JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG MARRONE
September 25, 2020
(On an injury update and if he will be bringing in a new kicker) “I think Andrew [Wingard]’s going to go out there Monday when we get back out on the field Monday, so he’s going to get back out there and see if he can play through it. So, that’s where we’ll be with him Monday. We’ll know a little bit more then, that’s [with Andrew] Wingard. Then [Brandon] Linder will be out there Monday, so I feel good about that. [We’re] just trying a couple different things just seeing where he’s at, so I feel good about that. [With] DJ [Chark Jr.], we’re just really waiting for some tests and once those tests clear [and] what [else] he has to do. He’s fine, so that’s what we’re waiting on with him. Leon [Jacobs] is out for the year. He’ll be on IR. Brandon Wright has a groin [injury] so yes, we’re going to bring in kickers on Monday to look at where we are there, and I think that’s all of it.”
(On the impact of not having WR DJ Chark Jr. not on the field last night) “I don’t want to not credit Miami, they did a nice job obviously, but I think anytime you lose someone that’s a leader and just a really good football player and someone where people are going to look at us and say, ‘Hey listen, how do we stop this guy?’ I think it always hurts and then you get the old [saying] ‘we want people to step up and do a better job and kind of make up for it.’ We just didn’t make the plays we needed to last night. There’s a lot of things that I’ll be able to talk about or questions I’ll be able to answer, but it always hurts when you lose the top player at that position. Whether it be [him or] Brandon at center, but teams do it and it happens throughout the league. You just have to be able to overcome those things and I just felt like we didn’t really have an opportunity to really help our guys because of the way the game was being played, how we got down early.”
(On the biggest problem the team is facing defensively) “I think there’s a point where you can watch during the game where we start to settle down. I think there seems to be technique things, there’s just some eyes unfocused and just to a point of going out there and really being technically sound, fundamentally sound, and just be so locked in with some of these guys that you can react to things. I think that we talked about it this morning, talked a little about it last night, watched the film again and we talked about it again this morning and we just have to be able to get them out there and put them in a position where they can do those things. They do it during the week, but there seems to be, on all of us, that we just have to do a better job early on. This has been going on now for a couple weeks, as the game goes on, you can see where now all of a sudden, it’s starting to play the way we want them to play from the beginning. We just have to be able to get them off to that start and we’re going to discuss that when we all get together.”
(On if the lack of pass rush is due to not wanting to leave the young secondary on their own to defend) “I think when you look at it, a lot of the passes are not really getting behind us, from a standpoint of over the top throws. Most of these throws are in this under 12 or 13-yard radius, so I think it’s a combination of we have to do a couple things better. I feel comfortable because they’re more technique, fundamental things that we need to do to disrupt the passing game and try to do a better job there, so I see it as that. I think last night we pressured quite a bit, but you could see at times when max protection comes into play, now all of a sudden, and you’re not getting to the quarterback, that’s a long time. It’s tough for us to run with some of these guys or some of these bigger guys. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things, so we have to just keep working to improve fundamentally first. We’re in position, but we haven’t defended many balls. We haven’t in the last two games. We have to get our hands on more balls. In the first game, we did. [In] the last two we haven’t at all, so those are the things that we’re looking at and trying to improve upon.”
(On if WR Keelan Cole Sr. injured his wrist last night) “He’s okay, he’s good.”
(On why QB Gardner Minshew II couldn’t move the ball against the Dolphins defense and how they can combat those issues) “I think it’s really just a matter of you’re trying to get chunks, you’re trying to create chunk plays. I think that when you feel the pressure of trying to be able to score to get yourself back into a game, you’re going to look downfield. Then later in the game as the clocks starts to go down, you start to realize that we’ve got to try to get a chunk play somewhere and it’s tough. Every defense that you face is going to make sure that you don’t get the ball behind them, that’s the fastest way to score. I just think that he [QB Gardner Minshew II] was looking for those things and I think Miami did a good job disrupting routes early on, getting their hands on us. They did a nice job with some three-man rushes with eight guys dropping, which is always difficult on any quarterback, but they mixed it up pretty good with the coverages. I look at where we were offensively as far as not being able to play the type of game where have the play action, we have running game, we have the screen game, intermediate pass, taking our shots when we want to. A lot of it was forced to try to get the ball vertically down the field against a team that’s defending the ball vertically down the field.”
