Jacksonville Jaguars Media Conference

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Mike Caldwell

Weekday Press Conference


Q. Do you start getting on edge that Devin Lloyd hasn't been on the field yet or are you confident with the mental reps he's been able to take?

MIKE CALDWELL: Yeah, right now we're just listening to the training staff and letting him take care of his body and working through the injury, and when he's back, he's back, but standing on the sideline, getting the mental reps, working with him in the film room, he'll be ready when it's time.

Q. So your expectation is he'll be ready to go by week one?

MIKE CALDWELL: Can't put a timeline on it, but we're hoping that he continues to progress, and then the mental part of it and then the physical part will take care of itself.

Q. What little steps have you seen from Travon Walker over the last few weeks just in his moves, development, everything?

MIKE CALDWELL: You see it mainly in the run game right now. You see the physical part of it, him getting off blocks, setting blocks and setting the edge for us, and then in the pass game you see the talent. You see the toolbox start to expand. So he's progressing.

Q. How is Tyson Campbell progressing for you?

MIKE CALDWELL: You look at him, he's outside. He's really locked down for us right now. He's out there handling the techniques, showing leadership skills in the back end. He's doing a great job.

Q. Do you ever travel him or do you like in your scheme to keep guys kind of where they are?

MIKE CALDWELL: Really it's game-by-game, week-by-week. If we need to, we can, but we feel comfortable on both sides with the guys we have, and we just take care of each team weekly.

Q. Could Tyson have that potential to be that guy? Could he grow to get to the point where he's always going to be on the opponent's best receiver?

MIKE CALDWELL: Really with him and Shaq back there together, depending on the match-up and the receiver we're going against, one guy might like this guy better or match up against this one, so both guys can really be able to travel. Same with D-Will.

Q. Does Tyson seem like he's able to cover the big guy or the shifty guy? Are you seeing a versatile player that can cover all kinds of receivers?

MIKE CALDWELL: That's what you see in him. You see the versatility he's able to play outside, play inside, big receiver, small receiver. He can really cover any type of receiver he needs to, but right now we'll just focus on letting him play left and right and then if we need to we can have him travel.

Q. What did you see from Arden Key and has he been better than you expected with him coming in?

MIKE CALDWELL: He really has. You saw him early on in his career, he developed, and you just see that he's really an exceptional pass rusher. He runs games well. He communicates well with the other D-linemen, and his leadership really as far as pre-practice, working on moves, working on hand placements, talking a game in the meeting rooms, he's a leader really.

Q. Have you noticed him coaching up some of the younger guys during one-on-ones, kind of telling them some moves, and do you like to see that from your veteran players?

MIKE CALDWELL: Oh, all day long, yeah. Any time that you're a veteran and you've been through it and you've seen it, whether you're going against a lineman that you've played in your division in the past or just someone, a lineman on our team. Anything you notice from them expands your knowledge and helps the young guys understand what you're looking for and just helps them grow.

Q. Most defensive coordinators are kind of like stop-the-run-first type of guys. How much has the acquisition of Foley and Foye done to help you run the defense?

MIKE CALDWELL: It's really leadership. Leadership on the front level, leadership on the second level. Those two guys, they've played in the league, been successful in the league, and they've kind of instilled in us that what we try to stress. They're going to be physical in the run game and communicate out there and just be good for the whole defense.

Q. What is it about their skill set? Obviously Foye being the leading tackler in the NFL last year isn't always a good sign. You don't necessarily want the leading tackler. Could you talk about what their skill sets bring to help fortify your ability to stop the run?

MIKE CALDWELL: When you talk about him and his skill set, it starts with the mental part of it. He's able to communicate and get all 11 on the same page and let the defense run smoothly because of him standing back there.

Talk about him leading the NFL in tackles, well, you do want it but you don't want it. You want to share the wealth, let the D-line have some tackles, but you need a guy back there to be able to erase mistakes, and he's doing that for us and we're happy for it.

Foley, it's just he's a big run stopper with pass rush ability, so that's really a plus for him. He's able to help us in the run game and also push the pocket and create some pass rush inside.

Q. When it's time to get after the quarterback, you have Key and Smoot on the inside, Walker and Allen on the outside. How comfortable are you with that pass rush unit?

MIKE CALDWELL: Really we've got plenty of depth as far as getting after the quarterback. You have K'Lavon outside, we have Jamir, we have different guys that we can package. It'll be a week-to-week package, but as long as you have guys that are intent on stopping the run and then getting after the quarterback, we're happy with those guys.

Q. Joint practices next week, how valuable are those and what do you like about them?

MIKE CALDWELL: It's good because the intensity raises up because you're not going against your own team. You can see different looks. You're out here, we've been practicing for the last couple of weeks against the same offense, and now it's time to see a different offense. Week to week you're going to see different offenses, so just understanding that we can tweak our system for whatever offense we're going against, and this will be really the third opportunity for us to see a different offense and be able to tweak it.

Q. Is Hamilton someone you've seen elevate his game over camp?

MIKE CALDWELL: When you look at him, you watch the film, you see his presence in the middle along with Foley. He's a big, powerful man, and his pass rush is something that you didn't expect. You expect a nose to handle the middle, be a run stopper, get off the field, but he has pass rush ability, so yeah, we're pleased.

Q. Chad Muma, did you see him take a step from game to game?

MIKE CALDWELL: I think he improved, and that's what you're looking for week to week. He looked comfortable, got out there, made some plays. Just trusted his technique and went out there and performed.

Q. How was it seeing Josh Allen and Travon Walker on the field together on Friday night?

MIKE CALDWELL: It's always good to have your edge rushers out there at the same time, and to see those guys, and they feed off each other after getting after the quarterback, yeah, it was good to see them out there.

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123828-1-1002 2022-08-17 13:25:00 GMT

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