JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG MARRONE
Jaguars at Ravens
Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020
(On what he tells the team after that loss) “I mean, I can tell you what I told them in the locker room. I told them that, ‘Hey listen, we came out here today and this team was clearly the better team today. There’s a lot of things that—there’s some things, obviously, I thought we did well and then—but for the most part, I’m not going to point those out. Obviously, we weren’t good enough at all those…’ I told the players after the game, kind of gave them—talked to them about our schedule next week, talked about our mindset, talking about playing our last home game and really trying to put this game behind us quickly and move forward. Meaning that we’re going to try to go on to Chicago, instead of—you know, this team has been going through a lot, they’ve been trying hard—and we understand that and I know they’re professionals. But if we gather up all of us together, coaches and players, the greatest gift that we can all give to each other is the gift of winning a football game. That’s what I told them afterwards.”
(On struggling offensively in the first half, especially in the pass game) “More so, I think it was in the run game. I think that up front they were big, physical—they played better than we did. I mean, we were getting one or two yards in the play action game, we weren’t able to make plays. Either not pulling the trigger, or not being in good position, or pressure coming—it gets to you. It’s a lot of things. When you don’t play that well, Mike, it’s not one thing, it’s everything. From protection to –- everyone is accountable for it. There’s no really — you can’t really point your finger at one thing when not a lot is working. They come off, I think, the first half, I don’t know if it was like 60 yards or 80 yards in the first half. But whether it’s running, passing, if you don’t have that in the NFL, nothing’s working.”
(On the adjustment of playing without P Logan Cooke) “I mean, you’re always prepared for it, just like if you have an injury right before the game, be ready to go for it. It changed a little bit, [we] went back last night after we knew. And then, obviously, we always have a plan that Aldrick [Rosas] would take over those duties. And then we just kind of look at some of the — then the analytics of a game, how you prepare and how you approach the game changes a little bit. So I had it on my sheet and I was just making sure that I was looking at it from what would be the correct decisions to make from an analytical standpoint and then, obviously, from the field and game standpoint. So I guess my answer is, yeah, there is obviously change.”
(On the Ravens’ speed and up front physicality and on the improvement needs of this roster) “Yeah, I think those things, Gene—and again, it’s a valid, valid question. For me, what I look at is, ‘Okay, can we get to the quarterback faster so they can’t outrun us near the end of it? Can we? How do we do that? How do we create better angles or leverage if we can’t take care of the inside power plays? And how do we get them running early?’ I mean, I’ve been through this before. We play big, powerful teams and sometimes I go in there and I say, ‘Listen, we’re going to run screens and perimeter stuff and we’re going to get these big guys running, get them tired, stay on the field and hopefully get them out of the game.’ I think there’s a lot of things doing it. I think when you talk about, and I’ve gotten a lot of questions from people trying to get to me. And like I said, I’m always with you guys, no one nationally and all that other crap. But everyone is getting on me or asking about that stuff and I just tell them, I say ‘That’s for after. We have the people we have, I’m proud of them and I’m behind them 100 percent.’ That’s really it. I think people are going to say what they’ll say. And then I think afterwards, I think then it’s a fair question. I think when the season’s over and then you have time to evaluate it, I think our fans and everyone, they deserve those answers. I would agree with that. I just don’t have it at this time to really comment on that.”
(On the offensive line’s performance today) “Going into the game, Gene, I mean, they’ve got rushers now. They’ve got guys that can push the pocket on the inside, come on the outside and they—you know, Wink [Martindale], I saw him after the game, I’ve known him a long time. He does a really good job, pressure-wise coming after us. Cover zero, different types of pressures, different types of people, and trying to get open. I think you always, as a coach, and even as a player, I think you look at it, and there’s always disappointment at many different levels. Whether it be, ‘Maybe I can control it, maybe I should step up in the pocket, maybe I’ve got to finish at the top of the rush.’ You know what I’m saying, these players? I think a lot of that stuff goes into it. But I would challenge anyone that gets behind, in this league, against a defense like that, and their pressure package and the players that they have, those things are going to happen. And it’s unfortunate, but I’m not saying it’s part of the game, you have to play better than that, there’s no doubt about it. So I think, to answer your question, I think everyone gets disappointed and everyone has responsibility at all those different levels, like you mentioned.”
