Black and Teal
FanSided

Yes, it’s time to start worrying.

By Daniel Lago

facebooktwitterreddit

I consider myself one of the more optimistic, hopeful Jacksonville Jaguars fans I know. I bought in fully to former general Gene Smith, I was one of the last people off the Blaine Gabbert train to nowhere, and I even briefly deluded myself into thinking drafting a punter in the third round wasn’t completely asinine. All of these collective experiences have helped me be a little more realistic and take a step back to more appropriately evaluate the Jaguars. After the team’s 16-13 loss to a Luck-less Indianapolis Colts squad, all I have is one thought:

It’s time to start worrying about this team.

The roster.

The coaching staff.

The front office.

I managed to avoid any scoring updates and watched the game recorded later in the day – in retrospect I should have just peeked at the final score and not put myself through 5 quarters of utter futility and frustration.

Patience was afforded to general manager David Caldwell by owner Shad Khan after the dismissal of Gene Smith, but patience has to be wearing thin. Year 3 into a rebuild (with a second year ‘franchise’ quarterback), you can’t lose to a downright bad Colts’ roster when their starting quarterback is a 40-year old Matt Hasselbeck.

Luke did a great job talking about some of the more important details of the game (specifically a terrific performance by Allen Hurns wasted) and the implications within the divisional race of this loss, but this piece is about taking a macro-level look at what we just watched.

This was a poorly coached game where the talent level isn’t nearly good enough to overcome the inability to game plan and execute.

Outside of the first 2 quarters of the win in week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, the Jaguars have looked dysfunctional on offense and underwhelming on defense. The blame for this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of the offense and their inability to score any points in the second half, but the defense has lacked playmaking ability all season.

I’m somewhat hesitant to write this only hours after the game, but I think it’s appropriate to encapsulate these feelings and thoughts before I rediscover the teal-colored glasses I threw out the window at the end of the game.

The question now and through the rest of the season is what happens next? Does head coach Gus Bradley get fired? Does general manager David Caldwell get fired? And if so, when?

My take is Gus is gone and the timing of that move depends on how quickly the losses pile up this season. Regardless, things are going to change in Jacksonville by the start of the 2016 season.

Next: Jaguars lose to Colts in overtime

More from Black and Teal

Home/Jacksonville Jaguars News