Thursday, December 26, 2019
(Opening Statement) “I hope everybody’s doing well, had a nice Christmas yesterday. Obviously, our last game against a divisional opponent for us to go out the last time together and try to win a football game. I want to wish all of our Jags fans a happy new year, and I appreciate everyone in this room’s professionalism all season. It’s been great. You guys have been asking great questions all season and I really appreciate everyone in this room. You guys do a heck of a job, so thank you.”
(On how good of a season RB Leonard Fournette has had) “Leonard’s [Fournette] had a great season, and everything we’ve challenged him to do from the start of the spring when he and I talked about being a three-down back, and embracing catching the football, embracing pass protection. And obviously doing his job as a running back as well. He’s accepted all of those challenges, and he’s done a really, really nice job of embracing that challenge, answering the bell to that challenge and we’re really proud of the season that he’s had.”
(On how to get the offense off to a faster start) “That’s a great question. I think each week your style of play is different in how you’re going to attack the opponent. There are certain games where we wanted to obviously throw the football a little bit more. There are certain weeks that we knew we were going to try to slow the game down and for different reasons. We always go in, the coordinators, and know how we’re going to attack the opponent and how we’re going to try to control the tempo of the game. So, I think a lot of it is probably just the way we wanted to play. A lot of it is probably the plays I’ve called, maybe haven’t attacked down the field enough, so that’s a piece of it as well. And so we’re always looking for ways to start fast, but obviously I needed to do a better job this last month in the first half definitely, 100 percent.”
(On how much being down 14-0 in Week 16 versus Atlanta before an offensive possession changed the game plan) “[Head] Coach [Doug] Marrone always is really good over the head set with me in terms of – He got on right after that and said, ‘Hey Flip, it’s 0-0 right now, OK? So, don’t press,’ and those things. And it’s great when you have the support of the head coach in terms of him allowing you to…where you know what he’s thinking, and the communication between him and I has been great all year. Obviously, it’s not ideal, but again, at the end of the day our job as an offense is to score one more point than the other team.”
(On having a chance to make it a one possession game late in the fourth quarter at Atlanta) “I think it goes back to like I said, [Head] Coach [Doug Marrone] being disciplined and keeping me disciplined in how we wanted to play that game. I give a lot of credit to him. Because it’s easy as an offensive coordinator, I’ve been there before, done it, made this mistake, where you don’t have that communication and then you turn into worrying about just one side of the football instead of the whole game, OK. And you start going off the rails a little bit. I’ve made that mistake in my past, and I’ve learned from that mistake. And so, like I said, the communication piece between Coach Marrone and I has been awesome in how he views the game being played.”
(On if rookie QB Gardner Minshew II has been hesitant to make plays because of the focus on ball security) “I don’t want to say he’s been hesitating. When we were talking about ball security obviously that entails a lot of things. Not only turning the ball over, interceptions, but also pocket ball security as well, ball security when he’s on the move. And I think [Quarterback Coach] Scott’s [Milanovich] done a great job of drilling that two hands in the pocket and just reemphasizing it, reemphasizing it and reemphasizing it, and drilling it to where it is carrying over. So, I wouldn’t say Gardner’s been hesitant, but I think his pocket ball security has greatly improved.”
(On how much he’s enjoyed working with Head Coach Doug Marrone) “It’s been awesome. He talks to me. He’s very supportive, always gives me a heads up [when it’s] four down territory early in the series. He sees the big picture of the whole thing really, really good. And offense is obviously a third of the deal, and he has been just awesome to me, and supportive when we were having some good game and having some bad games. And so that’s what I think from our coaching staff, he’s been just so steady this season in everything that’s happened from, we all know, they’re all well documented. And that’s the reason why I think we have been able to function as a unit with all the changes and all that is because of his steadiness. I’ll tell you what, I’ve learned a ton from him going forward about being a coordinator, position coach, [from] watching him as a head coach that I will carry forward. Because there’s a lot of times – there was some tough situations that he’s been through this year and I’ve just learned so much from him and observing him.”
(On how good it would feel to have WR DJ Chark Jr. eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark this season) “Obviously, we want to go out and execute. You can’t dictate where the ball’s going to go, but I think it just shows a football player that bought in from the start of what we were doing in the spring and really worked hard this offseason and all season, being dinged up a little bit here the last few weeks, of just playing hard, being in the right spot. I can’t say enough great things about DJ. Obviously, it would be great, that’s the benchmark for receivers, is that 1,000 yards. We’re not oblivious to that at all. So, it would be great to see him get over that mark and get well over that mark. It would be great for him to have a big day, we always want our guys to have big days and naturally those things kind of take care of themselves.”
(On the growth he’s seen from Chark this season) “A ton. A ton. Obviously, I wasn’t here last year with him, but I’ve heard he’s matured a lot in terms of, I don’t want to say off the field, football maturity. More football maturity in terms of knowing how to lean on a guy, knowing leverage. Knowing if I’m getting inside leverage, man [coverage], this is how I’m going to run this route instead of outside leverage man [coverage]. So, those are the things. He has more of a plan of attack pre-snap than when I saw him on tape last season. What I saw last season when I got here was a guy with a ton of potential that was big and could run. And now he’s using those attributes to his ability and to help our football team.”
