Jonathan Taylor - , colts Event: Media Availability Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-17 | Full transcript (primary source).
Jonathan Taylor spoke at a media availability press conference for the Colts on September 17, 2026. The conference addressed recent challenges the team has faced, particularly regarding communication and alignment on the field.
Transcript
Unknown: some miscommunication issues in alignment. Do you like how you've seen people respond to it from these last couple of days?
Taylor: Yeah, definitely. I feel like there's a sense of urgency on, you know, obviously getting the call, receiving the call, being in and out of the huddle and everything and everybody communicating pre-snap on, you know, where everybody should be and be lined up.
Unknown: Well, how do you anticipate the transition from can't, I can't, not saying I can't do the bad job at home, to be clear, but just having a linebacker repeat the green dot com?
Taylor: No, yeah, I mean, I just feel like it makes sense, you know what I mean, having the linebacker be the green dot, he's in the middle of the defense, you know what I'm saying, so he can communicate up front and also on the back end. So I mean, definitely, I think it makes a lot of sense.
Unknown: Could you see Lamar picking up on some of the confusion and options that I have imagined before on how you guys were, you know, seeing this?
Taylor: I mean, catching us out of position, you know what I mean, yeah, not being ready and set. I mean, you could see it from the first play of the game, you know what I mean, or, you know, everybody on every level of the defense was out of place and out of position and they were able to capitalize on it.
Unknown: So basically, when the defense is like that, you're reacting instead of attacking?
Taylor: For sure, yeah.
Unknown: Do you think it's hard to even evaluate you guys because of all that?
Taylor: Yeah, we didn't play to our standard at all whatsoever and we know we're better than that and what we put on tape, but obviously, you know what, you're only as good as your last game and that's what we put on tape. So we've got to continue to prove to ourselves and prove to everybody else that, you know, we're a better defense than that.
Unknown: Your staff count seemed to be relatively normal. Did you feel fine exiting the game, coming back?
Taylor: Yeah, I mean, it felt pretty good.
Unknown: You guys have been using this five-man line, you know, a lot from training camp and you used it on Sunday. Can you kind of tell people, like, what the advantages of that are and how you thought it helped you or didn't help?
Taylor: Yeah, yeah, having to find out online, obviously, it helps with creating a little bit more one-on-one opportunities for guys across the line if it is a past situation. And obviously, we're gapped out when it comes to terms of the run game, you know what I mean? And, you know, it's just, you know, it's just on the guys and our ability and just being able to play with good technique.
Unknown: When you look at what they did to get Henry going, you guys kind of had in-contain to the first 10 carries or so and then obviously got loose. What do you think was different?
Taylor: I think just, you know, like I said before, the main issue was just alignment. Alignment and, you know, being set and everything and obviously missed tackles. You know, we had way too many missed tackles as well.
Unknown: By the same token, what do you see from Kenneth Walker?
Taylor: Yeah, he's a great player, great running back and, you know, he put it on full display for us Monday night, you know what I mean? And it's going to, you know, it's going to, kind of like a Derek Henry situation where, you know, you got to get hats on the ball. You got to be disciplined in your gaps in the run game because he is looking to, you know, he's patient when he's running. I mean, even when, you know, a lot of those runs up the middle, when it looks, you know, muddied up and seems impossible for somebody to get out of, I mean, he found, you know, he found those little, you know, creases in the defense and in the run game. So, you know, we got to be really patient and really disciplined.
Unknown: How many of you guys at the Z, Andy Reed, and Pat in the homes with like a strong run game? That's not always been the-
Taylor: Yeah, definitely hasn't been the case. You know, and, you know, they found somebody in Walker and trust him and altered their offense, you know, to cater to more of the run game, be more run heavy. And, you know, it was beneficial for them on that night.
Unknown: I'm happy to have mentioned discipline with Patrick Mahone, his elusiveness, ability to extend plays. How much does he test the discipline of the defense?
Taylor: No, he does. He tests a lot, you know what I mean? And especially when you're rushing up front, he will, you know, break contain and he will end up tucking and running and got to have his situations. But he mainly looks, you know, at the throwdown field and that's what's really, you know, scary about him, deadly about him, whatever you want to call it. You know, he does a good job with, you know, breaking contain, extending plays, and looking downfield, but also being aware of where the rush is at the same time and being able to, he has the arm strength to, you know, chuck it downfield. So we got to do a good job on all levels, you know. You know, the guys in the back end got to hold up in coverage and the guys up front, you know, if he does break contain, we got to continue to pursue and get him on the ground.
Unknown: I saw you playing off the edge for the time or two. Did you, do you like that? And I don't know, what does your school say?
