Jacksonville Jaguars not dwelling on loss, know they must improve

Jacksonville Jaguars CB Shaquill Griffin has to bring the guys along.

Cornerback Shaquill Griffin also met with the local media Wednesday and talked about his role as a veteran on the team. He is aware that the Jaguars are riding a 16-game losing streak but it’s up to him, and the other team captains to bringing young players along.

"For captains, we got to do a little bit more. We got to bring the guys along, we got to keep them up, keep the spirits up and getting them starting to believe in something that’s a lot bigger than just that game 1."

Griffin’s role in the locker room will be key. He must lead with example and help his younger teammates cope with losing, which is not easy at all. The Jaguars haven’t been good in a while and they are building from scratch. Thus, it will be up to the 2017 third-round pick to have a positive influence. As he pointed out, he’s experienced what it feels like to win and lose.

Then again, the team that drafted Griffin, the Seattle Seahawks, hasn’t lost at the same rate the Jags have lost over the last three years. In that span, the Hawks dropped 15 games while the Jags lost that amount in 2020 alone. Thus, this will also be sort of a different experience for him. As important as his influence will be in the locker room, he also needs to play better.

During the presser, Griffin talked about a potential interception he dropped in the second play of the season opener and noted the need to make those kind of plays, “I got to make that play, something that I got to work… It’s little details like that that we have to fix”.

The Jags gave Griffin a three-year contract worth $44.5 million in the offseason because they want him to be a key cog on and off the field. If he plays like the player that made the Pro Bowl in 2019, his younger teammates won’t hesitate to follow his lead.