Skip to main content
Advertising

Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Nick Foles - Tuesday, November 26, 2019

(On his self-assessment of his play over the last two weeks) "I think the more I'm playing the more I'm getting more comfortable. The game speed is starting to come back, the feel of the game. Obviously, we're not executing and doing what we need to do to win these games as a team, but there are positives to build on. And I think we're beginning to learn who we are as an offense in getting to where we need to be. And that process is always evolving. We had a great workday today based on what we saw in the game and where we should go as a team and that's a positive thing. I've always believed you have to look at everything critically. You have to remain positive, and you have to keep working. You can't just give up. You're going to go through adversity."

(On if he feels the locker room can give a push forward in a trying time) "We're going to find out. I would love to believe so, but we're going to find out. That's why I told you this is a trial. This is a trial, this shows culture, shows character. Culture's something that we talk about a lot. The big thing is this is where you find out what culture you have. A great culture is a culture that can go through adversity and stick together, and not point fingers and not give up. A bad culture is a culture that when you're out of it, or things aren't going well, 'You know what, this doesn't benefit me, I'm sort of going to shut it down. I'm not going to be a part of the team.' And that's unfortunate. But right now, we have to continue to build together. It's not an easy time, but there's a lot of teams in the NFL that aren't doing well, that are struggling. And that's the nature of this business. You're going to have teams that do really well, and you're going to have teams that don't. But just because you're losing, just because you're struggling, doesn't mean you have a bad culture. Great teams are built in times like this if you handle it the appropriate way, and that's sticking together and continuing to move forward and not point fingers. But that's very hard to do, in any thing we do, in any organization, in any sport, because everyone always wants to point fingers and deflect blame, but we all have ownership in who we are right now. We all have ownership in the identity of the team at this moment. But we also have the opportunity as people to change who we are. And that doesn't happen overnight, it happens a little bit at a time. So, I felt like today, if I assessed what we did when we went out there and practiced, it was a step in the right direction. We just have to put another step in front of that one."

(On if he feels he is building a rhythm in practice) "It's everyone. It's identity. It's who do we want to be as a team, as an offense, as a defense, as a special teams? That's what we have to figure out. I'll speak on offensively; we really have to figure out what we want to do. And that's what we went out there today, and like I said, a step in the right direction. We have a lot more work to do. We're at a point in the season where it's not the beginning of the season, it's later in the season, but we're still getting to that point. And I don't see guys giving up. I see guys wanting to make a change, I see coaches working to make improvements. I see players practicing hard and being willing to be coached, and that gives me hope in this team, in the future of this team and where we're going. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be very difficult, but I do believe that the parts that are here. We have good parts that we can get this thing going in the right direction."

(On if the team wouldn't be trying to discover its culture at this point in the season if he had not been injured for 10 weeks) "I can't answer that because I wasn't [playing]. I can't go back in time and say, 'oh, if I would have done this.' It is what it is. I was still around. We're all in this together. We all have our hand in this, and we all have a hand in who we are as a team and identity. I couldn't give you an answer because that wouldn't be fair to anything, because the chips fell where they fell. Ultimately, I was injured and the team – We've continued to grow. We've had adversity, guys have stepped up. Guys have played well, it hasn't all been bad things. In this moment we're on sort of a skid right now, and everything's going to be under the microscope. But what's crazy is if you win those games and you play sloppy, no one's talking about it. But that's the nature of this business and we can't let that defeat us. That's why I always say, we can't read your guys' articles. You all are doing your job, I respect it, but it does us no benefit to read your work at this time because it will affect us mentally. You can say all you want, 'Oh, it doesn't affect me mentally.' You're lying. You read something negative about you, it will affect you mentally one percent. And that one percent is something you might need on game day to go out there and play for your teammates. And if you don't have it, you might miss something. So, that's why I always tell young players, and I tell myself, 'Hey, don't read the news, don't do that. Focus. This is your sanctuary; this is where we are. This is where we have to work, we have to believe in one another.' This isn't the first time I've gone through this. I've gone through this many times throughout my career, from being a young player, throughout college, throughout the NFL. And the strong culture teams are the ones that can endure this and can grow and build something special. And we have a great opportunity here. We are in a trial, but it's exciting. You get to be excited in these moments because you really get to see who the real people are. You can't be fake in this moment, you really can't. You can try to be fake, but eventually you're going to be sought out."

