‘Death by a thousand cuts’ describes Jags’ collapse
Once the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 season went from promising to an inexplicable collapse, the fan base demanded answers and naturally shifted into a heads-must-roll mentality.
It’s never enough for supporters of any NFL franchise to vent and move on from disaster. Blame must be assigned, a convenient target identified to explain why a team lost its grip on a division title and slumped to the finish line.
For many passionate black-and-teal followers, the men perceived to be most deserving of scapegoat status for the Jaguars going from 8-3 to 9-8 and out of the playoffs were, in order, general manager Trent Baalke and offensive coordinator Press Taylor.
Since Baalke is entrusted with picking the players and Taylor with calling the plays, fans believed much of the onus for the Jaguars’ season going south rested with the GM and the play-caller.
When head coach Doug Pederson fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and most of the defense’s position coaches, along with running backs coach Bernie Parmalee, many questioned pink slips not being extended to Baalke and Taylor.
Not that those two deserve any kind of free pass because they must own responsibility for the Jaguars’ demise, but why is the focus of blame for NFL failure almost always on people who never suit up in a game?
Two months after the Jaguars were seemingly in position to make a Super Bowl run, and with the big game looming on Sunday in Las Vegas, it’s as if everyone on the roster from Trevor Lawrence on down remains untouchable.
Why should the players be absolved of blame? They play the game, not the coaches or front-office people.
Accountability for the Jaguars’ downfall should be directed at every facet of the organization, including those wearing helmets and pads.
Players should follow Trevor’s lead
When players return for the offseason conditioning program in April, then
start OTAs in May, the first thing they must own up to is their part in the 2023 season unraveling.
Then quickly move on to the business of building a Super Bowl contender with a retooled roster, which will likely see about a 30 percent overhaul once Baalke and Pederson settle on the 53-man lineup for the ‘24 season opener.
Whatever scars remain from frittering away the AFC South division title to the Houston Texans, the Jaguars ought to just take a page from the Lawrence playbook and accept responsibility for it.
Why? Because it’s the best way to flush last year, by simply acknowledging everybody must do their part to make sure the collapse never happens again.
To his credit, Lawrence didn’t try to sidestep the issue of how his turnover-prone ways cost the Jaguars points and valuable field position in several games.
Whether it was the ghost fumble that became a pivotal turning point against the Baltimore Ravens, the three-interception game in a 31-27 loss to the Cleveland Browns, or vetoing a run play for the fourthdown-and-goal, over-the-top QB sneak that didn’t work in the season-ending loss to the Tennessee Titans, No. 16 pointed only at himself for the disappointing finish.
“I got to own my part and I’ve got to take better care of the ball,” Lawrence said in his season-ending news conference. “That’s going to give us a better chance to win a lot of these games. There’s a lot of things I need to better, too, it’s not just turnovers.”
That kind of hard self-evaluation from the team’s most important player counts for something. It sends a message to the locker room and the fan base that taking responsibility when things go awry is part of building a proper team foundation.
But that accountability must come from more than just the quarterback, head coach and GM.