JAGUARS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TODD WASH
(On what he would like people to remember about the defense this season) “I think the biggest thing is, obviously, we’ve played a lot of young kids and guys without much experience and they’ve gained experience as the season has went on. And I think that they’ve gotten better, that’s the biggest thing. I think our assistant coaches have done a good job of developing some of these younger guys to get better as the season comes along. I think that’s the number one thing. And obviously, Myles [Jack]. Myles is playing at a very, very high level—he has been. We joke with him that there’s only two plays a game that we have a problem [with] and he’s played well for 13 games. So, I think he’s really found a home. Obviously, he’s playing well and there’s something to look forward to in the future for a Jaguar fan.”
(On the recognition that LB Myles Jack has received) “Yeah, I think he’s playing at that level. But you’ve also got to understand where we are as a team and a lot of those accolades don’t come for guys that are not on successful football teams. We’ve seen that. In 2016, we were extremely good on defense in 2016, nobody went to the Pro Bowl. We got a little bit better in 2017, we had seven guys or five guys go. I think the winning is some of it, but he is playing well enough to be on some of those teams, yes.”
(On DE/LB K’Lavon Chaisson’s comfort on the field) “Yeah, like we’ve said, we knew when we drafted him that it was going to be a work in progress. And he comes into the building and works and studies. He’s a real joy to be around, I really have, obviously, grown very fond of K.C. as an individual and as a player. So, you’re seeing development with him and the same thing, give credit to Rebs [Jason Rebrovich] and [Dwayne] Stukes, and those guys, for continuing to work with him and seeing his development. I think, once again, he’s going to be a player that’s going to make a lot of impactful plays in the future.”
(On whether it’s harder for the pass rusher position to make the transition from college to professional football) “Yeah, there’s no doubt and there’s usually a direct correlation. If they’ve had a lot of success and a lot of numbers in college, there’s usually—you’re going to have some good numbers in the NFL. But we knew he had the skill set, he didn’t have a lot of great numbers in college, but we knew he had the skill set and I think that’s going to continue to develop. But it’s tough to go from college to the NFL and be an elite rusher your first year. People do do it, but it’s not very common.”
(On the injuries and the changes every week at the secondary position) “Oh yeah. You know, we were—when we got the news yesterday about Tre [Herndon], we got the death chart up there and tried to figure out who could come up off the practice squad and all that kind of stuff. But each week, we’ve been rotating guys in and out, and guys are getting hurt, and coming back, and so forth and so on. I think it’s a credit to them. Every one of them works, so when we make a decision to get them up, they usually come up and they’ve been playing well for us. But it’s just that kind of year, that position group has really been hit and there’s usually one position group a year that gets hit, for some ungodly reason. But I’m excited about watching these younger guys play again. It’s going to be a great challenge with the wide receivers that we’re going to face and they’ll come out and compete regardless of what numbers are out there.”
(On whether CB Chris Claybrooks would move into CB Tre Herndon’s position) “If Tre [Herndon] doesn’t play, then Josiah Scott has been playing the nickel spot when situations need be. But he will get some snaps in there. There’s no doubt we need to have two nickels if Tre is not playing on Sunday. So, you’ll take some there, inside and outside.”
(On DE/LB K’Lavon Chaisson’s spin move) “You know it’s funny, he did it at practice I think it was on Tuesday that week, or no, excuse me, Wednesday. And I was like, ‘Well hey, you’re finally coming out and you’re changing things up a little bit.’ But that’s all K.C., he had that move in college, but he kept staying with the same move over and over for the first ten weeks, and now he’s bringing something out of his toolbox. So, once again, it’s a credit to him. He’s trying new things to be the best player he can be.”
(On preparing to face Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson) “We’ve got a wideout playing quarterback this week in practice. But at the same time, we were joking and I said, ‘We should go on walkthrough mode and let the quarterback just play normal speed, and then that’s what it’s going to be like on Sunday.’ Because he is extremely fast and he can hurt you. It’s supposed to be back drop pass and he’s going to run for 40 or 50. So, we’ve got a wide receiver playing quarterback for us, giving us a real good look. But the first series is going to be different, because he plays at a totally different level than anybody else in this league.”
