JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG MARRONE
September 18, 2020
(On if the Denver Broncos gave him a blueprint on how to stop Tennessee RB Derrick Henry in their game last week) “Schematically they’re different as far as their alignments, so it’s hard [to compare], but we’re in a league that obviously you always go back and you look at things. I thought they had some really high-level performances with some of those guys up front, especially the nose guard for Denver. I thought he played really well. But at the end of the day, you can see where this guy just breaks that one tackle and he can take it to the house. I think he’s a back that keeps grinding out the yards. He’s a guy that at any time can really break it. Who’s to say if he had one more carry [he wouldn’t have had more yards]? I remember a game I always watch, [it was] years ago, Denver was playing Dallas and this was in the early 2000’s. Denver had a great running game and they kept running it, running it and Dallas did a hell of a job and then all of a sudden, I can’t remember if they game went into overtime or it was late in the fourth quarter, Denver continues to run it and then bam, they broke it and wound up winning the game. I was thinking about just staying with it and keep going and they did a heck of a job and that’s hard to do. I think the one thing that we’ve learned is that they’ll continue to go, even if it’s not as effective as maybe everyone on the outside thinks, but keeping those chains going for him and what he does. You talk about three yards is a whole lot better than none. Second-and-7, you get another three yards, and now it’s third-and-4 and now you have your whole playbook that’s involved. So, I think what makes them so challenging is they do such a great job of keeping the chains in their favor. When you have a [offensive] line and a [running] back and tight ends and play action and everything like that, it’ll be a challenge for us.”
(On his nickname for S Andrew Wingard) “I don’t know. When I first saw him, a couple years ago when he first came on the team, I was like, “Tiny Thor.” He’s got a ton of nicknames now; I can’t keep up with all that stuff. Now it’s just straight Andrew.”
(On what he wants to see out of S Andrew Wingard this week) “I think like anyone that has worked extremely hard, anyone that you’ve seen really vast improvement from where he was before. I think he’s always been a student of the game. We always felt that he had good speed. He’s really shown us over the course of last season, and even the first game, of how well he does in space as far as what the special teams play. And then now he has an opportunity to go in there and see what he has. I think, I know for me, he’s out on the field so I have total confidence in him and I’m excited for him. It’s a great opportunity [for him].”
(On what it’s been like not having to deal with added distractions of certain players with this team)” You know I addressed the team. I told them that how much I appreciate, how much refreshing it was for me, even for us, where we can concentrate on the coaching aspect of it. We’re going through all of these protocols; they’ve really done a good job. They’re just guys that enjoy football and you just [say], ‘Hey this is what we have to do, this is why we have to do it’ because I’ve always been a big believer to make sure they understand why. They seem great. I think the leadership from some of the guys that have been in the league awhile, plus the young guys, plus the rookies, has been really good. I’m actually more concerned about the coaches with the protocols than I am the players right now, you know of keeping your mask on and doing all those things. [Director of Public Relations] Tad [Dickman] just nodded his head, ‘yes’, but I can’t say enough. We’ve had truly zero issues; I mean truly zero and it’s exciting to see. I think sometimes we lose track of maybe what the job is and the job’s dealing with issues and problems and all that stuff, but I think they come up and there’s different types of problems. When you’re dealing with any of the adversity we’ve dealt with this year, it’s always been a team situation, so I think that it’s been very refreshing. The funny part about it is if someone does something out of character, it’s always like, ‘Don’t change.’ Now that’s not me saying that. You hear a lot of the players and coaches in situations where we can just kind of laugh for a minute.”
(On who’s going to be keeping an eye on the players this week on the road) “I’ll tell you what, it’s funny, a lot of times the players aren’t the ones that go get a lift in. My experience has been, you arrive at the hotel and if you go to get a workout in or sauna, it’s packed with your travel party, packed with coaches. I’ve rarely have ever seen players in there, but that’s like one of things that I had to make sure the coaches [know]. I’m like, ‘Look, [you] better get a workout before you go’ and then Sunday morning if you’re going to get a work out, get it at the stadium, you’re not going to be able to get it at the hotel, but these are the things you have to go over to keep everybody safe.”
JAGUARS S ANDREW WINGARD
September 18, 2020
(On how many nicknames he has and which one is his favorite) “I mean there’s about four or five. Every day I have to turn around the corner and I’m getting called something different. Obviously when there’s a white guy with long, blonde hair, there’s going to be [the nickname of] Sunshine, so that’s a given. Kid Rock, Dewey, Thor, I’m kind of all over the place. No one ever calls me by my first name. Only my mom calls me Andrew if she’s mad at me or something. So, I think I have about five or six names at the moment.”
