Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Press Pass | Liam Coen Talks Stepping Up Amid Injuries, Week 11 Game Plan
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: You're you've been in the public eye probably the most
- 0:03Speaker 1: in your life over the last eleven months. Just how
- 0:06Speaker 1: have you sort of kept yourself insulated?
- 0:08Speaker 2: You know, it could be you know, when things are
- 0:10Speaker 2: going right, you might be written about positively, when things
- 0:13Speaker 2: are going wrong criticized.
- 0:14Speaker 1: How do you sort of keep yourself grounded.
- 0:16Speaker 2: That's a good question, Trevor, and I've had these conversations
- 0:19Speaker 2: a few times actually, and with a number of different
- 0:22Speaker 2: players that it, Man, it comes with the responsibility of
- 0:28Speaker 2: being in these positions, right, you sign up for it.
- 0:31Speaker 2: You you actually put your name on a contract for it,
- 0:34Speaker 2: and it's with great responsible right like with where we're at.
- 0:40Speaker 2: It it's just the name of the game. And I
- 0:44Speaker 2: do believe that. I mean, I don't have any social
- 0:47Speaker 2: media first and foremost, I don't.
- 0:49Speaker 1: You know, it was more, you know.
- 0:52Speaker 2: I was I got kind of deep with it a
- 0:54Speaker 2: few years ago where I remember sitting on the couch
- 0:57Speaker 2: after we just had our second son, and it was
- 1:01Speaker 2: in the summertime, so I'm off and I had both
- 1:04Speaker 2: my sons sitting next to me, watching them and hanging
- 1:07Speaker 2: out with them, and I remembered.
- 1:10Speaker 1: Like I was scrolling through Twitter and I was like,
- 1:13Speaker 1: what am I doing? Like, what am I doing? You know?
- 1:17Speaker 2: I mean, I'm not being present with my kids. And
- 1:21Speaker 2: I was like, all right, how much time am I
- 1:24Speaker 2: wasting minutes, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, at
- 1:30Speaker 2: the end of my life?
- 1:31Speaker 1: What is that going to add up to?
- 1:33Speaker 2: Looking at news or other people's lives, Like what am
- 1:37Speaker 2: I doing? So that was a kind of turning point
- 1:40Speaker 2: for me in terms of just all right, man, let
- 1:42Speaker 2: me just try to be more in the moment with
- 1:45Speaker 2: the people that I'm with, whether it's here home with
- 1:49Speaker 2: family and friends, whatever that is, and know that it
- 1:53Speaker 2: comes with it, man, right, It just comes with the job.
- 1:56Speaker 2: And sometimes the outside like perception and we can sometimes
- 2:01Speaker 2: become reality for good or for bad, and we it's
- 2:05Speaker 2: just maintaining that having real conversations with the people that
- 2:08Speaker 2: help you through these conversations, you know, through tough times.
- 2:12Speaker 1: And that was the message to.
- 2:13Speaker 2: To Trevor, to our players, to all these guys that, man,
- 2:17Speaker 2: it's our responsibility. It comes with the territory for good
- 2:20Speaker 2: or for bad. The focus level building this week for
- 2:24Speaker 2: practice and a little choir like for a few days,
- 2:27Speaker 2: you know, I think just you know, not as raw
- 2:30Speaker 2: raw during the week, but I thought, you know, and
- 2:32Speaker 2: then Wednesday was more jog walks, so we weren't able
- 2:37Speaker 2: to do a ton full speed on Wednesday. But then
- 2:40Speaker 2: when we got out there yesterday, had the pads on, Man,
- 2:44Speaker 2: they practiced hard. You know, you felt a little bit
- 2:46Speaker 2: of a buzz, You felt intentionality at practice. You know,
- 2:52Speaker 2: you're still coaching, there's still stuff to correct and fix.
- 2:55Speaker 2: But I thought that the guys came out yesterday quiet.
- 2:59Speaker 2: Sometimes okay, you know, I'm sure we're you know, there's
- 3:01Speaker 2: still some ticked off.
