COURTESY OF JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
(On S Jarrod Wilson’s season last year and his plans him this season) “Yeah, you know, obviously we don’t have a lot of rotations going on with our safeties unless it’s for an injury situation. It’s a credit to JDub on being healthy all year and to be able to play that many snaps. I thought he had a solid year for us. We’ve got a plan to get him better in what we’re trying to do. But we still see him, obviously, playing a lot of snaps for us, God willing he stays healthy.”
(On DT DaVon Hamilton’s performance thus far) “You know that was a big concern of ours, obviously, going into the draft, is to get some of those big wide bodies inside to help us slow this run game down. You know, I think the way to win this division, if you look at the teams we have, all three of them are in the top 10 in rushing offense, so we knew we had to solidify our run defense. And I think with the addition of him, he’s a big physical guy that can definitely hold the point and he’s got good range, so we’re excited about him. He’s going to be in a heck of a competition with some of the veterans that we have in the room, but we feel he’s got a real big upside and he’s going to help us stop the run in our division and other teams.”
(On the linebackers’ performance, specifically the younger linebackers) “I think we’re going to have some solid depth at our linebacker position. It was very important, this offseason, that we go out and we get football players that are very intelligent. That’s one thing with this group we’ve got from top to bottom at all positions. They have a very high football IQ and that was something that was very important to us going into this. But talking about Shaq [Shaquille Quarterman] and Nate [Evans], the two young men there, both of them are very intelligent. They’ve done a really nice job of picking up schemes. They’re going to have some busts in that stuff, but they’re two types of guys that when they do bust, they only do it once. And you know, Quincy [Williams] is on the mend, you can kind of see him. The first couple of days he was out here, he was doing well. The second year in the system really helped him, being in it and the reps that he got last year, so he’s definitely ahead of schedule mentally. And then, obviously with the addition of Joe [Schobert] at the MIKE linebacker spot and moving Myles [Jack] over to WILL – more of a spatial player, I think that fits what Myles is. You know, we feel real confident we’re going to have some depth, obviously it’s early on and they’ve all got to continue to improve.”
(On the turnover in the defensive line) “Well, the good thing is we really haven’t been practicingpracticing. You know, we’ve been doing walk-throughs and we’ve been doing a phase two-type deal. So it hasn’t been where we’re just wearing the tread off of other guys. I think we’ve got to give credit to our personnel staff for going out and finding guys that we’re looking for. Once again, we need to develop an attitude to stop the run and earning the right to pass rush with these young men that we’re bringing in, or some good run-stopping guys. You know, we’ve been able to rush the passer the last couple of years extremely well. But we’ve got to solidify the run defense. So with what we’ve added, and how practice is going, I think they can at least go into our virtual meetings—that’s one thing that’s really helped with all this, where before we’d be like, ‘Well, they can’t be in the building, they can’t learn.’ Well, with all the virtual stuff that we’ve learned over the last six months, they can catch up relatively quickly because of the virtual stuff, even if they’re not in the building. But we’re excited about them. Once again, I think it’s a credit to our personnel staff to bring in quality guys at this point in time. Usually it’s tough to bring in guys at this time of year, but they’ve brought some really good players for us at this point.”
(On DE/LB Josh Allen’s progress) “You know, obviously he had a good year as a rookie. You can’t take that away from him, but I think as a coach and even as with Josh, he’s never satisfied with where he’s at. Obviously, with COVID-19 we didn’t have an offseason and all that kind of stuff. He came back in shape, he’s really leaned up. You can tell physically that he put in the work in the offseason, which is a credit to him. And once we’ve been in the room, he has just a million questions, at times you’re like, ‘Hey hold on, let somebody else ask a damn question.’ But you know he’s trying to take that next step and that’s the type of person he is, which is awesome for us as a coaching staff and as an organization. And I think we’re going to continue to see him grow as a player and as a person.”
(On the importance for a guy like DT Abry Jones to be a leader) “Yeah, you know, the first day that we had the vets in the building, Abes [Abry Jones] and I sat down—eight years ago I was coaching Abes so we have a very good relationship, and I said, ‘It’s time. It’s time for you to really take control. I know before, you were a vocal guy in that room, but I think [former Jaguars DE] Calais [Campbell] was really the leader in that group and now we’re putting that on [DE/LB] Josh [Allen] even though he’s a young player.’ But him and Abes really need to step up and lead that group. Abes knows what I expect in that room. I think this year, you’re going to see a little bit more hands-on with that group by myself and Rebs [Jaguars Defensive Line Coach Jason Rebrovich]. And he knows how I want it to look and he knows how I want those guys to practice, what I expect in meeting rooms and Abes is going to help us get to that standard that we want, especially with all these new guys.”
(On whether it’s good to have a long-term veteran player like DT Abry Jones on the defense) “I think it’s an advantage; obviously he’s got to continue to play at a high level, but if he plays at a high level, that leadership is priceless and he can really bring—we’ve got a lot of young guys, which we know and obviously even more new guys. So that leadership is going to be important for him to help us, as a coaching staff within an organization, set the tone for that room because that’s where it starts. And I told him day one, ‘I’m tired of people turning around, just handing the damn ball off and getting 4 or 5 yards a crack,’ and it starts with the guys up front, that’s the damn expectations for them. And he’s going to help us get that done and get to where we need to be and run defense.”
