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Press Pass | Jaguars Players Talk Returning Home, Staying Focused Ahead of Week 8 · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, Josh, what's made you guys so stout against the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: run the last couple of years, obviously, especially this season?
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Deham.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: You know, he's the enforcer in the middle. And then
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: everybody's just rallying to the ball. But it starts up front,
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: and he's one of our key opponents. Him, Dickey, Eric, Root.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: We've done a hell of a job all year of
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: just being stout up there. And then the edge is
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: kind of just making sure everything gets funneled back to them.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: So, yeah.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, how does someone like
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: DM make your job easier in that way?
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: How does he make my job easier? I mean, he
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: stops the run, and then he forces them.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: I get some tackles.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: You know, I get some tackles for lost plays out there,
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: you know, because they're like, all right, we already ran,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: you know, duo, or we ran mid-zone, and it's being dead,
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: so let's try the perimeter, so.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: You know, that gives me an opportunity to get some
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: plays out there. So, shout out to DHAM.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Liam mentioned that 56 of you guys came in on
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: your off day to live. Just what does that say
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: about the team? Were you surprised that many people came in?
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: No.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, shout out to them.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: You weren't one of the 56.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I've had the same schedule since I've been there.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: I come in to get my treatment early, and then,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: you know, I take my kids to school. So that's
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: kind of my routine. But I was here. You know,
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: I came in and got my treatment. But I don't
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: work out on Tuesday. I work out on Wednesday. But,
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: you know, every time we have a high amount of
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: guys coming in on Tuesday, what I've heard, you know,
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: we're usually successful that week.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: So, all right, them guys keep coming.
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: How good is it going to feel to be back
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: on the field in front of the home fans?
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Man, it's going to be– I mean, what, it's been
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: a month?
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: We were in front of some home fans in Wembley, so–
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: we had a little taste of what it felt like,
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: but being back here in Jacksonville against another divisional opponent, um,
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: you know, we're excited. Obviously we got to cherish the
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: moments that we do have right now and, uh, get
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: it done this weekend.
• 2:12
  Speaker 6: I know we talk about it all the time, but how,
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: how different are divisional games?
• 2:16
  Speaker 7: I mean, just how important are they?
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Cause you're going against these, you know, you're in the
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: first race is the race for the.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Division, right? I mean, yeah, man.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: Uh, Not making things harder than we're supposed to, you know,
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: meat and potatoes. Line up, let's play some football. And
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: if we can kind of keep it as that, then
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: we'll be all right.
• 2:34
  Speaker 6: Do you like the strength versus strength matchup? Obviously, they
• 2:37
  Speaker 6: got Jonathan Taylor and they like to run it, but
• 2:39
  Speaker 6: your number one principle.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Is stop the run.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: I mean, Jonathan Taylor, man, he's probably, if not the
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: best back, you know, we're going to play thus far
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: and probably this season, you know, outside of Derrick Henry
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: next week. but he's a great test for us. But again,
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: we played him before, and we played where he's at
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: over 100. We played where he's at under 60. So
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: it's on us to do our jobs up front and
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: eliminate big plays, but they're going to rely on him
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: a lot this week, and we're excited about the matchup,
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: especially here in our home crowd against our people.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: So we're excited.
• 3:22
  Speaker 6: You've been good in front of your people. Any idea
• 3:25
  Speaker 6: why you're so dominant right now in this building?
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: We're just playing some good football. And again, I think
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: the statement is you want to win at home.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? Win at home.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying? So that's always been the model,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: even way back when. So now it's just we feel good.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: We know it's.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: Easier to kind of– not easier, but– you know, when
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: our crowd's getting there, you get the snap count, you start,
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: you know, you can start anticipating, you know, things outside
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: of what's happening, you can start anticipating, okay, they're about
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: to snap the ball, you know what I'm saying, allows
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: us to play a little bit faster, anticipate a lot
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: more plays quicker, they're going to have to communicate a
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: little bit louder, so maybe we may pick up a
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: tell or two, so, but like, we love.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: It, offense, you know, it's there, it's there, it's.
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: Just like practice, you know, guys, you know, obviously it's noise,
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: but they can hear each other, they communicate, they can
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: get to where they need.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: To get to.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: And, uh, and they've been playing really well at home too.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: So I'm excited to, you know, to watch them as
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: much as I can.
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: There were a couple of clips from the London practices
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: of you running some routes and catching some passes, reminiscent
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: of your time from back in high school. How did
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: it feel to be running routes and catching passes again?
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's something that we do every Friday, you know, we,
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: you know, we do drop. So there are going to
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: be opportunities for us to catch. So, uh, You know,
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: just having some fun in that drill.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it. Do you anticipate the win streak coming
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: up at all?
