OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
(On having a unique connection with Head Coach Doug Pederson) “I think we’ve spent a lot of time
together. We’ve worked together for a long time, this our seventh year now or so. We’ve shared a lot of
similar experiences. I feel like in some way, shape, or form gained his trust to be to handle something like
this as we move forward. We’ve spent a lot of time together, a lot of conversations, seeing the game the
same way, or just talking through how we see the game to get on the same page at least. Maybe it’s not
exactly the same, but we’re perfectly aligned based on how we do things and how we attack people.”
(On how to resolve differences in play calling with Head Coach Doug Pederson) “Well, he’s in a charge.
He’s the boss. If something comes up, most of the time we’ve talked through this and we’ve played out
situations to where we are on the same page. At the end of the day, if he wants us to call something,
we’re calling that and that’s the end of story.”
(On play calling not being new to him) “It does not feel like anything different. Last year, I prepared
myself to call plays in the second half of games and that’s how it went. The flow on the headset is exactly
the same, we’re all communicating back and forth. Doug [Head Coach Doug Pederson] leading us on
situations and we’re all communicating between the series of where we want to go in the next series. It
does not feel any different to us.”
(On if anything is different preparation wise by being primary play caller) “No, it’s really the same. The
biggest thing that you would never even know is we’ve adjusted the call sheet to make it a little more
appealing to my eyes. I moved a certain column here or there to where it hits my brain to find it quicker.
That’s really it, and you wouldn’t notice anything else different otherwise.”
(On more scrutiny in new role as primary play caller) “Exactly, we all signed up for this understanding
what’s at stake and I’m no different from anybody. I expect the criticism to come with all of it and that’s
perfectly fine with me, I have no problem with that.”
(On setting the bar high on wanting to improve despite winning) “Yeah, we’re chasing being better every
single week. We have high expectations for ourselves, we hold ourselves to a high standard of how we
expect to play and execute in certain situations. We didn’t feel like we got that done. Now, some situations were better than others, obviously we were happy with our redzone production going three-
for-three down there is a big deal. But hopefully we get there a few more times if we can execute better in the third and fourth down situations. We felt positive about the situations we set ourselves up in, we
just didn’t execute those situations when they came about.”
(On growth of improving in short-yardage situations) “I think it’s just little things. It’s continuing to work
through it, making sure as a coaching staff that we’re putting our players in the best possible position. As
play callers, we’re calling the right thing at the right time. Then, our guys fully understanding and buying into what we’re trying to do, what we expect the look to be, and sometimes it’s coming down to going
out and getting three feet. That’s what we need to be able to do.”
(On shifting around offensive line players through training camp helping due to injuries currently) “That’s
why we do all that. This is just what happens, it’s Week 1 in the NFL, everybody is probably a little more
sore than they were a week ago. People are banged up so the next man up, they got to be able to play.
We really appreciate the versatility of guys being able to play multiple spots. If guys haven’t done that in
their careers, we cross-train them to be able to do it for situations like this.”
(On sticking with the run game even when it’s struggling in situations) “You’re kind of going through
what it looks like, why are things not working? Is it because they have better numbers than us in the
box? Is it because we’re miscommunicated? We didn’t feel like that was necessarily the issue. We felt
like these runs eventually would hit. Now, we sealed the game at the end with Travis [RB Travis Etienne
Jr.] breaking on off as we just continued to play within. That was just, kind of an individual effort by him,
but a great job for everybody to finish and fight in the box. He did a good job finishing and getting
himself in the endzone. We do feel like there’s a little bit of a cumulative effect of being able to hammer
the ball, but we’re going to do it when it’s the right situation. If we’re outnumbered in the box, we
should not be running the football. We want to do what we need to do to move the football and put
everybody in the best positions. It’s not just saying we’re going to run 20 times so we run 20 times
regardless of what the look is. It’s trying to make sure we have the right look for our guys.”
(On feeling pressured to be consistent while approaching the Kansas City Chiefs) “You understand what’s
on the other side, you understand their points-per-game, all of that. We go in every drive and every play
expecting to score. It’s really about execution, we’re not putting any more on ourselves. We hold
ourselves to a very high standard regardless of who we’re playing. We just want to go out and do our
best to execute as well as we can.”
(On gameplan changing due to Chiefs DT Chris Jones on active roster) “It’s certainly a big deal. I don’t
know if it necessarily changes the game plan, because two games ago we played these guys. We’re very
aware of who they have and how well they played against us, but anytime they’re adding great players,
obviously it ups the challenge a little bit more. We’re certainly aware, we’ll give him the respect he’s due
and continue to try to put all our guys in the best position at the right times.”
