Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson Transcript (8-2-23)
From: Jaguars PR
(On WR Calvin Ridley not fully participating in practice yesterday) “…It was sort of cautionary with him yesterday, he’ll be back out there today. We’ll just monitor him and limit the amount of running that he’ll do today.”
(On WR Calvin Ridley having any heat issues yesterday) “No, there were some guys that did get warm at the end of practice but nobody was in danger or anything like that.”
(On health status of OL Anton Harrison and DT Roy Robertson-Harris) “Roy is fine, his was just heat and exhaustion there at the end. It was a tough practice that got warm at the end. Like I said, a couple of guys did feel the heat. I felt the heat. Anton, right shoulder, just working through that. Had a good day yesterday with the trainers, he’ll have another one today. We’ll just limit his contact, but he’ll go through all the individual stuff today.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence running more) “There was a scramble I think one time, are you talking about design runs or scrambles?
(On if he is telling QB Trevor Lawrence to use his legs if the play breaks down) I mean that’s a natural progression, right? If it’s not there, use your legs. We’ve always encouraged him to use that. He’s a gifted athlete that can run well. There will be times when we have designed-called runs, reads, things like that where he can also run the football. Yeah, he’s a good runner and we encourage him to do that.”
(On S Andre Cisco’s health status) “Hammy, tightness, sore. He’ll be a little bit limited today.”
(On how to monitor QB Trevor Lawrence’s number of throws) “We don’t necessarily, right now, we don’t put him on a pitch count. It’s one practice a day, it’s not like when I practiced and we threw a thousand balls a day. These guys are getting their throws in, and we do monitor if there’s any kind of soreness at all with him or C.J. [QB C.J. Beathard] or Nathan [QB Nathan Rourke], we will monitor that. There hasn’t been anything and he’s getting his normal amount of throws.”
(On if more NFL teams are rostering three quarterbacks instead of four) “I think so. There’s just not enough reps to go around. There’s not enough throws. The way practices are structured and the amount of time you can spend on the field, you just have to maximize what you can. Yeah, I think it is part of that, you’re seeing three instead of four. Just not enough reps to go around.”
(On how quickly he can tell how good the team can be) “I mean, I think we’re still a ways away, honestly. We’re still working through a lot of different things. There’s combinations of with Anton [OL Anton Harrison] and with Walker Little [OL Walker Little] and working through scenarios there. On paper, you think, ‘Okay, you can probably be a decent football team and compete and be there in the end. But a lot of things factor into that. You don’t just go out on a limb and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to be this.’ I like where the guys are, I like how they’re working in practice, even in pads yesterday the first day, guys
practice fast. There’s potential there. Again, it’s hard for me to just say, ‘We’re going to be this’ because we take it one day at a time.”
(On how one-on-ones went in practice for the first time yesterday) “Yeah, and again, it’s like one-on- ones with DBs and receivers, too. It’s a tough situation. Defensively, when a period like that comes up, we talk to our guys a lot. You want to establish as camp progresses, you want to establish an identity. You want to have some sort of physicality about you, especially with the pass rush. Yesterday, it was just trying to do that. Trying to establish that physicality, trying to establish that persona of who can we be. What you saw yesterday too with that, is you didn’t see a lot of different pass rush moves. It was pretty much let’s go right into the offense linemen. A little bit easier for the O-linemen. Where I get excited is when we’re in team drills and they’re working their games, their combinations, their stunts, their pressures. That’s where I get to see the pass rush. It’s good to see athleticism, it’s good to see movement skills, get off, it’s good to see all of that in one-on-ones. Sometimes it’s a little bit unfair one way or the other.”
(On who has impressed him in terms of pass rushing) “I still like where Roy [DL Roy Robertson-Harris] is and where he’s picked up from last year. He’s done a nice job of getting on an edge in the team drills. Travon [OLB Travon Walker] has had some really good rushes against Walker [OL Walker Little] and against Anton [OL Anton Harrison], and obviously against Josh Wells [OL Josh Wells] yesterday. I like where he’s at and how he’s progressing. Josh [OLB Josh Allen] has that speed and athleticism and length as well. He has showed up a little bit, and it’s good to get DaVon Hamilton [DT DaVon Hamilton] back out there in practice a little bit to see his push and I’ll tell you this, Foley [DL Folorunso Fatukasi] has really shown up in the first few days of camp here. I think that’s the progression of being in our system second year, just understanding what our expectations are for him.”
(On if there’s enough on the outside for pass rushing) “I think it’s still early. Today’s day two of pads, we got to see these preseason games and these practices. Joint practice with Detroit in a couple of weeks and we’ll see a little bit more there. It’s still a little bit early, but they are progressing in the right way.”
(On progression of tight ends in the NFL over the last 20 years) “It’s completely evolved to the point where you just don’t see what we call the wide tight end, that big end blocker anymore. These guys are more athletic, they’re skilled, can they block? Yes. You’re having to redesign some run plays where you’re not asking them to block d-ends and holding up. That position is a versatile position. Dalton’s [Bills TE Dalton Kincaid] one of those guys, when we looked at him in the draft this year, he’s just an athletic guy. He can run really good routes, and I think he’s another guy that can hold up the line of scrimmage. They got themselves a good player, it’s a good mix of guys and we’re excited with our guys. We like where Luke Farrell is [TE Luke Farrell], the mix of him and Evan [TE Evan Engram]. We drafted Brenton Strange [TE Brenton Strange], he’s progressed really well. But that position has changed over the last few years.”