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: It's 11 in a row against the Colts here in
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: Jacksonville or home game anyway. I mean, me and Potato,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: let's keep the main thing the main thing. And, you know,
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: we just play our brand of football. And that's all
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: we worry about. The streak is a streak.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: It is what it is.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: We just hope it's super hot or rainy.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: It's going to be rainy, right?
• 5:18
  Speaker 5: The Colts obviously made two big trades yesterday.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: You said what? The Colts with two big trades yesterday.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Just how important is it not to let that kind
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: of impact you guys this week and how you go.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Into this game? It's the next man up mentality over there.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: They have a lot of great players.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: Obviously, they're losing two good key players, but again, it's
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: the next man up. Somebody goes down on our end,
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: it's the next man's job.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: So, you know, it is what it is. We're not
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: going to sit up here and say they got worse.
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: I think they're going to come out, whoever's going to
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: be in that position is going to be hungry. But again,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: if it's an area where we can take advantage of,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: then we're going to take advantage of it. But it's
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: the Colts versus the.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Jags at the end of the day, 11 on 11.
• 6:01
  Speaker 6: Favorite part about the rivalry uniform?
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: I like the helmets. The helmets is fire. I can't
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: wait to see what it looks like put on all together.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: I'm trying to figure out what cleats I'm going to wear.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: But I'm excited to wear the helmet again. The helmets
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: are sick, so I'm excited to wear them.
• 6:22
  Speaker 6: Are you more comfortable just getting a whole week and
• 6:25
  Speaker 6: knowing what your role is on Sunday.
• 6:27
  Speaker 7: Or is that overrated?
• 6:29
  Speaker 8: I wouldn't say a whole lot of change, more so
• 6:32
  Speaker 8: than just getting the first team reps. But, yeah, same preparation,
• 6:37
  Speaker 8: same film study, everything like that. But, yeah, just knowing
• 6:41
  Speaker 8: a little bit more about how your Sunday is going
• 6:42
  Speaker 8: to look.
• 6:44
  Speaker 6: You guys have been so good here.
• 6:47
  Speaker 8: Do you look at that?
• 6:48
  Speaker 9: Do you know why?
• 6:49
  Speaker 6: Is there a reason?
• 6:50
  Speaker 8: Is it just coincidence? It's a good thing to be
• 6:55
  Speaker 8: good at home. We're not getting a lot of home games,
• 6:57
  Speaker 8: so we're trying to take advantage of them. It's really
• 7:00
  Speaker 8: not something that we focus on. We're trying to be
• 7:03
  Speaker 8: great everywhere we are. Obviously, for the next year and
• 7:06
  Speaker 8: then some change, we're going to have to be on
• 7:08
  Speaker 8: the road a lot. We've got to be good anywhere
• 7:10
  Speaker 8: we go. That's honestly been a big emphasis from Liam
• 7:12
  Speaker 8: this year is You know, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, just being
• 7:17
  Speaker 8: ready to go.
• 7:18
  Speaker 6: Obviously, coming out of the bye, I'm sure there'll be
• 7:20
  Speaker 6: some tendency things on Sundays and all that. But just
• 7:23
  Speaker 6: from a player standpoint, do you feel anything different? Do
• 7:26
  Speaker 6: you guys, from a meetings, like what you're going to
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: try to do, the attention to stuff, or is it
• 7:30
  Speaker 6: pretty much rollover?
• 7:31
  Speaker 8: No, I mean, I think we're doing a lot of
• 7:34
  Speaker 8: the same stuff we've been doing, just trying to attack
• 7:36
  Speaker 8: the defenses where we can. Obviously, yeah, the coaches kind
• 7:39
  Speaker 8: of high level will have tendency stuff, but obviously that's
• 7:42
  Speaker 8: probably more from a play calling perspective than necessarily an
• 7:45
  Speaker 8: offensive emphasis. We're just trying to get better at things
• 7:49
  Speaker 8: that we can work on from last game against the
• 7:51
  Speaker 8: Texans and then just things that you work on throughout
• 7:54
  Speaker 8: the season.
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: Can you tell us about now a little more comfort
• 7:57
  Speaker 6: and experience next to the rookie?
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: What impresses you?
• 8:01
  Speaker 6: What are your takeaways?
• 8:02
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, super impressive player, strong, physical, athletic, And, yeah,
• 8:08
  Speaker 8: I think the most impressive thing is just his ability
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: to step in, know the offense, and really gain a
• 8:14
  Speaker 8: lot of confidence these first few games.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: It's really shown.
• 8:15
  Speaker 8: I mean, he's really played well for anybody but much
• 8:19
  Speaker 8: less a rookie.