- 3:03Speaker 1: You know, it's okay to be ticked off.
- 3:05Speaker 2: But as long as our the way that we approach
- 3:08Speaker 2: practice and the way that we approach this game is
- 3:11Speaker 2: rooted in man, we can't let you know, never never again, right,
- 3:16Speaker 2: and if we can use it as motivation a learning moment,
- 3:19Speaker 2: And that's how practice maybe was yesterday. In some ways,
- 3:22Speaker 2: I thought, I thought it was good getting longer.
- 3:27Speaker 3: To go through the season, and when you look at that,
- 3:30Speaker 3: guys get opportunities to show up. I mean, I know
- 3:32Speaker 3: that sometimes there's a strain on the maybe the game
- 3:35Speaker 3: player or on the team, but how big is it
- 3:37Speaker 3: for those guys that kind of embrace that moment and
- 3:39Speaker 3: stuff up huge.
- 3:40Speaker 2: I mean you look at I know Tim Patrick did
- 3:42Speaker 2: not show up in a stat column this past Sunday. Right,
- 3:46Speaker 2: Tim Patrick played his tail off and blocked his tail off,
- 3:51Speaker 2: ran routes full speed, was open. You know a few
- 3:53Speaker 2: times that either we couldn't get it to him or
- 3:55Speaker 2: you know, whatever it was, maybe the ball wasn't going
- 3:56Speaker 2: his way. But guys like that that have you know,
- 4:00Speaker 2: continue to do right longer. And that's ultimately what it
- 4:06Speaker 2: comes down to when when you do have injuries and
- 4:09Speaker 2: you do have a talented roster, guys that have worked
- 4:12Speaker 2: their tails off to stay the course, that maybe haven't
- 4:15Speaker 2: made a million plays for us thus far this season,
- 4:17Speaker 2: but are going to be ready and prepare when their
- 4:20Speaker 2: number is called.
- 4:22Speaker 1: I do think we.
- 4:23Speaker 2: Have a group of guys that that's important to that
- 4:27Speaker 2: are that next man up mentality, And yeah, that list
- 4:31Speaker 2: is long.
- 4:32Speaker 4: To that point. You obviously were part of a pretty
- 4:34Speaker 4: banged up Bucks team last year, but where and then let.
- 4:37Speaker 2: Alone the twenty twenty two rams right challenges in practice
- 4:41Speaker 2: the last two days to have enough guys to do
- 4:44Speaker 2: what you want to do a little bit, Yeah, I
- 4:45Speaker 2: mean we had a few show team dbs playing wide out,
- 4:50Speaker 2: you know, and guys bouncing around from a few different
- 4:53Speaker 2: positions to do that. And look, it's it's a it's
- 4:58Speaker 2: all part of adversity, right it is. It's just all
- 5:01Speaker 2: part of an NFL season and that a lot of
- 5:04Speaker 2: teams have gone through, not just us or the Bucks
- 5:09Speaker 2: last season or the Rams that unual. It's part of
- 5:12Speaker 2: it and it is a balance though of I know
- 5:16Speaker 2: Wednesday specifically this week.
- 5:18Speaker 1: Like I think a lot of the guys were itching.
- 5:21Speaker 2: They wanted to go full speed, they wanted to come
- 5:23Speaker 2: more so to help get some of that taste out
- 5:26Speaker 2: a little bit and to just go, man, go cut
- 5:29Speaker 2: it loose a little bit in a moment at practice.
- 5:32Speaker 2: But I'm glad we were able to do that yesterday
- 5:34Speaker 2: more and you could feel that from the guys. So yeah,
- 5:37Speaker 2: it's a balancing act when it comes to the way
- 5:39Speaker 2: that you're trying to schedule the day for these guys
- 5:43Speaker 2: and also your reps, Like the reps have to be
- 5:45Speaker 2: very intentional. Who's getting what throw does Trevor these are
- 5:50Speaker 2: the throws he needs to get.