(On the to-do list for the guys to have a chance again Ravens QB Lamar Jackson) “As a pass rush unit, we cannot get behind him. We’ve talked about that all week. If you get past him, his set points at 8 yards—it’s really 8.3, but 8 yards—and we can’t get deeper than that. If he can step up and get out through the B gaps, he’s killing teams doing that. So, that’s got to be the point of emphasis. And if [we’re not] disciplined as a rush group in a drop back pass, he’s going to hurt us. So, that’s going to be very important. In the run game, I think we have to have multiple guys responsible for him when he gets on the perimeter. And obviously, it’s tough. Any time a quarterback carries the ball in the run game, you’re a guy short, unless you take a safety out of the hole. So, somebody’s got to be a dual-reader someplace on your defense. So, we’re trying to work that where we can maybe try to get the ball, if it’s a read option, where it’s a give-read instead of a keep. We’ve got to try to limit the number of carries he gets.”
| JAGUARS LB MYLES JACK (On what he wants people to remember about the defense this season) “I just hope that people, from the defense perspective, just see the fight that we have. Obviously, things haven’t gone how we want it to go, but at the same time, guys [are] out there playing, guys [are] out there fighting. It’s cool to see because things happen and it’s kind of similar to life and kind of similar to this whole year, 2020. Bad things happen but we just continue going. Obviously, it hasn’t amounted to wins, but it’s small moral victories that you can take away that you can see guys aren’t quitting even this late in the season when we’re not fighting for a playoff spot. It’s a fact but guys are still playing for pride and putting good film out there and just trying to show what they can give and solidify themselves in the NFL. I think that’s what we’re all trying to do, just solidify ourselves, make sure we have a job next year, and just keep playing hard. What do we have, three games left? So, I mean something can happen. It’s never over and it’s not over until January something. We’re just going to continue fighting.” (On if he’s had a Pro Bowl caliber season) “I don’t know. I think that kind of equivalates to wins and that’s kind of like a fan thing, so I can’t really [say]. I think I’ve had a pretty decent season. There’s a lot of plays that I want back looking back on film, so it hasn’t been perfect, like up to my standards. As far as [the] Pro Bowl, I don’t know. I definitely would like to go to the Pro Bowl and receive that bonus. That would be cool so I can invest that money. But Pro Bowl [nominees] typically comes from winning teams and we haven’t been winning and there’s plays I could’ve made that could’ve helped us win. I kind of put that on me, so I don’t know.” (On how to defend Ravens QB Lamar Jackson) “That’s tough. Just watching the games that he plays, you really just kind of have to deal with him and hope he decides to throw instead of run. Even when he throws, he can still make really good passes, so he’s a tough guy. He’s very talented, MVP. Every time you turn on Madden, you see him, so he’s the real deal and he’s definitely going to be a challenge for us this week. I’m excited to finally play against him in real life. Just watching him do his thing in college and we went up to [Baltimore in] the preseason and played him when he was young, but I’m definitely excited to see it in person and play against it. That’s a question a lot of people are still trying to figure out, but we have a game plan that we’re putting together that we feel like is going to be good enough to kind of somewhat contain him and go out there and get a win. That’s really the main thing. It’s a simple question but a hard answer, so it’s going to be tough to contain a guy like that.” (On playing against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in video games) “I kind of turn the difficulty down because if you have it on ‘All- Madden, he’s really tough to deal with. Sometimes I have to cheat against him or restart the game and play over again. He’s the real deal in real life and in Madden, but definitely in real life.” (On if he wants to see Head Coach Doug Marrone return next season) “[This is] kind of like high classified information, but typically we’ll meet with [Jaguars Owner] Mr. [Shad] Khan after the season and sit down in his office and talk to him about certain things. He’ll ask us what we do and don’t like. Me personally, I just have a lot of love for [Head Coach] Doug [Marrone]. I just feel like it’s been a rough year for him. I felt like the 2017 year when we were really good, I felt like he didn’t get enough credit and then the years when we were bad, he kind of had to eat that. That all kind of got thrown on him. I’m always riding with Coach Marrone. We’ve had a lot of personal conversations and just things that I’ve had to get over and deal with that he’s always had my back with. Even when I’ve been wrong in certain situations, he’s always had my back, so I’m always going to have Doug’s back. If the man was [were] to ask me do I want Doug back, absolutely without a doubt. I just felt like this year, it’s weird