Jaguars 14, Falcons 21
Q. Yeah, Coach, could you discuss how you were able to close this one out there?
ARTHUR SMITH: Yeah. You know, obviously, we wanted to end the game with the ball in our hands, but sometimes it doesn't always go that way. Those guys battled. We stayed aggressive. Able to convert that third and two. Got a call playing off of tendency there there. Conversion.
I know we didn't ultimately -- we had to put the defense back on the field, but they've got to close games as well. And that's what a good team does. There's no panic. And our guys -- I think it says a lot about the character of this staff and this staff after the last couple weeks because we don't live and die on the day-to-day narrative. Keep trying to improve. And really proud of this team and this staff.
Q. Can you discuss Cordarrelle's play and 151 yards rushing, the season high?
ARTHUR SMITH: Yeah. That's what good teams have to do. That's why you can live in all these narratives, and they're all BS if you don't continue to grow and improve.
And we felt good about it, about the run game, regardless of what statistics and situations, whatever, we kept chipping away. And today was a great job by the entire offense running the football.
Obviously, having CP back adds an element. He's a warrior. He's a big, physical presence that can do a lot for us. And that's clear. Good to have him back.
Q. Personnel-wise, the player Dalman coming in at center and Mykel Walker at linebacker for Deion?
ARTHUR SMITH: Sure. That was the plan all week with Henne and Drew. And I thought Matt responded. That's not an easy thing to go through.
And, yeah, it was a little unconventional, but we thought it was best for our football team. And I thought it made us better. And we'll continue to do that. Guys are going to have to step up. It's a long season.
Deion had something pop up at the end of the week. That's why we develop the roster. And I'm proud as hell of Walker. He stayed ready all year and he played -- did a good job playing that role today.
Q. (Question about center.)
ARTHUR SMITH: We felt good about it. Like I said, you can write conventional rules, whatever. But, you know, we felt good about the rotation. We've got a lot of trust in both Henne and Drew and the work they've done all year with Matt. So it is what it is. We felt good about it, and that's why we went with it.
Q. At the end of the first half, the clock ran down in fourth down situation. Why did you not (no microphone) -- ARTHUR SMITH: Which one are you talking about? Their last play?
Q. It ended up being the second of the last drive. It was when they were down kicking the field goal. Did you consider taking a timeout there?
ARTHUR SMITH: Well, it depends on -- you could make an argument either way. But they were going to get the ball after half. So you burn the timeout. We were at the advantage. I believe it was second and 11 when I called it. Incomplete. I believe they had a third and 11. They checked it down. We tackled them. Watched and see if they were going to call a timeout. Seeing what they were going to do.
There was some consternation on the sidelines. I think he was looking at me thinking I was going to call it. I was waiting, just playing the game because I felt with two timeouts -- obviously, we threw an interception. I thought we had plenty of time to go down and score a field goal. With the balance of time and timeouts, we felt good it about it.
Really, it was the result of what happened on third down. So, yeah, you could bang it there, but I didn't want to give them that opportunity. I wanted to see what they were going to do.
Q. A lot of this is game flow, but to have an offensive line performance where they allowed just one sack. I think the Jaguars had four total quarterback hits. What does that say about that group?
ARTHUR SMITH: It says they rally. They've got a tough-minded group is what it says. Told you guys, been saying all year, you can't live and die with the day-to-day narrative. You've got to see the big picture.
You look at minor obstacles that get thrown your way in a long NFL season, and it says a lot about this team. We're chipping away. So we're right in the mix. And we've got six games to go. Playing meaningful ball in December. That's where we want to be.
Sure, you want your record to be better. But this team grinds. They do. Whether you start 0 and 2, you dip to 4 and 6. The easy thing to do would be rationale and say, oh, this, that. No, we're going to continue to work and try to get better.
Q. (Question about offense and Patterson.)
ARTHUR SMITH: There's a couple things. Certainly, he's a good football player, and you've got to account for him. But he's a physical -- he's a hard guy to tackle. That's stating the obvious here. So it brings a different element in that right.
When it gets late in the year and you're running the football, those hits add up. And he can do a lot for us. And it says a lot about him and went out there and played today. And he made an impact.
But really we needed something early. Felt we got some good momentum. And he was able to punch the ball in on that run. And it kind of got us going again.
Q. Did you have to talk him out of kick return?
ARTHUR SMITH: I made that decision.
