Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson still hasn't spoken directly with safety Andre Cisco about his "quit" comments after the team lost to the Chicago Bears last Sunday in London, but he did expand on comments he made Monday regarding the situation.
The loss dropped the Jaguars to 1-5 with another matchup in London against the New England Patriots on tap for Sunday.
"Quite frankly, sometimes I don't feel like I need to in those situations," Pederson said from The Grove Hotel in Watford, just 20 minutes outside London, England, when asked if he's spoken with Cisco since the comments were made. Pederson added that he wants to give Cisco and the team a couple of days to process what occurred.
"Andre [Cisco] is obviously a really good leader on our football team. Sometimes, and I'm guilty of this too, sometimes you say stuff out of emotion. It's hard to not say something," said Pederson. "But again, I go back to what I said the other day. I just don't think he meant anything demeaning by it. He's not pointing the finger at anybody because, he's in that boat as well, just like we all are."
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After Sunday's loss against the Bears, Cisco described the defense's performance as "a lot of quit," particularly during the second half when he said they were not "playing as one."
The Jaguars lost embarrassingly at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, defeated 35-16 after the defense gave up four straight touchdowns going into halftime and just into the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, after opening the game with a field goal, the offense punted or turned the ball over on their next four possessions.
Pederson said he understands Cisco's emotions but feels the team needs to press forward.
"I get the emotional side of it, but at the same time I think we've gotta continue to press forward and he obviously will learn from this and his teammates will rally around him. They're not looking at him any different. They want him to perform and play and that's what he'll do."
Pederson says players in a 'good spot' after Bears loss, entering Patriots game
The Jaguars are in must-win mode after starting the season with five losses in their first six games. Still, Pederson thinks the team, while "disappointed" and "frustrated," they're excited about the opportunity ahead of them.
"There are some positives to what we're doing, but it's those little negative things just holding us back, little mistakes, some mental assignments, obviously the turnovers, things of that nature that are just keeping us from being a much better football team," Pederson said. "They're disappointed, but they're excited ... there's 11 games left and obviously we just got to focus on one at a time and prepare this week."
Pederson also said this week was a good opportunity for the team to get back on track.
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"We're 1-5. We are where we are," said Pederson. "We've, as they say, if you make your bed, you gotta lie in it, right? And so that's where we're at and it's a great opportunity for us to really turn this thing [around], and again, you just want to go out and play good football and fight and scratch and claw and win a game and try to get things going in the right direction."
Tyson Campbell 'potentially' to return against Patriots
Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell hasn't played since Week 1 after suffering a hamstring injury against the Miami Dolphins. He was placed on the team's "designated to return" list ahead of last week's game against the Bears and Pederson said the team could get him back this week against New England.
"Potentially this week. So, we'll see how he does in practice and make a decision later in the week. But, that changes some things and adds another body, another really good corner can just help us. So, we'll see where he's at," Pederson said of Campbell's potential return, adding that he doesn't want to tip the team's hand, but getting players back gives the team flexibility to move guys around and see where they can play.
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On Monday, Pederson mentioned that the team would like to give veteran corner Ronald Darby some rest — "a play here, a series of rest here or there" — to prolong his ability. That could open up the door for players like CB Montaric Brown to continue playing on defense at times when Campbell returns.
"With Tyson coming back and how Buster [CB Montaric Brown] has been playing and potentially Jarrian playing the corner in the nickel spot, I think there's some rotational things now that we can do. We're starting to get more bodies back, and that's a positive to the entire defense," he said.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson: I don't need to speak with Cisco about 'quit' comment
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