Inconsistent Jacksonville Jaguars Still Working Out the Kinks

The Jaguars are building the foundation for the future

After four straight losses, any franchise would have a lot of questions being asked about how they are operating. In the Jaguars’ case, many fans and people outside of the organization have voiced their concerns over Pederson’s offensive playcalling.

Pederson is known to call a pass-heavy attack and has not disappointed since taking the helm in Jacksonville. Although he is bringing an exciting style of offense that is long overdue in Duval, it has not resulted in enough wins to overlook the imbalance between run and pass plays.

Moving on from Robinson may be a sign that Pederson has no intention of adapting the ways he calls a game but instead cements the pass-happy nature of this offense. Etienne is largely looked at as a guy with above-average pass-catching skills for a running back and was speculated to have more of a third-down role going into the season. Pederson seems to believe that keeping him on the field more often will make the offense more effective.

The head coach also seems intent on remaining aggressive with his play calling on fourth downs and in other situations. Instead of compromising what he wants to do with the team, Pederson has stayed aggressive to the delight of his players. When it pays off, he’s a hero, but each time he fails the murmurs about his aggressiveness get louder. Maybe he wants to continue to teach this team how to play his brand of offense instead of rushing to simplify the system when things are not working.

While the roster still needs a good deal of improvement before the team becomes contenders, Pederson is tasked with getting wins now to create the winning culture he was hired to build. The biggest challenges he faces now seem to be to get the most out of the current roster and the continued development of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

A big part of that is going to be learning which players he can trust for key roles and which he wants to invest time in developing. The Jaguars have some young pieces on the roster but still lack star players that they will certainly look to add in next year’s offseason.

At 2-5 after the first seven weeks of the season, it still is not time to panic for this franchise. Most people in and around the team did not expect a quick turnaround but quickly embraced its possibility early in the season.

However, it appears time to temper expectations and to look for signs of improvement and consistency which is really what most people hoped for going into the year. The most important thing is for Lawrence to continue to develop as coach Pederson builds a winning culture. As those two factors begin to manifest so will this team’s ability to win close games.