 Hi Teresa. Good morning afternoon Mike, Mike in making sure you give Will time to learn and grow in the field, what's that challenge of making sure you protect him and give him that time and can you do some of that with scheme? Is it execution? Is it a combination? It's always a combination. I mean you can max protect and you know make sure that you know you're counting for guys in the box and I mean on every play right there's four down five down there's an ID plus one minus one and and so in some of those protections you know you're building in you know quote-unquote double teams and if people come we talked about this the other day that takes you out of your combinations you have to have your eyes up and be ready to come off you know we're always trying to build a pocket whether that's from behind the center whether you move the launch spot movement throws quick game you know empty you know different things that we're we've built in that we've done here in the last couple weeks and you know we'll continue to do. Is cutting the field down with the rollout not worth it oftentimes and what you might gain in protection of moving the pocket? Well I think that there's always you know I don't think you want to do too much of it I think that there's you know places to you know first favorable looks or off coverage or you feel like you may get a natural rub you know I think that we've always had that in the plan I don't think that it's something that we do a lot of but I think that there's you know if you can steal a couple yards and situationally you know I think it's favorable it does give you a little bit of relief and you know so I mean how much or how little I just I don't think it's gonna be a major part of what we do but I think you have to have the ability to to roll out and you know get the ball out of the quarterback's hand and yeah sometimes there's only two guys over there. With the way everything's happening so fast we make a lot of fuss about it maybe negatively impact impacting others but are there positives that could be gained from that maybe you know speeding up the process for them or anything like that in this development? Well I mean you know some plays have to develop you know so you're gonna have to give time for for somebody's concepts to develop and we'll continue to do that we'll work on that so you want to move the ball down the field you're gonna again with you know you got to hold up as teams add on as those second level players add on into the rush. I think the less distance that you throw it the quicker hitting ones you know then you don't have to hold up as long but those have you know again sometimes they're there sometimes they're not versus different coverages so however it happens you know you have to play quarterback you have to understand the position you have to understand you know when it's there when to step up you know pocket presence and all those things and you know we'll keep doing that. You mentioned a few different options that left tackle the other day have you decided on one? Dylan will probably work there today and then you know Jalen will do some work there and got you know nine or ten healthy healthy alignment available here on the roster in the practice squad. He may be you know limited today and we'll see where he is at the end of the week. Dylan benefit from a week maybe working there as opposed to maybe just being thrown in a little bit again. I think we think practice is important so the more that he can he can do you know again I get the versatility but then I'm sure there's also something to you know being able to you know have some have some work there you know consistently and not just you know limited snap so you know that's where we'll be today and you know if that changes that could change throughout the week. You know this is very familiar with AFC South teams with Will's first time against the division opponent how much can this team's familiarity the coaching staff's familiarity with what you're gonna face Sunday help get Will ready. Well hey there's just a lot of structure there to the defense as far as up front you know multiple fronts multiple pressures you know some some some linebacker pressures you know the post safety the zone you know the run the corners over and again every week is different you know we may see different looks but this has been a defense that you know traditionally is kind of done what they've done maybe had a few wrinkles against us see how they play us come in Sunday you know maybe similar to how they try to play us last year or you know again you have to look and see what they've done the last couple weeks and think maybe that's something they'll do but be prepared for that and we'll just have to ultimately know who the who we're playing against the scheme the guys that you know we certainly have to be able to take care of and you know in the run game and then we want to throw it I think you always try to do that I think what we're trying to focus on is improving and winning I think that's you know I think you could find a million examples of things that have happened which again does make sure that you know anything that we want to do is in front of us and that it's possible and you know we know how it goes in this league you get going on a roll you just have to play better longer more consistent yeah Jill I don't know if that's you know I mean and we're just trying to get ready for them I'm not trying to evaluate their success I mean I know you know ask me about the players that they have or you know skilled players on offense the impact players on defense you know however they've chosen to do that that's what they've done I'm trying to get our guys ready for you know Allen and Walker and you know all the all the skill players and Ridley and Kirk and Ingram taking a three-yard pass turning it 25 yards at the end his skill set you know trying to make sure that when we rush the quarterback doesn't run for any more than the 223 yards scrambling that he has and take take care of the ball and lead the league and turnovers on defense does that help you Jill I don't know yeah looking at Trevor Lawrence specifically his growth where have you seen him take several steps forward how do you continue to