(On if he should use explosive rookies RB James Robinson and WR Laviska Shenault Jr. more) “I like getting the ball to those guys. I think [Keelan] Cole [Sr.]’s playing really well for us right now. I think Laviska [Shenault Jr.] shows what he can do after the catch. Obviously, James [Robinson] we’ve seen. [I’d] like to see Collin [Johnson] do some things for us on the outside. We know about Chris [Conley] and we know about DJ [Chark Jr.]. So, to answer your question, yeah, I think we would like to do that. Teams are creating a lot of one-on-ones for us up front. I think overall we started out in pretty good shape and then all of a sudden we get on one of those back to back things where we have two poor plays in a row and lead to back to back [punts]. I think those guys can make plays. How we get them the ball is important. Schematically, I think it’s a little bit easier when it’s a little bit tighter. You can play action and do things like that, move them around, get them going. We do have all that stuff in our package, so I have no issues getting it to them. Those guys can make plays and I like the way they are with the yards after the catch. You’re right, these guys can catch the ball in intermediate areas and break tackles. I thought James has done a good job of that. I think Laviska’s done a good job of that.”
(On if he thinks he needs to bring more safety help to assist rookie CB CJ Henderson) “I’m sure CJ [Henderson] wants to play better. I think that we all want to play better, so I think it’s a matter of just the fundamentals, day in and day out. The one thing that’s always interesting to me, having been in this thing awhile, [is] that [in the] corner position, you go lights out for 60-something plays to maybe defend four balls and you don’t know when they’re coming. We just have to do a better job on both sides of really disrupting some of these receivers because it’s so difficult in this day in age to not hinder anything or not put pressure or you can’t move the quarterback. I mean if someone’s going to drop back and throw it [and] that player’s going to be not disrupted in any way, it seems like it’s too easy, whether it be our team doing it against another team or a team doing it against us. I think when you look at plays that don’t perform well or don’t execute well, a lot of it in the passing game is really you’re able to disrupt something: disrupt the protections, disrupt the route, get your hands on the football. Those are the things that you have to be able to do to stop someone from throwing the football. Right now, we’ve tried a couple things. I think we’re settling into what we have to do to work on to get better. I think, like I said, it’s early and [we’re] just really starting to know what we have to do when we get on that field.”
(On the choice of not deferring the coin toss versus not appearing to give up on the defense) “I don’t know if it’s not giving up, I don’t want to say that. I think that what I am looking at potentially [is] taking the ball first. I think I’m trying to get a peak at what’s going on and how we can settle these guys down more. So, I think we’re going to have these discussions, but it’s not anything that I’m looking at going, ‘No, I would never do that’, so it’s definitely something that’s on the table. Before I ever make a decision like that, I want to learn more about it. Even when I do make the decision, I always still talk about game day winds and things like that come into play. Where before I’ve always been [one to] defer, I think now whatever can help our football team, we’ll do.”
(On what QB Gardner Minshew II saw on his third down run and the miscommunication in handling the blitz on fourth down) “[On] the first one was, we knew we were going to have two downs to go for it. We really felt like we had a good play. We had everything sealed off on the inside and then I believe it was #55, the linebacker, jumped outside of Chris [Thompson] so we actually had two players outside of him. That’s something that we haven’t [been] shown so when we tossed the football, we had a player free in the alley. Normally on alignment, one guy’s going to be inside and one guy’s on the outside, but we had the tackle for the outside guy, Jawaan [Taylor], but the [line]backer wound up playing outside so we left a guy outside. [It was] a good play by them. We didn’t see that defense coming up. He just jumped outside for whatever reason or else we would’ve had a good gain, so we got out-executed on that one. The next one was the right tackle has to come down and take the guy over where Andrew [Norwell] was. Andrew’s coming down on the mug on the inside and then a right tackle comes down and we have to throw it hot off the defensive end.”