- 5:52Speaker 1: These are the routes that these guys need to get.
- 5:54Speaker 2: They don't need to probably get that one, they've run
- 5:56Speaker 2: that a million times, or they're not the primary.
- 5:59Speaker 1: Let's move on. And so it's I have had.
- 6:03Speaker 2: Some experience with the balancing act and ultimately Sunday's coming.
- 6:09Speaker 4: If you're able to speak on it. Waving Colin Saunders
- 6:12Speaker 4: and then elevating or signing Branson to the fifty three
- 6:16Speaker 4: man roster number one, what went into that decision. But
- 6:19Speaker 4: then also in terms of run defense, what do you
- 6:21Speaker 4: need to see from that defensive front.
- 6:23Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I have a lot of respect for Bank.
- 6:25Speaker 2: It was you know, he came here. It was unfortunate
- 6:29Speaker 2: just with the way things were from a depth standpoint,
- 6:31Speaker 2: and we had an opportunity to get Branson up to
- 6:34Speaker 2: the to the active roster, who's done a phenomenal job
- 6:37Speaker 2: on on teams all year that when his number has
- 6:40Speaker 2: been called. You know, that's just some of those decisions
- 6:43Speaker 2: go into like, all right, hey, how do we Helmets
- 6:46Speaker 2: are hard? You know, getting guys a hat on game day, man,
- 6:49Speaker 2: it's it is, it's a challenge. So we just felt
- 6:52Speaker 2: like for us moving forward, that was just kind of
- 6:55Speaker 2: the benefit and the best thing for us moving forward
- 6:57Speaker 2: and defensively in the run game, you know, you look
- 7:01Speaker 2: at h we try to say, all right, we want
- 7:03Speaker 2: to make people one dimensional, right and or get our
- 7:07Speaker 2: opportunities to rush the passer. Well, we're getting a lot
- 7:11Speaker 2: of drop back. First and foremost, Houston was able to
- 7:15Speaker 2: maintain balance at the end of that previous game, whereas
- 7:18Speaker 2: maybe in weeks prior we knocked out that run game
- 7:22Speaker 2: a little bit better in the second half. Right, that's
- 7:26Speaker 2: kind of what I've seen. We need to you know,
- 7:30Speaker 2: look at when you're playing a four, I when you're playing.
- 7:34Speaker 1: A three, when you're playing five, you're playing that.
- 7:36Speaker 2: Just the techniques up front at the second level, how
- 7:40Speaker 2: are we fitting these runs? Are we staying square? Are
- 7:42Speaker 2: we just plugging or aimlessly running through? And our safety
- 7:48Speaker 2: fits We looked at a little bit, okay, our depth
- 7:51Speaker 2: at our safety position to start and then man, when
- 7:54Speaker 2: we see you run, all right, we gotta go right.
- 7:57Speaker 2: And so a lot of that goes into stopping the run.
- 8:01Speaker 2: I think for the most part all year, I think
- 8:04Speaker 2: we've done a solid job at that. It is so
- 8:07Speaker 2: critical this week for us to be able to stop
- 8:10Speaker 2: the run against these guys that we know they want
- 8:12Speaker 2: to run the ball, so that we can get our
- 8:15Speaker 2: ops on second We got to make third down a
- 8:18Speaker 2: lot harder than it's been over the last few weeks.
- 8:20Speaker 2: Third down has been way too three to five, then
- 8:24Speaker 2: seven to nine, and that makes it a lot harder
- 8:28Speaker 2: to convert when those third downs are better and it
- 8:30Speaker 2: starts on first down.
- 8:31Speaker 1: What do you like about guard X game love Dennis?
- 8:37Speaker 2: You know he needs to continue to get more. When
- 8:40Speaker 2: he's on the grass and he's going that way, it's man,
- 8:45Speaker 2: good things have happened for us, and he's such a pro.