• 8:20
  Speaker 6: It looks like the run game has been efficient and effective.
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: From what you guys see, how much is still left
• 8:27
  Speaker 6: in the run game?
• 8:28
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, I think there's always going to be
• 8:30
  Speaker 8: more you can be left out there, but definitely these
• 8:32
  Speaker 8: past two games I can remember from London, just plays
• 8:35
  Speaker 8: here and there where we just got to get– either
• 8:38
  Speaker 8: targeting cleaned up or just a little finish here to
• 8:40
  Speaker 8: really let Tune or some of these backs break some
• 8:43
  Speaker 8: long ones. They have that speed and that ability, so
• 8:46
  Speaker 8: we just got to sustain longer and give them the opportunity.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: With it being a favorable matchup for this running back room,
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: is that a matchup that you typically would look forward to?
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: Honestly, if they're ranked 24th or first, it doesn't matter.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: I look forward to running the ball on anybody, no
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: matter where they're ranked. So it's just another defense that
• 9:06
  Speaker 5: steps out in front of us and try to stop
• 9:08
  Speaker 5: us and our offense from being explosive. So just going
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: out with another opportunity to impose our will on the
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: defense is the biggest thing I.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: Look forward to.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: In the Texans matchup, you had four catches for nearly
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: 60 yards receiving and two receiving touchdowns. Your receiving game
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: has come quite a long way. Is that something that
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: you've honed in on over the course of this past offseason?
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I definitely think I'm holding in on it. Just
• 9:29
  Speaker 5: being cleaner on routes and stuff like that. I've always been,
• 9:32
  Speaker 5: you know, receiving back out the backfield. I think, but
• 9:35
  Speaker 5: now I get to, you know, showcase that more with
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: more opportunities. So I think I've been had in the bag,
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: but it's just showing now a little bit.
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: Lastly, the touchdown celebration in London, it's made waves across
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: social media. I apologize if it was previously asked, but
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: where did the celebration stem from for you and C-Rod?
• 9:50
  Speaker 5: Amir Abdullah came from him.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: I think it was on, like, Tuesday or Wednesday. I
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: think it was Wednesday.
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: I'm out in london he was just playing around the
• 9:58
  Speaker 5: locker room with the he was like yo we should
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: do this and then we just was planning for the
• 10:01
  Speaker 5: next couple of days and we executed it pretty well
• 10:04
  Speaker 5: we knew it was gonna go viral if we did
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: it right um i think on my first touchdown we
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: attempted to do it but it wasn't clean enough i
• 10:11
  Speaker 5: think the second touchdown i told him right before like Hey,
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: get ready, be ready. And, you know, I brung the camera,
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: and they stormed onto the field, and it definitely went
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: out well. Yeah, it's been a couple weeks, you know,
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: not being home. And I think, you know, with Duval
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: coming out and showing their support and, you know, making
• 10:32
  Speaker 5: it loud for us, just the atmosphere of being back home,
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: you know, feels amazing.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: 100-yard gain to come against Indy. Is this maybe a
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: good opponent, good week for a bounce back for you?
• 10:41
  Speaker 9: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I feel like Indy week
• 10:43
  Speaker 9: is a good bounce back week. I mean, just want
• 10:45
  Speaker 9: to come in, focus, come out the bye week, feeling better,
• 10:49
  Speaker 9: and just come out and play hard.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: Is the bye week tough for you to end the
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: way it ended in London for you?
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
• 10:57
  Speaker 9: I mean, really just wanted to flush it, though, come
• 11:00
  Speaker 9: back ready with a different mindset, come back ready to go. Yeah,
• 11:02
  Speaker 9: that was the biggest thing for me.
• 11:04
  Speaker 7: Even through all of your struggles, you're still doing everything
• 11:07
  Speaker 7: you need to do, running hard, blocking hard.
• 11:09
  Speaker 9: How have you been able to keep that mindset? You
• 11:12
  Speaker 9: said how I've been able to keep it? I mean,
• 11:14
  Speaker 9: it's football at the end of the day. I mean,
• 11:17
  Speaker 9: there's more things out there to do. I mean, I'm
• 11:19
  Speaker 9: just trying to be a team player, just going out there,
• 11:21
  Speaker 9: helping out, trying to do anything I can to help
• 11:23
  Speaker 9: the team win, whether it's blocking, just trying to do everything, really.
• 11:28
  Speaker 9: Just trying to do everything I can do to be
• 11:29
  Speaker 9: the best senior player I can.
• 11:31
  Speaker 7: This is the second year where your name has come
• 11:33
  Speaker 7: up in trade rumors. Is that frustrating for you? How
• 11:36
  Speaker 7: do you kind of manage that?