(On if the defensive giving up early leads affects the offensive game plan) “I think in this past game, it did. I don’t think in the other two [games] I feel like it had. The one perspective I always have is that, and it’s the same probably perspective you guys have, you’re watching a game and you’re feeling like the momentum’s going this way or going that way and then how do you gain it back, how do you do it. There’s a lot. It just felt like a chase. I think what you want to do is you plan all week is to be in a game that can potentially come down to the final drive. So, you want to be able to be in it to where you’re able to use all the tools you have and be able to run it play action, boot, naked, whatever it is and keep that going. That’s the other thing, [if you] went back and looked at the third downs or you’re coming out and you’re having to throw to push the ball down the field and score, now your third downs could potentially be longer than if you’re running the ball getting five yards and then maybe you get another two and its third-and-3, the manageable situations, then your third down percentage is going to go up. I think conversely when you look at what teams are doing to us, I think [on] third-and-1 to 6, we’re only winning 27 percent of the time. That’s something people are [doing], keeping the chains in their favor, and I think that’s why we’re struggling to get off the field defensively.”
(On if the team will choose not to defer when winning the coin toss and if he will have to blitz more in order to create more of a pass rush) “I think there’s a lot [that goes] into it. I think with the coin toss, we said yes, we’re looking at that, whatever we can do to help the team get off to a better start. There’s a lot of things that go into that, but it’s not something that’s off the table as far as whether we want to receive it or defer. Right now, it’s on the table. We’re talking about it. [If] that’s something that’s going to help the team, we’ll do it. [The answer to] the next question is I think we pressured quite a bit last night on first down, second down, third down, all three downs. We’ve got to find a way to obviously disrupt the quarterback. We have to find a way to get to it. I think there’s some technique stuff popping up a little bit and we’re a little short. We could’ve had a couple sacks, but we didn’t because we were kind of peaking a little bit. I think we have to be able to disrupt in the backend and get the quarterback not to feel comfortable with non-contested type routes and throws, which I know we can do a better job of that. But going into it, I think it’s something we’re going to discuss. I think I’ve looked at whether you bring five, six, seven, or eight, in other words, the percentages of plays and what happens and what works. A lot of it’s going to depend on matchups, who you have on the outside, how you feel about it. I think we’ll continue to mix it up. I think we had some good run stops with some of the pressure. You saw the safeties making plays off the corners. If it was play action, then they’d be matched up on a back. We got it against the runs, which is fine. I think there’s a lot of things that you look at: maybe where the guys are playing, who’s rushing them, what positions, are we putting enough pressure on the protection where maybe they don’t know who’s coming, and bringing different guys. [We’re] trying to look at certain things like that so right now really everything’s on the table because we’re not doing what we like to do and put them in these tough situations. But again, it’s easier when you’re trying to push the ball down the field in third-and-long than when people are running pivot routes and stick routes and crossing routes, where everything’s a little bit underneath you. That ball’s coming out a little bit quicker and I think it all starts with, ‘Hey listen, we have to a lot better on first and second down’ and get them into this third-and-7 plus and then really get a good evaluation for what we have to do. I think it’s really both ends. We have to do a better job upfront and in the backend, so we all have to improve for us to get the results we want.”
JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG MARRONE
Jaguars vs. Dolphins Postgame
Thursday, September 24, 2020
(On the defensive performance at the opening of all three games this season) “Yeah, I think that obviously we’re not executing well. I think that’s the first thing you’ve got to look at. I think we have to see what we can do to help. I mean, tonight, we pressured more than we have, first, second and third downs, trying to get the team off track, trying to get them off the field. That’s something that—it’s disappointing. It’s something that we’re going to be working on and obviously, that puts you in a bind. Like you said, you never feel like you’re in a rhythm of the game and I think we all understand that. It’s not something that we’re looking at and trying to defend. We’ve just got to figure out a way to get better at it.”