(On if Minshew II will not have to actively think about ball security next season since it has been engrained into him this season) “That’s what you hope. Scott [Milanovich] and I have talked about this, when you coach these rookie quarterbacks, at the end of the season you give them three or four things, you don’t give them a laundry list of things. It’s usually three or four, five or six things that you really want these guys to hone in on in the offseason. And it could be on the field things, it could be leadership, it could be whatever. And so, we’ll have that talk with Gardner, but that’s what you hope so in terms of the pocket ball security, two hands on the ball. I think you see him doing that more naturally than it was early in the season and we hope that that continues, but 100 percent.”
(On how he has been able to stay in-tune despite uncertainty about the future) “I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation. I talk to our players all the time about professionalism, and that’s professionalism as a coach as well. And you have to have that. And you have to have that mental toughness to forge ahead. If if was something like a play call, that I had control over, I would probably worry about it a lot more. But I don’t have any control over those things. And so, we talk to our players about controlling the controllables all the time, and you have to practice what you preach as a coach as well.”
(On the performance of WR Chris Conley’s over the last two games) “Yeah, he’s played well, he’s played well. He’s gotten an opportunity to get his number dialed up and he’s answered the bell. Chris [Conley] has been a steady guy all season for us and done a lot of the dirty jobs that we talk about a lot when DJ [Chark Jr.] was out in terms of blocking at the line of scrimmage and Chris has been a total pro this year. I’m not a big on the stats, but I think he’s had his best year of his career.”
(On his thoughts of QBs working out with private QB coaches during the offseason) “That’s a great question, I get asked that a lot. And here’s my take on that. From the young guys I’ve been around, because of the CBA, we don’t have an opportunity to work with these guys much in the offseason number one. Number two, I would never, ever discourage a young man that wants to get better at his job from going out and working on his job. I would never, ever discourage that. In fact, I think that’s part of being a pro, is working on your craft. It’s like when you go to the doctors, sometimes you want to get a second opinion on things, and I have no problems with that. It’s not like an ego thing where I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s going to work with so-and-so.’ I want guys to go out and get better and work. That way they come back, and they’re better and like I said, as long as you have a plan of attack in terms of if they’re going to go out there, hey, these are the things I see you need to work on. And then you get another opinion and they may see something else. So, I’ve never discouraged a player from wanting to get better.”
(On if injuries at the tight end position made it harder for the offense to attack the middle of the field) “James [O’Shaughnessy] unfortunately was having a really good year for us when he went down, he was on pace for one of his better seasons. I think anytime you have a revolving door at any position I think it makes it hard, and we’re young there. We don’t have a lot of experience there, but I think the experience that the guys earned this season will only help them going into next year.”
(On what stood out to him about Minshew II this season) “A lot of young guys with some of these longer play calls have a real hard time in the huddle. His huddle demeanor and presence is really, really, really good. He is one bright guy. I mean, he is off the charts bright. And his competitiveness is awesome. The kid loves to play football and I think it does, I think it rubs off on the other 10 guys in the huddle. Again, it’s like anything, we’ll go back, and watch all the tape, and there will be some good, some bad and some really good. That’s like with any rookie, so fortunately I’ve had a chance, an opportunity, to coach a lot of these young guys and Gardner’s done great.”
(On if Minshew II has been flagged for delay of game this season) “No. I’m not sure we’ve had one this year.”
(On if not being called for a delay of game penalty all season is extraordinary for a rookie QB) “Yeah. He does a great job. As soon as the play’s called, boom, he’s up and running. That’s the thing you see sometimes with young quarterbacks is the huddle procedure can be a little sloppy at times. And it hasn’t been perfect all the time, but it’s been a lot better than some other times I’ve coached some young guys.”
(On if he feels Minshew II will improve over the offseason) “Oh, there’s no doubt. He can get better. Now, what’s going to happen in the future, that would be hypothetical for me to answer. All I know is this; Gardner has a lot of room for improvement and to get better. And you’re never done developing, especially with a rookie. And I just think the time that he’s played this year will obviously be very, very helpful for him in the future.”
(On Minshew II transitioning into a more mobile-style quarterback over the course of the season) “Yeah, I’m not even sure he knew he could do some of that to be quite honest with you. He’s said that before, he goes, ‘I really didn’t know I had that until I had to do it.’ And obviously that’s added another dimension to our offense which is a good thing, and we challenge all of our quarterbacks whether it be whoever’s in there, Nick [Foles], Gardner, Josh [Dobbs], to get one first down a game with your feet. And we’ve said that from day one in spring, however it is, whether it be a quarterback sneak, whether it be a third and six and you run up the middle against 22-man, whatever. Get one a game with your feet and that’s been our challenge from the start.”
(On if getting into less manageable yardage situations on second and third down impact play action calls) “Yeah, I mean those really aren’t play action scenarios. They’re not unless you have maybe a draw fake or something like that, but that’s usually not a play action down. You’re thinking second and manageable and more first and 10, but yes to answer your question.”