(On running in three consistent plays last game as part of the game plan) “No, that was a called run right
there to begin with. We came out, thirteen personnel, tried to hammer some runs, the corner did a good
job making a tackle on first down, came back to a similar scheme, it felt like we got movement on the
backside, didn’t get as many yards as we wanted and ended up in a third-and-four situation. Based on
some looks they presented and the reason it was on the game plan, we went with another run and it
didn’t work. We tried a trap play, I think Buck [Colts DT DeForest Buckner] ended up swimming
underneath our blocks to make a play right there.”
(On if he liked the look the Colts gave to be able to make a running play call) “Yeah, we felt good about
the call we had.”
(On how to account for flexibility of Chiefs DT Chris Jones) “Yeah, you’re doing everything you can to put
everybody in the best possible position being aware of where he is. We have to have a plan for if he’s
playing shade, if he’s playing three, if he’s playing end. That’s something you see as you watch across the
course of watching their defense. He lines up everywhere, he does a great job wherever he’s aligned. Everybody is aware that could certainly come up any point in time. It could be in the game when he’s
standing at defensive end versus shade or three, whatever that may be. That’s something we’re very
aware of as we prepare a plan to attack these guys.”
(On how OL Anton Harrison performed in his first NFL game) “I thought Anton did a good job. He did a
great job on the run game and on the backside of some things, some combinations with him and
Brandon [OL Brandon Scherff] when Brandon was playing in there that we were excited to see. He had
one pass protection where he might’ve gotten beat on a play action, but did a good job to recover
because he’s an athletic guy. He created a pocket, Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] was able to maneuver in
the pocket and had a big play. We’re excited about Anton’s growth, we expect him to be better in Week 2
than he was in Week 1.”
(On difference between current offense and last Jaguars offense against the Chiefs) “Our playbook is the
same, we have wrinkles that we’ve worked on for the last six-seven months when we got here. Add
Calvin [WR Calvin Ridley], add Tank [RB Tank Bigsby], add Brenton [TE Brenton Strange]. We’re
expanding, we’re growing, we feel like we had an idea of how we want to attack the Chiefs, obviously
that wasn’t successful for us. You go back and look at how we built the plan, why it was the way it was,
what continues to stick or what general ideas continue to stick. Ultimately, it’s about putting everybody
we have in the best possible position on this Sunday as we go.”
(On if it’s helpful playing the Chiefs recently in determining the game plan) “Yeah, the fact that we
weren’t successful makes it tough because then you’re like, well we spent time coming up with this and
we got to adjust to figure out another way to move the ball and get in the endzone ultimately. But yeah,
having familiarity definitely helps.”
(On what’s been seen out of WR Calvin Ridley on offense) “I think it’s little different than last year, his
skillset is different than some other guys we had last year. We’re trying to put everybody in the best
possible position within plays that everybody else knows, understands, Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] is
comfortable with progressions and reads. But, utilizing his skillset just like everybody else. He, Christian
[WR Christian Kirk] and Zay [WR Zay Jones], they all play the game differently than Evan [TE Evan
Engram], Ag [WR Jamal Agnew], all these guys. It’s kind of finding the plays that fits as many people as
possible doing what they do really well, that also attacks the scheme as we see and Trevor is comfortable
with. That’s a big part of it, that’s the whole chess piece. That’s why we spend all these hours here every
single day leading up to Sunday to get ourselves ready.”
(On if WR Calvin Ridley is a vertical offensive threat) “Yeah. He does add to that, he obviously has great
speed. He’s got a reputation; I think a lot of times reputation plays into the way people defend people in
this league. We’ll lean into that a little bit, but I do think he adds a definite speed, vertical threat,
whatever you want to say, in addition to the guys we already have.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE CALDWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
(On LB Devin Lloyd’s improvements to guard Chiefs TE Travis Kelce) “I think with Devin, just his overall
game has improved. He’s a second-year, he’s comfortable playing in the run and playing in coverage.
We’ll wait and see, do you know if he’s playing or not? No, I don’t know. I thought you had the inside
scoop. No, but he’s a great tight end and he’s a guy that makes that team go. He’s a different guy out
there, and we’ll have a plan to throw a bunch of guys at him. Devin will be one of the people that will get
an opportunity to cover him.”
(On what Chiefs TE Travis Kelce does well that is threatening) “He’s a guy and anytime you’re a tight end,
you’re closer to the quarterback. I know some people call it security blanket, but you’re a guy that if the
quarterback gets in trouble, he looks to find you. They have such a connection that it happens over and
over again. He’s a guy that is a great athlete, really good quickness, he’s in and out of breaks. He has a
feel to be able to find the open spot. You’ll have him covered one second, and next thing you look up and
they’re on the same page. He takes one step to the right and there’s a ball. It’s a task that we know we
have to be prepared for and we’re working everyday trying to get ready for it.”
