COURTESY OF JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
(On whether he has noticed a difference in the demeanor and command of Gardner Minshew II) “Yeah, I definitely think there is a difference, especially at this point in the season. At this point in the season last year, with Nick [Foles] being here, nobody saw that coming with Gardner [Minshew II]. Nick [Foles] going down early and Gardner [Minshew II] having to step in. At this time, compared to last year, he’s way more assertive, he’s way more sure of himself. He has command over the offense.”
(On how he feels going into this season compared to how he felt going into last season) “Health wise, it’s like night and day. Last year, I was just trying to get on the field. Even at this point, I don’t even think I was cleared yet at this point last year. When I did get cleared, I ended up having another injury. For me, it’s like night and day, finally being able to be healthy. I am looking forward to it.”
(On Leonard Fournette saying the reputation of him having a negative attitude have been false) “Of course. Everybody on the team wants to win, and when we are not winning, I don’t know too many people who are walking around in a good mood or happy go lucky. We want to win, so when we are not winning, I feel like you should be upset and you should want to fix whatever is going on when things are not going right. Absolutely, he gets a bad [reputation], but I just look at it as control what you can control.”
(On what kind of guy Leonard Fournette is in the locker room) “He’s fun. He’s joking, 24/7. He’s joking all day, every day. He’s always cracking jokes or pranks. He’s a fun guy in the locker room. The rep he gets from the media, I always try to stress to him, control what you can control. Just let it go.”
(On whether Leonard Fournette is good for the locker room and team moral) “Most definitely.”
(On when he felt like he was back to normal following his ACL injury) “The point last season where it started to feel back to normal was the last four weeks of the season. That’s when I felt like it was getting back to normal. Everything other than that, it was working to get on the field. Working to stay healthy to stay on the field. Towards the last quarter of the season last year, the last four or five games, is when I started to feel like myself again.”
(On how Jay Gruden’s offensive scheme helps the offensive line in comparison to other schemes) “I like the scheme. It does a good job of keeping the defense off balance. One thing you do not want to be in this league is predictable. The more we can mix it up, and the more we can do a lot of things to keep the defense off balance and to keep them guessing, as well as run the ball. If you can run the ball in this league, you are going to be successful at the end of the day. Running the ball and keeping the defense off balance with a lot of the run and pass. All in all, more variety.”
(On how the offensive line can improve in the red zone) “As an offensive line, we have to execute. You all know it’s football, when everything does not go right, you know who is going to get the blame. We know how that goes. For us, it just comes down to blocking out the noise and executing. Understanding that when things go right. Especially with people who do not know football that well, who can’t look and see what is going on, the first thing they are going to jump on is the offensive line. We know that. For us, it comes down to executing.”
(On where he trained this offseason and how important it has been) “I was in Dallas with my trainer, Duke Manyweather, and I was out there the whole time. The same thing I do every year. Last year was more so me trying to get healthy, it was training but I was trying to get back on the field. This year, going into the offseason, being healthy, to where I can train and get stronger and work on football. That is going to be very beneficial.”
(On how important offseason training was going into his contract year this season) “It’s important. At the end of the day, I don’t even think about, ‘can I train here?’ I go and play football, and do what I always have done and let the rest take care of itself.”
(On how Will Richardson Jr. has looked and what he has seen out of rookie Ben Bartch) “Will [Richardson Jr.] has looked really good. Even when he had to step in and play two games at left tackle maybe even more last year, he looked really good then too. For him, it’s getting comfortable at whatever position he’s in and then being able to get comfortable so he can be the best player he can be at that position. Honestly, all the rookies have looked really good. For the rookies, it’s getting a hold of the playbook so that the game can actually slow down because when the game slows down, you can go out and play football. When you are not too comfortable with what you are doing, it slows you down because you are out there thinking. When you get a good grip on the playbook, you can get the play. You already know what you have to do. You can go and execute it. You are able to play faster like that.”