put pressure on well he gets the ball out of his hand I think he you know knows where he wants to go whether it's man or zone and even if it's not there you know teams have either gotten to him and affected him or he's been able to just to scramble and again he's he's athletic he can run it's big but you know they've done a good job of you know like I said the boot game and getting the ball out of his hand and using his skill set can you pressure the quarterback and hit him that leads to turnovers they do a good job hammering the ball a couple examples of guys that are close to going down at DB's are coming in there and hammering it out so that'll be a huge focal point is our ability to to be aggressive with the football in our hand but but not reckless and not swinging around and then also guys getting to the football and protecting the guy with the ball shielding guys and you know finish it on the pile if something does happen and the ball does pop out the red zone offense this year has it been more missed opportunities down there the place not being made or has it been more negative plays with penalties and sacks all the above all the above you know and that's not to be anything other than factual that that's you know when you have an opportunity you have to take advantage of it we know that the windows are tight things happen quick mistakes lead to you know longer yardage situations on four stairs whatever it may be so I'd say that there's a lot of issues unfortunately we need to correct them quickly the red zone's been a harder place for everybody red zone offense is down red zone defense is doing better is that a part of what's happening to you or you can I mean I think that that's it probably independent of that I mean it can't be you know I mean we have to be better than what we are and what we've been clearly but again I think that you see less pressure down there and you see you know more guys in coverage that are able to you know spread the field and make it difficult you know that just I think everybody understands how critical it is to once you get down there that if you can force them to kick field goals you know that gives you a real chance in the end you know so I think probably that's what defenses are doing well the mental I mean has to be part of the execution and you have to know your job you have to be able to you know take the practices and take the walk-throughs to take the meetings and ultimately we have one test we have one test on Sunday that we have to we have to nail it and there'll be mistakes but we just can't have the repeated you know critical ones so you know whether you know physically or mentally it all goes into you know your performance you have to have an idea of what the play is what your job is what your responsibility is who you need to communicate with what those details are and then and then physically go execute. You mentioned Ridley earlier what specifically is he added to their offense? He's an excellent route runner you know he's an excellent route runner. It's got you know great catch radius you know it's athletic so seems like it always you know a lot of times he's open down a field it just is a very good route runner and what they're trying to do with him. The defender that he is and obviously in a contract here doesn't matter he's still going out there and doing his job. I think this is a great example as players gotten better every year that he's been in the league which is always impressive that they continue to improve it's got great length good change of direction it's like very good instincts he feels like when he can come under when he needs to bend he's got flexibility at the top of the pocket you know and he's willing you know he plays hard. Probably be limited throughout the week and then we'll see where he's at towards the end of the week. And it's still in protocol again it's either in protocol or not so don't want to get too far into that he's still in protocol and won't not at the level to where he will will practice today if that helps so the different category yeah yep yep so no though he will not practice today so still in the early stages of that. Like Dillard in the stage that we will practice in protocol or who anybody else not practicing. No I think we're okay I mean SMB will probably be limited Brunney will probably be limited. Berks won't be out there. Dillard won't be out there. Gentrally quiet today buddy. No I'm finished. You've had three starts now are you feeling things slowing down at all or how's the game kind of coming to you at this point. Yeah definitely I think you know it's all about reps it's all about you know getting those game reps especially because it practices a lot different with the quarterback position and not getting hit and feeling the pressure and no one wants to get the ball out or move or what have you so it's been great if anything you know just give me confidence that I can go out there and operate but obviously got to do a better job. I had just keeping your keeping your wits about you you know just staying within the game plan you know you can't let some of those factors determine like how you're going to think about a player your process obviously there's sometimes where there are answers that you can kind of turn to if there is a pressure whether we're not picking it up or it's coming a little faster so just keeping your wits about you and keeping keeping and still in confidence in those in those guys up front because yeah I mean it's never going to be easy in this game you know it's it's a long season no one's 100 healthy everyone's tired it's you know you're going out there going to war every Sunday and got to do it again in a week so it's part of the game I just try to focus on controlling what I can control which is what I've been doing. Yeah I think just understanding the flow of the game and kind of what to expect as the game goes on like certain situations where maybe schematically we expected them to maybe be doing a couple different things but as we got going we saw that it was changing and that mentality was changing so you know we talked as a team about how we as players got to do a better job as adapting and you know coaches like getting on us to let us know how this