Dominoes Starting to Fall in Jacksonville; Olson Ousted
The Jaguars have played some bad games during their 2016
season and they’ve played a lot of bad games in recent years, but last Thursday’s
36-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans is near the top on both categories.
The game has been covered by other media outlets, so it is
pointless to go with our usual recap this long after the game, but it is not a
stretch to say that the score was not even as close as the two-touchdown
differential.
The Jaguars were down 27-0 at the half and got whipped in
every facet of the game. With 7:04 left in the first half, the Titans had 260
total yards to the Jaguars 29. No, that’s not a misprint. Tennessee scored
three touchdowns in just over 7 ½ minutes in the second quarter, part of a
24-point quarter.
On one of the Titans touchdown drives in the second quarter,
the Jaguars defense had quarterback Marcus Mariota and the offense backed up in
a 3rd & 15. Running back DeMarco Murray took the handoff and went 19 yards
for a first down.
When all was said, and done, Mariota finished the first half
going 16-of-19 passing and Tennessee racked up 354 yards of offense, while Jaguars
quarterback Blake Bortles was
8-of-16 for 64 yards and Jacksonville had five rushing yards.
Bortles played much better in the second half, getting a
third quarter touchdown pass to tight end Julius Thomas, for 10 yards. Bortles
ran the ball in for the two-point conversion and it was 27-8. In the fourth
quarter, he found Allen Hurns from
five yards out with 3:22 left and finished with a seven-yard touchdown to Bryan Walters with one second on the
clock, to make it 36-22.
Bortles starts are deceiving, especially when you consider
how bad his first half was. He finished 33-of-54 for 337 yards. The sad part of
that, is that he had to throw so many times, because as usual, the running game
didn’t hold up their end. T.J. Yeldon
had 20 yards and Chris Ivory, who
was supposed to be the running back this team has been waiting for, had six –
on four carries.
Hurns and Allen Robinson did combine for 13 catches and 168
yards, but most of that was long after the game had been decided.
For more info: Jacksonville @
Tennessee Box Score
After the loss, owner Shad Khan has said that he was not
going to fire head coach Gus Bradley. He has not spoken to the media since and
his silence speaks volumes. NFL Network’s Deion Sanders said at halftime, that
the Jaguars have quit and normally that’s the worst thing you can say about a
team. In this case, he may be right.
The domino effect of this loss, knocked offensive
coordinator Greg Olson down over the weekend, as he was dismissed
from his duties. While this change was not surprising and was needed, Olson
was obviously the scapegoat.
Bradley is a defensive “guru” and I use that word loosely.
This defense has been awful; Bortles has been awful… the team has been awful.
This was supposed to be the year the Jaguars started on an upward trajectory.
Bortles was more mature and was going to work with the same offensive
coordinator in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career.
Add to
that, the improvements the team made on defense with their free-agent signings.
NONE of it has mattered. Bortles earlier this week, blamed himself for Olson’s
firing, which is noble of him. The bottom line is, he has taken huge steps
backward. His throwing motion is costing him, precious seconds, as it has since
his NFL career started. Now, he admits it’s a problem.
Why now? why not in the off-season? why not eight weeks ago?
why not at the beginning of your career? Now he decides he needs to bring in a
coach to help with his motion. He needs to fix issues that have come up this
season? No… these are issues that have plagued him for three seasons.
Things are slipping away from the Jaguars in 2016 and there
is very little time for them to get it back on track, but they will try when
they take on the Kansas Chiefs Sunday. They may catch a break, with Chiefs
starter Alex Smith listed as inactive for this game.
Nick Foles will start in his place, but it won’t matter if
the Jaguars play anywhere near the game that they played Thursday. Kickoff on
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium.
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