The Jacksonville Jaguars looked underwhelming in their first two preseason games. They couldn’t run the ball nor stop the pass. To make matters worse, quarterback Trevor Lawrence didn’t look like a player that was drafted first overall in 2021’s selection meeting. Head coach Urban Meyer suddenly became the target of anonymous sources that questioned whether he was doing a good job in Duval.
So what did the Jaguars do? They beat the Dallas Cowboys 34-14 in the preseason finale. Lawrence looked like the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, the secondary did a good job of stopping the pass and Meyer got a much-needed win.
After Jacksonville’s first preseason victory, Meyer met with the local media and talked about several things, including the decision to start Lawrence despite the fact that they were without several starting offensive linemen.
"The most impressive group was the O-Line, five of our top six didn’t play and there was a point yesterday, even late yesterday, [when the team’s brass asked],should we play Trevor or not?"
After a couple of two subpar performances, the Jaguars’ offensive linemen didn’t allow a sack in Week 3 and gave Lawrence, C.J. Beathard, and Jake Luton enough time to spread the ball around even though they were without most of their starters. Meyer later praised Tyler Shatley, right tackle Jawaan Taylor, and rookie offensive tackle Walker Little.
Left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Andrew Norwell, center Brandon Linder and right guard A.J. Cann have missed time in the preseason. They all should be back in the lineup and give the offensive line a boost when the Jaguars face off against the Houston Texans in the season opener. Here are more observations from the Jaguars’ preseason win.
Jacksonville Jaguars fans should be thrilled about Trevor Lawrence.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence showed flashes in the Jaguars’ first two preseason games but wasn’t able to score due to the team’s questionable game plan and the offensive line’s inability to protect him. It all changed in Week 3, as he completed 11 of 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. It’s too early to peg him as the Jags’ franchise quarterback but he sure silenced his doubters for at least one week. Two weeks, when you take into account that the NFL will have a week off before the start of the regular season.
So what changed? Lawrence had a sitdown with the local media and talked about the main reason the Jaguars were able to beat the Cowboys: Execution.
"I thought we had a good game plan. I mean, honestly, it’s all about execution there. Like I said, I think we had a good gameplay last week too. We just didn’t execute it. So it’s easy as someone from the outside to see a game. You know, we don’t play that great or we don’t execute it, it’s, it’s gonna make it look like maybe we’re not running the right scheme or whatever."
Lawrence went on to say that regardless of what you run, if the execution is flawless (or close to it), everyone is going to play well. The former Tiger added that he felt like everybody was on the same page in the preseason finale. Moreover, they communicated well and kept it simple.
If Lawrence keeps playing the way he did in Dallas, nobody will keep second-guessing the Jags’ decision to draft him over Justin Fields.
The Jacksonville Jaguars can count on TE James O’Shaughnessy.
The Jaguars opted not to pursue any big-name tight ends in free agency. Also, they waited until Round 5 of this year’s draft to take Luke Farrell instead of pursuing someone like Pat Freiermuth early in the selection meeting. The team’s brass believes that their current group of tight ends can be an asset in 2021. Heading into the regular season, James O’Shaughnessy may be the leader of the pack.
Against the Cowboys, the 2015 fifth-round pick caught three passes for 27 yards, the most among tight ends. He spoke to the local media after the game and talked about head coach Urban Meyer’s trust in him. O’Shaughnessy says the head coach didn’t just check his 2020’s film. Instead, he went back to 2019 and saw what he was capable of doing and didn’t try to change him.
"He didn’t try to change me, make me a 265 pound blocking time or make me something that I’m not. He saw some of the skill sets that I had and said “hey, we can use you if you just be the best you”."
O’Shaughnessy also credited Meyer for changing the culture at Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex. The tight end noticed things were headed in the right direction when the team got together for organized team activities.
"And a lot of teams not having, you know, big numbers of OTAs, we were full. And we’re people not just there just to be there, we wanted to be there. And that was 100 percent was him, that was all coach Meyer."
These comments run counter to reports claiming some Jaguars players aren’t thrilled with Meyer’s approach. O’Shaughnessy won’t be confused with an All-Pro tight end any time soon. But he should be a reliable target in the Jaguars’ passing game and a safety valve for Trevor Lawrence.