By: Stephen Patterson
Where exactly do you start to break down why the Jacksonville Jaguars continue to be atrociously bad on both sides of the ball? Is it the coaching? The inconsistent (at best) quarterback play? The fact that their defense seems to bleed points left and right? There are almost as many holes in this franchise as there are interceptions in Brett Favres' career. I'm honestly not sure there is a GM in the league that could make this team a legitimate playoff threat in less than three seasons. I'm honestly starting to feel bad for Jaguars' fans, and that's kind of sad considering the Bills and Browns are the only current teams in that category.
Their 30-3 loss at the hands of the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football put every single one of their flaws wide out in the open for a nationwide audience to see. The worst part it is, it was a complete and total team effort to reach the levels of horrendously bad play that they displayed tonight. It was a concerted effort from coaches and players alike.
Neither one of their quarterbacks could put points on the board, although some of that blame falls on the shoulders of the horrible effort of their receiving corps with costly turnovers. To put that in perspective, Tim Tebow, the quarterback that dominated the NCAA at nearby University of Florida and overwhelming local fan favorite, scored more touchdowns (1) than both of the Jaguars' current quarterbacks did Monday night against the Titans. David Garrard, knocked out with a concussion in the second quarter, and Trent Edwards, his inept back-up that is one of a very select group that makes Jake Delhomme look like a beast, posted QB ratings of 33.0 and 40.3, respectively.
Maurice Jones-Drew, the only legitimate superstar on the offensive side of the ball for Jacksonville, had a meager 57 yards rushing on 17 attempts for an average of 3.4 yards per carry. To put that one in perspective, Edwards, career full of ineptitude and all, ran with the ball 5 times for 16 yards and an average of 3.2 yards per carry. That's only a 0.2 difference in YPC between the franchises' superstar running back and their back-up quarterback that's only on the roster because he was no longer good enough for the Buffalo Bills. How can you not be good enough for that team? And how do you find a job after being labeled with that title "Not Good Enough For The Bills"? The good news is that MJD is usually much more reliable than this. The bad news is that when he isn't, this team isn't good enough to get within single digits of winning a ball game.
Their receiving corps is also one of the worst in league. Marcedes Lewis is the only real bright spot out of the group. He is already tied for the franchise single-season record for receiving touchdowns (5) by a tight end with 10 games left to play. Even he couldn't be relied upon tonight, however, as he coughed up a fumble at the Titans' 10 yard line late in the first half which Tennessee recovered. Mike Thomas, Mike Sims-Walker, and Tiquan Underwood are the teams best options, although the order is completely up in the air as far as which one is the best among them. Sims-Walker is supposed to be "the guy", but against Tennessee he put up this whooping stat line: 2 receptions (on 8 targets) for 16 yards. That's a very solid effort for a teams' fifth or sixth best receiver, not their top guy. For the season, Jacksonville is tied for 25th in the league in team receptions (88), 26th in team receiving yards (909), and 28th in yards per reception (10.3). Those numbers aren't going to win very many games.
Their defense is just as inept as the offense, only they have a couple more bright spots on their side of the ball. Only seven teams in the NFL have given up more points than Jacksonville this season (137). Those teams? The Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans. Not exactly the company you want to be in when it comes to this conversation. Really, almost any conversation, with the exception of Houston, who has a pretty decent team overall with the exception of the horrendously bad secondary. They have been outscored by a ridiculous 96-19 margin in their 3 losses this season to Tennessee, San Diego, and Philadelphia. The only thing close to an upside is the fact they have several relatively young players such as Tyson Alualu, Justin Durant, and Derek Cox who will hopefully continue to improve over the next few seasons.
The fourth quarter of their loss to the Titans exposed Jack Del Rio's poor coaching abilities, as continuously had MJD rush the ball and burn away time while his team trailed by three possessions. It got to the point where the crowd was loudly booing the play-calling as they kept wasting time even as they got into the red-zone and down near the goal-line. When they finally decided to pass the ball, the Titan's knew it was coming and Vincent Fuller ripped the ball from Underwood's hands in the end-zone. While it's understandable Del Rio would want to turn to his best player, that's not exactly the best way to go about erasing a 20 point deficit with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. He is 58-56 since taking over as head coach for the 2003 season and has managed a 1-2 record in the postseason during that time. Toss in the fact that they haven't won the division once, and only came in second twice, and this could easily be Del Rio's last season in Jacksonville if he can't get this team near a .500 finish and out of last place in their division.
Jacksonville has been consistently bad over the past decade, only reaching the playoffs twice and never living up to their expectations. Considering they play in a loaded division with three teams that are clearly better than them at most positions, and one of those teams has a guy named Peyton Manning, I don't think the Jaguars are anywhere near being a contender in their own division, much less in the AFC. I don't think Del Rio or Garrard will be around the next time this franchise sees the postseason, and it could be a very long wait until they are serious threats to get to the Super Bowl. Unless MJD goes off for 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns and the rest of team magically learns how to play football in the next 10 games, don't bank on the Jaguars being anywhere near the playoff picture at the end of the season.
