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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Wide Receiver D.J. Chark Jr.: October 7, 2020

(On if former Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey helped him become a better receiver) "Definitely. [Being] physical, fast, running off the ball doesn't really work with people like him. You have to be decisive with every move that you make. When you are getting vertical, he's very strong and can easily push you out of bounds or push you out of the window to where he can easily make an interception. So, you just have to be smart with every move, have to be physical, and you just have to want it more than he does, even though that's pretty hard to do because he really [wants it]. You know the type of player that he is, so you have to match his intensity. Anytime you get to go against guys like him, and [former Jaguars CB] A.J. Bouye, as soon as you get into the league, day one in training camp, I've yet to go against a corner better than him."

(On why the offensive is more productive with him in the game) "First off, we played that Thursday night game right after playing the Sunday game and it's hard to already game plan. You kind of have to game plan for two weeks in one week, but when you lose your main target, you're automatically going to have to switch the whole offensie up. You can't really, a lot of times, just plug and play, so you have to switch things around and so I think that, for one, made it difficult on offense. Two, I do think going out there, I can stretch the field, I can make safeties back up. Even if I'm not getting the ball, if I'm running down field, the safety has to respect it and things like that. Crossing routes or underneath routes, if the other guy's open or in a more favorable matchups, so I think that absence is huge. But I feel like if we go into a game and we take out James Robinson, it's going to be a similar situation to where the defenses are just backing up and not respecting the run. Or if Gardner [Minshew II]'s not in, people [are] stacking the box, not respecting the pass. Anytime you lose one of the main guys who takes most of the reps, it's going to be difficult."

(On the difference in playing in a divisional game) "Honestly, it's no difference for me. Every game to me is a chance to show who I am and I'm playing in the NFL so it doesn't matter if I'm playing you twice or playing you once, I want to be dominant. Yeah, I approach it the same way. I feel like that second time that you play a divisional opponent, it's a little more tough because they just saw what you can do and now they [are] game planning for things like that, but I think that's the only difference. I'm still coming out with the same mentality to win. I'm coming out trying to be the best on the field and I have to hold myself to that standard, no matter [if it's a] division [game] or not."

(On how RB James Robinson can help him from getting double covered and help the passing game in general) "One thing, when people double cover you, they like to use two high safeties, a lot of times [they use] cover two or two man. But when you have a running attack, those two defenses aren't that good against stopping the run so it kind of forces you to use the double cover in a different way to bring other guys out so that you can still be there to stop the run and I think that's what he helps with. So, if you're going to double cover me, if I'm backside and you want to double cover, you kind of have to show it in a different way. That's when studying comes in. That's when you know if it's one high safety and put the safety on your side, it's coming down looking, it's probably dropping out to take that side away, corner goes outside, things like that. Even with that, if two guys are on me, that means someone has a more favorable matchup again and you always can just stay in cover two, hand the ball, run between the tackles, and our running offense is pretty good, so I like that matchup."

(On downfield blocking for RB James Robinson) "It's pretty easy. Honestly, just run and get in the way. That's it or you're running for a second and then he's passed you and then it's off to the races. So, I like it. If I have to come in, get a safety, I know I'm going for the kill shot but if I can't get it, I have to get a little bit of him and he's going to get out and make somebody miss or he's going to run somebody over and allow me to talk smack, so I like blocking for him."

(On the growth of WR Laviska Shenault Jr. as a receiver) "The main thing that I'm always on him about is just knowing exactly what to do, not only knowing what you have to do but knowing what the defense is doing to take you away and that's something that he's gotten way better at, his understanding of it. Since he's been here, he's been a good route runner. He's been physical, you're not going to press him. He's really physically gifted and he uses that to his advantage. He gets open and catches the ball very well. We haven't been able to utilize him as much as the good receiver that he is, but like last week, I think he had 81 yards in the first half. That's not easy and he did it pretty easily. He makes all his plays look easy, so that's one thing I do envy of him. I take some hits, but [for] some reason it seems like he doesn't really get hit as hard."

(On when RB James Robinson first stood out to him) "[It was] probably early on with camp. Him and [RB Devine Ozigbo] Ziggy both run the ball extremely hard every time. We weren't in pads a lot of the times, but you see a guy who gets the ball and takes off and then runs 50 yards, comes back, does it again, does it again, does it again. So, you see that and you're like, 'This guy has good vision, and he has the work ethic to go along with it.' But that first game, being able to see him, live reps, and do the same thing, just take what he does on the practice field and take it to the field, you knew that he was here for business and he's not a guy that's just a character in the locker room. He handles his [business] and goes about his way and you have to respect it."

(On if RB James Robinson's production in the first four games surprises him) "No because I'm a person who once I see it, I expect it, so it doesn't surprise me. I expect it to happen and I need it to happen because we want to win. I go to him all the time and tell him how big of a part of the offense he is or is for me. But surprising? No because at this point, he got here for a reason. He's our starting running back for a reason and he put up the stats that he has for a reason, so [I'm] not surprised at all."

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