flow of the game is going what to expect in certain situations and how we can kind of just have our ears tied back for those types of things. He's a heck of a dude he came and spoke to us our senior year at Kentucky just going through you know his his whole journey how he's gotten to where he's been and he's a heck of a heck of a person and a heck of a player as well so excited to you know see him afterwards hopefully but we got to definitely take care of him because he's a dude. Players and coaches always talk about plays you'd like to have back in a typical game when you go back and watch the film about how many of those are there? There's always going to be some there I mean whether it's you know operationally with getting either protection or mic points more cleaned up so that we can get you know ourselves off to a better jump with a play or just throws that you know missed decision-wise so I can't point to a specific amount but try to limit those obviously and you can kind of judge how the game went based on the number of you know those ones that you can kind of go back and in sick. Kind of an obvious question Will but what would it when on Sunday first road win against the division rival that's leading your division what would what could a win do on Sunday that calvinizes team going forward? For sure I mean it's it's a big one we talked about today it's only our second division game so I mean we still got all these division games left and as far as we see it it's the wide open we got to take it one day one game at a time and it's a big one for sure but as long as we just focus on our keys and what we can do individually to make those keys come to life that's all we can really focus on hopefully leaving Jacksonville with the devil on Sunday you talked about wanting to go where a guy's open and everything but heading into a game you have a feel for for how much you'd like to get the ball to Deandre how much playing features Deandre you come out of a game when you aren't able to get it to him disappointed in not being able to do so yeah I mean it's it's all about self scout I think like the the ways that we have gotten in the ball or and and how we you know see to get it to him in the future in different ways so whether it's doing some of the same stuff that we've been doing to get him the ball or giving him different looks to to give him the ball in ways that you know people might not expect so the coach has been on a great job scheming up some things for him and we got to continue doing that going forward because we've got we've got to feed him the ball for sure behind a different looking group of offensive linemen first couple of stars it's going to look different on Sunday as well how does that impact you or how can you help that group settle in yeah I mean I got to be a leader I got my leadership rules got to step up I got instilled confidence in these guys and regardless of who it is whatever five is up there that they know that you know I got my full trust in them and that they got to know that that or I have to know that they know that they know what they're doing as a unit so we're working this week to have all those guys who could potentially be thrown in there like just have that confidence within themselves and I got to do better job as a leader just to just keep bringing them along yeah I mean I definitely feel like I can use my legs more when it's when it sees fit it's part of the self scout and going back and seeing like when I could have maybe escaped or where the lanes are and that's just a you know continuation of feeling out what's going to be best for us in the game plan and what I need to do in certain situations to put the ball in play and and make things happen I mean that's just ball that's just going out there and playing ball and feeling space and you know we talk about having the stagnant you know lines and and numbers on piece of paper on when we draw the play but when you bring it to life depending on all the bullets flying like it could be different and it we can't predict exactly what the route's going to look like and as long as we have a good feel for the timing and the space of the route that's what I feel like we've done a good job of even if it is a little shorter or deeper continuing to just get guys in the right spots where we find those voids to be in the defense have you seen maybe defense is a little bit more prepared for some of your deep shots in the last game or two than maybe that first one yeah I mean we try not to expect or predict anything you get you got to read it true um you know db's safety's like they're taught differently throughout the league and based on the different you know uh route combinations that they're seeing like when they're going to be cutting it or when they're going to be keeping high so we got to do this good job as we can so just have our receivers be attacking in a way that they don't know what to do and then it's just on me to react and see when those opportunities arise uh when to take the deep shot when or when to check it out I think a lot of the lessons you know carry over which I mean at the very least if you want to be a good leader you got to be someone who leaves by example and and works hard and does the right things and is able to be someone that people can come to and ask questions to so I think that part of it like being able to have a full grasp in the offense and really go to each position group and um let them know that I know kind of what's going on in the ins and outs like I can do a better job of that so just as I as my um just football knowledge increases and my knowledge of the offense in general like I look forward to being more involved in that in that respect but other than that um you know different ranges of ages obviously and just types of dudes so uh you're just feeling out for what they who they are as people and what what gets through them best um so that's probably the biggest difference I'd say I just I've always I feel like in everything that I've done I've always just wanted to be at the forefront in the driving seat because I don't know there's just I think I got that just innate ability to to bring others with me and just and do the right thing and you know it's it's a