Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio and quarterback David Garrard spoke to the Houston media on Wednesday via conference call about their Sunday matchup at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium against the Texans.
Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio
(on how it felt to get a win and get the running game going again) "Well, obviously winning is what this business is about, so it's good to get a win. Certainly our running backs are really the strengths of the football team and to get the ground game going again was a big part of it."
(on if he has ever seen so many injuries in the middle of an offensive line) "No, I don't know if I've seen it. But I think this league is about being able to plug in and move on. I think injuries are a part of the game and every year we face some injuries somewhere we've had to contend with. So we just do the best we can to plug in and ask the guys that do get the opportunity to step up and play well. We expect to continue to play well."
(on how they did not let QB David Garrard get sacked against Indys) "Well, I think the biggest thing was we ran the ball at them and didn't drop back a lot. I think with the pass rush that they generate if you drop back a bunch, they are going to get you a couple of times. So it's part of the plan, part of the blocking, part of the execution overall. But I would say our approach had a lot to do with it as well."
(on why the Texans and Jaguars series have been so competitive) "They just outplayed us. You have to recognize that. You get opportunities in this league to go compete and when the game is over, you either got it done or you didn't. They found a way to beat us. So we have a new opportunity this week and we want to put together a good plan and gear up for a good effort and go out and compete."
(on Jaguars QB David Garrard saying they might have taken the Texans lightly in the past) "Never from my end. Never from my end and I'd be disappointed to think that anybody ever thought that way. But we are certainly doing our very best to prepare our football team, recognizing that every team in this league has the players and coaches capable of whooping you any Sunday. We've got to put together a good effort. We understand first of all that home games are important. Divisional games are important. And when you have a home divisional game, it's huge. So from that standpoint this is a big, big game for us."
(on spending a lot of first round picks on offense and still having a consistent defense) "Well, the biggest thing we were able to do from the day we got here is establish a certain mentality of how we wanted to approach things. I think we've been able to progress a little quicker with the defense, although I think the offense kind of caught up and was a strength for us. So really the goal is to become a complete football team and one that can compete in all three phases and have a chance to win. We just have a lot of work to do yet."
{QUOTE}(on ex-Texans players OT Charles Spencer and G Milford Brown playing for the Jaguars) "Well, Milford (Brown) is starting at right guard for us. We plugged him in after about three days of work. He's done a nice job answering the call and giving us a chance to compete and solidifying. He's a big, strong guy and he likes to play with a little physical nastiness to him, so we like that. And, with (OT) Charles Spencer, we really liked him coming out of the draft, and I know he was looking like he was going to be a real good player there and had a real bad injury. We're just giving him a chance to try to come back from that injury and fight his way back and be the kind of player that we thought he'd be when he first came out. So we're happy to have them both, both good kids and working hard for us."
(on DE Mario Williams being moved around on the defensive line) "Well, first of all I think he's a fine football player and he's done a nice job. They've got a big, physical front and I think it starts with him. But there are several others that are real good football players upfront there. The fact that they are moving him around, that's not unusual. We did some of the same with (DE) Julius Peppers in Carolina when I was there. When you have a big, athletic guy like that, it gives you multiplicity of what you can do with him. But we think he's a good football player. We're doing our best to get ready to compete against him."
(on what he thinks about RB Steve Slaton) "A good football player, a nice addition to their team. Ran on Tennessee, which nobody does. Broke tackles. Ran tough. Showed vision. Showed acceleration. Good addition to their football team and obviously someone we'll have to contend with."
Jaguars QB David Garrard
(on what it has been like to play with so many guys out with injuries on the offensive line) "It's been very interesting to say the least. It's tough whenever you don't have your core group of guys in there, especially your center and your two interior guards. It makes it more difficult, but we've got guys in there that get paid too. They've been it stepping up each week. They've gone out there and I just expect them to get better and better as the more reps and more game time experience they get."
(on what was the difference between the first two games getting sacked so much and not being sacked against Indy) "Well, I think it was a tough situation for us in that first game. That was the game when we lost our linemen. Anytime you're thrown in the game, it makes it tougher for you and we had a lot of plays designed that week to try to block the guys up and get the ball down the field. It was a game where I had to hold onto the ball a little bit longer. But as we've progressed and we've gotten to know our linemen, we've tried to get the ball out of our hands a little bit faster. So I don't sit back there and hold the ball nearly as much. Well, whenever you play the Colts, you never want to hold the ball. So it was just a game where the run game was working. That was keeping them on their heels and then when we had to pass, the guys did a great job of picking those guys up and giving me a lot of protection. I was just trying to get the ball out of my hands as quick as I could so that I didn't allow the pressure to get to me and get to our pass game."
