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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden: Wednesday, November 11, 2020

(On QB Jake Luton's performance last week and where he can improve) "Well I thought for his first game ever with limited reps, I thought he did an outstanding job really. I mean if you think about how much you talk about being a quarterback and how repetition is king and for him not to get any since training camp, and even in training camp he got few or far between, for him to step in his first NFL game and stand in there and take some shots and make some throws, I thought it was really incredible. Not many guys in their first game with that limited exposure can step into the fire like that and perform like he did. Obviously, there's some throws I'm sure he wishes he had back and some opportunities that were missed, but overall from the way he was on the sidelines, the poise, the control that he had at the line of scrimmage, using the play clock, changing protections from time to time, I thought was great. Now, it's just a matter of continue to build, continue to get more and more reps against a different style of defense now that he's going to have to try to prepare, get a game plan ready for these Packers and [Packers Defensive Coordinator] Coach Pettine's defense. Obviously, [I'm] very excited about the way he played. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win, but as far as Jake's concerned, I think there's a lot to like."

(On if there has been effort to get RB James Robinson more carries) "Yeah, for sure. You know I challenge the offensive line and try to get those guys goings and get their pads down and try to get some yards that protect the quarterback and James [Robinson] has been playing very well. He's one of our better players so it's important to get him the ball and try to get him more touches. Fortunately, he's stayed healthy and done some good things. Sometimes it may look like we're predictable or what have you, but I think it's important for him to get his touches. It takes the pressure off the quarterback and he's been very good."

(On WR DJ Chark Jr.'s performance last week against the Texans) "Yeah, it was great. He got a full week of practice healthy. I think the last couple weeks he's practiced with his red jersey on and wasn't quite feeling up to speed. But I think having a good week at practice, honing in on his assignments, I think he did good. Obviously, Jake [Luton] gave him some good balls early, got him involved early, which is important for a guy like him. These guys want to get involved early, they want to feel part of the game and to get him the touchdown on the third or fourth play of the game was critical as far as a domino effect for the way he played. So, I think when you're talking about concerted effort, concerted effort to get James Robinson the ball, I think the same goes through for DJ [Chark Jr.]. We have to get him the ball early and see if we can get him going because he's an explosive guy."

(On QB Jake Luton and WR DJ Chark Jr. executing the touchdown pass when it mattered after not hitting it in practice) "I think a couple things. One, DJ [Chark Jr.] had a great release and ran by him and Jake [Luton] did a nice job of putting the necessary top on the ball where he can adjust to it. That's what I keep talking about: reps with these guys. It's one thing to say he hadn't had many reps with the terminology and the system and all that stuff, but also with the guys he's throwing to. He never throws to those guys except last week for the first time really. So, he's going to get used to his guys running those type of routes for him and those guys will get used to him."

(On how much WR Laviska Shenault Jr.'s injury affected the play book) "Yeah, they're scrapped [when he goes out]. Laviska [Shenault Jr.] does some special things. You put him in the backfield, you can do some wildcat things, and you don't do that with anybody else. He's getting all those reps, the reverses and all that stuff. Some other guys we can get out in space and do somethings, but Laviska's a different cat and calls for a different type of play. Once he went out, it shortened up our playbook, but we had plenty of other stuff to get to. We were fine."

(On how many games is fair to properly evaluate a new quarterback) "I don't know if you can really put a number on it. I think you're looking for progression week in and week out, knowledge of the system, saying the right things and then going out and trying to do the right things. Sometimes a game may not look like the quarterback played very well, but the people around him didn't play very well either, so you can't judge a quarterback's grade based on statistical performance or the score sometimes. But you do have to look deep down inside and see what they look like on game day, how they handle pressure, do they still have the poise, do they look scared, is it somebody that has a skill set you think you can build and work with in the future. Then you make your decision based on production over a year, over two years or what have you. It's up to the head coach and the coordinator and the GM and the owner to make that decision, but my job right now is to try to get these guys the best possible plays they can to succeed. I think throwing Jake [Luton] in there and even Gardner [Minshew II], they've both done some great things and we hope that Jake continues to build off the performance last week."

(On playing QB Gardner Minshew II once he's fully recovered from his injury) "I think that's up to [Head Coach] Coach Marrone really. I'm just going to coach the guys that we have, and I really have strong belief that all three of these guys in our building can have success at the quarterback position. Moving forward with the future of the organization, I think that's a discussion that our owner and GM and obviously Coach Marrone will have and then whatever they decide, I'm good with all these guys. I think they have talent, they're smart, they're competitive, so there's a lot to like about all of them. We do have to play better at the position in order for us to get off this [streak] that we're on. We've lost I think six or seven in a row and it's unacceptable for that position. A lot of pressure's put on that position. They have to play better."

(On planning for Green Bay's defense with a quarterback playing his second NFL game ever) "They're good, obviously. They have good pass rush. They do multiple things in the secondary, coverage wise. They move people around and they rush little guys, they drop big guys. From a pass protection standpoint, we have to make sure we're playing with our eyes and understand who's coming and who's not coming, so that's the important thing. Then coverage wise, it'll be important for our quarterback to see the different types of coverage. They roll one side, they'll double somebody, they'll bring the safety out in the middle of the field and play lurk. They'll do a lot of different things that can confuse a young quarterback, so we'll have to get a good plan together and Jake [Luton] will have to see the coverages and then obviously our receivers have to win in some of these man coverages they play. It'll be a great challenge for all of us. They're a good football team without a doubt."

(On playing at Lambeau Field with no fans) "I don't know. It's weird playing in an empty stadium everywhere really. Even the small amount of people we get at our games that are loud, it's different. Obviously, it's a lot better playing at Lambeau as a road team being empty than full so we don't have to mess with the snap count issues. But it's still a great, historic place and I'm anxious to get up there."

(On QB Jake Luton's poise) "I think that's something you can't really judge. You see it in practice every day and the guy seems like he has poise, but you never know what the poise looks like on game day. That's the important time to really show and display the poise. To take our team with two minutes to go, go down and get a touchdown scramble to possibly tie the game, I think says a lot about him and his poise and his competitive spirit, so that's exciting. Team's will get the film on him and they'll study him, they'll study our scheme and it's our job to try to put him in positions that are not easy to see or read. We have to do a good job as an offense to game plan, whether Gardner [Minshew II]'s the quarterback, Jake [Luton]'s the quarterback, [Mike] Glennon's the quarterback. I think from a scheme standpoint, that's our job to disguise our intent so to speak and then the quarterback's job [is] to perform and hopefully he'll do a good job."

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