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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Jaguars Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash: Thursday, December 17, 2020

(On what he would like people to remember about the defense this season) "I think the biggest thing is, obviously, we've played a lot of young kids and guys without much experience and they've gained experience as the season has went on. And I think that they've gotten better, that's the biggest thing. I think our assistant coaches have done a good job of developing some of these younger guys to get better as the season comes along. I think that's the number one thing. And obviously, Myles [Jack]. Myles is playing at a very, very high level—he has been. We joke with him that there's only two plays a game that we have a problem [with] and he's played well for 13 games. So, I think he's really found a home. Obviously, he's playing well and there's something to look forward to in the future for a Jaguar fan."

(On the recognition that LB Myles Jack has received) "Yeah, I think he's playing at that level. But you've also got to understand where we are as a team and a lot of those accolades don't come for guys that are not on successful football teams. We've seen that. In 2016, we were extremely good on defense in 2016, nobody went to the Pro Bowl. We got a little bit better in 2017, we had seven guys or five guys go. I think the winning is some of it, but he is playing well enough to be on some of those teams, yes."

(On DE/LB K'Lavon Chaisson's comfort on the field) "Yeah, like we've said, we knew when we drafted him that it was going to be a work in progress. And he comes into the building and works and studies. He's a real joy to be around, I really have, obviously, grown very fond of K.C. as an individual and as a player. So, you're seeing development with him and the same thing, give credit to Rebs [Jason Rebrovich] and [Dwayne] Stukes, and those guys, for continuing to work with him and seeing his development. I think, once again, he's going to be a player that's going to make a lot of impactful plays in the future."

(On whether it's harder for the pass rusher position to make the transition from college to professional football) "Yeah, there's no doubt and there's usually a direct correlation. If they've had a lot of success and a lot of numbers in college, there's usually—you're going to have some good numbers in the NFL. But we knew he had the skill set, he didn't have a lot of great numbers in college, but we knew he had the skill set and I think that's going to continue to develop. But it's tough to go from college to the NFL and be an elite rusher your first year. People do do it, but it's not very common."

(On the injuries and the changes every week at the secondary position) "Oh yeah. You know, we were—when we got the news yesterday about Tre [Herndon], we got the death chart up there and tried to figure out who could come up off the practice squad and all that kind of stuff. But each week, we've been rotating guys in and out, and guys are getting hurt, and coming back, and so forth and so on. I think it's a credit to them. Every one of them works, so when we make a decision to get them up, they usually come up and they've been playing well for us. But it's just that kind of year, that position group has really been hit and there's usually one position group a year that gets hit, for some ungodly reason. But I'm excited about watching these younger guys play again. It's going to be a great challenge with the wide receivers that we're going to face and they'll come out and compete regardless of what numbers are out there."

(On whether CB Chris Claybrooks would move into CB Tre Herndon's position) "If Tre [Herndon] doesn't play, then Josiah Scott has been playing the nickel spot when situations need be. But he will get some snaps in there. There's no doubt we need to have two nickels if Tre is not playing on Sunday. So, you'll take some there, inside and outside."

(On DE/LB K'Lavon Chaisson's spin move) "You know it's funny, he did it at practice I think it was on Tuesday that week, or no, excuse me, Wednesday. And I was like, 'Well hey, you're finally coming out and you're changing things up a little bit.' But that's all K.C., he had that move in college, but he kept staying with the same move over and over for the first ten weeks, and now he's bringing something out of his toolbox. So, once again, it's a credit to him. He's trying new things to be the best player he can be."

(On preparing to face Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson) "We've got a wideout playing quarterback this week in practice. But at the same time, we were joking and I said, 'We should go on walkthrough mode and let the quarterback just play normal speed, and then that's what it's going to be like on Sunday.' Because he is extremely fast and he can hurt you. It's supposed to be back drop pass and he's going to run for 40 or 50. So, we've got a wide receiver playing quarterback for us, giving us a real good look. But the first series is going to be different, because he plays at a totally different level than anybody else in this league."

(On the to-do list for the guys to have a chance again Ravens QB Lamar Jackson) "As a pass rush unit, we cannot get behind him. We've talked about that all week. If you get past him, his set points at 8 yards—it's really 8.3, but 8 yards—and we can't get deeper than that. If he can step up and get out through the B gaps, he's killing teams doing that. So, that's got to be the point of emphasis. And if [we're not] disciplined as a rush group in a drop back pass, he's going to hurt us. So, that's going to be very important. In the run game, I think we have to have multiple guys responsible for him when he gets on the perimeter. And obviously, it's tough. Any time a quarterback carries the ball in the run game, you're a guy short, unless you take a safety out of the hole. So, somebody's got to be a dual-reader someplace on your defense. So, we're trying to work that where we can maybe try to get the ball, if it's a read option, where it's a give-read instead of a keep. We've got to try to limit the number of carries he gets."

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