JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG MARRONE
Monday, September 28, 2020
(On an injury update for WR DJ Chark Jr., OL Brandon Linder, K Brandon Wright and S Andrew Wingard) “Yeah, DJ I should know more about here in a little bit. We’re just running some tests and as soon as those testing levels come back, he’ll be ready to go. So, we’re just waiting on those. Linder, we’re going to do some things with him on the side today. That’s our goal, to see how he feels. And then Brandon Wright, we’re still working on him as far as seeing where he’s at tomorrow. He won’t do anything today. But I think tomorrow he’ll work with the trainers and we’ll have a better idea of where he is. Yeah, Andrew will be the same thing. He’ll be out of practice, but he’ll be working on the side.”
(On the COVID protocol during the mini-bye week) “The protocol is that you have to test daily. So, we all had to make sure that we were tested every day.”
(On how the players are doing with the COVID protocol) “I think they’ve been doing really well. I mean, like I said before, there’s a great level of responsibility in trying not to bring it into the building. I think when you leave it’s all about you have to have a great awareness of where you’re going, who you’re around. I think what we’re doing protocol-wise is great. I think that we feel safe, we feel like we’re obviously going to be ready to play and not lose anyone. So, that’s kind of the mindset of going into this.”
(On the kicker situation and his appreciation for Josh Lambo) “Yeah, the first thing is we are bringing in some veteran kickers. We’ll know more today. I have the names, but I just want to make sure if they’re actually on campus. We had to wait a couple days because of the protocol. You know, to make sure that they pass it before we bring them in. So, we’ll be doing a workout here at about 10:15 a.m. with the kickers. And you know, if we feel like we can upgrade ourselves or don’t feel that Brandon [Wright] is going to be able to recover or whatever it may be, then obviously we may make some moves. So, as soon as we do that, obviously we’ll go out and get it to you guys. The next thing is with Lambo, I think I don’t ever feel like he was never appreciated. I think we always knew how good he was and consistent he was, and we’ve always appreciated that. We signed him to a contract, he was voted [to be] one of the captains…from where we’re sitting, the coaches and the players, we have a great appreciation for him and it’s unfortunate that he had that injury because, obviously, he’s very consistent, works extremely hard. I just saw him right before we came in here and he’s off crutches, so he’s walking around, and we’ll just work on rehab and try to get him back as soon as we can.”
(On RB Devine Ozigbo and LB Quincy Williams) “Yeah, I think we’re still talking about that, making sure that they’re fully cleared. I mean, when you sustain these injuries, you just want to make sure when they come back. And then we’ll make a decision with Quincy and Devine as we keep going. Basically, waiting for the medical people to say they’re okay to go practice. And then, we’ve got about a three-week period of practice before we have to do anything as far as activation.”
(On OL Jawaan Taylor’s growth) “You know, he’s still a young football player. I mean, you’re going to see growth. I think overall there’s times that he’s really looked good and the whole O-Line has looked good. But sometimes during the course of a game, when the games have gotten to a point where we’re just throwing and you get beat inside, or you get beat around the horn, you know, things like that. So, the consistency of being able to go out for 60-something plays, run and pass and win on all of them, it’s something that’s really striving for. And I think Jawaan has worked extremely hard to do that, along with the rest of those guys. So, I still think there’s a lot left, I still think that he’s going to really keep improving as the season goes along. And I think he’s going to improve over the course of the year. I think he’s a second-year player. I thought for a first-year player playing tackle, I thought he did a very good job. And then, this year, there’s an expectation of him to take a step up and I think, at times, we’ve seen that and now we’re looking for the consistency in him.”