(On choosing to start the game on defense) “Yeah, I think that’s something that I’ll look at. I think, just from a standpoint of trying an overall philosophy of trying to put the defense out on the field first and make the offense execute. It’s kind of been a philosophy, but obviously, it’s something that we’ll look at and see if we have to change it.”
(On an injury update) “Yeah, I haven’t talked to the doctors yet. I can give you guys an update tomorrow on the injuries. Leon [Jacobs] I know will be out.”
(On OL Cam Robinson’s ejection) “Yeah, I didn’t see much. All I saw was, I saw Cam on the bottom and I saw the officials jump in there. The official told me afterwards that I guess he jumped on him and Cam went to push him off him. So, he touched the official, that’s what I was told. So, you know, you can’t touch an official.”
(On the disappointment to struggle in areas that were positives the first two games) “Yeah, I just thought—I just felt like we weren’t in sync. I think when they started out and he [Miami QB Ryan Fitzpatrick] was like 11 for 11 at that point and they wound up scoring. I felt we had a good drive, then we had a drop. I thought the last turnover, [Gardner Minshew II] tried to push it down the field late in the game. You know, you’ve got to take shots that way. I wish we would’ve hit the shot and covered zero right at the end of the third quarter. I thought it was a good decision by him to throw the ball there, I wish we would’ve hit that one. But really at the end of it, it’s just—you just felt like we weren’t playing in sync of how we want to play—with play action, run and mixing everything in there. We just felt like we were chasing and I just felt that way during the game.”
(On the reason for slow starts this season) “I think when you look at any team and people don’t start off well, it’s probably going to be a lack of execution. I mean, I don’t think that you can really say anything more than that. So, we’ve got to do a better job of executing early on. I think, right now, the teams that we’ve played have done a better job than we have really, at the end of the day. So, we’ve just got to keep challenging ourselves to step up and get off the field and offensively be able to move the football.”
(On the vibe on the sideline tonight when facing a deficit) “No, I just think it gets a little bit more difficult depending on what you’re seeing. Meaning that teams will get a lead, they’re not going to let you take shots down the field. I think that we were able to get the ball in the immediate section of it and break some tackles, but we never really were able to make a play to ever, in any of the phases, to really swing the momentum of the game where you can get it back and feel like, ‘Okay, here we go.’ We were just trying to get to a point where we can maybe get it to where it gets back to a one-score game and we just weren’t able to do that.”
(On the vibe during the third quarter, especially having a young roster) “I think in this day and age, I think these guys—again, it’s a team that goes out there and they play to play and it might not be that they execute real well in the beginning. But they’ve got a lot of pride, they understand that we’re going to keep getting better and keep working on those things that you’ve seen. The one thing I don’t worry about this team is, kind of, vibes or hanging your head. I know I’m going to do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. I didn’t see that and I think we were just—obviously we had a couple guys that were injured. That always is tough. And then a couple calls go against you and that’s tough, too. But we’ve got to be able to overcome those things.”
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK GARDNER MINSHEW II
Jaguars vs. Dolphins
Postgame
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020
(On the offense not getting off to fast starts) “Yeah, there are times we get the ball moving, then something just kills the drive. There are things we’ve done in these three weeks that have been really good. There are things we’ve done that are kind of killing us. So we’re going to take this break to look back, evaluate, and move forward.”
(On the difference WR DJ Chark Jr. would have made tonight) “DJ is a great player. He’s a guy that we love in basically any one-on-one situation. I have a lot of confidence in the rest of the team. The guys that we have out there, everyone dressed tonight, Chris [Conley], Keelan [Cole Sr.], Collin [Johnson], Laviska [Shenault Jr.], Dede [Westbrook], everybody can go win. As a group, we just didn’t get it done tonight.”
