JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – What Jaguars team will fans see after the bye week?
Will it be the one that beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in an epic “Monday Night Football” game, or will it be the team that has looked like one from the Doug Pederson era when the Jaguars return to the field on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Raiders (2-5)?
Jacksonville is 4-3 and has been competitive in all but one game this season. Jacksonville lost to Cincinnati (31-27) and Seattle (20-12) in games that it really should have won. The Week 7 blowout loss to the Rams (35-7) was the only time under head coach Liam Coen that the Jaguars looked like they didn’t belong on the field.
Coen said the bye week allowed the team to drill down on what was working and what needed to be cleaned up.
“Something I was talking to Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] about is, I think the teams that maybe identify, I guess you could say an issue,” Coen said. “Issue or somewhere where you’re underperforming/what you’re doing well and either coming into this week of your next game, addressing those tangibly. All right, we want to improve in this area. Well, if you just say, it might not get done. You usually from players, you get what you emphasize, very often. And so if there’s areas where you’re trying to show and improve, not just talking about it or getting the stats and showing it.”
Jacksonville have to show that it has improved quickly, and that things aren’t going off the rails under Coen like the did with Pederson.
One of the glaring issues that Jacksonville lugged into the bye week was its inability to protect Lawrence or run the football. Coen’s offense thrives when the backs can get going, and that didn’t happen at all against the Rams or Seahawks. The Jaguars rushed for 153 yards total in those games.
The pass protection was even worse. Lawrence was sacked seven times in each of those games. Coen said their bye week analysis suggests those games had more to do with health rather than any type of scheme or personnel issues.
“Changes were not really necessary. I don’t think. It was just getting a couple guys feeling a little bit better,” he said. “When you got knicks, whether it’s at multiple spots on your body or whatever it is, you don’t feel great and I think a lot of it has to do with just getting back to balance.”
Lawrence said the bye week was much needed for players for different reasons. Losses and struggles aside, Lawrence said the Jaguars are in a good spot and know what they need to do for the final stretch of the season.
“Obviously, it’s not the same for everyone. People are dealing with different things, but everyone’s dealing with something at this point in the season,” he said. “You played seven games and so just getting the body back feeling good is a big part of it. I think mentally resetting, knowing what’s ahead of us. We’ve got a 10-game stretch now ahead of us to put us in position at the end of this thing. So, we need everyone in the right mental headspace, everyone healthy.”
Both Lawrence and Coen said they’ve had good conversations and work with struggling receiver Brian Thomas Jr. The second-year player has been inconsistent this season, struggling with drops and short-arming catchable passes. Coen addressed trade speculation earlier in the week, and said the team had no intention of dealing him.
“I think you’re continuing to try to — any player that is maybe not done as much as they’d want to — as a player and as a coach is to just keep pushing through that. There’s going to be a breakthrough at some point here to just connect and doing it,” Coen said.
Added Lawrence: “I’m very confident. I’ve had some really good conversations with Brian. I think we’ve gotten closer, really the last — obviously over the last couple of years, as this has gone. And I have a lot of confidence in him, and he’s such a young player. I mean, he is in his second year, and I think that’s part of developing as a player in this league, and I’ve gone through a lot of my own challenges as well in times where maybe I didn’t play my best and felt like I was leaving some stuff out there. … I’ve got all the confidence that he’s going to play really well and be just fine. So I’m not concerned with that.”
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