(On quarterback point trends this early in the season) “Yeah, I would say I think that’s something that—I think just in general you always view the defense always being a little bit ahead and the offense catching up. I’m talking about in general when you’re talking about the whole league. I think the same thing’s going on in college. There were a couple college games that were in the 50s or 60s scoring. So, it’s obviously going up, which if you’re an offensive coach, you feel good about it, if you’re a defensive coach, you don’t. I think if you’re a fan, you like it. I mean, that’s what everyone says, people like the scoring in games. But you still have to find ways to defend and stop your opponent from obviously scoring a touchdown. I don’t know how much I get into the lack of this or lack of that, for what it is. I think that, I don’t know if not having the offseason is something—I’m sure people can rely on that. But we had ample enough time to get together, be able to go out there and play.”
(On the mentality of the team coming back) “Well, I think all the time, when you have a young team, I just want to make sure that there’s going to be challenges. What I try to do is to make sure that, ‘Hey listen, what are we focusing in on?’ Today, is kind of a day where we can catch up on these past two games, because the players had a mandatory day off. So, this morning, we’re catching up on these past games that we’ve played and really correcting some things and looking at it a little bit longer because now we have a little bit more time. And then, kind of this afternoon, after lunch, kind of switching and going to Cincinnati. What I’m trying to make sure the team realizes is that with this focus, this is what we need to focus on. We need focus in on, ‘Hey listen, are we in position? In the right position where we want to be? And are we doing technically what we’re supposed to do from a technique standpoint?’ And I think you’ve got to keep it very precise, very—you don’t want to be too broad where there’s too many things. And those are the two things that I’m really looking for out of this team and the coaches these next couple days. And then obviously, let’s go play, let’s see if we can make a play. If we’re in position and we’re using the right technique, we should be able to make some plays. And I think that’ll help us get better and I think those are the things that I try to do. I try to go back to this foundation and really kind of re-focus. Because I think one of the difficulties of where you go in the season, especially early on—and it doesn’t matter whether you’re older or younger, everyone handles things differently, each team is a little bit mixed—but it’s just everything is so extreme, of what goes on in the beginning. You win, and oh my gosh, all of a sudden it’s just one way, if you lose it’s another—and there’s so much talk that goes on that challenges you to stay focused and it pulls you away from maybe some of the things you need to focus on to get better. I mean, that’s kind of what I spoke to the team about today and that’s what I’ve seen in my career, that’s what I believe and it’s up to me to keep these guys with their focus, where we can keep getting better each day and have a better performance on Sunday to win.”
(On CB CJ Henderson’s efforts) “Yeah, I just think it’s exactly what I said before, those two things, the position that we want you in and the technique we want you playing.’ When he’s done that, he’s played at an extremely high level. Just trying to get in to develop, for everybody, just the confidence about it, so you can do it, play in and play out. It’s a difficult position to play because you’ve got to play 60-something snaps, full speed, all the time, really for a possibility of four plays. And it’s that type of mentality and he has all of the ability in the world. And we have all the confidence in him, we’re just going to keep working with him and getting him better, because he can be that guy that can lock somebody down and that’s why we drafted him. And he works hard, but you know, like anyone, you get to these games and early on—for us defensively and then sometimes even offensively, and you just kind of, you lose it for a minute. You can’t do that. You’ve got to be consistent play in and play out. And that’s the type of focus that you have to have, and you don’t want a lot of things going into your head as you play a game. Whether it be the play before—because then all of a sudden you start overthinking out there, you’re going to get yourself in trouble, or you’re just not going to be able to help the team.”
(On CB D.J. Hayden’s performance and importance of veteran leadership) “It’s important and D.J. is a great example of [veteran leadership], for me. D.J. is always—you know how I said some people can get pulled away with things and maybe not be focused on the things you need to focus on and really get you better—D.J. has always been that guy that’s always had really high level focus of his job and what to do. He’s always been available, has played through numerous bumps and bruises and things like that, and then plays at a consistent level. That’s the one thing, you know what you’re going to get with D.J. game in and game out. He’s going to be out there, he’s going to be our nickel, he’s going to play the run well, he’s going to tackle well, he’s going to be in the position he needs to be in, he’s going to play with good technique. Knowing that, at the end of the day, it’s just a matter of, ‘Hey, who can make the play? Is it you or our opponent?’ And D.J. has always done a very good job for us. So, his mentality and his business approach or just being that steady type of guy, that day in and day out comes in the same way, with not a lot of outside distractions. I know that I appreciate it and I think that when you’re looking at leadership and when you’re looking at veteran players, I think that he can help some of those guys with maybe some distractions or challenges that they have outside.”
