Brunell: A lot to be frustrated about

Jaguars lose to Raiders 33-16

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There was a lot to be frustrated about in the loss to the Oakland Raiders Sunday in EverBank. Remember, this was a game the Jags needed. The opportunity to get our team to .500 slipped away. 

At 2-4, I think we can all agree that we are simply not playing good football. Areas on our team that we hoped to see improvement just haven’t happened.

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My first concern is with our offense. Let’s start with the ground game.

We knew we needed more yards in the rush game, but outside of Chris Ivory's 42-yarder and TJ Yeldon's 15-yarder, there wasn’t much else. Going forward, we must find a way to establish the ground game. In my opinion, that’s where the heart of our problem lies. We have a young quarterback that needs time to develop, and he will. But not being able to run the ball puts a lot of pressure on him, pressure that he's not quite yet ready to handle.

The formula for success for our offense is this:

1. Run the ball effectively
2. Be efficient with the pass. Bortles needs to be effective with play-action passes and operate in manageable third downs. We need more completions. This just isn’t happening. Until the run game improves, our struggle in the passing game will continue. 

This doesn’t only fall on our run game. We need to throw the ball better. It’s easy to point the blame at the quarterback when the passing game is struggling. And yes, our quarterback is struggling. However, as I watched the game, I really didn’t see a lot of guys open. There simply weren't a lot of guys getting separation. 

The Raiders did a good job covering our receivers all day giving Bortles very few options. Also, we saw something that we haven't seen much of  -- Allen Robinson dropping a couple passes. That can’t happen.

I did like seeing Bortles run the ball a few times. He's good at it, and it needs to continue. If there's nobody open, he should continue to keep the play alive and get as many as he can on the ground.  It works. 

I don’t have a lot to critique with the defense. They were on the field too long. 

Michael Crabtree had too big of a day, but that is going to happen. He's good, and so is the Raiders young quarterback Derek Carr.  We’re just are asking too much of our defense at this point. Trust me, this is a different ball game if our offense is clicking. We are far from that, though. 

At 2-4, it's hard to get exciting about our team right now. Plenty of football left, but things need to get fixed in a hurry. Thursday night against the Titans can’t come soon enough.

Former NFL QB Mark Brunell answers viewer's questions about the game

Do you think it's time to sit Bortles for a game following repeatedly bad performances?

- James in Fernandina Beach

No,  he is our present and our future.  You continue to coach him in hopes he will improve as the season progresses.

How do you feel about Jackson’s ejection from the game?

- Christopher in Englewood

I hate seeing that but you have to play by the rules and not let your emotions get the best of you.

How do the Jaguars salvage this season?

- Craig in Lakewood

Beat the Titans this Thursday.  You have to take it one game at a time in the NFL.