Urban Meyer is one of the winningest head coaches in college football. On the other hand, he had never coached at the NFL level. Nevertheless, the Jacksonville Jaguars believe he’s the right man to oversee their rebuild. The early results haven’t been great though, and the Jags lost yet another game Sunday. This time, it was against the Atlanta Falcons.
Trailing 21-3 in the third quarter, the Jaguar managed to score 10 points and make it a one-touchdown game. They had a chance to tie the game in their last drive but ultimately lost the game. This was the second time in three weeks Jacksonville had a chance to tie or win a game in their last possession but came short. Penalties once again played a factor, and so did drops.
This was always going to be a development year for the Jaguars but you would expect a more disciplined team to take the field. Instead, the Jaguars have been getting flagged at a high rate in 2021 and Sunday was no different, racking up six penalties.
The Jaguars still lack enough talent to take on better teams. They will have to address that in the offseason but that doesn’t justify all the times they’re getting flagged on both sides of the ball at a high rate and that’s a reflection of the job the coaching staff is doing.
You could argue Meyer hasn’t fully made the transition to the pros but if that’s the case, it should be a cause for concern. He’s had many months to grasp everything the job entails. Also, his staff has NFL experience and should be helping him adjust.
It may be a bit premature to tell if the Jaguars made the right hire but one thing is certain, Meyer has a long way to go in the NFL.
The Jaguars should have already figured things out by now.
After the 21-14 loss to the Falcons, Meyer said he doesn’t know why it’s taken so long to find an offensive identity, and what works the best for Trevor Lawrence.
"There’s no stubbornness, it’s just we’re all figuring this thing out. We should have it figured out. I would say this, It’s not like we don’t have it figured out. We’re not executing at a high level. We’re putting ourselves in a position to win a game and if we eliminate some nonsense, then we would win the game."
Wait a minute! It would be one thing if this were Week 2 or 3 of the season but there are just six games left. At this point, it’s unlikely the Jaguars will show significant improvement and that’s on Meyer. He had months to evaluate the personnel, get in synch with his coaching staff and implement his vision.
Meyer said the Jaguars will use a more up-tempo approach in the following weeks, which begs the question, why hasn’t the offense done it more often? Trevor Lawrence has played well and performed well against the Falcons even though he threw an interception. The Jaguars need to make sure he keeps developing and if that means using more up-tempo and no-huddle concepts, so be it.
Not long ago, a report surfaced about Meyer wanting to use a simplified offense. While it’s not feasible to run a college-style offense in the NFL, the Jaguars must keep tweaking their system and look for ways to help Lawrence thrive without hindering his growth.
The Jaguars have a stud in running back James Robinson, and it’s fair to wonder why he isn’t getting a bigger workload. It’s possible that he hasn’t fully recovered from the heel injury he suffered in Week 8. Urban Meyer said as much after the game but you want to give your best players the ball as often as possible and the coaching staff hasn’t done it with the second-year running back.
Robinson still got 17 carries against the Falcons, more than the previous two weeks but he should have gotten even more despite the fact that he lost a fumble. You could also make the case you should have been on the field during the Jags’ last drive of the first half.
The second-year running back lost a fumble in the second quarter but that doesn’t justify the decision to keep him off the field during key moments, such as the Jags’ drive before halftime. Dare Ogunbowale couldn’t come down with a pass that would have given the Jaguars a touchdown. Robinson might have caught it.
Meyer was asked why Robinson didn’t partake in the drive. He said he doesn’t micromanage the game and you would have to ask either offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and running backs coach Bernie Parmalee why the sophomore wasn’t on the field. The head coach added that if Carlos Hyde was on the field, it was for a good reason.
This isn’t the first time that Meyer says he doesn’t micromanage the roster, which is not what you want to hear from your head coach. He’s supposed to make sure the team is running smoothly and that hasn’t always been the case with the Jags this season.
It would be one thing if the Jaguars were having success on the field but that’s not the case. It’s clear Meyer’s approach isn’t working and he needs to make adjustments. It remains to be seen if he will do it. The clock is ticking.