Skip to main content
Advertising

Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden: Wednesday, December 30, 2020

(On RB James Robinson's season) "That's amazing really [when] you go back and look at where he came from. The opportunities he had in training camp were few and far between and then when he did get them, to take advantage of them like he did and then be thrust into the starting role Week 1 and to accomplish the things that he did is just unbelievable really. It's a hell of feat for him. I'm happy for him, proud of him. I know he has a great career ahead of him. It's been a pleasure coaching him that's for sure."

(On if he thinks RB Dare Ogunbowale will step up again in RB James Robinson's place this week) "I do. This is a hard-working guy. He's smart. He loves the game. He's been on a bunch of different teams, not a bunch, I know three or four at least, and he just plays hard. He's good in the passing game. He's a good pass protector. He's a good runner, and I think this opportunity will suite him well. I think he'll take advantage of it like he did last week."

(On WR Laviska Shenault Jr. and QB Mike Glennon connecting last week) "It was good to see Laviska get behind the defense. That's something that he's going to have to continue to work on in his craft. I think a great offseason for him will be important where he can get his body right and really work on his routes, his get offs, his finishing speed. He has a great future in the NFL for sure. There's a lot of things he can work on, but to see him have some success early in his career has been exciting and I think the future is very bright for Laviska."

(On if former Washington QB Dwayne Haskins has a future in the NFL) "Well, yeah. He's a good quarterback. He's a first-round draft pick and unfortunately it hasn't worked out the way anybody really thought, including myself. I never thought he'd be released this early in his career, but he has one of two ways to go. He can either learn from this and rebound and take advantage of the next opportunity and work his tail off or not. But I fully anticipate that they'll have some really good people around him, talking to him. The next opportunity he gets, I'm sure he'll be ready to go." 

(On if he would coach QB Dwayne Haskins again) "Yeah. I mean big quarterbacks that can rip it are hard to find. I think there's a lot of things he needs to work on obviously as all young quarterbacks do. We're looking at the youth of quarterbacks that we have with Gardner [Minshew II] and Jake [Luton]. They have a lot of talent, but they have to continue to work at their craft. That's the same thing with all young quarterbacks. If he continues to work in the offseason and work on his mental and physical approach to the game diligently like pro quarterbacks are supposed to do, then sure, he can do it."

(On the possibility of staying in Jacksonville next year) "I like Jacksonville. It's my first time being here, and I actually bought a place here, so I love the area. Obviously, this is a one game at a time approach and one season at a time approach for all coaches. We understand if you don't win, especially if you go 1-14 or 2-14 or 1-15, odds aren't in your favor you're going to stick around very long. The staff have worked extremely hard. Coach Marrone has done a great job with what he's had to work with and everything. But the future is up in the air without a doubt. First, [we're] going to work hard the last game and whatever happens happens, but I do love the area that's for sure and I would love to coach these young guys again."

(On what QB Gardner Minshew II needs to work on) "Again, the demands of being a professional quarterback in the NFL are very high. [Last year], he was young. He didn't get a lot of reps last year in training camp. He ended up playing a lot and doing some good things. This offseason, we didn't have really an offseason program so to speak and threw the new playbook at him in training camp and had some issues. We weren't able to throw the ball as consistently as he wanted to. We had to rest him a little bit and [he] didn't have success. The offense in general hasn't had the success, so we tried different people and then he hurt his thumb. As young quarterbacks go in this league, you have to continue to work on your craft, physicality, your physical craft and your mental craft. He has to continue to work and buy into the fact that this a grind. The quarterback position is like no other in pro sports. This a non-stop, 365 days a year job that you have work on your craft, your feet, your arm, your throwing angles, you're studying, studying defenses, blitzes, fronts coverages. It should never stop if you want to be great and he has a chance to do that. He's young. He'll learn from his experiences that he had moving forward and hopefully he'll take advantage of it and the next time he gets one, he'll roll."

(On OL Cam Robinson's performance this year) "I've been impressed with Cam [Robinson]. He's fought through some nagging injuries and played and done some good things. We've been in some known passing situations where he's had to pass block some pretty good pass rushers and he's battled his tail off. In the running game, he's shown more pop and explosiveness out of his stance this year and I think he's going to continue to get better. He fought through, again, some injuries too early in his career and I think you can see his physicality starting to shine. I think he's at a position where he's only going to get better and better and better. The sky is truly the limit for Cam with the athletic skill set that he has and the power that he has. Now, when he puts everything together, fundamentals, seeing different fronts and looks, I think he has a chance to be a great one. Again, I think he's going to be a heck of tackle in this league for a while."

(On the tight end position moving forward after this season) "You're always looking to add pieces to the tight end room. It's a tough position to find though nowadays. The tight ends that can block and be effective in the passing game are few and far between. Usually you get your big grinding, blocking type guys that aren't very effective in the passing game or you get your smooth, athletic guys that aren't very effective in the running game. That's a tough position to find, so you're always looking for somebody. You see the difference in Kansas City and San Francisco when they have [49ers TE George] Kittle and [Chiefs TE Travis] Kelce how good they can be when those guys are in the game, both in the running game and the passing game. That position is one of the most important positions to have a good offense in my opinion. Tyler [Eifert]'s done a nice job. James [O'Shaughnessy] has done a nice job. Obviously, we've added Ben [Ellefson] [who] did some really good things as a rookie free agent until he got injured. So, I've been impressed. Tyler Davis is an up-and-coming player. He has the physicality and the speed to maybe be effective in both, but he has a ways to go as a young player like a lot of these guys do. At that position, you're always looking for pieces because you can line up in one tight end sets, two tight end sets, three tight end sets, and really put a lot of pressure on the defense. That is one [position] this team will be looking for to add more pieces."

(On the method when drafting tight ends) "I think that depends on the player really. I think if you see somebody that's really athletic and actually physical enough in the passing game or in the running game, then he'll go high, really high. If there's a clump of guys that might be good at one thing and not good at two things, then you can wait and maybe take the second or third or fourth best guy later on in the draft. It's supply and demand really. If there's only a couple good ones coming out, you better take one or you're going to be shut out. If there's a lot of them, you can wait."

Advertising