Doug Pederson on Final Preseason Game: Jaguars Will 'Maybe Go Two Quarters With the Starters'
The Jacksonville Jaguars' backups earned a much-deserved win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Next weekend, though, it will be up to the starters to set the tone.
After playing the starting offense and defense for a handful of series each against the Dallas Cowboys last week, Pederson and the Jaguars saw their backups handle the entirety of Saturday's reps vs. the Lions. The starters will return for the preseason finale next week vs. the Miami Dolphins, Pederson said after the Jaguars' win.
"You know, I'd like to really kind of maybe go two quarters with the starters. Get them lathered up a little bit as they say. You know, have them prepare like it's a regular season game. I think that it's important that we do that," Pederson told Jaguars reporter Kainani Stevens.
"You know, obviously if they play well, you get them out. If they struggle, you let them, go a little bit. So, you know, nothing's in stone yet, but, that's kind of the direction I want to go."
The only Week 1 starter who got significant reps vs. the Lions was offensive tackle Walker Little. Otherwise, the weekend was about the Jaguars' reserves, in large part because the Jaguars had two physical practices with the Detroit Lions in joint practices.
"Yeah, the biggest thing is the amount of reps the guys got during the week. And you know, it's usually around this week too in preseason that you just want to, you wanna rest your starters and, kind of get them in a frame of mind that they have to get prepared for next week," Pederson said.
"You know, I want to play them a little bit more next week and then, and then get them two weeks later to our opener. So, you just, you know, the way they executed this week, the way they handled themselves, the poise, even when it got a little chippy out there on the field. The way they were able to control their emotions, you know, those are all things that, that as a head coach lead you to believe that, you know, our team's in a good place. We got good leadership, they handled it and so you don't really need to see them, you know, in games like this."
