Zac Taylor Press Conference – September 17

Zac Taylor Press Conference – September 17

[Music] Zach, any updates on Joe and when he’s going to have surgery? I I don’t have the timing on that yet. It may have been decided this morning, but but I don’t have it yet. So, when I do, I’ll let you guys know. You have now that he’s on IR, do you have an a firmer timet of when, how long? At least the next four weeks. That’s the best I can give you. What’s been what’s Jake been like over the last 48 hours? He now is firmly in that QB1 role. What’s kind of the process been like for him getting ready for Sunday? His voice is a little bit louder obviously with with thoughts that he has and um teammates got familiarity with as well. So um been good. You know, it’s it’s first day of install today. We talked a little bit last night as we were game planning. Um so he’s had a great attitude and so far so good. So just real quick going back to you haven’t shut the door at least on the season. No potential. No. See what’s the toughest thing to go back and for back the one Well, I think over the course of the season, you haven’t gotten all the game reps. So, number one, the hardest thing about entering a game as it’s happening is you didn’t go in getting all the reps that the starter got during the week. I mean, that’s that’s a third down specific day, a red zone specific day. Um, so a lot of times you’re doing it live verse 11 other guys for the first time, even with our receivers, might have done it on air. So it’s always impressive when a guy’s able to go in and do what Jake did and execute a plan um that he really hadn’t operated in with with the rest of our team. And so did a great job of that. So now you get a chance to calm down a little bit and he’s going to get all those reps. Um, and so I I I like where he’s at right now. He’s in a great headsp space. See how it goes. talk about uh the two that you know that you brought in, Mike and Sean in the quarterback room, Clifford. Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was trying to think what position you were talking about. Uh yeah, two guys got experience with. Um Mike obviously we played when he was at the Jets and he had a great game unfortunately. Um so we just always followed his career. Remember him coming out of the draft when he was at Western Kentucky. I was a quarterback coach in LA. Um so always followed his career. um done a great job and so now he’s got an opportunity to come in here and and uh see what we’re about and we can see what he’s about. Um same with Shawn. I’ve always I recruited Shawn a little bit. He didn’t listen to me, but he went to Penn State instead of UC. But um so I got to know him during that process. I’ve always followed him and his brother and his family and um so again, it’s great additions to our practice squad that’ll come in here and start to learn our offense and and see where it goes from there. What were the traits you were most looking for when you guys were discussing what to do with that? Was it experience? Was it your system the compatibility like what? Well, number number one best available. You know, we we assess the list and guys that we’ve got um some awareness and familiarity that we’ve studied that we think have ability to come in here and do it. Um the next part is these two guys have both heard the verbiage. They they’ve been around coordinators that maybe I’ve worked with that it’s the same family of terminology. So, this stuff isn’t foreign to them. So, they have a little bit of a head start as they walk in the door and start to study up on it. uh yesterday as you guys move forward with Jake when you look at it from the perspective of like your offensive coaching staff you included like what is this week terms like in terms for you guys because the situation just changed you’re coming up with a plan and kind of what are the last couple days like as you set up the plan in the offense going forward? Not not much different than we normally go through. You know, you still go through your process. Um every defense is unique so it doesn’t feel like we’ve really had a totally normal week yet. You know, you have week one, all the unknowns that come with that. Week two, Jacksonville, like I said the other day, new coordinator. What is his identity? What’s he waiting to show us? Minnesota has always been a very unique defense. It’s not, you don’t, no one else really runs what Minnesota runs on defense. So, that’s very unique. Um, so again, every week’s been a little bit unique for us. We just follow the process. We always follow the same timing, same conversations. Um, now Jake’s just a bigger part of that, you know, as as Joe used to be. How much do you just kind of jump right into this is the situation right now. kind of let’s start working to keep that schedule on task 100% jump right in and try to stay with the same rhythm and then from the head coach perspective too like in terms of messaging to the team or setting a certain tone on the team how much is that something you think of this week and kind of what’s that yeah I haven’t felt the need to do that because just the energy at 2 and 0 and how these guys have have what have they done for us two very difficult games that um some teams don’t win we found a way to win 2 and 0 so these guys have a lot of confidence in themselves and each other a lot of confidence in Jake. And so, um, again, our focus right now is just being three