(On influence of not having P Logan Cooke on the fourth-down plays) “Yeah, it goes back, John, to the first thing we talked about. We were looking at, or I was looking at, the analytics of it for gain of field position, where Aldrick [Rosas] was as far as punting, fourth-and. So basically, we kind of expanded that zone more so, where if you’re looking at fourth-and-6 or less, you have a 40 percent chance of really making it. And if we go more than that, then obviously the number decreases and you’ve got to make some decisions. So I guess my point is, obviously like anything, you make adjustments when things occur. Did I feel forced to do that? No, I just thought that was the best chance for our team to win the game. And I want to make sure that just because Logan wasn’t able to play, that didn’t cost us the game. I mean, I know we all understand that. But to answer your point, if you have those things occur, you have to adjust. And if I sat here and tried to play the regular way, and things didn’t work out, then shame on me. That’s the one thing I’ve been trying to tell you guys, and I think you guys understand that we’ve been trying. I know from my standpoint, I’m going to try and keep working and keep doing things to try to put my team in the best position to win games. So that’s what the analytics show us when we moved it out. So really, I can tell you my thought process going into the game. I was, minus-45 and anything fourth-and-5 or less, I was thinking I was going to go for it and be aggressive, depending upon game situations. The difference between me is I look at analytics, understand analytics, but I also look at game situations as well. So I’m a little bit, I’m not straight 100 percent numbers.”
(On whether QB Gardner Minshew II played well enough to keep the starting position) “I don’t know. I know everyone is going to talk to me about—that’s a question afterwards. I knew you guys, I just think right now, I’m really, I really want to be in there to support these players and these coaches right now. And I’m not ready to say this or that, and all this other stuff, or really comment on playing time. And that’s not a knock on Gardner and it’s not a knock on me not having a decision in my mind right now. My mind right now is totally focused. These guys, it’s tough to see. I know we’re pros, I know it’s like that, but when you see guys trying, and they just, whatever it is that causes us not to get there or come with the win. You’ve got guys running all over the place, trying, giving everything they have, and here we are sitting, having lost all these games, I don’t think about myself. I think about these coaches and players, that’s what’s weighing on me right now. Not who’s going to start or who’s not going to start next week. So, I’m apologetic, I can’t really, I’m not going to comment on that.”
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK GARDNER MINSHEW II
(On moving the ball in the first half) “It was very hard. It felt like everything we were doing, they had an answer for it. I felt they played really well and we didn’t execute consistently enough in the first half.”
(On if it was in the game plan to take advantage of the Ravens’ lack of depth at the cornerback position) “Yeah, I mean I think so. Anytime you’re missing two players as good as the two that they were missing, you try to take advantage of that.”
(On the fumble early in the second half stopping any momentum to get back in the game) “We were just trying to score on that drive. I think we came into halftime, we said we’re not going to look at this statistically, forget the score, we’re going to try to get little wins where we can and that’s what we tried to do in the second half.”
(On facing former Jaguar teammate and current Ravens DE Yannick Ngakoue today) “I was talking to Yan during the game. He’s so competitive, as am I. I really tried to tune him out because he chirps a little bit, but I just know that’s how Yan is. It was really good to be able to catch up with him after the game. [He’s] a guy that I have a ton of respect for, one of the great competitors in our league, a really good player.”
(On how the team is going to put this loss behind them going into the last two games of the season) “I don’t know. I mean it’s only like 30 minutes after the game, so it’s still pretty fresh, but we’re definitely going to try to put it behind us. I think there’s an opportunity to learn from it, as there is with every game. But man, we have to move forward, find a sense of optimism and belief that we can go win these next two.”