(on how he explains the Texans playing so well against the Jaguars) "I don't know why the reasoning is or understand why they play so well against us, but they do. I think in years past, we would maybe just take them a little bit too lightly and especially when they've got a number of our players or they used to have a number of our players on their team, you know, I think that would be a little bit extra motivation for those guys. Like I said, we just took them lightly before, and we definitely don't do that now. We hopefully won't do that this week because even though they are 0-2, our backs are still against the wall too. At 1-2, there is nothing to celebrate. We do feel better after our win last week, but these are two teams that are scratching and clawing to get a win."
(on how it feels to get the running game going again) "I just think that we had a good scheme going against the Colts, and also the offensive linemen that are in now were able to kind of get a game under the belt together with the Bills and be able to understand the calls and all the schemes that we had. I think that (Jaguars head coach) Jack (Del Rio) made it a point that he wanted to runt he ball in that game. That's just something that our offense just has to have. We have to have that run game because that's really how we're built. Whenever we have that going, you can see the difference in our offense."
(on if the offensive line struggled in the first to games and on getting RB Maurice Jones-Drew involved) "Well, definitely, I think whenever you have a number of your offensive linemen out, that's going to make it tough, especially at first and two of those guys gel. We had an offensive lineman in there - I really didn't even know his name. So anytime you have that situation happen, that makes it tough on every part of your offense. But, like I said, those guys still stepped in and did a pretty doggone good job in those earlier games. And the more and more time that they had to gel together and the more and more times the new guys can hear the calls and have a feel for them, the more comfortable they will be and the more confident they'll be getting off of the ball."
(on if he is serious that he really didn't know some of the new offensive lineman's names) "Milford Brown, he just got here that Wednesday after the Tennessee game, and I kept wanting to call him Mildred and I didn't even know his last name. He really just got here and he really was learning on the fly. So, yeah, I didn't even really know his name."
(on what he thinks about what the Texans are doing with DE Mario Williams in reference to moving him around and standing him up in the middle with LB DeMeco Ryans) "Well, the guy has definitely developed into a serious pass rusher, to one of the best pass rushers in the league. The more and more he plays, the better he gets. It doesn't really matter where he is at he's going to be able to apply some pressure. You really have to take an account for him. A guy with his abilities, his range, his speed, his power; he's a force to be reckoned with, so any team is going to have to take account for him. The good thing that the Texans are doing is moving him around so you just can't have all of your protection go his way where he's getting chipped a lot and having tight ends on his side. So, that's smart by them. We have to man up and be able to take him on. We can't get frustrated whenever he does get pressure on us, but we have to make sure that we definitely have him accounted for."
(on what has been the difference with WR Matt Jones after the arrest in the offseason) "Yeah, I think a lot of us had questions on whether or not he was going to be here when all of that stuff happened in the off season. But, I think for Matt (Jones), I think he's just gotten more and more comfortable with the system. With the offense, he's been able to have a number of years now to actually learn the wide receiver position, and I think just being able to know when the play is called to know exactly what you have, know exactly where you're lining up and to know exactly what the defense is doing, I think has allowed him to play like the Matt Jones that we all felt like he could be. I really see him just continuing to get better and better. I would definitely say that it's his confidence in knowing the system. I think in years past, he really didn't know the system. I'm not sure what the situation was. I really think it was learning a new position and then also learning a new offense, I think it kind of handicapped him a little bit, but I think now he's really just coming into his own because he has the confidence in knowing exactly what to do, what the play is and what we're trying to get out of the play. So he has a real good feel for running routes, too, because he played the quarterback position before. He knows when his route is taking too long and he has to cut it a little shorter. So those things, those little tendencies, those little tidbits that he's picked up is really helping him out."
(on if he thinks WR Matt Jones is more focused now) "I definitely think he's more focused. I think with all of the things that have happened to him in the offseason and the years past, I think he's kind of seen his career kind of slipping from him. I think he's definitely focused and stuff a little bit more. It's definitely the most focused I've seen him since he's been here. Whenever you feel like your livelihood is being taken away from you, that will kind of kick you into gear sometimes."