and0. It’s a tremendous opportunity to go on the road in a hostile environment, one of the toughest we’ll ever face against a team that we got a lot of respect for. They they’ve obviously had some tremendous seasons and um they’re fighting the same way we are right now. So, the team is in a really good headsp space right now. Expect a great days of work and then we’ll go from there. What do you mean by no one runs their defense quite likely? I mean, a lot of respect for Flo. Flo makes things difficult. Um, he can be aggressive. He’s got really smart players that they’ve acquired over there uh that that I think he’s he’s done a great job getting his identity to seep through them and and so again there there’s challenges there um that we’ll continue to work through and and uh we’re optimistic that we’ll have a great plan. How important is it to be more efficient, more explosive in the run game moving forward? Well, we we just want to continue to find ways to win and put points on the board. So, whatever that looks like you you’d love to have the balance. I’d love to rush for 200 yards when it’s available. Um, we’re just going to keep doing the things we got to do to move the ball down the field and help our team win. How did you summarize the run game through two games? I know it’s been I know. Yeah, I know. Last week, you like to be better. Cleveland as well, tough rush defense. I think Cleveland, I mean, Baltimore averaged 2.1. We averaged 2.0. Um, so that’s been a a tough defense to go against. So, again, as we continue to create our identity as we go through this early part of the season, um, that’s something we’ve got to be better at. I’m not making any excuse for that. We need to be better in the run game, better really in all phases. Um, I didn’t feel like we started fast enough last week. You know, we got off to a rocky start with a three and out. That’s really unacceptable. Um, so there’s a lot of things we can continue to grow and and start the game faster. Um, and and hopefully finish like we just finished. How much of your conversations this week are about which corners of the playbook maybe you tap a little bit more into with Jake? I mean, how much is that as part of what or is it more of let’s just keep going along with what we’ve been doing? It’s I don’t know that people would really see a wholesale difference. Um but again, there there’s just hey Jake, here’s three things I’m thinking about. Which two do you like the most? You know, and um often times when we go through the plan the night before the game, Joe and Jake are very, very similar, almost exact in terms of the plays they like. Sometimes there’s one little tweak that Jake likes more than Joe um that we just make a note of in case that ever comes up and is needed. Um, so again, it’s it’s they both grown in our system here and that’s why they’re here because they’re they’re good at operating what we’re doing and we’ve tried to format it around Joe and now you you make a few tweaks. If it’s things that Joe Jake feels like he’s better at um certain areas that he wants to step into, then we’re more than willing to do that. So I I’ve always believed in philosophy when the quarterback works hard and you trust his opinion, you ask his opinion and if he believes in it, it’s got a higher chance of being successful. If he doesn’t believe in it, stay away from it. doesn’t matter how much I like it because um you want him to go out there and operate with confidence. You said many times that you like to empower your quarterback. Is that is that what you mean by that? Is taking his input in situations like this? Yeah. And again, they’ve they’ve earned that right because of how I see them work, how they see the game, um how I’ve seen them operate. So, you don’t not everybody is entitled to that um feedback or that empowerment. Uh Joe and Jake are two guys that that do. And so, we we ask for that. as a play caller, how how much do you recall that time in 23 where we had an extended stretch of what it was like working with him in that capacity? How much how beneficial is that? How much do you It is it is I mean a similar opponent, you know, they they’ve evolved their defense. Um but obviously we’ve game plan first Minnesota with Jake. It’s it has evolved for them. We played uh Jacksonville Jake, you know, and so those games you all remember. Um the game plans would have been would have been eerily similar with Joe. I mean, sometimes you’re just putting together a plan to attack a defense and what what best attacks them and um so again, it’s we’re putting together the plan that will best attack what Minnesota does and how we think we can have success. How much different does it feel this time going into uh Jake Browning leading the way as quarterback than it did two years ago? Well, there there’s some unknowns, you know, two years ago, you hadn’t seen him play in a in a um I say real game, you know, a regular season game. Um, so you never know. You always think you know how somebody’s going to handle it. We’ve seen Jake do it firsthand and give us a great opportunity to go on a run there. So there’s a lot of trust that he’s able to do that again. The thing with uh the one I would say about Jake in 23 was that completion percentage. Yeah. And uh is that I mean does he make different throws? Is the same throws? Is that why maybe the you know, you know, maybe the same for the playbook used just because they’re both high percentage