(On struggling on third downs tonight) “I don’t know. I think more than anything we’re just going to have to look at the tape and see if there are any trends and adjust it there.”
(On frustration level being down early) “We just hope we can overcome it. We had too many mistakes tonight, it’s plain and simple. No matter what the score is, we should be able to go out there and execute and we just didn’t do a good enough job of that.”
(On how the Dolphins made it difficult to find receivers down field) “They played a lot of soft zone coverage and weren’t going to let us take any shots. I thought our guys did a good job for the most part catching the ball and making what they could with it. But the Dolphins did a good job defensively tonight.”
(On conversation with WR Chris Conley after the game) “Both of us saying, ‘my bad.’ We both wish there were things we could have back. So we’re going to move forward, look at the film, address it, and move on to Cincinnati.”
JAGUARS RB JAMES ROBINSON
Jaguars vs. Dolphins
Postgame
Thursday, Sept. 24
(On if he was a big focal point in the passing game plan since he ended up being the Jaguars’ leading receiver) “I think as an offense, the checkdowns are always an option for a quarterback. He [Gardner Minshew II] didn’t find anyone open, so the checkdown was there and he made the play. I think it wasn’t really a shift into that, just him making a great pass.”
(On if he felt responsible for providing an offensive spark) “Yeah, I think everyone should feel like that, because anyone can have it, anyone can make a play. So I think everyone should go out there trying to make a spark.”
(On how frustrating it is for the offense to begin the game slowly) “I would say it’s frustrating for all of us, but I mean, we all believe in each other and we know that we can come out there and play faster, and that’s what we’re going to work on, and come out and do it next game.”
(On if the team felt like they were going to get back in the game at any point in the second half) “Well, yeah, I think we all felt like that, coming back out in the second half. I mean, if we didn’t we should have just stayed in. No one wants to go out there and just play to lose. Coming out in the second half, we wanted to move the ball, try to get a quick score, but we did the best we could and we’re going to come back next game.”
(On if the Dolphins schemed against him any differently from what he saw in the first two games of the season) “No, I don’t think so. I mean, what we saw on film is what we saw in the game. Yeah, we just kind of went out and went with it, did what we had to do. We just have to come out playing better and faster.”
JAGUARS WIDE RECEIVER CHRIS CONLEY
Jaguars vs. Dolphins
Postgame
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020
(On the Jaguars’ frustration level by being down in the game so early) “Yeah, frustration level really high. Personally, in situations where you come out and have an opportunity to start the game with a good drive, you’ve got to make every opportunity count. In that first drive, I let this offense down. No excuses about that. You got to make that play. But really as an offense, guys stuck together and went out there and kept scrapping.”
(On why the Jaguars’ offense struggled on third down) “The Dolphins mixed things up on third down and did a good job of staying behind us, staying deep. We have to capitalize on everything that they give us underneath and we can’t have negative plays. That put us in third-and-long. Towards the end of the game, guys started getting open in those soft zones and making plays underneath. But we’ve got to have that earlier, and just be more consistent with it.”
(On what happened on his near-touchdown in the third quarter) “It was a good check. That wasn’t the play that was actually called. I guess Gardner (Minshew III) noticed the three-press and was able to audible the play and give a nice little pump fake to the corner and keep the corner low, and run a go. We just missed each other, and that’s one we have be on the same page for. We have to connect.”
(On the conversation in the locker room following this loss) “You know, to take this time, look at this game, realistically look in the mirror and analyze what we could have done better. That’s what guys are encouraged to do. It’s what I’m going to do myself. But really, to band and stick together. There’s going to be a lot of stuff thrown at everybody right now. There’s going to be a lot of stuff thrown at people trying to pit us against each other. Stuff is already being thrown on social media and all that right now, and you got to really just block it out and go back to the drawing board and get back to work. There’s not enough time to rest on those things in this league. And I still believe that this team can be as good as it wants to be. We just have to go out and we just have to execute, and I have to go out and I have to execute, being that leader on this team, being a guy who’s played in this league for a while, you’ve got to show up when the lights are on. You’ve got to show up.”
