Thursday, September 5, 2019
(On his oblique soreness) “Just had a little tweak last week, and we’ve been working through it. I was full go today, full practice. Felt good to be out there, so no issue.”
(On what he did during the preparations for hurricane Dorian) “Obviously this is my first hurricane being down here, so we got all the precautions and talked to a lot of people who are from Florida and our prayers are with everyone in the Bahamas going through what they’re going through. I can’t even imagine. We just stayed put as a family and just waited it out. Fortunately, our coast was a lot of wind and rain, so we were fortunate, but our prayers are with the Bahamas.”
(On if the hurricane impacting the team schedule made it feel like a weird week) “It’s definitely a different week, but we were able to get some work done on Monday and then [Head] Coach [Doug Marrone] did a great job of allowing us to be with our families and ultimately make sure that’s our number one priority. If you need to get out of the city, get out of the city. Do what you have to do. He gave us time, and we all really appreciated that. [It] says a lot about our coach. But at the end of the day we were able to get our work in. With modern technology we were able to film installs, and get installs at home, and watch film on our iPads and do all the things necessary to prepare for the game. So, we were able to come in here and have a really good work day today. We’re not done yet. We still have to watch film. We’ll be out of here in a few hours, but we feel good about our preparations so far.”
(On what jumps out to him about Kansas City’s defense) “They’re going to mix it up with coverages. They’re not going to just line up and go one high, they’re going to try and mix it up. They’re going to blitz some. They’ll have some game plan stuff for us. We played against this coordinator [Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] a couple years ago when he was with the New York Giants, so I know he knows me and obviously [Chiefs Head] Coach [Andy] Reid knows me, so they’ll have something dialed up for us. But we’re going to see what happens. We’re going to adapt. We’re going to play the play and ultimately trust each other as teammates and players and go out there, and we look forward to playing them.”
(On if they will try to hold on to possession to give Kansas City less chances on offense) “We’re going to play our game. What that means is the play’s going to be called, we’re going to focus on that play and we’re going to work on doing our job on that play and execute that play and stay in that frame of mind, in that moment and that’s all we can do. So, that’s my mentality going into this game. [Jaguars Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo] Flip’s going to call the play and we’re going to go out there. Our job is to execute it and we’ll see where it leads us.”
(On what he learned from Andy Reid during his two seasons in Kansas City) “He’s the one who drafted me, so just being with him my rookie year, learning how to be a pro, learning how to be a rookie quarterback and the expectations there is to play in this league and how difficult at the time – Coach Reid was teaching me how difficult it is to be a quarterback in the city of Philadelphia. It’s not easy. But, like I said before, that city means a lot to me and fortunately it worked out. And then when I was going to step away from the game, he was someone that was always supportive of me, always there, and that’s something I admired about him was even when he wasn’t my coach. He still looked out and watched for me as I watched his teams as well. So, he was a big part of me coming back, and playing, and finding the joy of football again was going to play for him.”
(On if his relationship with Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid provides any extra incentive for the game) “It’s easy for that stuff to happen, but at the end of the day, I have to take all of that out and just focus on playing, focus on the game. [I have to] take those kind of emotions [out], though I admire him, and I was blessed to play for. But at the end of the day, I’m playing against him and he’s not going to be on the field, but I know he’s going to have some stuff dialed up for us. He always does. It will be fun to compete with his team, but all I’m worried about is keeping things simple in my head, keeping things simple in the huddle for the guys and just allowing us to play fast and execute. That’s the football I like to play.”
(On if Andy Reid and his wife, Tori, are tied for being the most important in pushing him to play football again) “Ultimately it is my relationship with Christ, my faith in God, that I leaned on in that time. My wife was obviously there with me every single step of the way. I had to go through that trial. I learned so much going through it, through the not enjoying football and not having the joy. Not even wanting to touch a football again … It might be hard for people to understand that, but this game, we are very blessed to play, but there are times where I went through that and I needed to go through that. Once the joy came back, I realized why I wanted to play this game. It was to impact others, to glorify God and to represent the community well and the locker room well and impact men and women all in the same. I needed to go through that trial to experience that in my own heart. When I came back and I found that joy, it changed everything to where my perspective when I played has changed from when I was a younger player and it makes it more powerful when I step on the field. Coach [Andy] Reid was a big part of that with support. My wife is the largest [part] besides my relationship with Christ.”
(On if he has a sense of how rare it was for a player to gather their joy for football back again) “I knew the fourth day of training camp in Kansas City. I broke down in tears because I was enjoying it. I was excited to go back to practice and training camp. I was excited to just be with the guys. I wasn’t a starter. I wasn’t the guy that was on the billboards. I was going to be the guy in the huddle with my teammates. It didn’t matter if I ever played again. It wasn’t, ‘I’m going to play and won a Super Bowl.’ It was, ‘I’m just excited to be a part of a team that cares for one another and loves another, and we get to go out there and work with hard with one another.’ It’s not easy going through training camp, and I remember the fourth day of training camp, that’s when everything started changing and that year in Kansas City was a blessing. That is where so much happened in my life. I will always be grateful and it will always be a special place for Tori and I. That’s why I’m not shy about saying that. I don’t have to sit here and say we are playing against the Chiefs. I know we’re playing against them, and I’m going to go play the game, but I can still appreciate them for everything they have provided for me and my family.”
(On Colts Head Coach Frank Reich’s ability to get a QB up to speed in a short period of time) “Obviously there is a lot going on there and what I just talked about with the joy of football, obviously Andrew [Luck] is going through his own experience in life now. I admire Andrew. I have always been one of Andrew’s biggest fans. We both grew up in Texas. We both played each other in college. We both came in the draft together, and he is such an amazing player. I admire him for his decision and what he’s trying to do. Frank Reich is an amazing human being. Coach Reich and I were together until 2017 and the reason he’s so good is he [does not say], ‘These plays will work, you’re going to run them.’ He says to his own players, ‘Hey, these are the plays that it seems like you have to run and you have a good feel of running. What do you think?’ That’s where the dialogue starts. He’s humble in his approach to where he can build a game plan about plays you want to run and you love so you can read and react and you can play at your highest ability instead of having sort of a pride thing where it is like, ‘No, these plays will work. They are time-tested, you’re going to run them.’ I think that’s his biggest thing. You see both those personalities in the league and the one I have always been drawn to is [when a coach says], ‘Hey we are going to build this around our players, what they are comfortable with and allow you all to play fast.’ That is what he does and that is why he is a great coach.”
