Jacksonville Jaguars Insider Podcast: Predicting the Lions Game

In today's episode, we preview the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the Detroit Lions.

Dec 4, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) is chased by Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during the first half at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images / David Reginek-Imagn Images

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle linebacker Foyesade Oluokun spoke in the locker room on Thursday, and we were there for it all.

To listen to his interview, view above.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson also spoke on Monday. Below is a transcript of what he said.

Q: On injury updates to QB Trevor Lawrence?

Pederson: “It’s hard to tell right now. We’ve still got a couple of days. I don’t have any definite answers right now.”

Q: On injury updates to OL Ezra Cleveland?

Pederson: “Yeah, he’s going to—as of Monday, today, tomorrow—he’s going to get some rest on it again and he should be out there at practice and maybe get a few snaps. We’ll see where he’s at.”

Q: On any other injuries following Sunday’s game vs. Minnesota?

Pederson: “No. We came out pretty good. Just bumps and bruises. You saw Tank [RB Tank Bigsby], he kind of got hobbled on a play, but nothing serious.”

Q: On if Lawrence will need surgery?

Pederson: “There’s not been a talk on surgery, so I don’t know where the surgery-talk is coming from. Nothing like that.”

Q: On if he could step-up QB C.J. Beathard’s workload this week?

Pederson: “I mean, it’s possible. C.J. prepares just as if he’s going to play. I can’t commit to that right now, until I know if Trevor’s going to play or not. But we’ll definitely get him ready to go.”

Q: On if getting Beathard ready to play won’t be as difficult since he’s familiar with the playbook?

Pederson: “But still, he hasn’t been here, really since camp. So, if that’s the case, we’d have to give him a couple of snaps here during the week.”

Q: On his evaluation of QB Mac Jones’s starting performance?

Pederson: “I thought the way the game started, it fit right into his wheelhouse. Sometimes we can do a better job putting our players in better situations. I thought too, protection breakdowns got him off his spot a little bit. He missed a few things. There’s some things that he’d want back, obviously, the two interceptions, the fumble. I mean, those are things that we can’t do, right? Especially at the end of the game. If he gets an opportunity this week, I know he’ll be better. Another opportunity, another week of work. He’ll learn from it, obviously. He takes it hard, takes it personal, which he should. We all do. But we still have a ton of confidence in him.”

Q: On the pass protection effort vs. Minnesota’s pass rush?

Pederson: “It was a little bit of everything, honestly. Watching it again today, just a little bit of everything. I thought too, the way Minnesota showing a lot of six guys up, seven guys up, it does present—and that’s their style. That’s going to create edges, and they did a good job at that too.”

Q: On how he keeps the confidence high among the team?

Pederson: “You show them where we are. You show them our division, you show them what’s left on the schedule, and you try to stay positive. I still feel like it’s a great opportunity for us as a team. We’ve got to figure out how to win a game. I’ll tell you this: the guys don’t quit. You saw it again yesterday. They battled right to the end. Even Travon’s [DE Travon Walker] penalty at the end, he’s trying to punch the ball out and get the ball back for the offense, and that’s after 80-plus snaps. Guys are continuing to battle.”

Q: On if he feels the team has to execute perfectly?

Pederson: “There’s times where it feels like that, where you’ve got to be perfect. I think kind of our season has been that way. We haven’t been able to kind of create—I mean, we created some early in the season and obviously yesterday was hard to get that started. Listen, mistakes are going to happen. Guys are battling their tails off and all of that. I think you just can’t make too many mistakes and try to overcome them. Especially where there’s a penalty or turnover or things of that nature. Those things are hard to sometime overcome.”

Q: On if it’s frustrating playing at a high-level in the second half of the season but not being able to see the same success as in the 2022 season?

Pederson: “Yeah, there’s some of that. I think what’s interesting is, you look at the body of work during the week and then it’s not carrying over to the game completely. A lot of it is, and there are parts of it that isn’t, and the parts that aren’t are obviously the ones holding us back. That’s the frustrating part. The guys would say they understand that, and they see it. We continue to show it to them. Even as coaches, we take it hard. We put game plans together and coach them during the week, and so we take it personal as well.”

Q: On specifically which parts of the weekly preparation that aren’t carrying over to games?

Pederson: “I don’t know. Maybe just things like staying in your gap if you’re a defensive lineman or the protection issues we had yesterday, it could be a QB read, a decision he makes. Things that you would think that the guys would know. The game goes fast. It could be a young defensive back whose eyes are in the wrong place. Things like that.”

Q: On if there was contact with QB Mac Jones on his second interception and if that impacted the throw?

Pederson: “It looks like he gets bumped. If he did, yes, because of where the ball ended up. Because we had a post route and a corner route, kind of a combination there. It looked like it could’ve easily gotten—even on tape it was hard to see—you’d have to go back and watch the T.V. copy obviously, but it definitely affected, I think, the trajectory of where the ball ended up.”

Q: On the cornerbacks’ performance covering Vikings wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison?

Pederson: “I thought the corners played really well. Really well. To hold that group to really not a whole lot offensively was good. They played physical. They came up and made tackles. I thought Buster [CB Montaric Brown], Darby [CB Ronald Darby], you see Tyson [CB Tyson Campbell]... I mean, these guys are battling and playing really well. They looked like, to me, and really for the entire secondary, playing their best football yesterday.”

Q: On what he’s seen from DE Josh Hines-Allen recently?

Pederson: “I think one of the things you’re seeing, and this is the improvement, I think, of our whole defense, is how they’ve continued to work throughout the week. They’ve bought into the scheme and what the guys are teaching and coaching, and you're seeing that gradual improvement. Guys are understanding that. Josh is one of them and Travon is one of them. Obviously, those guys are up front. But yeah, I think the technique, trusting that and trusting himself, obviously, what he sees and what he sees with the stance of the tackles. If he's playing on a tight end or whatever it might be. So yeah, he's been playing good.”

Q: On staying optimistic for the rest of the season?

Pederson: “Yes. 100 percent. I think our goals and everything are right in front of us. Despite the mistakes and the losses, obviously. It's a crazy business and it can change for us in a hurry the other way and get positive in a quick way. But the guys haven't checked out whatsoever. They put in the time during the week. It's hard. You hurt for the guys because you just see how much they put into it. And then they're not rewarded for it. To have six one-score losses, six games. It's hard. That’s hard. Sometimes we make it hard. But yet the guys, like I said, they see it. They understand it. We're all in it together and we try to fix them and move on.”

Q: On what Lawrence can gain from being on the sideline?

Pederson: “Yeah, I tell you what, he was really engaged yesterday. Helped Mac the entire day. We had great conversations on the sideline, things that he saw. So yeah, that's something that he can definitely get a little different perspective, calmer eyes, and see how the game flows.”

Q: On how his observations from the sideline can translate onto the field?

Pederson: “Sure. Sure. It's sort of the memory, right? It's what you see and just being able to trust certain things, trust yourself, and then trust what you see defensively to make decisions throwing the ball. Yeah, that can all carry over.”

Q: On how OL Walker Little and OL Anton Harrison have been playing recently?

Pederson: “Yeah, I mean, I think both guys have been playing well. There are some plays yesterday that they would like to have back, obviously. But I think for the majority of the season, they've done a nice job. Walker's kind of settled into that spot. But both guys, they play physical, they play tough. They're both smart guys, athletic. Have done a nice job.”

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