JAGUARS QB NICK FOLES
TRAINING CAMP PRACTICE #1 MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Thursday, July 25, 2019
(On how the instillation of the offense went) “The big thing is you’re always wanting to take notes when an install is going on like it’s the first install. The same notes you maybe took before you take them again because it’s a new piece of paper. You just want to keep those in your brain and then that way we can continue to talk about it and then we come out here and rep it. And you can tell that the guys felt really comfortable. We did a great job as a team competing together today and to me this was a winning practice. We just have to build these up every single day. We have a long journey ahead of us, we’re really staying in the moment, staying present and focusing on what we have to do right now.”
(On if he was able to have deeper conversations with his teammates than in OTAs) “Oh yeah, for sure. Right now after practice we were able to talk about different things because we’ve played together through the spring, so we understand each other a little bit more. So, we’re able to talk about the ins and the outs of maybe route running, what I’m thinking, talking to the DBs, what they see. I’m not just talking to the offensive guys, I want to see what the defense sees, I want to see what they’re thinking based on our splits, what they’re seeing based on my footwork, because I feel like we can make each other better as a team. We have a lot of talented players here, so we just have to keep giving each other knowledge.”
(On how today compared to other first days of training camp) “I’ll tell you what, you can ask guys over and over again the schedule of training camp and everything about it and they’ll be like, “Man, I can’t really remember,’ because it becomes such a blur. I felt like today—obviously there’s still a lot of things to work on but it was a solid foundational start. There’s a lot of things that we see that we can improve on, but there’s also a lot of steps we took from the spring today coming out here. I mean, we didn’t have phase one and two to go out there and throw, this is our first time throwing together and I thought we did a nice job of getting back into it. Now we just got to keep taking it to the next level and expect more out of ourselves every day.”
(On getting to know his new offensive line) “You know, it’s a fun group. One of my favorite parts about playing football is stepping in the huddle and having just a really tight-knit offensive line, guys that love being around each other, guys that are great at communicating, the talks we have at the line of scrimmage to figure stuff out. They’re doing a really nice job and they have a really great coach and great coaching, so really happy with them.”
(On if it’s hard to put too much emphasis on fourth quarter situations) “So the way I look at it is, and this is something that I’ve learned, I just want to—when I’m in that huddle, that’s our sanctuary, and I want to focus on that moment in time. I don’t need to add pressure like, ‘There’s eight minutes left in this game, we have to score.’ You know? Then you’re putting more pressure on yourself. The game is already a high—a strong situation, so the big thing is just stepping into the huddle and just realizing, ‘Hey, just stay in this moment. This is the play call, this is what we’re thinking, let’s go. Stay right here.’ I do that for myself as much for the guys in the huddle just because it helps. It helps getting rid of all the distractions, the clock, the score. Let’s just worry about this play so we can see what the defense is doing and execute, and that’s the way I focus on finishing. I don’t even want to think about finishing because it’s engrained into who we are.”
(On if it took him time to develop his mentality in late game situations) “It’s something that I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older, it’s something that I learned a couple years ago in Philly just going through what we went through. There was so much pressure on the situation that I didn’t want to have to think about finishing a game, I just wanted to play with my teammates, my brother. What I’ve learned, and my dad always said growing up, ‘Don’t ever look at the clock, don’t ever look at the score, just play. Play as hard as you can, and play to the best of your ability, and that’s good enough.’ It took me about 28 years to actually figure that out, but Dad was right, and I try to teach that to other guys because the ultimate goal is to alleviate anxiety so we can play with the best of our abilities out there.”
(On if he threw in the offseason) “This was my second time throwing. My other time throwing was with my wife. She ran some routes and my brother-in-law caught a few. In the offseason guys have different routines, I always like getting away from it for a little bit. We tossed it around a little bit yesterday, the QBs did. I take that back, so a third time. But I just love—the first day I want to be so excited to throw. I was excited to get back and throw and fire it around. You know that you might not be as accurate, and you may not be as great on your deep ball, that’s part of it, but I felt like I’m more hypersensitive to all my fundamentals on these days and I get to go out there and have fun, and get it back, and acclimate that way, and that’s just something that I’ve always done. I didn’t just switch it, that’s just what’s best for me and some guys throw all the time, that’s just how it is.”
(On how much he can help the team’s young safeties during training camp) “They’re doing a great job. I think the big thing with talking to them is, my drops, what I’m thinking in different coverages, why I’m looking them off, if you cut this route, we’re going over the top. Just building those relationships. They’re younger players, but I feel like they’re playing older. They’re doing a really nice job out there and I’m excited about what the future holds for them.”
(On how he knows when the offensive line is doing their job) “When there’s not someone in my lap. I feel like ultimately those guys are blocking great and as long as they can give me a pocket to jump up into and move. It’s not always going to be perfect seven on seven, I just need a little bit of room and I can move around into it. But when I can feel when I can slide up and help them, that’s when you know we’re all on the same page. We had some of those today where I was able to step up with a high rush, get into the heart of the pocket, and deliver a throw. We might not have completed it every time, but we made some strides and they’re doing a nice job.”
(On what his measuring stick would be for a successful tenure in Jacksonville) “I’m not going to even think about it because that would be against everything I go for. Ultimately everyone has the same goals, to win a championship. For me, it’s really just approaching every day and staying in the moment. That’s the biggest struggle I always have is you come to training camp and you think about how big training camp is, how long it is, the preseason, it becomes really big. What I’ve learned is you just got to focus in on today and the moment. And that’s all I worry about, because what’s amazing is if you can do that, and you can do the best in every single moment you live, it’s amazing how many games you’re going to win, and it’s amazing what games you are going to win.”
(On what the it felt like to deliver the first NFL championship to the city of Philadelphia) “It’s super emotional to be a part of that city. Everyone knows how I feel about Philadelphia. I love Philadelphia. I will always love Philadelphia, I will always admire the Eagles organization, and they know that. I still have a lot of those people that always text me, they reported to camp, they were texting me, and that’s great. But what’s so exciting is there’s not many players that are blessed to play with an organization like that, that have never won one, and then they’re blessed to go to another organization that has always strived for that. I’m blessed to be here and be a part of the Jaguars organization. I get to see a lot of different steps I took in Philly, continuing to build this camaraderie to build this team for that ultimate goal that we achieved there. And obviously this is a different situation, different people, different city, everything, but I still see the passion. I know everyone was out here today supporting us, and it’s special to be a part of, and that’s why I’m so excited every single day to come out here and just compete and have fun. Because I know how much this city wants it, but ultimately we have to stay present in the moment so we don’t think too far ahead.”
(On if he liked seeing the Foles Eagle jerseys worn by fans at camp today) “I know there’s a lot of Eagles support, I’m just so focused on being here and just staying here. But there’s Eagles fans all over, there’s a lot of support, and I did see some over there. But I’m just focusing all of my energy on Jacksonville.”
(On if the fans wearing Eagles jerseys will switch them to Jaguars jerseys) “Yeah, they have got to go get some Jaguar jerseys.”
