Jacksonville Jaguars “blessed” to have Pederson, Lawrence
LONDON – Shad Khan likes the path. He likes the core, too.
The Jaguars will play at Wembley Stadium for the primary time in 3 seasons Sunday. It`s Doug Pederson’s first London sport as their head teach and Trevor Lawrence’s first sport at Wembley as their quarterback. The duo, Khan stated, is certainly the important thing to the Jaguars’ future.
And Khan stated this is a excellent issue for the franchise.
“The important elements of the contemporary-day NFL crew are the top teach and the quarterback,” Khan instructed Jaguars Media Saturday morning. “We’re blessed to have them each who can assist form this crew right into a steady winner.”
Khan, now in his eleventh complete season because the Jaguars’ proprietor, spoke to more than one media participants at The Dorchester in downtown London Saturday morning – an afternoon earlier than the crew’s sport in opposition to the Denver Broncos at Wembley at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. He mentioned more than one topics, which includes the crew’s go back Sunday to Wembley.
The Jaguars performed a domestic sport on the anciental stadium each season from 2013-2019. They did now no longer play in London in 2020 due to COVID-19, then beat the Miami Dolphins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in 2021.
“It’s an iconic stadium, and it is our domestic farfar from domestic,” Khan stated of Wembley. “The London sport is a large a part of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’s going to be a anciental sport in lots of specific ways. It’s a part of our DNA now and we’re going to be persevering with it.”
The Jaguars, after NFL-worst statistics of 1-15 and 3-14 the closing seasons, this beyond February employed Pederson – who coached the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory following the 2017 season – as their 7th head teach. He changed Urban Meyer, who turned into disregarded thirteen video games into his first season as head teach closing December.
“He’s been to the summit, and he is been in reality extra special as someone and as a teach,” Khan stated of Pederson, including that Pederson’s technique has inspired in 8 months withinside the function with “how open he’s.
“He’s searching out input,” Khan stated. “That has been a nice surprise – then how thorough he’s and the way traumatic he’s.”
Khan additionally stated he likes the long-time period path and tradition of the franchise – and the organizational shape overseen through Pederson and General Manager Trent Baalke together with Khan.
“It’s collaborative, it is obvious and it’s miles actually teamwork on comparing what our desires are, after which figuring out and getting the talent,” Khan stated. “We’ve were given the communication, the transparency and the dialogue after which the selection-making. There is not a key selection that has been made withinside the closing or 3 years that I have not been a a part of – good, awful or indifferent.
“That tells us how we were given in which we did and if matters are not running out … why and the way can we extrade that?”
Khan, too, spoke especially of Lawrence – the face of the franchise due to the fact becoming a member of the Jaguars because the No. 1 common choice withinside the 2021 NFL Draft. Lawrence has began out all 24 video games due to the fact becoming a member of the Jaguars, throwing 9 touchdowns with 4 interceptions thru seven video games this season after throwing 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions closing season.
“The first time I met Trevor on Zoom, manner earlier than the draft, I turned into blown away,” Khan stated. “We realize his talent, however what a extremely good individual he’s. The greater I’ve gotten to realize him – and I suppose I realize him pretty well – I suppose he is in reality a prototype of if I turned into developing with a desire listing of who need to be the face of the franchise it is Trevor Lawrence.”
Though the Jaguars are 2-five thru seven video games with 4 consecutive losses, all 5 losses this season had been determined withinside the very last minutes. Khan on Saturday stated that the Jaguars have led withinside the fourth area in six of 7 video games this season after dropping 19 video games through double digits in 2020-2021.
“What we have got visible is a great deal greater aggressive video games,” Khan stated. “What I need to look manifestly is the crew to attain its complete potential. What I’m enthusiastic about is each sport earlier than the sport at some stage in the week they trust they are able to win.
“The gamers have grown and the training staff – Doug and the assistants – have truly finished a extremely good task growing them. The closing drive [of games] has quite a great deal decided our won-loss record. How we near them out and flip that right into a W is the subsequent stage.”
Listen to the overall interview with Jaguars proprietor Shad Khan, below.
