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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Jaguars Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash: Thursday November 12, 2020

(On the difficulty in facing Packers QB Aaron Rodgers) "Yeah, he's had success without pressure and with pressure. So, obviously he's one of the best of all time. He's still playing at an extremely high level. We played him, I think, in '16—I think was the last time that we played him. The only difference is he isn't looking to run as much as he has in the past. He was always very mobile; we had to worry about that. He can still do it, but he looks to stay in the pocket and extend plays within the pocket and then takes his shots downfield. So, it's going to be important that, obviously, we continue to keep him in the pocket and try to pressure him as much as we can and kind of give him different looks. I don't think you're ever going to surprise him or confuse him. You've just got to be able to slow down his reads at times, so we can get off the grass."

(On whether their defensive decisions are in-game situations) "Obviously, we look at numbers and where we're at, what we need to do. I think down and distance has a lot to do with what you want to do—how quick you want to get the ball out. If it's really long yardage, then you worry about screens and stuff like that, if you're pressuring. So, during the game, it dictates—I think each coordinator goes in with some coverage ideas and some blitz ideas, and as the game goes along, you kind of get a feel for what you need to call."

(On what the stats say on blitzing Packers QB Aaron Rodgers) "His rating does go down a little bit. If you want to say it goes down a little bit, it's still extremely high. But I think everybody's goes down a little bit. But like I said, we've got to pick and choose when to do it. We talked about, this week with our players, that we want to make them work the whole field. Not necessarily die a slow death, but we don't want to give up big plays over the top. Really make them earn it all the way down the field. And I don't want to put our players in a situation where I lose the game for us. I want them to be able to go out and execute and play and make them earn everything." 

(On pinpointing the reason for success with blitzing last week) "You know, I think it was different. We haven't pressured a lot and some of this stuff I know they sit and say it was pressure, but it was really just a four-man rush; simulated pressure. So, a lot of people call it pressure, but it's not. We had about four or five of those when we're really rushing forward. So, that was some of the stuff that we've added in the off-week. A lot of different guys on the field that we haven't had on the field at the same time. And I think that was a little bit of it. But obviously, they had a week to prepare for it, so obviously we've got to do something different."

(On LB Myles Jack's peak performance thus far) "I think when he's healthy, he's played at a high level this year, there's no doubt. I know we talked about getting him to the Will linebacker spot where he's in space and play and that kind of stuff. But he's playing at an extremely high level. I think he's doing a really good job at preparing, also. You see him working extra—I know most of this stuff is virtual and everything—but there's all hours of the night where you'll get a text and there'll be questions coming from Myles. So, it's a lot of credit to him with the work that's he put in and he's playing at a really high level right now for us."

(On previously working with former Jaguars offensive coordinator and current Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett) "I loved working with him and we had a great working relationship. I think he did a tremendous job of getting our players in position to do what we needed to do to win. He was a run-first guy when he was here and that was kind of the philosophy at the time. And I think he did a tremendous job with our players, working together as a staff; he has absolutely no ego. I really loved working with Nate."

(On whether he's surprised Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett is having success in Green Bay) "Not one bit, nope. He's an exceptional football coach and obviously, he's got some really good personnel around him, and he's getting them in the right spots and they're making plays. And that's a credit to Nate."

(On S Daniel Thomas's game last week) "I thought he went out and functioned really well. We've seen that he's getting better and better. Once again, he was a rookie obviously when he came in and it's taking him a while to learn it. There's a lot stuff going on in the back end and we've seen him start to learn and [function] a lot more efficiently in practice. And even like we said today, 'Let's get him a couple series here and there.' And he went in and functioned really well. So, we're going to continue to develop him. Obviously, Josh Jones is our starter, but we're going to continue to develop him because I think he's got some play-making ability."

(On whether we can expect to see the younger players get more reps) "Well, I think those that really earn the right to and have developed and [come] along and that kind of stuff. I mean, if you're able to play at a winning level and [be] efficient, we'll find a way to get you on the grass."

(On CB CJ Henderson's performance and progress) "You know, I think he's getting better and better. Obviously, the PI [pass interference] and the other play that you're talking about, you'd like for him to at least be able to get the guy down. We were in man coverage there, we were bringing pressure on the [Will] Fuller touchdown. He's just got to be able to transition, play into the guy and get the guy down. The one right before the half, he felt like he was beat, he couldn't find the football; which is tough when he was in trail position. And you'd rather have him get a PI than give up a touchdown right there. Hopefully, we can have some more vertical grass to try to defend; I think that was a good decision by CJ. The last thing you want to do is give up that big one, over the top, right before 2 minutes. So, I thought that one was a good decision and I think he's getting better and better as we go. He had a heck of a break on an out route, just misplayed it a little bit and that had a possibility of being a pick-six. So, he's getting his hands on some balls. I think he's getting better, I think Tim [Walton] is doing a really nice job each week getting those guys prepared to play. And he's only going to get better as he keeps growing within game time."

(On whether he thought CB CJ Henderson was surprised on the Deshaun Watson to Will Fuller V touchdown last week) "You know, I think he got—the wide receiver got in his blind spot. And that's tough, when the ball gets in your blind spot, you can't find it. But like we talked about, let's just lean and squeeze back into him and find a way to get him down. It's not a big deal if he catches it, we've just got to get him down."

(On going against players and coaches on the Packers team that have worked within the Jaguars organization previously) "I mean, they might know what we do, but they don't know when we're going to call it. Nate [Hackett] has my playbook, I know he did when he was here, I'm sure he took it with him—and I have Nate's playbook. But obviously, their head coach is calling it. So, I think we all know. We all study each other; in season, out of season and that kind of stuff. But you don't know when something's coming. So, I think a little bit of that is overrated, but at the same time, obviously he understands the concepts of what we're doing. So, we've got to be creative and smart and not show our stuff pre-snap so they can get a beat on it."

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