Taylor: Yeah, it's a good change up, you know what I mean? It's a nice change up and it gives me a one-on-one opportunity if, you know, if they're not chipping or anything, you know, and yeah, it's a good change up for, you know, against the offensive tackle who doesn't, you know, who's not normally seeing a bigger body out there in space like that. And, I mean, I have rushed in the past before, you know what I mean, on the edge and has some success, so, yeah.
Unknown: How many of you like Eric come up with, maybe likes to come up with some pretty random stuff, especially near the goal line?
Taylor: Yeah, yeah. How do you prepare for, you know, him coming out with something that he's sort of a sixties or something?
Unknown: No, yeah, I mean, honestly, he's just got to have good, great eye discipline, you know what I mean, and reading your keys and, you know, just trusting that, you know, obviously the, being the, you know, you're in the call and doing your job and, you know, not, you know, not, I guess, paying attention to all the eye candy that's happening, you know what I mean, and that's how they get you, is, you know, all the different motions and shifts and all that stuff going on. And, you know, I mean, you saw it on Monday night with the play with Kenneth Walker in the backfield. So, yeah, it's going to be, it's going, those situations are tough, especially when you don't see it on film, you know what I mean, and it just comes down to being a ball player.
Unknown: How do you describe and characterize the way that the Walker will respond to the loss on Sunday?
Taylor: Say that again.
Unknown: How do you describe, characterize the way that the Walker will respond in the last couple of days?
Taylor: Yes, I feel like it was funded really well. You know, obviously everybody was, you know, really upset on what happened and the outcome, and, you know, you never want to go out there and put that stuff on tape. All three phases, we didn't play well, but the way the guys responded, we came in on Monday, watched the film, was really, you know, critical of all the things that happened, taking accountability for what happened and learning from it and moving on. You know what I mean? I mean, you don't forget what happened on Sunday, but, you know, you learn from it and, you know, you just, it's a new week, new opportunity.
Unknown: In your experience, can, as much as you mentioned, you don't want to put something like that on tape, but if a team responds to that in the right way, do you have, in your experience, see something like that galvanize or kind of fire up a team going into the rest of your life?
Taylor: Oh, well, definitely. You know what I mean? Especially like when the whole team agrees that that wasn't our standard and our style of play. And, you know, just to, you know, overcome a situation like that and continue moving in the right direction where we want to be. I mean, it could definitely grow from there.
Unknown: You seem pretty fired up at the game on Sunday. Where's the line in like, you want to maintain that edge all week long versus it is one game, it is one of the season.
Taylor: Yeah, I mean, obviously I was fired up. I was pretty upset and disappointed. You know what I mean? And, you know, I didn't play to my best abilities as well. And that's why I was frustrated as well. You know what I mean? And yeah, I mean, you keep that edge. I mean, you got to keep an edge every single week. You know what I'm saying? And like I said before, you don't dwell on it, you learn from it, move on and, you know, continue to get better.
Unknown: What did you see from Kansas City in the corner? What stuck out to you?
Taylor: I was going to say, obviously, with spags there, you know what you're going to get. It's going to be very, very aggressive defense. You really got to have great eyes and great communication. That's number one. Everyone on offense has to know what they're doing and what their assignment is. If not, I mean, they're going to kill you. So for us, number one is definitely going to be everyone understanding what their assignment is, where their assignment is. Then obviously, all the rest follows execution and winning those one-on-ones. But number one is everyone has to have their eyes right, their assignment has to be sound, because there are a lot of different looks that they'll throw at you.
Unknown: Well, along the same lines, do you feel like you guys left some stuff out there in week one when it came to pressure and blitzes? Or how do you think that worked?
Taylor: Oh, definitely. Anytime someone brings any type of pressure, you got to make them pay. Otherwise, you'll keep seeing it over and over again. So offenses, that's a big emphasis on every offense is when someone wants to bring a pressure, you have to make them pay. That's the only thing on film.
Unknown: So when you go back and watch the film, what's it out to you about the fumble and maybe just what happened on that play?
Taylor: Number one, just got to make sure you have great ball security. It doesn't matter what happens within the play. There's a million and one things that can be said. You have to go down with the football. You have to bring the football back to the referee.
Unknown: Maybe you saw at the moment, but your appreciation for those two blocks your lineman gave you, that was drawn up and executed perfectly.
Taylor: The highlight's on, he's ready. Look, he already on to the next one. He's ready. He's ready.
Unknown: No, you're fine. No, I think we mentioned this before the first game. You just have a lot of the utmost confidence with those guys in front of you.
Taylor: And you guys have saw that on display. I mean, they're out there, they're giving it, they're all, and you don't, I don't know how you can have human beings that large moving like that in space. And I think that's what makes our guys up front different.