B, right? Again, we don’t we’re not there are not wholesale changes in our playbook. It’s that’s just how we want to operate. We’ve got two quarterbacks that are extremely intelligent and know how to find completions. Um I I might be making this up, but I think they’re the two highest completion quarterbacks in our history here, you know. So again, they just do a great job making quick decisions. We got great playmakers, and so sometimes you want to get them the ball. There’s times we we want an aggressive mindset with how we’re calling a play, how we’re calling a game. Those are conversations that take place over the week with how aggressive we want you to be when we’re calling something like this. Um, so again, we we we message all that in different ways over the course of the fiveday preparation period and then go play the game, see how it plays out. Is gunslinger a good term for Jake? And how do you feel about that word as a description for quarterbacks? Um, I I not Nah, don’t lie. Uh, I no, I I don’t think gunslinger um, you know, I think of firing from the hip and and not really going off script is kind of how I see that sometimes. Um, I don’t see Jake that way. I think Jake can play on great rhythm and timing. Has a great understanding of what trying to accomplish. Um, he’s a gamer, you know, it’s he makes plays. He’s I mean this I I always have believed this and this is this stacks up with Joe and Jake and Brett. These guys have played a lot of football over the course of their lives. They uh played more high school football than most quarterbacks. They all played more college football than most quarterbacks. And so now they’ve got a lot of experience to draw on in the NFL. Whether that helps or not. Um I’ve always felt there was something there. Um that’s why I think Brandon Allen’s played a long time in this league as well. You know, he was a four-ear starter at Arkansas, three-ear starter in high school. Um, so again, it’s just a lot of guys that have been around that have played a lot of quarterback, not practiced, played a lot of quarterback, tend to find a way to have some success and, um, I think Jake is Jake and Joe are both examples of that. What have you seen from Brent so far as a backup? How do you feel like he’s come along? He’s locked in. He’s been very helpful. He’s learned the playbook. Um, so again, it’s we’ll continue to learn more about him as he gets more reps in practice. We brought him in here because we’ve liked his tape over the course of his evaluation period. That’s college, that’s pro. Um, that’s our starting point for why we added him because he had a good background report from our scouts. Uh, we liked we liked what he’s shown on tape. We thought that that would come in here and fit well in our room and he’s done nothing to to tell me that we were wrong in that regard. The fact that you all bring in Brett who was recently with them and then they was he and then they signed Dez who was obviously recently here. How did like what do you think of that carousel and how that played out? Yeah, that’s part of it. Um, you’re always looking to upgrade your quarterback room and for us that was Brett. For them, it’s Desmond. Um, again, I like to be around Desmond and so I I’m happy he’s got an opportunity somewhere. How much can that impact a matchup? Um, I I think a little bit is is overstated often times. So, again, everybody kind of changes week to week with how they operate. Jake had that viral moment last two years ago against the Vikings when he said, “You shouldn’t have cut me.” But when he comes in here, he’s really straight face. He’s almost emotionless. What What’s he like on the field? Is Is he different than what we see when we talk to him? He’s got great energy, great personality. Um I I do think you all probably see a little more of a subdued version than I do. Um I heard him on the radio as I was driving home from the game. I was trying to go make a a eighth grade football game and I heard him on the radio and it was very subdued. I was like, “This isn’t the Jake I usually interact with.” So, uh maybe that’s just postgame. He was exhausted. Um it was hot. I don’t know if you guys know that it was very hot. So those guys were a little worn out after the game, but um definitely around him there’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm and um chomping at the bit for the opportunity that he’s he’s you know always been prepared for and so I’m excited to see him in action. He may not be a gunslinger like Dan was talking about, you know, like you want to use that term, but he seems like a guy that’s unafraid to just let it rip, to go out there and just ball. Like how much of a superpower is that for a quarterback? I think preparation equals confidence. And so again, when when you know you’re prepared for the moment, there’s a lot of people that hope that when the moment comes, they’re just going to go do it off of raw natural ability. They don’t put in the work behind the scenes. Um, hey, just when I get out there, I’m a baller. I’m going to go make it work. And it it it might work for a game. It’s not going to work long term. When you’ve when you’ve prepared for your opportunity, then there’s a true confidence that comes with that. And I’m ready. There’s nothing there’s nothing they’re going to show me that I haven’t watched and seen and prepared for and thought through in my head and walked through in my own. And so I think Jake is