The Jacksonville Jaguars had high expectations coming into the season. Starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence signed a huge contract extension. The Jaguars signed big name free agents. And owner Shad Khan called this Jaguars team the best assembled in franchise history.
As the Jaguars are in their bye week, they have the worst record in the NFL. The expectations have not been remotely close to what the Jaguars envisioned. Now, head coach Doug Pederson is on the hot seat (and potentially beyond that even). Where did it all go wrong for the Jaguars?
Bucky Brooks, an analyst and former player, recently sounded off as to why. He said it is toughness.
“I am looking at the notes from the spring and the summer and the optimism and all the things that we expected from the team,” said former NFL player Bucky Brooks. “It really did not take but a half for it to kind of unravel. And I would say the first half, I would say the first game of the season, the Miami Dolphins game, where the team was up and really about to open a can on the Dolphins. Travis Etienne is really on the verge of scoring a touchdown, fumble, and from that moment on, the season has absolutely spiraled. And I am surprised that it has kind of been that because the team talked about the toughness and the resilience and bouncing back from a disappointing finish to last season, that this team is sitting at 2-9.”
“And I would say based on the feeling down on the sideline, it felt pretty bleak and hopeless. I just cannot believe that the team feels broken like it does based on the optimism that everyone in the building had heading into the season.”
“The mental toughness or the lack thereof has really shown and has been an issue because you do not finish and you do not play or start the way this season has started. Unless you lack a level of toughness and grit and determination to get jobs done … If they do not have the energy where they need time off or they just do not feel well and they are down because they are getting their tails kicked, they ultimately determine whether they get their tails kicked or not. So, I just do not understand why the coach would let them off the hook.”
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