There's a sense of panic among Jaguars fans. At 0-2, they're calling for the Jaguars to give up on 2003 and step into the team's future. It's time for Byron Leftwich, the e-mails say.
Eventually, Leftwich's time will come. His talent and his contract make that perfectly clear. But do you really want that to happen now? Or is that merely your way of saying you want a change? You want winning. Everyone does.
Coaches don't make changes for the sake of the entertainment factor. This is not the preseason. You don't use the regular season to take a look at a kid. You owe it to the competitive balance of the league to make winning your sole pursuit at all times.
To that end, lineup changes will be made when coach Jack Del Rio believes replacing one player with another player will give the Jaguars a better chance of winning. When will Leftwich's time come? When Del Rio believes Leftwich will give the Jaguars a better chance of winning.
At this point in time, however, you would find no one inside Alltel Stadium who wouldn't tell you Mark Brunell is the Jaguars' best quarterback.
There are other considerations, too. First off, before Leftwich's career as a starter can be launched, you have to know the kid is far enough along in his learning to be able to handle the assignment. This is too valuable of a property to be recklessly endangered for the sake of entertainment.
Now, here's "10 things" the Jaguars have to do to beat the Colts.
- Stop the pass--We made stop the run last week's number one thing and that sure didn't work.
- Stop the run--But you never want to get too far from that football fundamental.
- Score--Run it, pass it, return it, kick it; it doesn't matter, just score, because that's what you have to do to beat the Colts.
- Do what the Jets did--Peyton Manning has had a Kordell Stewart season in three games against the Jaguars, but the Jets shut Manning out in the playoffs. Check the game tapes.
- Feel at home--The RCA Dome will have empty seats and the game will be blacked out in Indianapolis.
- Don't forget about that door--It tends to revolve on Tuesdays.
- Put it in perspective--The Jaguars are 0-2, the Colts are 2-0 and this is an AFC South Division game.
This would be a good one to win.
- Rush the passer--Gee, that sure would be nice.
- Find leaders--This team is sorely lacking a take-charge guy.
- Win one for the new era--The slogan needs it.