Unknown: You played in some crazy environments, whether it's college or the NFL. What has your experience helped you when it comes to, how's your experience helped you when it comes to preparing for other environments on Sunday?
Taylor: Really has helped me, you got to pierce through all the noise. You got to pierce through the distraction. Like I mentioned on honing in on what your assignment is. So when we have Bort, he's making the calls. It's like, can you pierce through all of the external factors and just lock in and find that voice, find that one target like, okay, I'm looking and I'm listening for Bort. Okay, now I'm going to my key reads. It's like, you got to find a way to pierce through all of that, block all of that out because obviously it's there. They get home field advantage. Same thing when we're playing home. We want the crowd to be a factor. So having that experience, it definitely helps. And obviously getting reps and just knowing like, man, I know that voice. That's the voice I'm listening for right here.
Unknown: You mentioned some of the offensive struggles with the pressure on Sunday. I know early last year, Daniel and the offensive general seemed like you guys really almost thrived when teams brought pressure. What do you remember about what was clicking really well with the offense in that portion of the season last year? And that like in those situations, it did go.
Taylor: Number one, definitely everyone knowing their assignment, knowing like, hey, who has the hot, what is the hot, but then also O-line, hey, where are we turning to protection? Daniel knowing, hey, where are my problems at? Where am I protected? Where are my problems at? And then obviously the backs just making sure that everything is picked up and that it's a solid pocket for Daniel. So all of those key factors go into beating up pressure successfully. So that's going to be big for us this week. Like I said, obviously with spags, you'll get a lot of different looks. So number one, we got to know where our assignment is and what our assignment is.
Unknown: Two things kind of in one. On opening drives, you guys tend to kill it. I know a lot of that's scripted and chain comes up and stuff. So number one, why are you guys so efficient on those opening drives? And then secondly, why is it so hard to sustain that throughout the game?
Taylor: So there's definitely a lot of planning and research and studying that goes into those first 15. And like you mentioned, that's always great to come out. You always want to come out with a great drive. That's why I think that's always a big emphasis on coming out your first offensive drive. You want to get things going. But then also, it's so hard to sustain that as well because then you start playing the game. It's like, OK, they make adjustments now. We have to make adjustments. But still execute at a high level. And then sometimes you come out in the first 15. They may not come out in the looks that you want. At the end of the day, they're working on things as well. They'll say, hey, well, we got beat on this last week. Let's clean that up. So it's hard to sustain it because, like I mentioned, you start playing the game. They'll make adjustments. They'll say, oh, OK, this is what they're coming out in. So for us, it's just making sure that no matter what the adjustment is and no matter what adjustments we make, whether we rep it in practice that week or not, we need you to execute it. We need you to execute it at a high level because they're doing the same thing on the other side of the ball as well. Like, oh, man, they're coming out in this. Look, we haven't rep that. They have to make adjustments defensively as well.
Taylor: J.T. Asala and F.O.P.A. announced that you were going to play a rep. What has led you to want to do that here at J.K.A.R.S?
Unknown: Definitely just understanding that you want to be able to be a factor in making the league a better place from when you came in for the younger generation. And obviously, the one way you can directly affect that is by being directly involved with the NFLPA. So for me, it's just understanding coming in as a rookie. And with the last CBA, I couldn't even vote because I was coming into the league but wondering, what is this CBA they're talking about? What is this a big deal players are talking about? Vote yes, vote no. And then not understanding that, oh, they were talking about the contract that they'll be under for the next working environments they'll be under for the next 10 plus years. So kind of understanding that now and having that opportunity, I definitely would love to be a factor in that to potentially, like I said, make it a better place, a better work environment for the players of the future.
Unknown: I guess people to watch through that Brian Kelly desire. And Kenny, if I'm not mistaken, do you sort of see the impact they can have?
Taylor: Definitely. And the support that they get from the NFLPA, they're there to help. They want to help the players. They want to help the players in any way they can, whether it's on or off the field. So just like I said, wanting to do my smart part now to give back to the league. I do everything I can to give back to the city, this team. But now I'm like, hey, what can I do now to also give back to the league as a whole?
Unknown: In your years now in the league, what have you learned about how quickly things turn week to week?
Taylor: I mean, we've over the past couple of years, it's been a few examples. Last year was another example of how things can quickly turn. But that's also why I always tell young backs, it's a week to week league. No matter what happened the previous week, whether you had your worst game or you had your best game, it's you have to go dive into the film, learn from it. But you got a new challenge, a new opponent in front of you that doesn't care about what happened last week. So not to say you don't have to care about it, but you have to take those keynotes, take those mistakes, or take what you did well, and translate it over into the next week because they're not worried about it. They're worrying about what they're going to do to you this week. So you have to start focusing in on them very quickly.
