After the late season collapse that left the Jaguars out of the playoffs, Coach Doug Pederson’s team is intent on returning to the postseason.
We tend to make a lot of what we see in the first week of training camp. And the first week of preseason games. And the season opener. It’s natural since the sample size is very small. I’ve learned to moderate reactions to what we see on the field.
The same should hold true for what we hear. But during this training camp, one of the most important things I wanted to hear was how the players and coaches viewed what happened last season.
So far, so good.
As he did during the offseason, Pederson talked about the need to keep the team grounded and unified. They should know they have to earn everything they get during the season. In the NFL, nothing is given.
“I think just looking back and learning on some of those moments last year, especially at the end of the season. I think we just have to stay grounded,” Pederson said.” We’ve got to continue to trust each other, trust our process; the standard that we’ve put in place here regardless of what happens. Injuries are going to be part of our game at every position, and it’s got to be a next-man-up type of mentality. That’s got to be the message moving forward—that it takes everybody.”
Within that comment is an admission that the bottom of the roster wasn’t focused on for development. Once the injuries started to pile up, reserves were pushed into action as regulars and the team’s record suffered as a result.
Unlike last year, when the Jaguars were the hunted after winning a game in the playoffs, this year, they can return to the mentality of being the hunter.
“It’s two-fold because that means you probably didn’t do as much as you wanted to do the year before, but I think 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,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “Maybe there’s not as many expectations from the outside. It doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, you’ve still got to go perform. It matters really what goes on in this building, what we do out here getting ready for the season, and really the attitude and mindset that we have moving forward. I think it is nice kind of getting overlooked a little bit.”
Like Lawrence, cornerback Tyson Campbell will play this season with a new, lucrative contract. Campbell’s new deal makes him the highest-paid cornerback to never make the Pro Bowl. He admitted that it took him a while to get over last season’s disappointment.
“I’d say probably once OTAs start that gives you an idea, like, ‘Okay, it’s time to transition to the new season.’ At the same time, you don’t forget, but you do move on and grow from it.” Campbell said. “You learn from what last season taught you and you just use it as fuel for the next season. That’s what we’re doing.”
So that’s the mental side of things. Now, it’s time for Lawrence and the offense to start to put things together. After the defense dominated the start of camp, the second week, including putting the pads on, will need to see the offense make some gains.
If they can continue to do that, the playoffs are a legitimate possibility.