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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden - August 28th, 2020

(On what he is looking for at this time) "What I like to see [in a] player [is] great tempo and urgency, number one, and execute, without a doubt. So, we're still in the process of evaluating players. So, we want to try to get players in different spots to see what they can do, young players, veteran players. I'm still getting to know these guys and trying to figure out their strengths and weaknesses—and make sure we correct their weaknesses and adhere to their strengths. Basically, it's still a feel-out period, but I think we can go a lot faster, give these guys some plays that they know, see how they execute and then handle our evaluation process, which is most important right now."

(On expectations from QB Gardner Minshew II during Saturday's scrimmage and the quarterback room) "Yeah, that's a good question. I just want to see Gardner continue his process. We're just putting one block on top of another and he's doing a good job. He's got the meat and potatoes of the offense right now. We've just got to continue to develop some consistency with his progressions, his reads, his footwork, his protection knowledge. All that stuff that the quarterback has to handle; snap count, all the little things. I've got to see him continue to do better and dominate at the line of scrimmage pre-snap and then post-snap, do the right thing with the football and go from there. But I've been impressed with him. As far as the rest of the quarterbacks, I'll tell you what, they've all done something good. They've all shown us that they belong in the National Football League and that is—it's going to be a tough call. Mike Glennon has really come on the last four or five days, he's thrown the ball extremely well. Jake [Luton] has been very impressive since the minute he walked into the building with his knowledge of the offense, his ability to learn, his ability to throw the ball, down the field, short passes with touch. And obviously Josh Dobbs has done some really good things as well. So, we feel really good about the quarterback room, but as far as ranking them right now, we still have time. We're still in the process of evaluating everybody and hopefully it'll play out. But, like I said, I've been impressed with all of them."

(On advocating for three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster) "Well, I'm always going to give my opinion, but at the end of the day, it's up to Coach [Doug] Marrone and obviously [General Manager] Dave Caldwell and they'll have the final say. But, if I have my way, I definitely want to keep three. With all of the things going on in the world today, with the Coronavirus, you never know what's going to happen. You've got to have three guys in the building, I would think, that know the position and know the offense and know the terminology. All four of them have shown the ability to do that, retain information, go out and execute and make plays. But at the end of the day, roster numbers are what they are and if we have to go with two, we have to go with two. But obviously, I mean, if one could get sick on a Friday before the game and you like to have three in the building."

(On QB Jake Luton being ahead of expectations) "Yes, I think that's been the biggest pleasant surprise, I would say is his ability to come in here and learn. He plays with great poise and confidence for a young player. We put him in the number one huddle a couple times, and he has shown no sign of being intimidated. He fits right in there, like I said, he's got great accuracy, he's got great arm strength, so we've been very impressed with him. But you know, same with Mike Glennon. He's done some good things and Josh [Dobbs] like I said. So, I think as you're evaluating quarterbacks, you're looking for the guys who have the most consistency, who can do it day-in and day-out. All of them, they're in the NFL for goodness sakes. So, there's a reason they're here in the first place, but now we're looking for the guy that will give us the best opportunity to win, if something were to happen to Gardner [Minshew]. All of them have shown flashes, now it's just a matter of us going out today, going out tomorrow, going out the next day, and seeing who handles it the best. The most difficult thing for us is getting all these guys reps, because as we know, we've got to get Gardner as many as possible, and trying to get these other three guys the amount of looks that they need to really show us what they can do, has been a challenge. But I think Coach [Ben] McAdoo has done a really good job of distributing these reps and these guys have done a good job of taking advantage of the ones that they do get."

(On WR DJ Chark Jr. and comparison to other receivers) "Not really, he's a different cat. No, he's very—he's still a young player and he's doing some great things. He can attack defenses a lot of different ways and a lot of different positions, which is good. He's got a great knowledge of the offense, he can play outside, obviously. We're moving him around a little bit so he's doing good inside. He's just a good all-around player, but he's also excellent to coach because he knows he has work to do and he wants to be great. It's one thing being a talented player with speed and size and have great hands, but it's another to want to come out early and work hard and really dominate the offense from a mental standpoint. And then obviously know how to work your releases, and bump and run, and outside leverage, inside leverage, from the slot, from outside, different types of route stems that we have, that are very important. He's done a great job with all of that. He's really his own guy. I think he's got a chance—he's already proven he was a great receiver last year, going to the Pro Bowl. So, he's just got to keep continuing to get better and continuing to work, which he will do. But he's got a skill set that you want, he's got the size, he's got the speed, he's got the athletic ability, he knows how to run routes, he knows how to set up routes, obviously he can attack the football and run after the catch. So, trying to find a weakness with DJ, it's going to be hard for me to find one. I know he's got a lot of strength, but we're just trying to get him the best position where he can succeed, where we can get him some good positive looks."

(On the progress of the offense) "We're coming along good. I think, as a whole, offensively, we've got a lot in. And these guys are doing a great job in the running game, adjusting to the different types of schemes that we run, obviously in the passing game, the different protections, different drops, different sets that we're doing. Coach [George] Warhop has done an excellent job with the offensive linemen, Coach [Ron] Middleton with the tight ends, obviously [Coach] Keenan [McCardell] with the wideouts, Coach [Terry] Robiskie with the backs. We're trying to give these guys opportunities. One, to showcase their skills so we can evaluate them properly. And two, to put a system together that we can go out and play Indianapolis and have a chance to really go after them. So, we're in a good spot right now, I feel really good about it. As far as what we have in, the ability for our players to retain information from one day and then add some new stuff and then also go back and do what we did the day, or three days or four days before. So, it's been impressive. We're where we want to be offensively. Obviously, we have room to grow and get better and put some more stuff in. But from an install standpoint, these guys are where I want them to be."

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