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Liam Coen sees similarities between Jaguars, next opponent Broncos
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- Liam Coen sees similarities between Jaguars, next opponent Broncos
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos , opponents on Dec. 21 at Mile High Stadium in Denver (4:05 p.m., CBS) have followed a similar path to their respective division leads this season.
Neither was in the conversation when it came to AFC teams expected to go deep into the playoffs , let alone occupy the Nos. 1 (Denver, 12-2) and 3 seeds this week (Jacksonville, 10-4). Both are on long winning streaks and have reached this point with energetic defenses and good quarterback play: Trevor Lawrenc e for the Jaguars and Bo Nix for the Broncos.
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The temptation is to say the Jaguars and Broncos have overachieved, but they also might be this good. And they're hungry for more.
"There's a lot of similarities in some ways," Jaguars coach Liam Coen said on Dec. 15 at the Miller Electric Center, a day after the Jaguars won their fifth game in a row by routing the New York Jets 48-20 at EverBank Stadium. "Being explosive, a quarterback can run, throw it down the field and their defense is at a really high level. Good, solid special teams. And I've always had a lot of respect for [Denver coach] Sean Payton."
A December showdown at an iconic NFL venue: Coen likes to tell his team that games such as this are opportunities they have earned.
"A darn good opponent, going on the road ... I think Mile High is a really cool place to play and compete at," he said. "You think about football, you think about going and playing a game like this."
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Liam Coen on taking the ball first when winning a coin toss
"Sometimes that decision comes down to weather and stuff like that, right? You're going through that process. But for us offensively [versus the Jets], the mindset was to start fast and to continue on the trajectory of some of the previous weeks of good execution. ... bringing some juice early, getting us some confidence early.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne scores one of his three touchdowns on Dec. 14 in the Jaguars 48-20 victory over the New York Jets, at EverBank Stadium.
"That showed up again [Sunday] that way. I was proud of the way that they went out and executed on that first drive, mixed in a little tempo as well, which I thought they handled well, and something we wanted to do a little bit against those guys. Trevor had great command of what we were trying to get accomplished on that first drive. And starting fast is definitely something that we want to be able to do."
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Liam Coen on Brian Thomas Jr.'s improved play
"I think cohesiveness, chemistry with the quarterback, being able to get a lot of reps of it, probably more reps throughout the season, of being able to push the ball down the field, than even through training camp, in a lot of ways, so little bit more time on task and guys having some confidence to go out and execute those plays. And so it's been a huge addition to be able to continue to push the ball down the field and attack every blade of grass. When the defense feels that, you know, it typically will help a lot of other things within the offense.
Liam Coen on feeling momentum when calling plays
"I've always fed off players and their momentum. We talk about momentum a lot, actually, and just in terms trying not to get too high, too low, but you can't help but feel when guys have confidence and when you feel like what you're going to call is going to go right. It's definitely a feeling you get, and you feed off each other. And so there's a lot of times yesterday that you were calling a play, and very much so expected it to work. And that's a good feeling for all of us to have."
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"That's a cool part, is when you're feeding off each other. And those guys did execute some stuff, and we protected very well in the pass game and that, in itself, is a nice feeling for all of us that you know you can keep calling it because they're [the defense] not getting home as much. So that allows those routes to continue to develop and get a little bit more open, and the quarterback to continue to have the trust to let it rip."
Liam Coen on the Jaguars' late penalties
"We talked, and it's just a rule I have that if you get one [personal foul], you're just coming off for a play. It's not a big deal ... hey, just take a deep breath and let's move on and compose ourselves. Regardless of what happened, if you were first [to swing at a player], if you were second doesn't matter. We got a penalty. And let's move on. So those guys all understand that there's emotion ... but also we can't hurt the team."
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Liam Coen on the team's closeness
"I was watching a video the other day of a [Division III] college ... and they were doing a video of their players going out to practice, and they were answering a question to the camera, 'what's your favorite part about football?' And 90 percent of them answered, 'my boys, my teammates.' That's Pop Warner, high school, college, pro, it doesn't change. Yeah, this is our jobs. But Brotherhood is actually really what it's about."
Liam Coen on Denver's pass rush
"They've got personnel that can go. I've used some of their clips in some of my team meetings this year, of showing some darn good rushes against some of the teams that we've played. So, you know, I think it's probably a combination of those things, without getting too much into the weeds and knowing what they're up to, but I do know that they've got good scheme and good players."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars Liam Coen looks forward to Broncos game on road