(On if he enjoys the nicknames) “Yeah, I mean it’s just being in a locker room in football is fun, but when you have good chemistry and you’re buddies with everyone [it’s more fun]. People actually call me some other stuff that I won’t let the public know, but it is fun. I love this team, and everyone jokes around and calls me different stuff so it’s good, I enjoy it.”
(On his least favorite nickname) “Actually I kind of looked a couple Kid Rock pictures and he’s not the best-looking guy. I’ll say that, but he has some great songs. I don’t know, does my hair look like that? You know, it’s kind of greasy and stuff. But no, it’s cool. I rock with all of it. You know if people are talking about you, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, so I’ll take it.”
(On what nickname his former roommate, QB Gardner Minshew II, called him) “What did he call me? I honestly don’t even remember. I can’t remember. Is it one that you know? Because I don’t remember. I mean he just called me Dewey from the jump, so I guess that’s usually what everyone calls me.”
(On where the nickname Dewey came from) “It was when we used to live in Texas and one of our little neighbor girls couldn’t say her ‘R’s’. My mom would call me Drew and she started calling me Dew while trying to call me Drew, so it kind of morphed into Dewey. Me and my dad are big School of Rock fans, so Dewey Finn was one that I usually get called a lot. But, like I said, that’s mainly what everyone [calls me]. Whether it’s Colorado, here, or up in Wyoming, that’s basically my government name now is Dewey.”
(On his opportunity in this Sunday’s game to have more playing time) “It’s a great opportunity. It’s something that I’ve worked towards and it’s just kind of a culmination of my body of work. I come into work every day, I know my role. [I’m] ready to go whether it’s playing special teams and being able to come on the field in relief or, like it is now, going out and starting and being able to execute and play a good football game. They’re pretty big, but they get on their knee at night and pray to the same God we do. So, we’re going to go out there and we’re going to give our best football and try to go ball out. But don’t get me wrong, like you said, it’s going to be a great challenge. They have a really good team coming off an AFC Championship run last year. They’re a really good team, [I] have a lot of respect for them. It’s going to be a heck of a challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”
(On his confidence level personally and as a team going into an important game against the Tennessee Titans) “[The] past is the past, [you] can’t change that, but we’re super excited, like I said. I did the [Jaguars] podcast the other day with John [Oehser] and I told him this team just feels different. We have a lot of chemistry. Everyone communicates really well and we just kind of have a blue-collar attitude at the moment of we’re definitely not the biggest team, maybe not the flashiest, but we’re going to go out there and we’re going to grind and we’re going to do our job. We’re not going to try to do too much, we’re just going to go out and try to execute. I really love the guys around me. I think they would say the same and we’re just looking forward to it.”
(On his preparation for the game as a starter and if he’ll still be playing special teams this weekend) “[It] doesn’t change at all. I came in as the third safety backing up both spots. My coach at Wyoming used to say playing the third safety’s the hardest position in football because you’re out there playing special teams, but you have to prepare like a starter. You never know when Jarrod Wilson’s going to pull a hamstring and you’re going to have to go out there and execute in the four minute in a division game. Like I said, it’s my body of work. I pride myself on being one of the smartest guys in this building and maybe even in the NFL and I think I can go out there and, like I said, go out and get it done. Whether I’m playing special teams as a third safety or as a starter this week, I’m preparing the same and I’m going to be ready to go regardless.”
(On interception last week against the Colts and the confidence that gives him) “It was a route that we had seen all week in film and even coming in at halftime, [Secondary Coach-Safeties] Coach Danna had the PowerPoint up there and he’s [like], ‘They’re running that W-sphere, running that W-sphere.’ I was sitting there on the sidelines the whole game watching it, communicating with J-Dub [S Jarrod Wilson] and then he went down, and I got out there. It was kind of crazy how that happened because I had seen that play a couple times and right when I got out there, even when I was lining up pre-snap, I kind of knew the route was coming. Then Philip [Rivers] kind of stared it down the whole time. When he threw it, I was kind of like, ‘Holy cow, he’s actually throwing this right now’ and it was just a jump out there and catch it and go the other way. So, it was super exciting though. I kind of ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, [I] didn’t really know what to do [because] I was so excited. But it was great to come out there and, like I said, that’s film study, that’s preparation and making it happen on game day. So, [I’m] super excited and ready to keep it going.”
(On what the W-sphere is) “That’s just the slot receiver running basically a deep over-route. They’ve been running that a lot and that was how it worked out.”
(On how he will respond to the play action of the Titans offense and QB Ryan Tannehill this weekend) “That’s the challenge that this team poses. They have a great offensive line, a great running back in Derrick Henry obviously. They’re going to run the crap out of the ball and that’s the hardest part is [that] you have to be able to stop them and get them to second-and-8 and stuff like that, but that’s when [they] fake it and you have AJ Brown and Corey Davis coming over the top. Like I said, we have a lot of respect for them. They do their stuff really well and you have to be prepared to stop both of those. So, it’s going to be big on more of me being the free safety. It’s going to be big on me eliminating those explosive pass plays and if we can stop the run, then we’re going to be in business. But like you said, it’s a big challenge and we’re going to have to be able to stop both.”