to say like it’s not a great technical term but it just wasn’t fair for Doug. It really wasn’t how things kind of shook out and the cards that he was dealt, but I definitely feel like Coach Marrone is a great coach. He’s definitely someone you want in your corner. I feel like if people really got to know Doug, they would really like him. Coach Marrone’s a real cool dude outside of ball, so I’m vouching for him absolutely.” (On facing former Jaguars and current Ravens DE Calais Campbell and DE Yannick Ngakoue this weekend) “That’s definitely going to be crazy for me. Those are my guys. [Ravens DE] Yan[nick Ngakoue], we came in together, so that’s like a brother to me. I’m always going to have love for Yan and I’m super proud of his journey through everything, even college going into the league and what he’s become and just becoming a household name and making plays and those famous strip sacks that he does. Then obviously Calais [Campbell], Calais is like the OG. He’s always just taught me things, put me on game, showed me the right things to do, the wrong things to do. He’s always been super honest with me. It’s going to be really cool. I would love to have them on our side if I could, but it’s definitely going to be cool to watch them in action doing their thing. I wish them nothing but the best, but I’m definitely really excited to see them in person and see them postgame with my mask on and chop it up with them and get to see them in person.” (On staying focused on the season) “It’s our job. We sign up for 16 weeks of ball. Technically, playoff wise, playoffs is out of the question, but the guys in the locker and what I’ve been preaching to guys is we’re playing for our jobs, we’re playing for our livelihood. What you put on film, if you were to go out there and be careless, it’s going to show up on film and you won’t have a job next year. I’m just continuing trying to show guys that we have a lot to play for actually. While it may not seem like we’re going to the playoffs, we have to have a job next year. Myself, that’s what I’m playing for, just solidify myself in the league, making sure that I can stay in Jacksonville as long as possible. There’s new GM’s, new coaches coming in, so when they come in and evaluate, they’re going to see which guys are going and which guys aren’t and they’re going to get rid of the guys that aren’t playing [rather] than the ones that are. We don’t what’s going to happen so the least you can do is go out there and ball, put good film on there. If you do that, you’ll have a better chance to maintain in this league. That’s really my standpoint and that’s what a lot of guys are kind of putting on film. You can see on film, [when] we’re down, people are still playing. The score is what it is but there’s no quit. Guys are still sticking their face in things. Guys are still trying to hit, still eating, no matter what. It’s the same mentality, same mantra. When that offseason time comes, you have time to plan for that, but I think right we’re a month out or three weeks out of that, so it’s going to be awhile.” (On the talk of the team tanking for a high draft pick) “I mean I deleted my Instagram and Twitter [but] I still have my Facebook and I still see it from fans. What are those guys called? Big Cat Country? Them and a lot of fans, they’re definitely [saying that]. You hear it, you can’t run from it. Even when you go out to the gas station and you run into somebody there talking about [Clemson QB] Trevor Lawrence or [Ohio State QB] Justin Fields or the tight end from Florida [Kyle Pitts], all those guys. You can’t run from it. It is what it is and if you turn on ESPN, you’re going to see it too. Obviously for me, I’m like, ‘Heck no, I want to win these three, four games’ and blow all that but I get it from a fan perspective. But we’re still out there fighting for our jobs, fighting for our livelihoods. At the end of the day, the NFL doesn’t pay losers, they pay winners. You win, you get rewarded. You lose, it gets kind of ugly. So, from our perspective, we’re like, ‘No, we’re not going out there tanking.’ If anybody’s thinking that, we’re not doing that. I promise you. If it was up to me, we’d be 16-0 right now, but that’s just how it goes. We’re not trying to tank, so [I’ll] throw that out there.” (On if the team is close to turning the corner with the number of young players on the roster) “Absolutely. Actually, after the last game, the Titans game, when we brought it in, I just told guys, ‘Embrace this season. Learn from everything.’ You see it’s a couple plays here and there that really flipped the game around. Most of the games, we’ve really been in the game until down the wire. I think three or four of them, we got blown out of the water, but most of them, we’ve been right in the game and our record could be different. I told guys [to] really learn from this season, remember that one play that you slipped up on and all of a sudden it changed the whole dynamic of the game. That’s how slim this league is, it’s a play here or there. I think guys will really not like the taste that they have in their mouth. We’ll have to hear another offseason about negativity about the Jags and all that and I hope that really motivates people because it did for me last year and moving forward it will. I think the young guys that really take it and grow from it and take their bumps and bruises, they’ll come back their second year extremely, extremely hungry. You’ll see we’re not that far off, so we’ll get there. We’ll get there.” (On going through another losing season as a veteran) “When you’re the young guys, it’s a different perspective. Right now, I feel like everything falls on my shoulders being on the defense, being one of the older guys, I have a C on my chest. I take full responsibility for everything. If we give up 40 points, I feel like I gave up 40 points. I go home and I can’t get out of bed until Tuesday. It really weighs on me, it hurts me. That’s why when you asked if I had a Pro Bowl season, I’m like, ‘Shoot, I haven’t even thought about the Pro Bowl. I could care less about that. I just want to win.’ That’s really all that matters to me is bringing this city a championship. It’s tough because when you’re young, you’re like, ‘Well, in year two, year three, maybe it will be different.’ When you get older, there’s more responsibility on you. It weighs on you a lot more like a whole lot more, mentally, physically. I’m just trying to preach guys, try to speed them up a little bit like we can change this. We have everything we need. All we need is us, we just have to tighten up on a couple corners. If this season you feel like you weren’t good at certain things, work on that this offseason. [If] you feel like you weren’t fast enough, get faster. [If] you feel like you weren’t strong enough, hit the weight room this offseason. You can always get better. I kind of got off track with that, but it weighs on you more when you lose and you feel responsible for every single point.” (On lessons he can apply from the 2016 team to this year’s team) “Definitely [there are] lessons and parallels. How can I say this? That ’17 team, it was special. It was special. I can definitely see people learning form ’16, [but] that ’17 team was special though. That was a wild year. But I could see guys really learning from remembering the taste of losing then having to go through the offseason hearing them talk crazy about the Jags then watching the draft and seeing a guy maybe get drafted at your position, whatever motivates you, whatever kick starts that to get you going and then we can take this and get some wins. Now, we know how to lose, and we know what losing looks like and what it tastes like, what it feels like. Now let’s flip the script, not do that, and let’s go get some wins because it’s right there. it’s right at the tip of our fingers. We just have to finish, so it’s tough.” (On Ravens DE Calais Campbell saying that he was going to talk trash this weekend against his former team) “[Ravens DE] Calais [Campbell], that guy, he was the ‘Mayor of Jacksonville’. I can’t imagine him talking crazy. Calais might say something here or there, but I know he really wanted to be here. I know that much. I know he wanted to finish his career in Jacksonville and he definitely wanted to be in Jacksonville. So, if he does talk some trash, he might just say, ‘I wanted to be here.’ I don’t know if it will be anything vulgar. I think it will just kind of be, ‘I wish I was with you guys right now’, that kind of trash talk.” (On how Ravens DE Yannick Ngakoue will against his former team this weekend) “I think [Ravens DE] Yan[nick Ngakoue] is going to play extremely hard on Sunday. He’s definitely going to play really, really hard on Sunday. I’m sure he’ll be playing hard. Absolutely.” (On dealing with the pressure of being a leader on a team with a losing record) “This is what I’ve been doing: come home on Sunday, I’ll play ‘Call of Duty: Warzone’ until I get more mad about losing in ‘Warzone’ than the game, then I go to sleep, then I wake up Monday still be sore and beat up, probably watch ‘Narcos’, play ‘Warzone’. It’s kind of like a switch between watching ‘Narcos’ and playing ‘Warzone’ until Wednesday rolls around and I’ll forget about it by then, but you just have to keep going. There’s going to be seasons when you lose and there’s going to be seasons when you win. Going back to that ’17 season, that season was magical. It was like a dream. We just always fell into a win and you couldn’t believe it. I remember my second year, I’m like, ‘The NFL is easy. It’s always going to be like this.’ We’re in the playoffs and we win our Wild Card [game] and we go to the [AFC] Division[al round], it was just easy like it’s magical. You can’t believe it. You just think it’s always going to be like this. I remember [former Jaguars LB Paul Posluszny] Poz telling me, ‘Appreciate this because this is special.’ It was Poz’s tenth year and then he finally got to that point. He was like, ‘Guys, appreciate this because it’s not always like this.’ Not to say he spoke it up to existence, but it’s just real. Not every season’s going to be like that. I’m just trying to cherish the bad so that way when we do have a winning, kick ass season next year, I can savor it [and] I feel like I earned it and enjoy it and really just f-ing enjoy. I can’t wait. I just want to get a win at this point. That’s all I care about.” |