- 8:50Speaker 2: All he cares about is the team and working his
- 8:53Speaker 2: tail off every day. When he's out there and he's
- 8:57Speaker 2: up against the tight end or an ol, whatever it is,
- 9:00Speaker 2: he's going to do everything he can to shed and
- 9:03Speaker 2: to strike and to make a play, But not because
- 9:05Speaker 2: he's trying to do anything outside of the scheme, just
- 9:08Speaker 2: because of his mentality and the way that he approaches it.
- 9:11Speaker 2: So Dennis and I actually had a really good talk
- 9:14Speaker 2: yesterday just out in the grass about staying the course,
- 9:18Speaker 2: continuing to push forward, and that he's just feeling better
- 9:23Speaker 2: and better as he gets going.
- 9:25Speaker 1: So we got to get him more.
- 9:26Speaker 4: The Chargers have four guys that all have at least
- 9:29Speaker 4: four hundred and fifty receiving yards and we look at Malconkie, Johnston,
- 9:32Speaker 4: Allen and Gadsden. How hard is that? And is that
- 9:36Speaker 4: the most complete group that maybe you guys have faced
- 9:38Speaker 4: this year.
- 9:39Speaker 2: It's up there for sure. They're they're very detailed route runners.
- 9:45Speaker 2: I think they have.
- 9:47Speaker 1: They all compliment each other really well.
- 9:49Speaker 2: And especially with Gadson being that big skill tight end,
- 9:52Speaker 2: and they compliment each other well. Their route detail I
- 9:57Speaker 2: think is very good. They're spacing in the past game
- 10:02Speaker 2: you could tell it's understood, you know. I think that
- 10:05Speaker 2: was something maybe over the last year, if you were
- 10:07Speaker 2: looking at them, playing them last year was something that
- 10:10Speaker 2: excuse me. They just needed to get continue to get
- 10:13Speaker 2: better at maybe adding a piece to and you can
- 10:15Speaker 2: see what that's done for that group and for that offense.
- 10:18Speaker 2: And Justin's playing with confidence, letting the rip to those guys,
- 10:23Speaker 2: understanding where they're going to be, the timing, and they're.
- 10:26Speaker 1: Run after catch. They've all had run after catch.
- 10:28Speaker 2: So it's definitely a talented unit that is going to
- 10:32Speaker 2: challenge us for sure, and being able to sign outside
- 10:35Speaker 2: for you guys, I would be kind of seeing any
- 10:37Speaker 2: growth since Yeah, we've we've had a lot of conversations.
- 10:41Speaker 2: We've had a lot of talks, We've had a lot
- 10:43Speaker 2: of moments, and you know, he was definitely challenged a
- 10:47Speaker 2: few weeks ago to you know, continue to do right
- 10:52Speaker 2: and continue to go out there, and he, you know,
- 10:55Speaker 2: he was frustrated too at times right and wanting to
- 10:57Speaker 2: get out on the grass to help and go play,
- 10:59Speaker 2: which I'm proud the way that he's responded and stayed
- 11:03Speaker 2: the course, made some great plays for us on Sunday.
- 11:07Speaker 2: He always plays and brings energy, which I do appreciate.
- 11:10Speaker 2: And I mean I thought he triggered really well on
- 11:13Speaker 2: the bubbles and some of the quicks outside obviously the
- 11:15Speaker 2: big interception to start the game, the fourth down stop
- 11:19Speaker 2: where he made the great play on the mesh.
- 11:22Speaker 1: I'm excited for Jarring.
- 11:23Speaker 2: I hope that we can continue to build off of
- 11:25Speaker 2: this positive momentum because he's a guy that you know,
- 11:29Speaker 2: when he's up and he's bouncing around and he's doing
- 11:31Speaker 2: right and everybody's communicating at a high level, like he's
- 11:35Speaker 2: somebody that can be infectious that way.
- 11:37Speaker 4: Your conversations with Josh and trade on that, especially after
- 11:41Speaker 4: saying the pass reffort, just the four guys, it's got too.