Q. You made that decision?
ARTHUR SMITH: Yes. Because he would try to do everything. So sometimes you have to save people from themselves. You want to coach guys like that.
Q. Would you look at maybe making that more of a permanent thing because of how much --
ARTHUR SMITH: Well, I mean, every week presents different set of challenges. So it was week-to-week and we'll see where he's at, you know. But that will be -- I would make those calls. I'm not going to sit here today and back myself in the corner. But all options are on the table.
Q. On the 12-yard run, gets a good lead block and Jake gets good blocks on the right side, kind of seals and opens it up for -- what type of statement does a power run like that make?
ARTHUR SMITH: Well, you can be physical in the wide zone -- wide zone. So no matter what scheme, you can add a physicality to it. You don't -- which most people don't, but we want to have a physical presence. Whatever scheme we're running, wide zone, tight zone, gap, pin pole. There's a lot of ways to try to run the football, but we want to have the physical element.
That's why we train the way we do, try to get up to the line of scrimmage.
It's good to see those guys' hard work pay off. And next week is going to present a whole different set of challenges. And we've got to find a way to win a division game at home.
Q. The last time we talked postgame, you made the comment that -- you said that "I feel confident that we'll turn this thing around because we've done it before."
ARTHUR SMITH: Correct.
Q. And I just kind of think, like, how did you see that group do this again -- not just today but throughout the week as well?
ARTHUR SMITH: Well, you take some time. I mean, the human emotion right after, you know, you lose two games like that, it's easy, like I said, to go through the range of emotions.
But when you take a step back and you can have some perspective -- and that's what we'll try -- here, have some perspective. Here is where we're at. We know why. We deserve to be where we're at. But it's not catastrophic.
I think too many times people think instant results. There's a lot of ways to go with it. I don't believe in that. And this team doesn't. And we kept it to work, things we want to tweak. We'll continue to do that.
So says a lot about the character of these players and this staff.
Q. You mentioned you had confidence in the run game coming in here. What was giving you that confidence? What did you see that made you --
ARTHUR SMITH: Same thing that gave me confidence in Tennessee. When you're installing a system, you know, there's a lot of revisionist history. But there was times in '18 where it didn't look too pretty. And we got going at the end of the year in the run game. Just takes some times sometimes.
And these guys work so hard. And the easy thing to do would be, hey, let's panic. Let's just start grab bagging, stealing plays that we think worked that other people -- that may not fit us.
That's not we're training to do. We've been training to hit these combinations. And they paid off today. Doesn't guarantee it will be like that next week. Like I said, next week will present a different set of challenges. But it's what we believe in. And I've been through it before. So, again, about perspective and going back to work.
Q. (Question about Patterson.)
ARTHUR SMITH: He got his defensive snap today. Did you see it? Did you mark that down? I may put him on the depth chart for D-wide next week for free safety.
Q. Is that something you go with hot hand or do you in, say, two, two or two, one? How does that actually work?
ARTHUR SMITH: Like I said, it was a little unconventional. But our plan was to go two on two and take it from there. And we'll assess when we went back and watch the film and have a day kind of think about it and just see where we go from here.
Q. They gave you a turnover from Deron there, the interception, and then the big guys kind of making a mess in there.
ARTHUR SMITH: They were. They've improved. The defensive guys, again, Deron, Eric, those guys provide a lot of steady leadership. It's good to see Richie and Darren. It's a long season, try to have perspective there too. They came up. They made plays. And guys continually -- Ade's continuing to have a -- just a quiet pro. And a lot of these young guys are having impacts. And they're surrounded by some smart vets. And we've got to play together as a team.
Q. Like you said, you'd rather end the game with the ball in your hands. But to get the defense to shut the door, just what kind of confidence can that give them?
ARTHUR SMITH: A lot. It's a team game. I mean, we would have loved to have converted that had third down. We didn't. So, you know, credit to Jacksonville. But there's no panic.
The only thing there was the -- they pumped the play clock there. It was a little bit of a -- you know, I don't know what happened there, why they pumped it and then it went down. I'll get to the bottom of that.
We take a delay. It's not catastrophic right there. But you don't want to see the false start on the next one. And Thomas Morstead, another guy, we -- came in this week. He's a pro. And he made an impact on the game. And not that Dustin Colquitt quit hasn't punted well either, but we have a good staff. And everybody's collaborative. And Terry and his staff and all the coaches, we all collaborate. Those are underrated moves that nobody thinks about, but he had a huge impact on this game.
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