Q. Last week vs. the Rams, you were faced with this situation late in the game: fourth-and-1 from the Rams 39-yard line with 2:24 remaining, you had a 24-17 lead, and you made the decision to go for the first down. When you make that decision, is it more about trusting your defense to protect the lead if you don't convert, or having confidence in your offense to get that yard to convert and essentially end the game?
A. It's really about making one play as opposed to having to make multiple plays. As you mentioned, we get the first down, and the game's over, and so I try not to make the simple complex. One scenario, you've got to make one play. The other scenario, you've got to make multiple plays in multiple phases. And so, from that perspective, it's simple. Secondarily, from a coach's perspective, if you can't get less than a yard, you don't deserve to win. And so there's a prevailing mindset in that regard that I was raised on in this business. You've got to be able to get a yard in this game, particularly in weighty moments.
Q. Also from the Rams game, the television cameras caught you talking to both Diontae Johnson and George Pickens at the same time after the taunting penalties, and it didn't appear to be a butt-chewing. What was your message to them at that time?
A. There are always a lot of layers to discussions. I won't get into too many specifics, but Ahkello Witherspoon is a former Steelers cornerback, and so there was some friendly banter among guys who have a personal relationship. I don't think that the officials understood that, but it's probably not the officials' job to understand that. The banter that was going on among those guys was not malicious in nature. It was not unsportsmanlike. But if you didn't know the backstory or know the people involved, it probably could have been perceived that way. And so there were a lot of discussions to be had. That was just one of them.
Q. What is your level of tolerance or understanding for those kinds of penalties?
A. As I mentioned, there's always a lot of layers to it. I hold myself accountable first and foremost. It's my job first to get a feel for the tenor of that officiating group, week in and week out, and then relay that to the players and make sure they understand it. And it was obvious from the very outset of the game that there was a certain tenor from that officiating crew, and we did a poor job of adjusting. So that's my responsibility.
Q. What do you believe the league is trying to accomplish or maybe avoid by having officials penalize what they perceive as "taunting?"
A. I know exactly what the agenda is because I'm on the NFL Competition Committee. We just want to present a sportsmanlike game, and so we want to get some of the shenanigans out, particularly the mean-spirited or ill-spirited shenanigans. So the agenda is very clear, but oftentimes there are complexities in terms of interpreting that or understanding that and understanding the tenor of the day, etc. It's no different than lining up in the neutral zone. Some weeks you'll get a verbal warning, some weeks they'll throw flags immediately. Sometimes there are dialogues about offensive lineman not being on the line of scrimmage in passing circumstances, because the tackles oftentimes buy themselves as much real estate as they can. Sometimes it's a give and take, it's communication, it's warnings – warnings to the players, warnings to the sideline. In some instances, it's just penalties. It's something that we deal with week in and week out as a component of the professional game. I'm not trying to make more out of it than what it is. It is our responsibility to understand the tenor.
Q. When you were asked about how Dan Moore played vs. the Rams in his first game back from injury, you said, "I thought he was really solid, not only his play, but his demeanor. He brings a grown man approach to it." What do you mean by "a grown man approach?"
A. He's just really mature in his approach to business and his mindset and really always has been. That's why he played so much as a young guy. This guy played over 2,000 snaps in his first two years in the league, and that's been an awesome resource or base for him to build from. So first, its availability. It takes a certain mental toughness to have the level of availability that he's displayed over the course of his career. And obviously, he's benefited from those physical repetitions, and there's been some growth in his performance continually. Those are the things that you value. You draft guys because you like the framework, if you will. You like the piece of clay, but then it's their job and our job to mold it, and he has been a guy who has done an awesome job of doing that.
Q. The NFL trading deadline is at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. In the way that football is played at the NFL level, is it reasonable to expect a player acquired between now and Oct. 31 to be able to come in and make a significant contribution this season?
A. Without a doubt, but it depends first and foremost on who that player is. There are different types of trades that occur at this time of year. Sometimes it might be marquee players for a variety of reasons, such as it's the last year of their contract, or the trajectory of a program, or what have you. I don't even want to get into trying to forecast the decisions that dictate the moves that people make. And then sometimes one man's trash is another man's treasure, if you will. Sometimes it's filling in the gaps, special teams-like people, quality depth, etc., etc. First and foremost, from an impact perspective, it depends on who we're talking about, but certainly there are opportunities for major contributions this time of year.
Q. What is it specifically about NFL football that makes deadline trades so rare compared to basketball, baseball, and hockey?