(On RB James Robinson’s performance) “I think I knew a little bit—like I said before, going back through it, I said many times, I saw a couple clips of him when we signed him and then when we got him here, you’re in shorts, so he’s kind of running and you can see the discipline, you can see the effort and it was fine. I mean, you don’t really go overboard, because you’re not playing, you’re not hitting. And then when we got the pads on and we went to some protection drills—which is one of the keys, a lot of times when you have a back that has a lot of yards in college or a lot of yards in high school, you really can’t see a lot of the protection part of it. So, what you really look at is, hey, because you do it in a one-on-one situation. So, we started doing some one-on-one pass protection during training camp and I was like ‘Holy cow.’ I mean, he’s—and I didn’t realize how good he was at really covering guys up, bodying them up, the strength and the explosion he had. So, then I kind of go back and I went back at the weight room stuff and looked at that. And he’s one of our most explosive players, I found that out during training camp—which weight he can do, as far as his lower body explosion. And then it was just a matter of, ‘Hey listen, is this guy going to be able to hold on to the football when he gets hit in the NFL?’ And I think that he’s proven that. So, I knew he could catch, I think he’s a guy that—he can do everything, I mean, he can be a three-down back, he can protect, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, obviously he can run the football. There’s a lot of things that he does and it’s just, it’ll be interesting to see how he does as the season goes and being able to take care of your body. And that’s the one thing I’ve always admired in this game, I don’t know if you can ever realize, unless you’re down on the field, the amount of contact that those guys take, day in and day out, or [on] Sundays. And you talk about appreciation, I have great appreciation for those guys because they’re getting hit, one guy, two guys, three—you know, they’re coming from all over. I know James is working extremely hard to make sure he’s taking care of his body, because it is a long season.”
JAGUARS OL JAWAAN TAYLOR
September 28, 2020
(On the biggest difference between his rookie year and his second year in the league) “[In] year two, I feel like [I’m] just trying to be more consistent with my play, especially like [with] penalties [and] different things like that I was going through early on last season. That’s just things that I want to sharpen up on, being more professional, so that’s mainly my thing right now. [I’m] just trying to play more consistent and help my team win games.”
(On his clean-cut beard and if this is his new look) “Pretty much. I didn’t have the beard now for about three years. I have a pretty good barber now in town, so I’ve been just looking forward to trying to keep it, keep it looking good.”
(On if he always wanted to sport a beard) “[It was] kind of experimental because I didn’t think it would grow this long. I just started liking the look and I stuck with it.”
(On RB James Robinson) “[He’s a] great overall guy, a great locker room guy. He’s been doing a lot of great things for us in this offense with [Offensive Coordinator] Coach Gruden, so we’re excited to have him around. He’s been doing great and adjusting to the game plans and knowing what to do and how to do it. [He’s] just trusting the offensive line and what Coach Gruden calls and he just goes with it. He’s a great guy.”
(On when he knew RB James Robinson was going to make an impact) “I noticed it in camp just seeing how explosive he was in camp and how dialed in he was to everything we’re wanting to do. I noticed it from very early on and I knew he would be a special player.”
(On if he tries not to overreact to wins or losses this early in the season and if he sees the next two weeks as must-win games) “I just try to keep my poise throughout the whole game and never get too high [or] too low, just stay at a nice plane and just keep going. [I] just keep pushing no matter the scoreboard. We always look at it as 0-0 mentality and just keep pushing forward, so that’s mainly what we like to do and how we go about our business here. [We’re] definitely trying to win these next two games, like you said, that’s the main focus right now. Cincinnati’s on the clock, so we’re just going to go out there and try to have a good week of practice and get prepared and go out there and get a win.”
