JACKSONVILLE – Look-ahead Wednesday. Woo. Hoo.
Let's get to it …
David from Orlando, FL
KOAF - Our offensive line seems to be fine when we're running a balanced offense, but it's obvious that on throwing downs our guys aren't winning enough. It's not good enough to be a speedbump, push the guy wide and hope Trevor has already released the ball. These guys aren't blocking like they're protecting our franchise quarterback and $275 million of Owner Shad Khan's money.
This seems a reasonable assessment of the Jaguars' offensive line as they move from a 20-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 and look ahead to the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Stadium Sunday. The Jaguars' offensive line, after struggling in key run situations and short-yardage last season, looked very good for three quarters Sunday. This was particularly true from a run-blocking perspective. The Jaguars rushed for 128 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and that's very efficient by any measure. As Head Coach Doug Pederson said Monday, the line played "very well" through much of Sunday's game. The Jaguars then produced four yards in the fourth quarter, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence sacked twice. Pederson was quick to note Monday that sacks are much more than the offensive line, and Lawrence clearly could have prevented at least one of the sacks. This remains an area to watch. There were good signs Sunday. Really good signs. Myles Garrett plays for the Browns. We'll learn something at the 'Bank Sunday.
Tom from The Mean Streets of Nocatee
How about one fer James Earl Jones, whose two most significant speeches brought the Jaguars to Jacksonville and saved Kevin Costner's family farm.
Absolutely. James Earl Jones, the iconic actor who died Monday at 93, indeed narrated the 1991 video Jacksonville … A City of Dreams. The video was played for NFL Owners as part of Jacksonville's pitch for an NFL team. It was cool then and cool now. So one fer Jones? No doubt.
Scott from Jax in DelaNoWhere
Do you think the team should hire a hype man, O-MAN? Because after the notorious fumble that caused the huge momentum shift, that entire sideline looked down and defeated the remainder of the game. They needed a TB12 like hype guy to get them out of the funk. Maybe it could be your new side gig?
I do not think the Jaguars should hire a hype man.
Pat
Hey John. I truly don't understand why professional football players who have been playing the game since they were kids have such difficulty with resilience, taking back momentum and overcoming adversity in a game like last Sunday. One bad play on our side followed by one good play by Miami. I'm not being critical. I am truly trying to understand how and why they allow themselves to become victims and losers when they theoretically could have still won the game. Are there football therapists who understand how a team of grown men, very experienced and highly paid can fall apart like that? It feels childish and I'm sure there must be some explanation.
It's professional football. Both teams are full of elite athletes and a small difference in momentum/belief/circumstance can loom large. The Jaguars didn't collapse into chaos Sunday, and I'm not sure "victims" or losers are appropriate descriptions. They had a disastrous 15 seconds that changed momentum and allowed the Dolphins back into the game. Miami raised its game a bit and the Jaguars didn't make key plays at key times. That's all it takes in the NFL to change a game.
Don from Marshall, NC
Trevor Lawrence will never reach his potential working with the coaches he has now. He has gone backwards in his progress and lost his confidence. The offense can't get a yard when they need it, and the play-caller wants to bunt all the time. It's "only one game" is the same mentality that cost the team a division last year. The coaches have received everything they have asked for in pay and in players to no avail. If I owned the team I would have fired them all last year. The direction is no good and looks to be put together by a bunch of country club coaches who every time they open their mouths it's an excuse. Go Jaguars!
When it comes to the Jaguars' offense, Don – very emphatically and perhaps a bit disturbingly – does not remain "all in."
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King of all Funk, last time I checked 1-0 does not win you the Super Bowl and 0-1 does not eliminate you from the playoffs. It was a game we should have won, but now is the time to see if this team has the 'bounce-back-ability' required to show signs of improvement. 16-1 is still (unlikely) but possible.
Pedal Bin, unlike the new and perhaps-not-improved Don, remains "all in."
Al from Orange Park, FL
Instead of beating up ETN, maybe we should acknowledge that sometimes the players on the other team make a really good play.
NFL players and coaches long have had a saying: "They get paid, too." It means all players are professionals and the best in the world at what they do. Fans hate hearing it. That's true. It's also true that it explains why the NFL is so competitive and why only one team in NFL history has gone undefeated.
Jason from Falling Waters, WV
The Jaguars are razor thin in the secondary w/cornerback Tyson Campbell with a lingering hamstring injury from last year (regardless of being paid). Do you believe they make a trade for a defensive back this season that would include left tackle Cam Robinson? Walker Little is capable and Jags need to get maximum value for Cam before he walks in free agency.
Campbell's hamstring injury is not lingering from last season. I do not believe the Jaguars will trade for a corner.
Ryan from Reality
They used to say Bill Belichick's New England Patriots were a pretty average team that just always executed well in the dozen or so plays that really matter and can turn a game. The inverse can be said of the Jaguars. We can look like a really good team a lot of the time - but we absolutely crash and burn when it's crunch time and we HAVE to make a play. Do the players just not have that dog in them? Are the coaches just not able to instill that sense of discipline to focus up when you need focus? It's been this way for YEARS and I always hope this year will be different.
I never thought most of Belichick's Patriots teams were average. I did think they were among the NFL's best teams at making big plays in big moments. But that's true of most good NFL teams because the NFL is a league of close games and big moments. Bottom line: Most good teams are good because they make key plays in five or six games a year that average teams don't. The difference in most NFL teams is that close. The Jaguars were really good in that area at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. That's why they went 13-3 over that span. They haven't been as good in the last seven games. It's why they're 1-6 in that span.
Tom from Sanford
It looked to me that the offensive line faded badly in the fourth quarter from the heat and the sun beating down on the visitor's bench. That's a key "feature" that aids the Dolphins in the first half of the season and the coaching staff should have planned for it as best they could. Maybe the drop off at most OL positions would make that impossible, but Walker Little is as good as Cam Robinson (or awfully close), so alternating LT might have helped. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
NFL teams don't rotate offensive linemen.
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
Week 2 features four NFL games between winless opponents which means, barring ties, we will have a minimum four 0 -2 NFL teams and the Jaguars could be one of them. How much distinction is there in your mind between a 1-1 team and a team that opens the season with two losses?
A lot.
Ross from Mechanicsville, VA
After taking a day or two to accept a very winnable loss, I don't know what ETN could have done. That defender made a perfect punch. Other than using 2 hands, how can you hold on to the ball in that situation?
That's pretty much it. And it appeared from this view Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. he was beginning to reach his second hand to the ball when Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland punched the ball away. Holland made a great play. Running backs fumble sometimes. Sometimes you kill the bear. Sometimes the bear kills you.
Howard from Homestead, FL
So, I'm paying for NFL Sunday Ticket, but I can't watch Friday night football? Got it.
Yeah. Not my lane.
