If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for the Jacksonville Jaguars fans in your life, consider rooting for the Chicago Bears this Sunday, while the Jags sit in the armchair for the final prize – the first choice in the 2021 draft and the rights to choose Trevor Lawrence. I contacted our friends from Big Cat Country to find out more about this reconstruction team and Ryan O’Bleness was kind enough to provide valuable information.
Spoiler: Jaguars fans will be rooting for the Bears this weekend.
Windy City Gridiron: So, Trevor Lawrence, huh? How excited are Jaguars fans about Lawrence’s perspective on Teal and Gold?
Big Cat Country: Jaguars fans are extremely excited. No one was surprised when Jacksonville was dismounted by the Baltimore Ravens last week, but almost everyone was shocked when the New York Jets without a win somehow upset a tough Los Angeles Rams team, pushing the Jaguars into the first-choice territory in the Draft 2021 of the NFL although the Jets and Jaguars have the same record, the Jags has the tiebreaker for overall choice No. 1 due to having a weaker schedule).
Trevor Lawrence de Clemson is exactly the franchise quarterback the Jaguars have been looking for since Mark Brunell, or at least David Garrard, left Duval. He’s the kind of generational talent, franchise-defining player that almost every team would covet. Is he a perfect prospect? No, nobody is. Is it possible that he is a bust? Sure, but unlikely. Lawrence is seen as the most complete potential player since Andrew Luck, and he is exactly what the team needs to recover the horrible product on the field that Jaguars often produce. It will create buzz and invigorate a tormented, but loyal and passionate fan base.
So yes, Jaguars fans are rooting for the defeats in the past two weeks. I never had the “tank” mentality, and players and coaches certainly don’t have their jobs at stake, but at this point, it’s what’s best for the future of this Jacksonville franchise’s sustainability.
WCG: What is the future for Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville? Is he someone that the Jaguars see as a reserve or will they try to move him in the off-season? Minshew gives the Jags the best chance of defeating the Bears or is starting Mike Glennon in an, ah, erm, “revenge game”.
BCC: It will be interesting to see what the Jaguars will decide to do with Gardner Minshew in this off-season. He has a cheap rookie contract in the sixth round and earns only a base salary of $ 850,000 in 2021, so the Jaguars wouldn’t really have to cut it to save space – Jacksonville also has the biggest space in the NFL, so it shouldn’t be a concern in this regard. However, it is obvious that the Jaguars will recruit a quarterback. If Jacksonville keeps choice # 1, it will obviously be Lawrence (unless for some reason he decides to go back to school). If Jacksonville ends up winning another game and moves up to second place, it will probably be Justin Fields from Ohio (or possibly Zach Wilson from BYU). So, where does this leave Minshew? He’s still a very young quarterback, but now that he has almost two full seasons of initial experience, he may be a guy that the coaching staff (I imagine will be a new team) wants to retain to be the new quarterback’s mentor. It would also be a first-line backup option. So there are many reasons for him to stay, but with the arrival of a new general manager and probably a new coach, the new regime could very well choose to put Minshew and his huge mustache aside.
As for the rest of the season, and this week, I think Minshew is the best defender in the squad that gives the team the best chance of winning (Jaguars fans will say to start Glennon or Jake Luton to guarantee a defeat, haha). He has a tendency to carry a lot of bags and sometimes misses easy shots, but he is a game maker and the biggest competitor. But with that said, coach Doug Marrone said Minshew and Glennon will battle this week in training and whoever shows the most there will be the starter against Chicago. So Glennon could get that “revenge game” after all.
WCG: James Robinson was a revelation for the Jags this year. The UDFA RB Illinois State product is a guy that some Bears fans were looking forward to in the off-season. He eclipsed 1,000 yards running with an average of 4.5 yards per transport, adding another 49 receptions to 344 yards. What was the key to your success in a low year for Jacksonville?
BCC: It was a difficult year for the Jaguars and fans to watch, but James Robinson was a very pleasant surprise. The team knew this early, which is why Jacksonville felt comfortable cutting Leonard Fournette before the season started. Robinson just lowers his head and starts to work. He doesn’t say much, but his play speaks a lot. He excels in several areas of the game – running between tackles with strength, running to the sideline with speed, the ability to break tackles hard or overcoming defenders with athletics and a strong dexterity when playing off-field. Although the offensive line faced difficulties in protecting passes, it did a good job in the running game, allowing Robinson to find space.
Robinson, in fact, broke Dominic Rhodes’ single-season rookie record for more yards of scrimmage by an undeveloped rookie, who now stands at 1,414 yards this season. He is one of only three players to run 1,000 yards so far this year.
Robinson, if he is healthy enough to play (he is dealing with an ankle injury), will make an impact on Sunday. Oh, and Robinson was completely despised in the Pro Bowl.
BCC: The Bears only play against Jags once every four years and a lot can change in this league at that time. Who are the young players on this team who form the core of the Jaguars in the future?
Jaguars rely heavily on young and novice players. On the offensive side of the ball, it is clear that Robinson is the player around which the team can build and appears to be the bell of the future. But novice wide receivers Laviska Shenault Jr. and Collin Johnson have made some moves this season. So, of course, fellow wide receiver DJ Chark is still a young piece creator at the age of 24.
In defense, cornerback CJ Henderson and defensive tip K’Lavon Chaisson were the choices of the first round this year and had ups and downs. Jaguars need these two to thrive, but Henderson is currently on reserve due to injuries. Defensive tackles DaVon Hamilton (also in IR) and newcomer Doug Costin have been very promising this year. Then there was the choice of the first round of 2019, the defensive side Josh Allen, who had an incredible debut year, but slowed down in the second year (you guessed it – also in the IR).
There are pieces to be built and things will look much brighter in Jacksonville if the Jags win over Lawrence, but this team is still a few years away from being competitive.
WCG: Who would you say the Jaguars consider their “rival” and why? I ask why Jaguars is a relatively young franchise and division opponents are some distance away geographically. Is it someone from that division or someone like Dolphins due to proximity?
BCC: The Tennessee Titans are definitely the team’s biggest rival. The two fan bases often have heated discussions on Twitter, and players from both franchises have also had some words chosen for each other in the past. Plus, there was that whole thing about the Titans stealing the Jacksonville manual in 1999.
In addition, it’s the other two division rivals with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts, and AFC Central’s old rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I wouldn’t really call the Dolphins rivals, but one of the newer and lesser-known rivalries is with another AFC East opponent: Buffalo Bills. Bills and Jaguars played the AFC Wildcard 2017-2018 game and it was a close battle that Jaguar ended up winning by seven points, and the following season there was a big fight on the field when the teams came together. The two teams haven’t played since, but it will be interesting to see if that continues in the future.
Thanks to Ryan and Big Cat Country for the insight!