an example of someone who’s truly prepared for a moment. And so that’s where his confidence stems from. And now you just go play football like like what’s got you here in the first place. In what ways can Joe stay involved to help this team as much as possible even though he’s not playing? I think that’ll evolve over over time over the next days and weeks. And so, um, again, I’m not going to define that today as we’re still early in the process, but um, he’ll always find ways to be involved. How are you going to prepare for the environment? They’re obviously very loud and how you going to prep for that. Yeah, that’ll as we go through the week, we’ll have solutions on how to put oursel in the best spot. We’ve played in some loud environments. This is um, arguably I think people can make a strong argument that this is this is the top or one of the top. So, I’ve been there before. A lot of our guys have been there before. for some of our guys that played there on their team. So, we we’ll find ways to get ready for it. The fact that Dalton also have played there before, Jake has played there before, understanding like you need to go silent, you know. Oh, you got to go silent. I mean, that’s that’s going to be really loud. But in terms of them having that’s like is that does that do anything? No, I mean it’s it’s all relative in terms of the noise. It’s when you’re on silent, you’re on silent. No one’s talking, you’re on silent. So, it’s all non-verbal. So, we got to do a great job with our non-verbal communication. applies more to the offense this week than the defense because it should be pretty quiet for them. But again, it’s it’s always a point of emphasis whenever we go on the road and got to have great poison and noise and um our guys know that we we’ve done this stuff before and it’s something certainly we will continue to emphasize this week. You’re obviously trying to get J ready, but the other three quarterbacks, how do you kind of evaluate them? Brett’s been here for a few weeks, other guys have been here for 24 hours. Yeah, it’ll that will evolve over the course of this week and next week. You know, it’s it can’t all happen at once. So, it’s on them to really get into the playbook and study because uh we got a lot of guys preparing for this game, trying to put it best forward. We got a lot of u uh people to draw from on the coaching staff that have helped them starting at yesterday. And so, it’s kind of pieced together just helping them understand the formations, the motions, the cadence, um how we call our personnel groupings, and then what are the base level concepts we got? Watch last week’s game, what was in last week. If you got questions on it, write them up and let Brad know, and we’ll cover it from there. So, this isn’t bringing someone in in the spring or training camp. We got a lot of time just to focus on them. It’s uh as we move now, we feel like we built the offense for people to be able to come in and quickly understand. So, we broke this thing down to the studs day one in 2019 and tried to build formations and motions and concepts that make sense if you understand why we’re calling them that and you can kind of not teach yourself. We’ve got to be able to do that as coaches, but if you are a smart guy that’s learn, okay, that’s that makes sense why they’d call it that. and you can quickly recall as you go through from week to week. Um, I think their understanding of our system will be stronger. What kind of a challenge does Carson Wentz pose versus JJ McCarthy? Um, I I don’t want to compare them. I I think just talking about Carson, he’s got a lot of experience. I’ve seen him play at extremely high level, MVP level, played against him multiple times. Um, so again, I feel like this is a guy that I’ I’ve seen play hundreds of times, I feel like. And so very strong, very difficult to bring down in the pocket, really good athleticism. Um, so again, the play is never over with him. He’s got the ability to extend. He’s got a strong arm. So again, I I just think he’s he’s a difficult quarterback to play against. He’s got a lot of strengths and, you know, I know he’s only been here probably about three weeks now, but um, again, got a lot of experience, has picked up playbooks fast in in his past for teams he’s had to go play with, and so I expect to face a difficult quarterback on Sunday. Is it easier to go up against a guy like that versus a rookie and JJ McCartney that you know that you’ve seen in the past with Carson? Um, no. I would I think they both have strengths. They’re they’re both difficult quarterbacks to face and so um unfortunate for them that they lost JJ, but you know, I’ve got all respect for Carson, so I know that’s going to be difficult for our guys. Who’s your emergency quarterback standing up to? Yeah. Um, sometimes it can change uh depending on activives and inactives. I’m not ready to go there right now with you today. Um, It’s over the years. Um, it has changed over the years. Um, but again, I’m I’m not going to throw that out there right now. If you elevate one of the practice squad guys, can they be the emergency? Um, that’s not Yeah. No, I think they they have to be on the 53man roster. I think that was the rule. There’s a CBA issue there. So, thank you. Exactly. Thanks. Exactly. Thanks.

Zac Taylor speaks to the media going into Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings.

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