tough job to have but I like having the tough jobs um so just kind of how I'm wired I guess and I got to keep finding ways to to be a better leader you mentioned the AFC South um kind of running division games coming up what people told you about what to expect in those type of games or maybe would you learn maybe in preparation for even the Colts back in or in the season they're gonna come at you I mean that was definitely our most physical game I think we played this year and I think it's just because you know there is that um whether it's you know animosity or just like competitiveness between the people in the division we know how much all those games count obviously every game is going to be a bloodbath but it just seems like for those division games like you know you got to step up and you know bring your best to the table or else you're going to get kicked in the mouth so we expect that in all of our games but especially within these divisional opponents how much have you found things to kind of be magnified more down in the red zone in your first three starts it just seems like that this team has had red zone problems and obviously that's you know you got to get touchdowns down there but you know with the struggles this team has had it just seems like things have been magnified how do you deal with that yeah no that's tough you can't you can't expect to have a successful team if you can't go down there and score points in the red zone so that's been an area of focus for us um I think even on top of that putting ourselves in positions in the red zone to be able to you know use the playbook in a way that's a little more advantageous for us and that goes for the whole field just with being more efficient on first and second down um but you know we talked about it going through the film like those are huge reps for me down there in the red zone having to know that everything happens faster that those windows are smaller that the ball locations that much more important a couple throws that I had in the last game that down in the red zone that we could have changed the pace of the game so understanding that and uh knowing the types of balls types of decisions that need to be made sort of big picture I guess maybe after three games with what sort of yourself even pros I mean I try not to dwell too much on you know obviously like my first game we watched it and learned from it that day moved on same thing for the last two um but I just got to do a better job of being clean as I can with the operation and getting these dudes just getting their their mindset on what their task needs to be done at the line of scrimmage and eliminating as much confusion as possible I think there's been some times where just not myself or other people have just been a little unsure so eliminating those getting us in a spot where we can just play fast um I think that's going to be a big thing for me and just can trying to keep making good enough decisions and putting the ball in play I think just the tape like you got to just doesn't matter like you throw you know a couple picks and whatever your stats are like you can evaluate yourself just based on what you know is expected at your position you and your coaches really only know what the standard is and what's expected of you on that certain play um so just I guess it's not a statistical thing it's more just a feel when professional teams struggle it can be difficult to maintain morale through very low lows what is having a head coach with the temperament of Mike we're able to do for this group yeah I think he keeps us all you know with our heads head straight so I mean he's done a great job of letting us know that you know our our keys our standards like remain the same regardless of of how the previous games have gotten us if we're undefeated or over um we're going to come in here every day work um and be professionals about it and that's what I loved about loved about this this job and how just everyone comes in every single day regardless of what happened that previous day with the right mindset just looking to get better um looking to prove to themselves the coach of the rest of the team uh that they can be someone that can help this team win so it's been it's been cool to see the dudes continue to rally forward uh regardless of you know how the seasons go coming up again like like the box game a series of drops you mentioned leadership how do you go to these guys and and just like what's the approach you know and letting them know I'm still going to come to you I still have confidence I mean it's through that it's through how you speak to them and and still in confidence and then it's through your actions which is continuing to go to them and that's how they're going to build their confidence back up if uh someone's you know had a couple drops the only way they're going to get away from that is if they catch a couple balls so it's not it's not a good thing to just you know see a drop and just get off a guy just because of that you got to have confidence like I got to have confidence in everybody up front and everybody else in the huddle there um so it's continuing to feed them continuing to get reps with them in practice um and uh and just keeping still in confidence in them what are they saying what are they saying to you sorry what are they saying to you maybe after some of the drops yeah I mean I'm going to see your drops of all this it's common for them to come to you and be like hey like my bad but you got to move on from that you got to tell them hey it's like you know we're all good we're going to get it next time and uh just let them know not to dwell on it because you know when you have one and you think about it turns into two and more so get them in the right headspace to just keep plugging forward and on the flip side of that uh if you make a mistake what what got what are guys saying to you to pick you up same same thing there I mean just just keep pushing the ball down the field you know if I make a decision here uh that you know I shouldn't have made uh it doesn't mean that I need to dial it back and be more conservative gotta be as as confident with my throws and my decisions regardless of how the previous ones worked out thanks guys