(On what the offensive line has to do better moving forward in terms of pass protection) “Just being more consistent with our play, giving Gardner [Minshew II] more time. We have a good quarterback behind us, so we have to just give him more confidence in the pocket and keep the pocket more solid, the depth and the width of the pocket. So, that’s mainly our focus going into this game week is getting better with that and getting more consistent.”
(On how he feels individually on his progression in terms of pass protection) “I feel like I’m progressing well from last year onto now. I look forward to getting better. I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet, so just looking forward to getting better every week.”
(On playing games on the road during COVID-19) “No, not weird and bizarre because at the end of the day we’re all just trying to stay safe and healthy. We just got in the bubble pretty much and you have to wear masks on the buses, on the planes, and different things like that. It’s a little different, but it’s the way of life now. It’s how the world is so we have to adjust and that’s just what we do now.”
(On what they could do in the hotel the Saturday before the game at Tennessee) “We had meetings before we left so we were in the bubble, not allowed to leave the room. If you want food or different things, you want to order out. The only thing you can do is go down to the downstairs area where the food is at. I forgot the name of the room but that’s mainly where they keep the food at for the players, that’s about it. Other than that, you can’t go to the lobby. [There are] different things you can’t do. You have to stay in the room. For me personally, I was just sitting there watching film and treating myself, treating my body, so that’s about it. [I] watched a little football, the college games were on, different things like that, but I didn’t get bored. It was just a regular night.”
(On if it’s been helpful having a second year with Offensive Line Coach George Warhop) “Most definitely. Coach Warhop plays a great part in the offensive line’s play and everything that we do. He’s an amazing coach. I learned a lot from him since the first day I came on this team, so I look forward to the things we’re going to do leading up to the rest of the season. We’re definitely dialing into what he’s coaching us and everything he wants us to do because he knows what he’s doing. He’s been a coach in this league for over 20 years now, so he’s coached some of the best players that played these games. We look forward to seeing what we can do the rest of the year.”
(On the advantage for the offense to not have to do a silent count on the road due to the lack of fans/crowd noise) “It’s amazing, especially for us, the tackles on the outside, me and Cam [Robinson]. Usually we have to dial into the different silent counts with the centers and the quarterback on how we want to go about our business, but definitely it’s a little bit better. You don’t have to worry about the noise and the silent count, so it’s easier for us.”
(On if it’s easier for quarterbacks to get defensive linemen to jump offsides without the silent count) “Sometimes. It just depends how they are, how disciplined they are with the snap counts and stuff like that, but it definitely helps.”
(On the one thing the offensive line needs to do better) “I feel like our run game is going pretty well, so I feel like we should definitely get better in the pass pro protecting our quarterback. That’s the main focus of the offensive line right now.”
JAGUARS CB D.J. HAYDEN
September 28, 2020
(On his assessment of the team through the first three weeks of the season) “I say a slow start. The first couple drives of the games, it’s really slow for us. I think it’s taken us a little time to get the blood flowing and everything, but it’s a young team and we’re still growing. Some guys [are] still learning, but I’m excited about this next up and coming week because I feel like we’re going to play a lot faster.”
(On what makes him feel like they are going to play faster this week) “[There’s] a greater sense of urgency, body language. You know I’m a real superstitious type of guy and I just get feelings. It’s just something I can’t explain. There’s no textbook of how to explain that. I just get good feelings.”
(On what they have been working on to improve the pass defense) “I would say that we’re focusing kind of more on the technique because I feel like some of the issues we’ve been having it’s been technique involved. So, I feel like we’re focusing on just back to the basics, back to the square one, technique, just have your eyes in the right spot where you’re supposed to be. It’s just basic football, that’s all there is.”
