LB KAMU GRUGIER-HILL
How did you feel about the defensive performance in the Chargers game?
"I think that we're just not playing good ball right now. I think there's a lot of growth that needs to be done. We're not at our potential, which we could be."
What do you think can get you to that potential?
"I think just trusting each other, everybody being on the same page, communication. There's a lot of different factors that can help with that. It's really just coming in everyday and working, trying to figure everything out. It's one of those things where it's not looking pretty right now, but there's a lot of football left. We've seen it every year. Teams turn around and can make big changes."
Is it an easy fix or is it complicated?
"I think it's easy. I think it's easy. I think it just comes down to us putting our head down and going to work."
How do you balance your positioning and your responsibility on the field?
"That's the hard part about playing linebacker, being able to figure out and decide in those different situations."
Are those decisions personal or structural?
"A lot of it is structure."
How did you feel hearing the boos from the fans on Sunday?
"It's horrible, right? That's just part of the game. You go everywhere, every team. We we're in Denver and they were booing their offense. That's just part of it. We can't really let that dictate how we feel. We have to just continue to do our job."
After last week, how does the defense prepare to face the Jaguars and the run game?
"I think we just have to get back to discipline football, everybody staying in gaps, no one is shedding out. It's just everybody doing their job and trusting each other within the scheme, within the defense, just being able to have that trust within each other."
Is trust a hard thing to accomplish?
"No. I don't think it's hard. It's normal. In football, everyone wants to make plays. Everyone's trying to make plays. Sometimes I feel like, myself included, you try to make a play and it's actually putting the defense in a harder position, instead of just doing what you're supposed to do in the call."
What was the difference in the second half when you stopped the Chargers offense three drives in a row?
"I think that's it. That right there was our football. That's what we need to be and that's what we need to do. If you go back and look at that, everyone's doing their job, everyone's in their gaps, everyone's locking things down. That's our level of football right there. That's what we want to do and that's what were capable of."
Are you surprised at how comfortable you are in your second year with the defense?
"No. I genuinely think that a lot of it is just we've got to get better. There's nothing really anything else I can say other than we can just continue, because we can go in two different directions here. We can be like 'oh screw it. This is going to be bad', or we can dig ourselves out of this hole. I think that's what we have to do."
Why do you think the team hasn't really found consistency yet?
"I wish I had an answer for you on that. I really don't, but that's all I'm saying. It comes down to just something we need to figure out and something we need to fix."
Can you talk about what you've seen from DB Jonathan Owens and DB Jalen Pitre?
"They're good. I think they're great players for our team and they're going to continue to do well for us."
How big is this matchup between the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars?
"This is huge. This is the game right here, same thing with the Colts. Division game takes precedent over everything. If we come out of this weekend with a win, I think we turn a whole new leaf."
WR NICO COLLINS
Can you walk us through the long reception from QB Davis Mills?
"It was a simple little post route, man coverage. Davis (Mills) trusted me and I trusted him. It was the perfect coverage for the opportunity to throw the post route and Davis let it rip."
QB Davis Mills mentioned that you practice the post route in practice a lot. Why haven't you gone to it more in the games?
"It's different in game-time. You've got to adjust to the defense. When the defense shows the coverage for the opportunity to throw the post route, you got to take it. That's what Davis (Mills) did. We were talking about it on the sideline, what defensive scheme we thought was going to happen and it was the perfect opportunity. It showed the right coverage and he took a shot downfield."
What is it going to take for the offense to get more of those opportunities?
"Just continue to work hard every day. Continue to go out there and work with your gang. Create opportunities. When it's time to make a play, you got to make a play. Just got to go out there and play ball."
What was the reason for the offensive success in the third and fourth quarter?
"Third and fourth quarter, that's the type of football we want to play at the beginning and the end. We just got to finish these games. Another opportunity, another week. It's a long season. Like I said, just get better. On to the next week, next opponent."
How does it help your confidence to have a big play like that?
"Big-time, man. I feel like the team needed that spark, a little juice. We needed that. Davis (Mills) trusted me. Like I said, he took a shot and he came back to Brandin (Cooks) with the slant route in the end zone. I feel like that momentum set us up for a great opportunity to come back and score the ball. I feel like for that situation we need to start like that and finish like that."
How is the mood in the locker room?
"Nobody wants to lose. We're right there. I mean yes, it's a little bit frustration but you can't let that kill the rest of the season. Game over now. Last week's over with. It's on to another week, another opportunity."
Where do you feel like you're seeing things differently compared from your first year in the league until now?
"A lot coverages. The game is starting to slow down a bit for me, but I feel like there's still a lot of room for improvement on my game. I feel like you can never stop working on your game. I feel like that's my goal. My focus is to continue to work on things that I feel like I need to work on and be a big player for the offense and team."
Did you change your approach from this year to last year?
"I feel like I've got a little routine down. I feel like I did things that work best for me. I trusted that and continued to go there and work hard every day."
What was your reaction after the long catch in the game?
"It was that momentum we needed it. The team needed it. The offense needed it. Like I said, Davis (Mills) trusted me and I trusted him to lay the ball out. It was an emotion show for sure. We wanted to come back and win, we shouldn't be losing. We don't want to lose. That was a comeback and we just wanted to finish strong."