(On looking at Chiefs T Jawaan Taylor any different as he played for the Jaguars last season) “No, you
study him. Good thing we got a bunch of training camp reps that we are able to study him. We know
him, but at the end of the day, guys are going to have a plan and whoever you line up against each week,
you have a plan to defeat that guy. We have the plan and hopefully they’ll be able to execute it.”
(On OLB Josh Allen’s confidence building after recording 3.0 sacks last game) “I think confidence is
important, but dealing with a player like Josh, Josh came in training camp locked and loaded. He was
ready and he’s had that look on his face. He went out there and he let his hard work in the offseason
show up. He was away, but he was taking care of business and he came back, and it showed. We just
hope it continues. He’s on a mindset that he’s going to make it continue.”
(On he was pleased with pass rushing performance last game) “Well, overall the pass rush, we had
opportunities. A bunch of guys were on the quarterback, those two stood out [OLB Josh Allen and OLB
Travon Walker]. At the end of the day, we rush together as a bunch of guys that have opportunities to get
after the quarterback. Everybody is responsible for doing their own jobs. You’re always happy to get the
quarterback on the ground, but at the end of the day, we want to continue to do that. Guys just have to
play their role and know that at this time, it might be my chance to get the sack. Next week, it might be
someone else’s.”
(On performance by DL Folorunso Fatukasi) “I think when you look at him, you see that he’s going to be
dominate in the run game. He’s going to be strong, he’s a big strong man and it’s unique that he has pass
rush ability. The rush that he didn’t get the sack for, but the rush he was around the quarterback’s neck,
it was always good to see him push the pocket. At the end of the day, he was able to take a shoulder away and almost get the sack. He’s pushing the pocket for us and giving us a little bit of pass rush, inside
which is always good.”
(On who the best tight end is that he’s covered) “I have to say Eric Green, he was a good one. Shannon
Sharpe, it’s been a bunch of them. You guys might not remember them all, but there’s been a bunch of
them.”
(On if Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s skillset remind him of anyone he played against) “No, back when I played,
tight ends were bigger. He’s more of an athletic-type of tight end. At the end of the day, he’s one of the ones that will go down as one of the great ones. Tony Gonzalez, he was another one. But all the ex-
basketball type of players that end up playing football, those are the guys that are tough to deal with right now. He’s another one of them. Ex-basketball player, being able to play football now. It’s tough.”
(On how to handle a quarterback like Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes) “I think that the thing about him is
that he’s so comfortable with his skillset. He can make a throw from anywhere and he doesn’t’ have to
have his feet properly set or anything like that. It’s tough, you want to disrupt quarterbacks, but when
you disrupt him just like you said, that’s playing into his hands because when he’s off time, he’s really
more dangerous than when he’s on time. When he buys times, they do a great job of receivers going
down field and getting open, and when he breaks the pocket, him and Kelce [TE Travis Kelce] have this
connection where he can get the ball to him wherever he’s at on the field. It’s tough, but you just go out
there and still try to pressure the quarterback and understand you want to keep him in the pocket. But he does such a great job of getting out, we just go out there and plaster him in coverage and let the D-
line and outside linebackers go out there to try to get it.”
(On message to defensive backs in preparing for Chiefs matchup) “That’s the thing that we preach. He’s
[Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes] is a quarterback that’s off time a lot. You’re going to have to plaster in
coverage. When you’re in zone or you’re in man and he breaks the pocket, it makes no sense going up
trying to tackle him, stay back in coverage, let him cross the line, then play from there.”
(On performance by S Andre Cisco in last weekend’s game vs. Colts) “Really the whole secondary, when I
look at it, the first thing that stood out is how physical they played. Early on in the game, tight end
catches the ball and he’s going up the seam, Jenk [S Rayshawn Jenkins] comes down and makes the
tackle like he’s making a tackle in the a-gaps and it’s a wide open field. You see later on in the game,
Tyson [CB Tyson Campbell] hit a receiver, then Cisco controlling the middle of the field and hit the tight
end. It’s just a different way, they played so physical and D-Will [CB Darious Williams], he came up and
made a big tackle. It’s the first game of the season, for them to go out and play that physical was
impressive. That was the first thing I pretty much said to them, I said, ‘You guys are hitting like
linebackers now.’ That was good to see.”
(On if he wants to see OLB Travon Walker participate in 85% of snaps at least) “He’s a young guy, and the
thing about young guys, they start to learn how to take care of their body. He went through the last
season and everybody talks about how long the season is, well it’s long when you haven’t been through
it before. Once you’re through it, now you understand how to take care of yourself and prepare yourself
for it. He’s a young, strong guy, and he’ll be up for the test. Put him out there and let him go.”