A. The collective, the cohesive component of our game. The 11 men working in concert, the complexities of teamwork that's continually on display in our game makes it more difficult. I'd imagine that you could get a couple of guys who can drop 30 points a night, and you're gonna have a pretty good basketball team. There are a lot of complexities to our game, and the fact that the way the game is played in terms of interrelating moving parts makes it a little bit different than baseball, for example. Those are some of the reasons why I think it's a more complex endeavor.
Q. Cam Heyward returned to practice this week, which means his 21-day clock has started for him to come off injured reserve. What will you need to see from him to show you he's ready to play in a game?
A. You know, there's the overall health component because healthy enough to practice doesn't necessarily mean healthy enough to play. And so there are continued discussions regarding his level of health, and then there's a conditioning component that needs to be analyzed when a guy has been inactive since Week 1, a football conditioning component to be analyzed. And then thirdly, there's a strength component because of the position that he plays and his style of play. And so there are many layers to it, but I'm excited that he's back out on the field. His presence is valued, and now we'll just go one foot in front of the other and take it day by day.
Q. Today's opponent is the Jacksonville Jaguars, and their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, was the first overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. What do you remember about him when you were doing the prep work in advance of that draft?
A. I appreciated the intangible quality of him. The tangible things are obvious. He's got very good arm strength, and he can make any throw on the field. He's got great fluidity in his movement. He's a really good athlete. He's big, he's strong. All of those things are really evident. But being a guy who spent a lot of time at Clemson evaluating players year in and year out, I was just always really impressed with how he managed being him. He was extremely comfortable in his shoes, or his skin. He wore the responsibility of being him very well in a very natural way. He ascended very quickly down there. I think he took over in the middle of his freshman year about three or four games in, and they had had an established starter. He just kind of managed awkward, intense circumstances very well. He appeared to be very grounded and stable, he had a longtime girlfriend who eventually became his wife. There was nothing about him that spoke to immaturity or lack of togetherness, and the intangible read was just as impressive as the first overall physical read if you're talking about his draft profile.
Q. What separated him at the time from Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields, who happened to be the other quarterbacks picked in the first round that year?
A. Just the body of work. Look at the other guys, some of whom were one-year starters or played at multiple schools and things of that nature. (Trevor Lawrence) went into Clemson and earned a job rather quickly and wore it and wore it in a very natural way, produced and managed the things that come with success very well. And so he was much more predictable in my eyes, and I'm sure everyone's eyes, and that's why he was picked first overall.
Q. Looking at Trevor Lawrence this past week as you were preparing for this game, how has he developed over the course of his 2-plus years in the league?
A. I'm probably not positioned to talk about that because I didn't look at him last year at all. And so I really didn't have an understanding of what his process was like. I've read some from a perception standpoint in terms of his growth and so forth. And so, I don't know what his process has been like, but I know he is the centerpiece of what they do and very capable and has little to no restrictions in what they're asking from him in terms of commanded the offense, or latitude at the line of scrimmage, etc. But I really don't know what that has looked like over the course of his career. I know what it looks like now.
Q. Lawrence is second on the Jaguars in rushing with 41 attempts for 206 yards. How has he been used to accumulate those statistics – scrambles or designed runs?
A. Both. He and Travis Etienne are functioning very much like they functioned at Clemson. I would imagine he was the second leading rusher at Clemson, too. They're in shotgun, Etienne is a sidecar runner, they have some zone-read, some zone-read keeps. He's great in the passing game in terms of ad lib, extending plays, and scrambling. And so with those two guys, it looks very similar to what it looked like in Clemson, South Carolina. And what a cool thing for those two guys. They've been together since they were about 18-years old, and I would imagine those waters run pretty deep in terms of the relationship, the understanding, the nonverbal communication that comes with growing up together in multiple levels of football. It's really an awesome thing what the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to do in terms of getting both of those guys.
Q. You play a team twice every year from the AFC North that has a pretty good quarterback when it comes to designed running plays. I'm not asking you to call Trevor Lawrence another Lamar Jackson, but does Lawrence do the same kinds of things in similar situations? Short-yardage, goal-line?
A. Josh Allen. We play Josh Allen it feels like just about every year. (Lawrence is) more Josh Allen-like. He's a longer guy. Less short-area quickness, make-you-miss (traits). And so Trevor Lawrence is probably more comparable to a Josh Allen in terms of how he utilizes his talents to chew up yards and extend plays and in designed runs. I would imagine Josh Allen is Buffalo's second-leading rusher.