• 11:38
  Speaker 9: I mean, everybody's entitled to their own opinion. I mean,
• 11:40
  Speaker 9: I just go out there, do what I do, and
• 11:42
  Speaker 9: just try to go out there and be the best
• 11:43
  Speaker 9: player I can be.
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: Continuing on Mark's point, you've had a series of highlight-worthy
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: plays over the years against Indianapolis. What is it about
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: that matchup that allows for you and Trevor to be
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: able to connect down the field at such a consistent rate?
• 11:56
  Speaker 9: I mean, I don't know. I don't know exactly what
• 11:58
  Speaker 9: it is. I mean, I just go out there. Maybe
• 12:00
  Speaker 9: it's the looks that they be giving us. Go out there.
• 12:02
  Speaker 9: Just try to compete at a high level each and
• 12:05
  Speaker 9: every play. And hopefully it plays like that again for us,
• 12:10
  Speaker 9: plays out like that again for us.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, yeah, for sure.
• 12:13
  Speaker 6: I didn't hear that, but hearing it.
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: Now, definitely for sure.
• 12:17
  Speaker 9: Yeah. I feel like he still has a lot of
• 12:34
  Speaker 9: confidence in me, and I just got to go out
• 12:36
  Speaker 9: there and prove him right, for sure.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: Just completely tune out, the outside noise of all.
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: This, because, like you said, the trade talks come up.
• 12:48
  Speaker 9: Yeah, for the most part, I mean, you kind of
• 12:50
  Speaker 9: got to in the job that we do. I mean,
• 12:53
  Speaker 9: we don't try to, like, get all into that. I mean,
• 12:56
  Speaker 9: I try not to be too up, too down, too low. So,
• 12:59
  Speaker 9: I mean, I try to stay midpoint. So, I mean,
• 13:00
  Speaker 9: just trying to tune all that out and just stay focused,
• 13:02
  Speaker 9: stay locked in on the main thing.
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: Has your confidence gotten.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Shaken at all?
• 13:07
  Speaker 9: Nah, I wouldn't say so. I feel like I still
• 13:09
  Speaker 9: know what I can do. I just got to go
• 13:10
  Speaker 9: out there and do it and go out there and
• 13:12
  Speaker 9: show everybody what I can do.
• 13:13
  Speaker 6: How hard is this right now, just going through as
• 13:16
  Speaker 6: an athlete, not playing at your best, not playing any
• 13:19
  Speaker 6: snaps in the second half of the game? I mean,
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: how difficult is that to go through?
• 13:25
  Speaker 9: I mean, everybody go through adversity. You just got to
• 13:26
  Speaker 9: keep fighting through it. That's the only way I know
• 13:28
  Speaker 9: how to get through it, just keep fighting through it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 9: I mean, that's what I'm going to continue to do,
• 13:32
  Speaker 9: keep fighting, keep coming in with a good mindset, keep
• 13:35
  Speaker 9: working hard each and every day at practice, going out there,
• 13:37
  Speaker 9: doing the little things, trying to be the best that
• 13:39
  Speaker 9: I can be, blocking, doing all the little things. Just
• 13:43
  Speaker 9: keep fighting through it. That's the only thing. That's the
• 13:45
  Speaker 9: only way I know how to come fight through it.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Is there anyone kind of in this locker room that
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: you're leaning on who's really helping you.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: During this time?
• 13:52
  Speaker 9: Yeah, that guy right there, Kobe, for sure. I mean,
• 13:55
  Speaker 9: he's been a big, big help for me. I mean,
• 13:58
  Speaker 9: he's like a big brother to me. I mean, anything,
• 14:02
  Speaker 9: any question I got, go to him. I mean, we
• 14:05
  Speaker 9: was just... The other day, just after just getting extra
• 14:09
  Speaker 9: catches and just, I mean, trying to get all, like,
• 14:11
  Speaker 9: little tips from him. I mean, just, I mean, he's
• 14:12
  Speaker 9: been a great teammate for me. That's all. He's been great,
• 14:16
  Speaker 9: excellent for me.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: What's been the best advice that he's given you?
• 14:20
  Speaker 9: Like I said, I mean, everybody go through adversity. You
• 14:22
  Speaker 9: just got to keep fighting through it. I mean, you
• 14:24
  Speaker 9: got to find a way. I mean, even after the game,
• 14:27
  Speaker 9: he tapped me on my shoulder. He was like, I mean,
• 14:29
  Speaker 9: we're going to fight it. We're going to find a
• 14:31
  Speaker 9: way through this. We're going to fight our way through this.
• 14:34
  Speaker 9: I mean, I mean. I mean, that's been the biggest
• 14:36
  Speaker 9: thing for me.