Austin Jackson – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
OL Austin Jackson
(On the progress since OTAs) – “I think the most encouraging thing is that we’ve been able to execute a lot of the things we wanted to get better at that we kind of stated in OTAs. And we addressed them in OTAs, some of them carried over from last year, some mistakes we wanted to get better at. I feel like coming into camp so far, we’ve done a good job of excelling at the things we feel like we need to get better at as an offense.”
(Like what would be at the top of that list, do you think? What couple things?) – “For the offensive line I would say some of those things are like our second-level blocking. Like blocking linebackers, being more consistent in our identifications because we have a lot of motions. We’re a timing offense. We try to disrupt the defense. So with that, we need more knowledge of what’s going on in the backend as an offensive line. That’s huge. And just some of our – not some of our fits – but our fits on the defensive linemen after the whistle. So there’s a type of strain and a level of blocking in our offense where we have to be on angles to be identical with the running back, so we just got better at being on those angles longer.”
(How did you feel Saturday night that first drive went for you and the rest of the o-linemen that were in there?) – “I was feeling good. I was feeling really good. I’m glad we finished it with a touchdown. I just looked back and saw it was a fourth-down touchdown, too. I didn’t know that. I was just locked in, going. Feel good about that. We were all ready to play the whole game if need be, so it’s exciting to get some reps under our belt to propel us for the season.”
(I know you’re not an individual guy, but you’ve got your contract extension and everything like that. Are you looking at Pro Bowl, All-Pro, winning a playoff game? What are you looking at now individually?) – “Just playing my best football. Doing everything I need for the team. And all those accolades and stuff that you mentioned, I feel will come with me playing my best football. So that’s what I’m focused on, is doing my job every play, making sure my technique is at its best for every play. For 18, 17 games, however long it takes, really 21 so however long it takes.”
(I think FB Alec Ingold said last week that you guys are really pushing the limits of what this offense can do. I see a nod in your head, so what does that entail? Like what does it look like when the No. 1 offense in the NFL pushes itself even further?) – “Well, kind of what I touched on in an earlier comment, we made adjustments on some of our plays that became a little bit, I would say, predictable, just because we had a lot of success with some plays in the season. And it’s the NFL, so coaches are smart, they adjust. And I feel like we did a great job on our end adjusting to their adjustment. So causing the issue, causing more adjustments is what we want as offense, and as players, we have to take in that new instruction and execute it. So I think we’ve done a good job at that.”
(In the NFL, I guess where’s the challenge in finding that balance between “you have to adjust to what they’re adjusting to,” versus “we do this really well and this is our brand?”) – “You’re right. There’s a fine line. There’s standards that we have on offensive line. Really, every room has a standard. So if you make a mistake, you want to be making a mistake in a certain way, if that makes sense. You don’t want to make a mistake passive or with bad technique. If you’re going to get beat, it should be like a hats off to the other guy type of thing. It shouldn’t be anything within our realm that we can control. So that’s like a big focus on how you keep getting better and deal with whatever adjustments you may need to make in game or in practice.”
(You mentioned playing a 21-game season. Your owner, I don’t know if you know during the game, he said, if you guys stay healthy, he expects you guys to be Super Bowl contenders. I’m wondering, do you personally talk about Super Bowl? Is that healthy for you personally to mention a goal that lofty, or how do you handle that?) – “You know, I think it’s good to mention. I think it’s good to mention, to be honest, because you need something to work towards. You have to understand the weight of that. You can’t just talk about it though too much. You can’t just say, ‘We want to go to a Super Bowl,’ and expect to go there. You set goals for that goal, and you accomplish them along the way. It’s like a checklist. Everything you want to execute every game, and that’s what we’re working for. But for me personally, I like having that goal to look forward to, which is a reminder of why we do it.”
(Now you’re several years into the league, when you look at a rookie like T Patrick Paul, do you see a little bit of yourself thinking back to 2020, you were that same rookie?) – “I wish I was that rookie honestly. He’s got it all – his size, smart, great feet. There are some learning lessons, adjusting to blocking NFL defensive ends, which he’s picking up pretty fast. And I definitely try to tell him everything I can, as I just had some experiences with that myself, you know, in my younger playing years. But he’s got it all, man, and he’s got his head on right. So I think he’ll adjust great into this league.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa mentioned that it’s taken two years to overcome some of the self-doubt that was that was sewn in previously in his career. I’m curious with you being in the same class as him, what has the bond been like for you guys because he mentioned that’s something that happened with several players that they’ve overcome self-doubt since they’ve been drafted. So what kind of bond do you and Tua have in that regard?) – “Just going through what we what we went through, it forces your confidence to grow, and that’s actually a really great thing at the end of the day. I’m grateful to have coaches that stand beside us and encourage us to be confident and execute while also keeping it real with us.”