- 11:45Speaker 2: Yeah, And look when I say that it's got, it's
- 11:47Speaker 2: got to be with the coverage though too. Now, you know,
- 11:50Speaker 2: like it has to match you look at all the best.
- 11:55Speaker 1: You know, look at the Eagles last year, right, guys.
- 11:56Speaker 2: Right, if we're just talking about I read one of
- 11:59Speaker 2: the charge Y Lineman's you know, comments about like if
- 12:02Speaker 2: you could rush four right and play coverage with seven,
- 12:06Speaker 2: that is typically a good thing, right, Like I'm releasing
- 12:11Speaker 2: four right, if you can rush with four and my
- 12:15Speaker 2: halfback is kind of helping to maybe chip somebody. Well,
- 12:18Speaker 2: now you truly have four against seven, I think those
- 12:22Speaker 2: odds are usually gonna be in the defense's favor if
- 12:26Speaker 2: you're pattern matching the right way and the coverage is
- 12:29Speaker 2: really getting a little bit more less aired out and
- 12:33Speaker 2: having a little bit less air to the coverage, understanding
- 12:37Speaker 2: third and three third and five second and eight second
- 12:40Speaker 2: and twelve where the sticks, what's the It all kind
- 12:43Speaker 2: of goes together. So the conversations with those two have
- 12:47Speaker 2: been very positive this week, very positive. And there's an
- 12:52Speaker 2: accountability factor for all of us involved, those guys and
- 12:55Speaker 2: us as coaches to all, right, are we coaching it
- 12:59Speaker 2: the right way every single day? To have the details
- 13:02Speaker 2: show up on passing downs to where the coverage and
- 13:06Speaker 2: the rush are matching each other. And at the end
- 13:09Speaker 2: of the day, man, just go, guys, don't don't think
- 13:13Speaker 2: about it. Just cut it loose, run it go and
- 13:16Speaker 2: get off the rock. Just get off the rock.
- 13:19Speaker 1: And go man.
- 13:19Speaker 2: And not saying we're gonna stop the run on our
- 13:22Speaker 2: way to the passer, but a little bit of that mentality,
- 13:26Speaker 2: especially in some of those second downs. Man, just let's
- 13:29Speaker 2: hunt a little bit here, man, you know. And they
- 13:31Speaker 2: had great combos this week. Less versatility on that line. Yeah,
- 13:36Speaker 2: very very pleased with Cole as the whole season, right.
- 13:40Speaker 2: He came in and obviously multiple instances have helped us
- 13:44Speaker 2: either get through games, starting games. I thought, you know,
- 13:48Speaker 2: Cole's just he does the preparation, the trust that he
- 13:52Speaker 2: has in that room with those guys. It's a good
- 13:54Speaker 2: group that trust each other. So I have a ton
- 13:58Speaker 2: of faith in Cole. This week's step been in if
- 14:00Speaker 2: he has to and continue to keep playing.
- 14:02Speaker 1: At a high level for us. So his pad level,
- 14:05Speaker 1: we talked about.
- 14:06Speaker 2: Wanting to continue to improve and staying lower and when
- 14:09Speaker 2: he's lower, uh, he's able to be a little bit
- 14:11Speaker 2: more explosive.
- 14:12Speaker 1: So I've been very pleased with Cole. How much of
- 14:17Speaker 1: a relief is it just to see him back on practically,
- 14:20Speaker 1: it's great to have him back out there. You know,
- 14:22Speaker 1: it's you. You want him out there as much as
- 14:25Speaker 1: you can.
- 14:27Speaker 2: Obviously, we're continuing to take it day by day, and
- 14:30Speaker 2: but I just know that, you know, obviously we're better,
- 14:32Speaker 2: We're a better offense right when when he's out on
- 14:34Speaker 2: the grass and I know how much he wants it,
- 14:36Speaker 2: I know how much he's put into his rehab in
- 14:40Speaker 2: the time off, so you know, hopefully we can continue
- 14:43Speaker 2: to get more, all right, guys, Yeah,