Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence reveals interesting approach to criticism and hype

The Jacksonville Jaguars were flying high to start the 2023 season but they're not currently getting much attention from the national media because they ultimately came crashing down. Trevor Lawrence knows that the Jags need to win before they get the spotlight again and recently revealed how he's navigating the situation.

Lawrence told the local media on the first day of training camp that he embraces the challenge of being an underdog.

"It's twofold because that means you probably didn't do as much as you wanted to do the year before," Lawrence responded when asked how he feels about the Houston Texans getting love ahead of the 2024 season. But it's always fun being on this side of it, where you want to prove everybody wrong, and you have a lot of people doubting you. Maybe there's not as many expectations from the outside."

Lawrence continued, "I mean, it doesn't matter at the end of the day, you still got to go perform, and matters really what goes on in this building and what we do out here, getting ready for the season, and the attitude, mindset that we have moving forward. That's really what matters. But I will say it is fun being the overlooked team, and you do kind of enjoy that, and you want to prove people wrong."

On the other hand, Lawrence believes that winning comes with their own set of hurdles.

"But hopefully moving forward, there's a lot of people saying that we're good or great or whatever, saying good things, and we'll have to there'll be another challenge of ignoring that because that means we had a good year and we did what we were supposed to do. Obviously, that's not where we're at coming into this season, but it doesn't matter. It's just a different set of challenges. It's nice getting overlooked a little bit," Lawrence says.

The general perception surrounding the Jaguars has dramatically changed in just one year. It was warranted though. After winning the AFC South and making the postseason in 2022, they were left out of the playoffs last season. In a league in which you're measured by your number of wins, the Jags need to show they can compete before they get the national spotlight. Thus, Lawrence has a point.

Teams are usually motivated when they're overlooked or given bulletin board material. The Jaguars are no different. On the other hand, they need to find balance and learn how to turn off the outside noise whether it's good or bad. It looks like their star quarterback has found that middle ground. Here's his full exchange with the media.

Trevor Lawrence is working on reducing turnovers, fumbles for 2024

At one point, the Jacksonville Jaguars were seen as Super Bowl sleepers in 2023. They were able to live up to the hype early on, going 8-3 to start the season. However, they were able to muster just one win in their last six games. Still, Trevor Lawrence was one of the reasons — probably the biggest one — the Jaguars had a fighting chance week in and week out last year.

That said, he must get better if they want to have a legitimate shot at dethroning the division rival Houston Texans in 2024. The former Clemson Tiger was responsible for 21 turnovers last season and will need to cut down on the mistakes.

Granted, some of the picks were the result of trying to overcome the team's lack of talent but Lawrence must do a better job of holding onto the football, having fumbled 14 times and losing seven of them in 2023. The good news is that the Knoxville, Tennessee native is aware he needs to improve in that area.

"Yeah, I think for my career, my rookie year, just making decisions, throwing the ball probably wasn't great. I think I've made a big improvement on that. Interceptions, the type. We throw the ball out, you're going to have some interceptions. That's going to happen, but I think for the most part, the last two years, decisions have been good. Obviously, you're going to have a few every once in a while that aren't great decisions, playing quarterback, throwing the ball a lot, it's going to happen."

"But it's more of what I've talked about in the past. It's the ball security in the pocket and in space running and not putting the ball on the ground. That's something that I control. That's easier to control than sometimes the passing game, so that's really what I got to fix. So I put a big emphasis on that, of just securing the ball in the pocket when I'm moving around when I'm scrambling, that's something that I've got to fix, and you got to limit turnovers," Lawrence said.

Knowing is half the battle but if Trevor Lawrence reduces his number of turnover totals and stays healthy, the Jaguars will turn heads in 2024.

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