JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are on the clock for kickoff.
Jacksonville opens its preseason schedule on Saturday night when the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs head to town for a 7 p.m. kick and the official start of football.
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The game won’t mean much to the starters. Kansas City coach Andy Reid expects to play his starters for a quarter. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said he’ll roll out his first teamers for a series or two.
The big assignment comes for those names beyond the starting lineup, the young players or the undrafted rookies who are fighting for a roster spot. Those players will likely eat up the lion’s share of the playing time on Saturday. Pederson said that he’s stressed to those players to absorb the moment and appreciate it while they’re in it. Players only get one first game in their NFL careers and Pederson says to savor it.
“Yeah, I mean, really just tell them to enjoy it, absorb, take in everything. Obviously, first time for all these guys to play in an NFL football game and it’s exciting for them,” Pederson said. “But at the same time, I want them to go out and play well, calm them their minds, but at the same time have fun, enjoy it.”
You may miss the starters if you blink, but football is football and it’s back for area fans on Saturday night. It’s the first step towards the regular season opener against the Dolphins on Sept. 8 in Miami and the Jaguars have a sizable amount of work to do before they get there. Getting the starters in to face Patrick Mahomes and Co. will be a great opportunity to see where they’re at and how things they’ve worked on in camp translate to an actual game setting.
“It doesn’t have to be a lot or a long time, but you want them to get out there and knock that rust off, get that game feel, play against starters and go execute,” Pederson said. “Like I said, it’s not long, but it’s good for those guys to get out there and do that.”
Knocking the rust off will be primarily for the starters. The backups have the greater opportunity in the preseason.
Jacksonville needs to settle on a backup quarterback (CJ Beathard or Mac Jones), some key defensive positions (outside corner) and a lot of depth roles.
They’ve been racked by injuries as of late, especially on the offensive line, and Pederson won’t put any of those banged up players on the field against Kansas City. Right tackle Anton Harrison and guard Ezra Cleveland won’t play against the Chiefs.
Trevor Lawrence is coming off an uneven third season in the NFL and now has a massive contract that will wipe out any such grace from fans who have patiently waited on his development.
Lawrence and the Jaguars need to win and win now, and that starts with getting out on the right foot and looking like an improved offense against Kansas City.
“Obviously, this is Preseason 1, there’s a long ways to go before Week 1 but I think it is important to kind of test yourself and see how you look against a team that has been the standard the past few years and shouldn’t take it lightly,” Lawrence said. “It is just a preseason game but you’re playing, they’re keeping score, you want to win it so I think that’s the mindset and coach actually just mentioned that after practice. We understand what we want to do and what the goal is.”
The defense has looked sharp in the transition under first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. His new defense should mean a more attacking front, with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker being true pass rushers and not drop-in-coverage outside linebackers. Safety Darnell Savage gives Jacksonville a more aggressive playmaker in the secondary.
The big question and one that Jacksonville can begin to start answering is ‘has the offense improved?’ It was inconsistent at best last year and Pederson has faced constant scrutiny, even from owner Shad Khan, on taking playcalling duties back over. Offensive coordinator Press Taylor called plays last year and he’ll call them against Kansas City on Saturday. Pederson said that he won’t make a decision until the regular season on who calls the plays then.
For Pederson, he wants to see how much the work in practice translates to being on the big field under the lights.
“The more time on the grass during the week that you practice and play —and it’s all preparation, it’s all preparing for a game. When you are prepared, you go play well,” he said. “But when you don’t put in that time, sometimes it’s hard. Some of the more talented athletes can probably get away with it, but not everybody can.”