Jacksonville Jaguars: Nick Foles and others to sit on Thursday night

The Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff will sit key starter to avoid potential injuries.

It appears that once again Jacksonville Jaguars will hold several key plays on both sides of the ball out of their second preseason game of the season.

For those of you expecting to see Nick Foles sling the football around TIAA Bank Field on Thursday against his former team the Philadelphia Eagles, it looks as though you are going to be disappointed. But before you throw your season tickets away and declare this upcoming season a disaster, there are a few things to consider.

The Jaguars may not play key starters to avoid injuries, but that does not mean the team isn’t preparing for the regular season with a lackadaisical approach. As head coach Doug Marrone has said many times this preseason and in training camp, he took a different road when planning for training camp to try to avoid injuries that plagued this team in 2018.

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As we all know, there are players who have already been caught by the injury bug and will miss playing time. Marrone and his staff are betting this decision will work out for the best. And when he told the media on Saturday that he believes he is doing the best possible job he can do to prepare his players for the season, it was a telling moment for the coach and the organization.

Another season that is decimated by injuries will mean no playoff run once again and a potential change in coaching and front office personnel.

Marrone outlined why he has made the moves he has on Tuesday when he met with the media. The lack of starters in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens resulted in 29-0 loss. But as he stated, the work the team has put in during camp and the reps the players are getting on the field adjacent to TIAA Bank Field is more than you would expect at this time of the year.

"“I will take a good look at it after [Wednesday] and probably not play some of the players [on Thursday],” Marrone said. “We will play [our starters] the third preseason game. … I think it’s important that you play that game because you are presenting and you want to get the players in the right frame of mind. I hope that I was able to kind of clear these things up. I should have probably done it earlier.”"

Hopefully, it is a formula that will pay off.

The Jaguars need to concrete on accumulating depth across the board at every position. This is why these next three games are important for players like Taven Bryan, who Marrone has singled out as showing improvement, and wide receivers Keelan Cole and Terrelle Pryor who appear to be battling for the final wide receiver slot.

"Per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, “Marrone said he’s gotten his healthy first-teamers more snaps in practices during the past two weeks to make up for not playing in the preseason games. Marrone said that he usually has had his starters play about 30 snaps in the third preseason game but that he’ll make that determination next week.”"

The offensive line still has issues and need more continuity. The linebackers are beginning to fill out as Najee Goode and Ramik Wilson are settling in as part of the rotation. Leon Jacobs is still in the mix to get significant playing time as well.

The Jaguars are still a work in progress. After a 5-11 season and a franchise searching for answers, we should afford the coaching staff a chance to change the narrative and see what works.

If the Jaguars wait until Week 3 to get their starters live reps in a game and they are successful this season, no one is going to bat an eye over this move. If the team suffers more injuries or the team looks sluggish coming out for Week 1 against Kansas City, Marrone and his staff will be questioned for their decision. It’s a no-win situation. But the hope is things will be better in the end.

Week 3 of the preseason is the one where we should panic if these Jaguars don’t perform well. Until then, let’s wait and see what happens.