variety
from the defense and this is a play we believe we execute at a high level and what we want to get to. So,
I feel like it’s kind of been fun to see everybody grow in their intellectual part of understanding the
offense, that’s been the cool part.”