(On if he understands why some fans may take 'It's exciting to be in this moment' wrong) "Well yeah, if you word it that way. You can interpret anything you want to. The reality is I say that in a positive way as approaching it as, you know what, I can either sit down and just leave the building and say, 'You know what, I can't do this anymore. I give up.' Or I could say, 'You know what, I believe in my teammates, I believe in myself, I'm going to continue to work.' And I'm going to give everything I have, and I'm going to embrace this struggle and I'm going to endure this. And I am going to go against everything outside and I am going to be better for this.' We are going to be better for this as a team. We either give up, or we endure and we go forward. And I say, 'Excited,' because it's either excited or you give up. It's how you want to approach things in life, and we can all relate to that in everything. And I say that with an intensity because that's what I believe. I believe that with every part of my heart that we have an opportunity here to improve, to grow, to build something here, and it's going to take time. Going through tough times like this is what makes us a team. Going through tough times as a person is what makes you a person. Not everything's beautiful. This is a game. But it's also a lot of people's livelihood, and there's a lot of fans that are passionate about us and support the Jaguars. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us to get to where we want to be."

(On what his message is to fans who are considering coming to a home game in December) "I would say if you want to [attend a game], listen to what I just said. That's where we're at. That's what we're doing. That's the mindset that we have to take as an organization, as a team going forward. Obviously, any time you step in front of your home crowd, and they're there, they're loud, that's the benefit to the team. Because it's really hard being an opposing team going into a hostile environment where it's hard to use cadence, hard to communicate. There's an energy. I've been in home stadiums where the energy is just like nothing I've ever imagined, and it radiates through the team and gives us even more energy then we already had on game day. And that's what's so special about home games. So, obviously we would love for everyone to be out there and support us. We're continuing to work through this, we're not giving up. We're continuing to learn in who we are as people, who we are as players. And ultimately we want to go out there and we want to be successful."

(On how long it takes for his message to permeate through the locker room) "Every opportunity is a new entity. A lot of it is based on situation [in terms of] what was there before. It is like you go back [to] Philadelphia. It wasn't me. I was a piece of the puzzle. There were guys before me. Reggie White … All of the players that were before me – [Brian] Dawkins, Jason Avant, Donovan McNabb, all of those guys that just continued to build the culture. Andy Reid, even Chip Kelly coming in there. It builds, and there are pieces of the puzzle. You keep going, you keep building. There are a lot of people. Equipment guys, cafeteria [employees], janitors, they are there. They see everything. They build the culture. That is what I am talking about. It is a history, and you just become a piece of it. That is what is so special about playing in this league, playing for different organizations because of the history of everything. That is what you draw from. That is why I am very quick to say. Philadelphia, that was built over a long time. It was not built overnight. It was not that team. It was built from the people, the alumni, the people that who played there before. It is the same thing here. Every time I step on the field, I guarantee there are alumni, there are guys that have played here who are cheering us on like crazy. We are doing everything we can to get back on the winning side of everything."

(On if he finds it tougher to build a culture with a franchise that has struggled) "I will let you know several years from now when I get a chance [to find out]. That is the thing. We are in it right now. I do not know. I do not know. I just know I am going to go with my heart, I am going to go with what I believe, and I'm going to go the only way I know how to go. This is something you look back on down the road after you have given everything you had, and you ultimately just give everything you have and you can sleep easy at night. You can see what happens to the team and culture. It is not just about one person. It takes every single individual in this facility – no matter what you do – to win. I have seen it. That is what is so special about when you do win because you get to look at the people across from you and say, 'Man, we did this together.' It was not just the players on the field. It is walking in here and the joy that people bring every single day working here and the pride they take. That is what builds a winning culture. Like I said, we are in the midst of this, so we will look down the road and see where we are at."

(On what he can say about Leonard Fournette's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield) "Leonard is a great player. I had a lot of fun playing with him last game. I know we got smacked around, they beat us really good, but I felt like our connection continued to grow. It was good to see him getting the ball out of the backfield, running hard, doing the things … He is a guy who can handle the ball a lot throughout the game. Not many guys can do that in the NFL. He is one of the unique ones. He is a guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield, run between the numbers, break down, and he has some really nice speed for a big back. It was really good to see that. He did a great job today at practice as well, so that is good."

(On if Leonard Fournette is an example of what he is talking about with culture and if his message has gotten through to him) "I thought Leonard did a great job the other day. He was staying positive, he was going, he was doing a great job of running. The big message at the end of the game when we were struggling, ultimately, it sort of got out of hand was, 'Just keep playing.' Don't look at the score. I am talking about offensive guys. Just give me everything you have. You never know what happens, and we were able to get a little something going. Those moments right there, we were building something. No one will see that except us, but guys were not giving up. Guys were in the huddle, guys were running plays, there was not a letdown. Yes, we got beat. We got beat badly. But there was something that we were able to sort of mold and get some good plays going and figure some stuff out, which is really good moving forward."

Advertising