What does it mean to you recording your career high in receiving yards?
"A lot. Just continue to trust the process, continue to trust the game plan and continue to make plays when the ball comes my way."
Is there a guy you've leaned on to help you take that next step?
"I would say the entire receiver group. The vets in our room, (Brandin) Cooks, (Chris) Conley, (Phillip) Dorsett. Just having those guys in the room and just everyday picking their minds because they've been around the game for a minute. They know what to expect, they know what's coming and they know what it takes to prepare in this league. Being a young guy and having those type of guys in the room, I feel like it helped me out the entire way. I'm glad there's people I can count on. I'm glad they can help me no matter what. Great guys and I appreciate them a lot."
How do you describe QB Davis Mills' ability to throw the ball 60 yards in the air?
"(Davis) Mills is an athlete. We've known he can make those type of throws, his accuracy. It was a great coverage for the defense, a great play. Davis (Mills) trusted his arm strength and trusted my catching ability. He knew I would be down there to make a play for him, so that's what happened."
When you see a team blitz, how does that change things up for you as a receiver?
"A lot. A lot for me too because I see the blitz coming from the weakside. It's really just to help out the offensive linemen and the protection so Davis (Mills) won't get sacked. It's blindside, frontside. If we see a blitz coming off the edge, we might change the protection of if we got sight adjust rules. If I've got a blitz, we would just change the route or whatever. It's mainly just picking up the blitz and making sure the QB doesn't get sacked."
Is it difficult when you have to change up the route in the middle of the play?
"Yeah, you've got to be locked in on it. You just can't go out there and look at the ball, look at the coverages. The defense disguises. What they show, doesn't mean they'll be in that formation. Just got to be ready for anything the defense throws at you. You just go to know, watch film. That's what the week is for, preparation, breakdown film. When we feel like they're going to blitz on a play we've been watching throughout the whole week, we might say be on the lookout for that."
How important is this week and what are your early impressions on Jacksonville's defense?
"They've been playing well, good ball. They're in our division. Great division matchup this week so we're going to trust that gameplan, preparation for it and go out there an compete."
DL JONATHAN GREENARD
How do you feel about this team's record?
"I understand just because we've got the ability. We've got the talent. We just have to put it together. That's the hardest part about winning in general. As you see, some teams make it look easy but obviously it's just a different formula for each team. We just have to find our own niche. That's what we're going to continue to work towards. Obviously, I've got to be better, not just on the field, but vocally and sometimes speaking up, whatever the case may be. I just know that I need to do more."
Why wasn't the defense able to get as many sacks this week compared to the last few weeks?
"I think overall, people of get confused sometimes and think sacks are easy. They're not. Obviously, that's what they pay us to do. It's different guys, different week. We just have to understand going into that how we want to attack those guys and see different types of schemes and techniques to make us be better overall as pass rushers. We just didn't get home this past week and we're going to continue to practice and get home this week."
How much better are the Jaguars this year compared to last year?
"They've definitely added some pieces there. Obviously, they're a totally different team. You can just see how they fly around the ball in general. The coach (Doug Pederson) has coached a Super Bowl and he understands he has that formula, getting those guys to understand the standard. I think overall, they look good on film. We're just going to continue to do our things and they're going to bring it as well. It's a division game. We just have to continue to do our part on our side and make it a game."
How much have you been able to learn from DL Mario Addison?
"Rio (Mario Addison), he's behind the scenes all the time. He'll be back up now this week. He's a guy that's always there and giving his little two cents every single time. Understanding about how he's pass rushing the pass and things of that sort, seeing how he can add little things, because we have a younger room. Besides Jerry (Hughes) and Maliek (Collins), we've got guys that are much younger, three, four, five, six years. They're still trying to implement themselves into the league, including myself, just trying to soak up all of their knowledge."
How much of DL Mario Addison's speed of the edge have you seen in practice?
"We've seen that from OTAs. Hopefully, we can get him back and we can do our thing. Rio (Mario Addison) at this point, has shown himself. We know he's got speed, mentality, everything. I think continue to just feed off that energy and what he brings to the table is going to help all of us as a unit in the room."
What have you seen from Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence and his adjustment from year one to two?
"I think it's the same things. Overall, he looks more confident. He has all the things you want. He's a 6-5, 6-6 quarterback, tall in the pocket, good O-line and obviously good receivers and athletes around him. I think the scheme fits him. I think he looks more confident and we just have to make him feel less confident when we're making our attack to try and get him down."
Being from Georgia, did you play Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence in high school?
"No, he was in Cartersville. We didn't play him. That was a little bit on the other side of us (Georgia). We definitely knew about him. We knew about him as a freshman because Cartersville always has good players all the time."
What did you hear about Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence in high school?
"We just knew that because of that 7-on-7 tournaments. We just know certain teams have that, whether it's a receiver, quarterback, we just talk like that. We didn't know who he was, I think he was two or three years younger than me. We just knew they had a quarterback that was going D1. With social media coming up, we saw that there was this guy. He's everything they say he his. Good quarterback, good kid. Just have to go get a dub (win)."