(On if the lack of plays the Jaguars’ offense ran in the first half messed with the offense’s continuity in the second half) “I wouldn’t necessarily correlate that. I think we had a slow start in the first half. We’ve had a couple slow starts. We need to get started faster, but I think one of the things that hurt us in the second half was we had some things that ended some drives – some drives where we got some momentum and were moving the ball and we didn’t finish. Really, that’s the difference between this week and previous weeks. In the second half, we’ve really finished drives, and this time we didn’t. We had some opportunities and things that put us behind the sticks in situations that aren’t favorable. But I think in the second half, we just have to finish. We need to start faster in the first half and really not get ourselves in holes that we’ve got to dig out of either.”
JAGUARS LINEBACKER JOE SCHOBERT
Jaguars vs. Dolphins
Postgame
Thursday, Sept. 24
(On the Dolphins offense getting off to a fast start) “Yeah, they got off to a good start but a lot of it is just execution on our side of the ball. We’ve got to be able to get off the field on third down and limit our penalties. That’s been a recurring theme these past couple weeks and it is something we need to look into going forward.”
(On the emphasis of rushing the passer in practice) “Yeah, with the quick turnaround, all of our practices are walkthroughs. So, just talking about it, but we were not able to get out there and practice and do too much in terms of that, but it is something that we all have to get better at in every single position. If we are asked to get after the quarterback, we need to be able to make plays and put pressure on them. Going forward, it is something we need to work on.”
(On what can be done to improve pass rush) “I think it is just when your number is called, whether it is a four-man rush or it is a blitz, you have to win your one-on-one matchups and we’ve got the guys to be able to do it. We just have to do it when the opportunity presents itself. Like I said, it is something to look into upon ourselves and get better at and improve as the season goes on.”
(On if he has ever been a part of a defense that allowed a touchdown on the opening drive in three straight games) “I can’t recall specifically. I don’t think so. It is something we talked about in the locker room after the game, we talked after it happened every time, we have to come to the stadium locked in and ready to go on the first drive of the game because we can’t have that happen every week as it puts our offense in a disadvantageous situation right off the bat and as the defense, we have to be better than that. Going forward, it is something we have to work on and come back and execute and be aware that we have to come out of the gates and start fast because we haven’t been doing that so far.”
(On if he was surprised at QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s ability to run the ball) “I’ve played him before and he has done that a bit but I was a little surprised still at the amount of yards he is able to get. He is a smart guy, a smart quarterback, and took the stuff that was available for him. He had a good game.”
(On how different this loss feels compared to last week) “Yeah, it is a little rougher because of the quick turnaround after a loss, you want to get back in the win column and we weren’t able to do that. This game more than the other two that we played; it was more beating ourselves on the field than what the other teams were doing specifically. It is always harder when you don’t feel like you played well on either side of the ball, or all three sides of the ball. It is just something we need to look at. It is a long weekend now to just reflect on how we played and how we need to change and get better and we have to be able to turn it into a positive going forward.”
(On the issues the Jaguars had getting the Dolphins’ offense off the field) “Third down, as they say, is the money down. You have to be able to execute on third down, and for the last two weeks, we haven’t been executing as well as the team that’s lined up across from us. It’s something that, we’ve been in position to make plays a few times and we just haven’t made them. There’s been some penalties called on us that have extended drives, and we can’t put ourselves in those situations. We’ve got to, overall, have a more heightened sense of awareness once we get to third down, because, like I said, when you’re able to stop them, you give the ball back to the offense and good things can happen. When they convert like they were doing, it creates long drives and it’s not good for your defense.”
(On if the defensive mistakes are fixable) “Yeah, 100 percent. I feel like, this whole game, everything you can point to fixable issues. We’ve got to execute better on first and second down, we’ve got to execute better on third down and get after the quarterback, make him make mistakes and take advantage of it like we did Week 1. So, if we’re able to do that, there’s no telling how good we could be.”
