JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
DOUG PEDERSON: You hate to say it, but this is the reality of it. This is who we are right
now, and we’re not a very good football team. We got to get it fixed. Got to come up with some answers and got to do it in a hurry.
(On what he saw that went wrong from the start) “I mean, just kind of the same things,
right? (inaudible) Yeah, just wasn’t good.”
(On if the Bills pass-heave offense caught them by surprise) “No, that’s kind of what their offense has been this year. You know, they’ve executed it well and a lot of things come off that. They did a good job, you know, of executing their offense.”
(On where QB Trevor Lawrence’s confidence level is at right now) “You know, if he’s like me right now, we’re all kind of down, right? You know, probably not very high. You know, we just got to keep working and keep pushing and work our way out of it.”
(On if there are immediate changes he can make) “We got look at the tape and decide this week on a short week. I don’t know some of those answers.
(On if he sticks with their current gameplan or go in an opposite direction) “Well, I don’t necessarily think you go in an opposite direction. You’ve invested a lot of time. But there has to be changes, whether it’s play design, personnel, everything is on the table let’s call it, right? Those are all things that we have to look at, we have to look at as a staff, and make the adjustments.”
(On if the guys are not responding to what you guys are trying to do) “It’s not for lack of effort or trying and all that. I just think that sometimes you just to have get out of your own way, right? We just keep digging ourselves in a hole early and can’t seem to dig our way out of it, especially as one-sided as this game was today.”
(On if he needs someone to do something to gain confidence back) “I mean, it’s usually
kind of human nature when you get down so fast. Now you’re waiting for something to
happen. You know, it’s a hard position to be in. We have to be other the other side of it. We have to make things happen earlier than later.”
(On if he leans on his past coaching experience to get through the tough start)“No, you
definitely have to look back and see what got you through certain tough times. You know, it’s a week-to-week deal. We’re three weeks in; we’re not very good right now. We got two division games coming up back-to-back. I’ll tell you this: No one is going to feel sorry for us, right? I mean, this is who we are right now. It’s not very good, right? We have to be honest with ourselves. I’ve got to be honest with myself. Just keep plugging away.”
(On if there is a chance that there could be a change to the starting lineup) “I mean, you say everything is on the table, we got to take a look at injury. You know, tonight we had some guys injured. Could be moved that way. Could be performance. It’s all things we have to evaluate as we move forward.”
(On LB Foye Oluokun and CB Jarrian Jones injuries) “Yeah, we’ll know more. You know,
Jarrian’s shoulder, Foye’s foot, [WR Gabe Davis] Gabe came out late with a shoulder that he injured last week. So all things that I just don’t know the status. I just know they were hurt and didn’t go back in the game. So we’ll figure out that as the week goes.”
(On if he starts losing his confidence or starts second guessing himself) “No, I don’t lose confidence in myself. One of the things I have to do is evaluate our process, what are we doing, is it beneficial for the team, right? Is it helping us win? Obviously it’s not right now, so those are all things I have to look at moving forward.”
(On if there is something positive he can point to, that the team can build off of) “I really want to say something funny right now. (Laughter.) I just can’t think of anything. Maybe the kickoff. Touchback. I don’t know. Listen, I get the question. Gosh, it’s just these guys — listen, they work too hard. You watch them during the week. I mean, they work too hard and then this is what happens. This is the result. I mean, it just goes to show you each week how important each week is and being ready to play. You know, it’s the NFL. You know, it’s week to week. Like I said no one is going to feel sorry for you, and you just got to keep working.”
(On if guys aren’t handling expectations) “I mean, it’s possible I guess. I don’t know.
Sometimes you want it bad enough, you know. Listen, I know locker room, they’re hurting too, just like I am. They want to win and they want it bad enough, too. We’ve got the right guys. It’s not like we don’t. The right guys are in the room and the right leaders. We just have to — I have to figure out a way to get more out of them, right? It’s not more from practicing harder, longer. It’s not that. It’s just getting more, whether it’s leadership during games, you know, how they address the team, whatever that looks like, right? Those are things I got to figure out.”
(On if he needs QB Trevor Lawrence to play better) “I need everybody to coach and play better. Just leave it at that.”
(On if he feels like there are a lot of players not ready by the end of a practice week) “I feel like the guys are ready. Feel like they’re — by the end of the week they’re in a good place, there is energy, and then it’s not translating to the game. That is the part that I think bothers you a little bit, because I do see how hard they work and what they put in during the week and that it’s not translating. Those are the things I got to figure out.”
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
(On if he could identify the reason for the offensive struggles vs. Buffalo) “Yeah, honestly, no. Yeah, I thought we had a good plan coming into the week. Had a really good week of practice and prep. At some point you’ve got to go do it in the game and we haven’t been able to do that yet. Don’t have a great answer for you right now. I think obviously watching the tape is going to help, and we’ve got to fix the mistakes that are showing up. There’s plenty of them to pass around to everybody. We’re the ones that got to make the corrections. At the end of the day, we know when we step on the field we’ve got to make the plays. I think that’s what we’re lacking right now, just not making the plays. We’re in positions to do it and not doing it.”
