JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Jacksonville’s three-game stretch against Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit was supposed to get the team back in the AFC playoff picture.
But after losing the first two – call it 0-for-Ohio – the Jaguars (3-5) find themselves even further back and questioning where everything went wrong after last year’s postseason run.
“We find ourselves in a tough spot,” coach Jack Del Rio said Monday, a day after his team’s 21-19 loss at previously winless Cincinnati. “This is not what we had envisioned, but it is what we have earned. What is most important to me is how we respond. First and foremost, we have to stick together. There’s not going to be anybody from the outside coming in and giving us a hand.”
coordinator Gregg Williams, signing high-priced free agents Jerry Porter and Drayton Florence, and then trading away several draft picks to move up and get Derrick Harvey.
Williams’ defense has been one of the main problems.
The unit allowed several big plays in a 23-17 loss to Cleveland, then played just as poorly against the Bengals. Castoff Cedric Benson ran for 104 yards, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambled for 52 yards and Chad Ocho Cinco hauled in two touchdown passes over Rashean Mathis.
The Jaguars haven’t started pointing fingers yet, but the whispers about not buying into Williams’ blitz-heavy scheme are starting to get louder.
“Getting upset, hollering and screaming isn’t going to stop the pain,” defensive end Reggie Hayward said. “You have to learn from this pain. You have to accept it. If you don’t want to experience it again, do what you’ve got to do to win the game.”
Del Rio blamed both lines for the team’s woes, saying everything begins in the trenches. The offensive line has a bit of an excuse, having lost its top three guards to season-ending injuries. The defensive line, though, has been the most baffling part of Jacksonville’s dropoff.
t-time role.
Harvey, a first-round pick from Florida, was supposed to bolster the line. But he held out during training camp and the preseason, and is still waiting for his first sack. He got credit for one Sunday, but it was later taken away and rightfully awarded to teammate Mike Peterson.
Still, Harvey might not be the team’s biggest underachiever.
Porter and Florence surely lead that pack. Porter signed a six-year, $30 million contract in February that included $10 million guaranteed. He missed the first three games following surgery to repair a torn hamstring and has just three receptions for 44 yards since.
Two of his catches came against the Bengals, but he also dropped a pass down the sideline and couldn’t hang onto a 2-point conversion that would have tied it in the final minutes.
Florence was signed to be a starter, expected to allow Brian Williams to move to safety, but he has struggled in coverage after sustaining a groin injury earlier in the season.
“I think in fairness to the two expensive free agents, they’ve both had injuries that have changed the course of the season,” Del Rio said.
s and trail division leader Tennessee by a seemingly insurmountable five games.
Del Rio doesn’t know what’s missing, either.
“That’s the $64 million question,” he said. “I think it’s important and never a given. I think you have to work toward it. It’s an important thing to strive for. No one year can be expected to be duplicated. Each year is a new year that takes on its own identity.
“I think the biggest thing is that in our environment right now, everybody wants somebody to blame. I’m not looking to blame. I’m looking to move forward and get better.”
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