(On having a focused team on the road and playing with no fans) “It’s going to be super different, obviously this whole year has been different for everybody. Like you said, a team that can put aside the distractions, can put aside the need to go out and do stuff and stuff like that, it’s going to be the team that prevails. [It will be the team with] the guys that are locked in the whole time. Like you said, we obviously had fans on Sunday which helped, I kind of didn’t even think about it. Having no fans is going to be something that’s going to be weird, no doubt about it, but it’s obviously going to help our communication [with] not too much crowd noise. But it’s going to be different, so how we adjust, we’re going to have to juice ourselves up and I think that’s one thing this team is really good at. We’ve seen it throughout camp. We can get hyped up and we can build each other up. We’re not going to rely on crowd noise and energy and stuff like that. We’re going to juice ourselves up and hopefully be ready to go, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we can do that on Sunday.”
JAGUARS S JOSH JONES
September 17, 2020
(On his journey in the NFL) “It’s been a long journey, kind of short in the span of four years, but it’s been tough. There’s some ups and downs but I wouldn’t want it any [other] way. I believe in [that] you go through what you go through because you need to know what you know. Now, I’m in a place where my coaches believe in me and it just makes it easier for me.”
(On the teaching moments he’s had over the past few years) “You know what, being a young player, obviously you go through some learning curves. So that whole thing and I have a lot of wisdom. I went through a lot of stuff and now I’m able to pass it on to the younger guys, the younger rookies now and say, ‘Hey, just learn to appreciate this game’ because 365 days ago I was on the outside looking in and I never want anyone to go through that because if you love the game as much as I love the game, I was in a very, very dark place 365 days ago and to be in this position, the only person I can thank is God.”
(On his performance in Week 1 and then looking ahead to the challenges in facing RB Derrick Henry this week) “Week 1 is Week 1. I kind of put that behind me [on] Monday, but it was good. It was fun, with everything [that’s] been going on this year, to finally be able to get back to football. So, the energy was there, the juice was there. Some mistakes were made, things could’ve been better, but overall, it was a solid performance by our defense. As far as Derrick Henry, obviously we know he was the rushing champ last year, so we know a majority of their offense runs through him. To be able to stop him and to hold him to less than what he’s used to, it will be big for our defense.”
(On if he took charge of the defense in the beginning of training camp to make the most of his opportunity with the team) “Well to be honest, I look at every year and season as an opportunity. But me specifically, if you want to be completely honest, I took 2020 with everything that was going on and I kind of just found myself mentally, spiritually, physically. The whole year, the whole offseason, every day I was going through the playbook. Every day I was on the drawing board, going over plays, going over motions, going over audibles, going over those things, so when we did get to training camp I was on point. I was able to communicate to everybody. I think while everything was shut down, I took that opportunity to really focus on football.”
(On what he meant when he said he was in a dark spot) “When I say a dark place, you have to understand, I’ve been playing this game since I was like eight years old. So, for last year, 365 days ago, I think I was out of football for four weeks and I love this game. Anybody that’s around me knows I play this game off pure love. You can see it when I play, so I felt like I didn’t know whether or not I was going to play again. A lot of things run through your head: what’s going to happen, what team you’re going to go to. It’s a lot of uncertainty, so I had a lot of that and when something like that is taken away from you, you just learn to appreciate the game so much more.”
(On why he fits into the Jaguars’ defensive scheme) “You know what, to be honest, coming out of the draft, I always said ‘This is kind of the scheme that Seattle won big with’ so I always said, ‘This is the system I need to be in.’ I always spoke it into existence. I always spoke it into the universe and here I am. It fits my skill set: a guy that can run sideline to sideline, a guy that’s [as] athletic as I am. Not to toot my own horn, but just to show my God-given abilities out there and it’s fun. This defense is real fun.”
(On how he landed with the Jaguars after being out of football) “I didn’t know. When Green Bay waived me with non-football illness, teams [were] kind of like, ‘Oh, we’re not going to touch him’, but nothing was wrong with me. Like I said, I had so much uncertainty. For the first time in my life, I felt like football wasn’t there and it was my first time in a long time where September rolls around and I was looking from a TV instead out being out on the field with a helmet and shoulder pads. If you love something and to see that just walk away from you for that amount of time, I think anybody would be in a kind of space I was in. But when you have strong faith, you understand that you go through things. God will take you through ups and downs for a reason and that reason was for me to gain the wisdom that I gained, appreciate everything around me, [and] not take any day for granted.”