(On if the struggles are different or similar to the last two weeks) “Yeah, like I said, I have to watch it and really see kind of all the plays. I know there is obviously some in my mind that I’m thinking about that didn’t go our way. We’ve got to figure out why and how do we learn from it, what we can do better every position. You know, it’s just one of those times where we don’t have any momentum. It seems like everyone takes their turn on making a bad play at the wrong time, including myself. Seems really difficult to go forward. Can’t find that rhythm right now. We all have or share in it. It takes us making the plays out there. Players play, coaches coach and when we step on the field we’ve got to make the plays. So, we have to take all the accountability, all the criticism, scrutiny because we’re just not doing that right now and that’s our job, is to go make the plays. I know that I’m not playing as good as I can play, just point-blank. There are plays out there—the one to Brian, I’m sure you guys saw, just a throw you miss and turns into a turnover. It’s a game where the defense needed us to make some plays to get some momentum, to settle in, to keep the ball, put some points on the board, give them a little breather, and that, for example, really hurts us. So yeah, we’ve got to make the plays. It’s that simple. This game, it’s hard but not that hard.
We made it look really, really hard today. We’re a lot better than that.”
(On how to prevent negative emotions after a loss) “Yeah, I mean, honestly, this is just one you throw in the garbage can. You watch and you obviously make the corrections, but you move on as quick as possible. We’ve got to. We’ve got a day less than normal. We’ve got Houston. It’s a good week for a short week, in my opinion. We’ve need to move on and flush it. So that’s really the mindset there, it’s enough talking and we’re not going to talk ourselves into anything. We got to go out there and do it. No one is coming to save us. It’s us. I still got all the trust and faith in our guys, but we have to stick together. This is going to challenge us. Obviously, the first three games haven’t gone our way. Tonight was really, really bad. It’s going to challenge us, and we’ve got to stick together. We’re going to be fine, but we’ve got to go do it.”
(On potentially changing his weekly routine) “Of course I’m open to changes, but I work really hard in the week to prepare myself to play. Like I said, I’m not playing my best right now, and that is frustrating. I’ve got to look at maybe there are things I could do better in the week to prepare. But honestly, I put the time in. I’ve got confidence in that. It’s just execution all the way around the board. Whether it’s missing throws or being on the same page communication-wise, or protections up front, you know, all those things, there are so many things that go into it. Where we are now, like I said, is just we—sometimes you’re on teams where everything is going right for and you can afford to make some mistakes and find a way to win. We’re just not there right now. We have to make those plays early. Got to settle in earlier. I think we started with a three-and-out again today. Right now, we’re not playing well enough to survive that. We just have to be sharper early in the game and settle in.”
(On what specifically he can change) “Like I said, it’s really as simple as just players playing and playing well and consistently playing well. We’re not doing that right now. So, we believe in what we’re doing, but we’ve got to go do it. There is enough blame to go around for everybody. We’re all accountable enough to own our part of it. You can own it but you’ve got to do something about it. You’ve got to go play better. So, I got to be—I need to play really well for us to win. That’s the NFL. Quarterback has to play well every week to give yourself a shot to win. Don’t feel like I’ve done that consistently enough. I put that on myself. I’ve got to play better.”
(On the level of frustration in the locker room) “It’s frustrated. Obviously just kind of, after tonight, just a little bit stunned to be honest. I thought we work really hard. We practice hard, put a lot of time in, so it’s—I mean, disappointing would be an understatement. It felt like we had an opportunity. It’s a primetime game, Monday night, show who we are. That’s not who we are, and we know that. That’s what it looks like we are right now, so we’ve got to fix it. It’s on us. I think all the talking and stuff I’m kind of tired of, but we’re going to have to keep doing it until we show some answers on the field.”
(On if he knows why he is not playing to his expectations of himself) “Yeah, I think early on in the games we’ve got to find a way to stay on track, to get in a rhythm. I felt like we haven’t been able to do that. Every game has been something different, so I think that’s part of it. I think another part is just I’ve missed a few throws, which happen. Every game you’re going to have some. It’s always nice when you can get in a rhythm early. Maybe you have that in the second or third quarter and bounce back next play, hit one, and get going again. But, yeah, to be honest, I have lot of confidence in myself and what I can do. Disappointed in how I’ve been playing. So, I would have to watch and see kind of what the issue was tonight. I think it’s really difficult in this league when you get down by that much to drop back-pass every play. The defense knows it. Coverage changes a lot. Pass rush changes a lot. It’s hard for the guys up front. So that speeds things up, too. They did a good job. Credit to Buffalo. They disguised coverages really well tonight. They played just about everything you could play. At times we had a good plan for it and exposed it, but not consistently enough. Yeah, it’s a few different things, I would say, with why I don’t feel like I’ve played as good as I can play. Tonight, obviously the costly turnover when we needed some momentum, that really hurt us. I throw a foot lower and it’s a huge gain and we’re rolling. It’s a game of inches, though. You can’t miss those.”