(On the selflessness of OL Cam Robinson and OL Walker Little) “Yeah, and I appreciate that with the players because they understand that this is not about one guy, it’s about us as a football team. Guys are very unselfish that way. They just want to win no matter what combination of guys are on the field. I appreciate hearing it from those guys and I talk a lot about that, it’s a team. It’s us. When we get it down to the 53, those are the guys you go to Sundays with. For a coach to hear that, that right there can take your team a long way. It doesn’t matter how much adversity comes your way. If I got a lot of guys speaking that type of language, that’s a positive that can carry us through a lot of situations.”
(On if there was a concern of discontent between OL Walker Little and OL Cam Robinson) “No, and I’ll tell you why, because we communicated with both guys quite honestly. Cam did a great job this offseason of communicating with us when we found out the news and everything. He was upfront with everything and we were honest back with him and said, ‘Listen, this is the plan.’ We spoke with Walker the same way. You nip a lot of things by being open and honest and having those conversations. Even though they might be difficult for a player to listen to, it’s reality and that’s where we are. I think that’s the biggest thing, just having that open communication.”
(On S Antonio Johnson’s performance so far) “He’s improving, he’s learning the defense. He’s been in the right spots and a lot of times interceptions are just being in the right spot at the right time. He’s done that and the defense the last couple of days has had some hands on footballs and created some takeaways which we talk a lot about. It’s good to see that our young guys are stepping up that way.”
(On what the next step is for RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “It’s one of the things that when we looked at his game this offseason back in February and March before the players came back, one of the things that we noticed was just him attacking the hole downhill. Shoulders squared, attack the line of scrimmage, finding that crease where a lot of times you’ll see him try to bounce. We were able to show him and really emphasize shoulders-squared, anticipating where the hole could be, and just trusting that. He’s done an outstanding job, he’s bought into that. He sees it, we’ve been able to show it to him, he’s working on that in training camp right now. That’s the next step for him, I mean it was his rookie year. You don’t just hand a guy a ball and let him go run, sometimes that happens but there’s that skill and ability to anticipate a hole. We always talk about speed through the hole not to the hole type of thing. He’s really embraced that this training camp. That, to me, is the next step for him and that 11-12-13, now the yards start creeping up and maybe he’s pushing 1600-1700 yards as a rusher.”
(On how encouraging last week has been for LB Devin Lloyd) “It has. Things have slowed down, second year. He played last year, we sat him on the bench a couple of weeks, and he went back out there. Now, the positive reinforcement of watching yourself this offseason, going back and watching last year to just see, ‘Man, I did that?’ We’re like, ‘Yeah, you did that.’ It just resonates with the players, when you can show him, you can correct him, this is what you should’ve done, this is what you did type of thing. Then, the game slows down. That’s where he is right now. You’re seeing that out there. We really like where he’s at mentally, and again, in college he was more of an on-the-ball outside type of backer and rusher, all that kind of stuff. He’s been off the ball, a stack backer and whatnot. It’s a new position a little bit for him. He’s really done a nice job.”
(On LB Devin Lloyd’s hamstring last camp hindering his performance) “I think it’s part of it. A big part of it, really. He missed a lot of reps and time with the defense. Yeah, he’s healthy and feels good.”
(On how to practice tackling more without creating injuries in camp) “It’s a fine line, right? I don’t do a lot of live tackling stuff. At the same time, we make sure the defense is rallying and at least the thud bumping up to the offense. You put them through individual drills, and you try to work on it. You get into these preseason games, and you preach it and you talk it, now it’s just a matter of doing it. There will be a couple of days coming up where I’ll let the defense tackle the offense. It’s important that tackling, especially in space, to be able to get guys on the ground.”
(On what else needs to be seen out of WR Calvin Ridley) “He’s done an outstanding job, you guys have watched him practice. He practices hard, he practices fast. We just got to keep him and Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] on the same page. We’ve got a little bit of time here before the season starts. He’s
doing good, he’s picking up the offense, he’s learning it, he’s studying it. I guess the biggest test will be the opportunities coming up in some of these preseason games if he gets a chance to play and make a play. Then, in practice, we’ve got to put him in situations where those two guys are continuing to get reps together.”
(On how much we should expect starters to play in preseason games) “I’ll let you know.”
(On considering playing WR Calvin Ridley more than normal during the preseason games) “I don’t know that yet, I’m not there. I don’t know.”
(On the importance of players spending time with their families after practice) “Yeah, I think it’s great to see the families after practice to come hang out on the field and sons and daughters running around. These guys go through a lot, and we’ve got a stretch of practices coming up, really today, but starting Saturday with the stadium practice and then Sunday and Monday. Those three padded days, those are going to be the dog days. That’s the grind of training camp right there, and it’s designed. I lay it out a certain way that way. Any time after practice you see the families or a day off when they can spend time and rest with their families, it just makes everything else we do, it’s important, but a little less important because we get to see the smile on their faces when they’re out there after practice.”