(On if he has any pregame superstitions) “Me personally when we come out like when we’re lining up and they’re doing the field goal. I mean not the field goal, what’s it called? The coin toss or whatever. I like to look at the other quarterback and whoever I’m going to be guarding and just stare at them. I mean they can’t see me but that’s just me locking into them or something.”
(On what he’s going to have to do to lock into Bengals QB Joe Burrow) “We’re going to have to lock in, strap up, get some pass break ups, get some turnovers, make him uncomfortable, get some sacks. We just have to ball out. The last two weeks, we didn’t really get it done so we have to get it done this week.”
(On how to help rookie CB CJ Henderson as a veteran player in the secondary) “You just have to kind of remind him every play, just be like, ‘Hey hey, come on now, lock in.’ [It’s] just like little stuff here and there. It’s just like quick reminders, just get him hype, but we all have to play. We all have to play.”
(On his role in getting the young players on the same page on defense) “[I’m] just basically making sure that we’re locking in on the little things like the little details. It starts with practice, lock in at practice. Do the right things so that all that stuff can transfer over in the game. For me being a veteran in the room, I think I probably have to do a good job of overemphasizing that and reminding them. Not just letting them hear from Coach [Marrone] but have them hear from one of their teammates as well and basically just leading the example. I might have to pop it off next week with a pick so everybody gets juiced or something, so we’re going to have to do something though because this isn’t going to ride the whole year. We’re going to do it though, we got you though.”
(On only having two sacks so far this year and what can be done to change that as a collective defensive unit) “I feel like it’s been brought up and those guys know that and those guys are working hard to do a better job at that, but it’s going to come. [We] just have to be a little patient. You can’t play perfect all the time because it’s just not a perfect world, but guys are going to make mistakes. I feel like this team, we’re going to learn and correct the mistakes and get better from it and that’s going to make us a better team in the long run. So, I’m excited for Josh [Allen] and all those guys. They’re going to get after it though.”
(On the play of the younger guys in Thursday night’s game against the Dolphins) “CJ [Henderson] obviously had one rookie mistake and I think it was just little mistakes. It just kept tagging on. I feel like we didn’t give up any big, explosive plays, but like Coach [Marrone] said, they kind of did this nickel and dime stuff, just stuff here and there. But little technique stuff can fix that stuff right away and we can fix it, so I’m excited.”
(On if there are things defenses can do to a rookie quarterback versus a veteran quarterback) “You can do all that stuff to rookies and pros. I don’t know, it just depends on the day, so we can sack him, pick him off. You can do that to a rookie or a pro. Joe Burrow, he’s a good quarterback. Even from tape, they put up some points [even though] some stuff didn’t fall their way. But we just have to go out there and play our football. Just go out there and play hard, play fast, technique, don’t give up any little stuff, any explosives, and everything will take care of itself. We’re winners, so just lock in on that and we’ll be alright.”
(On the decision to take the ball first instead of defer to the second half and if the defense wants a chance to prove that they can handle being on the field first) “To be honest, I really don’t care. We’re going to be out there regardless of whether we go out first [or] whether we go out second. Whichever team goes out there first, they just have to punch them in the face, whether it’s the offense [or] whether it’s the defense. It shouldn’t matter who goes out there first. We should just go out there and play our type of football, so I don’t know.”
(On how motivating it is for the defense to see the offense lead comebacks) “[It’s] just how like the offense makes plays, it gets us pumped up and when we make plays, it gets them pumped up. So, to go out there and see guys like James Robinson making plays, Laviska [Shenault Jr.] making plays, seeing DJ [Chark Jr.] making plays, Gardner [Minshew II] making plays, when those guys are out there making plays, they get us crunk on the sideline then we want to go out there and do something too. It’s vice versa so the more we can do that, the better the Jaguars will be this year.”
