AFC Notes: John Metchie, Jaguars, Texans, Titans
Jaguars
Jaguars DL coach Brentson Buckner says the team didn’t hire him just to be a cheerleader on the sidelines. He is looking to help Jacksonville’s young defensive line to the next level in 2023.
“I’m always challenging them,” Buckner said on The Hunt. “I’m putting them in situations I know they’re not comfortable because I want them to grow as players and grow as people and be able to face those challenges. I don’t think Jacksonville paid me to be a big cheerleader and cheer what they do good. I think they paid me to make that bad good. If you do five things good and 10 things bad, let me make it 10 things good and five things bad. We’re gonna work on that every day. I’m gonna show up every day and you’re going to get tired of me telling you you’re not good at doing that until you finally get to a point, ‘Let me prove coach wrong.’ Then we both win.”
Texans
Texans WRs coach Ben McDaniels said they aren’t putting any expectations on WR John Metchie III after missing his entire rookie season due to leukemia.
“I’m not setting any expectations on Metch,” McDaniels said, via Aaron Wilson. “I certainly will not put any ceilings on him. He’s proved to everybody that’s unnecessary and he’ll attempt to shatter those ceilings. My expectations are high for him returning, whenever that is, and hitting the ground running.”
Texans GM Nick Caserio had high praise for Metchie and the receiver hasn’t suffered any setbacks with his recovery.
“Nobody’s worked harder to get himself to this point,” Caserio said. “I wouldn’t say anybody is surprised that he’s arrived at this point. I’d say his will to work, his effort, his mental and physical toughness, and the work with the sports performance staff has been incredible. There’s a lot of people that deserve a lot of credit that have helped him get to this point. Start with John, I would say it’s kind of inspiring to see somebody do that. He’s making progress. He’s in a good spot. Haven’t been any setbacks. Still a long road ahead of us, and he hasn’t played a lot of football. We’re all certainly cautiously optimistic about where he’s headed.”
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans has brought great energy on and off the field.
“When you talk about a guy like John Metchie, just hearing his story and meeting him in person, it marries up,” Ryans said. “Outstanding young man off the field. Great energy. Always around. Every time I saw him in the building, huge smiling on his face. No matter what adversity he’s faced, he’s attacking it with a smile, with the right attitude. It just solidifies the type of person that he is and the type of people and the type of players that we want to add to our team, it’s guys with that type of attitude.”
Titans
Titans WR Kyle Philips commented on his rookie season and what he is looking forward to with more comfortability in his second year. He also spoke about his injury and the changes he will make in order to have his body in better shape next time around.
“Last year I came in as a rookie, real nervous, new team, a bunch of guys I didn’t know,” Philips said, via Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “Now it feels a lot different. I am a lot more comfortable with the coaches, and all the guys around here. I know more about what to expect. So, I am having a lot more fun. I don’t get hurt too often, but it happened (last year) and it’s out of the way now. I was able to take what I could from it, grow from it, and learn going forward. This offseason has been putting good healthy weight on, learning this offense, conditioning, running routes and getting used to new teammates. I want to put some good weight on, but I don’t want to lose my quickness and my speed. I’m going to try to keep it going, but just keep it a steady process.”
Titans WR coach Rob Moore thinks Philips will be in a much better place if he adds weight and muscle but is still talented in his route running as well.
“I think for him, as long as he keeps what makes him special – his short-area quickness, he has really good route imagination, his ability to create separation – it’s a good thing,” Moore said of Philips. “I think as long as those things don’t get affected, I am OK with that.”
“Maybe I am a forgotten guy to some, but I don’t pay attention to that,” Philips added. “I focus on what I need to, which is to learn this offense, get to know some new teammates, and get better every day.”
