It’s the only time I’ve ever seen Gus Bradley short with an answer in a press conference situation. When he’s asked about his job security, it’s a question he doesn’t want to hear or address. So when he was asked on Monday if he’d rather know his future in Jacksonville before coaching in the final regular season game at Houston, his answer was pretty clipped.

“No,” He said, tight lipped. “My mindset has always been to do what’s best for this organization and what’s best for this team. Just continue with that.”

Bradley’s not going anywhere. I know there’s a constant drumbeat on social media to move on from Gus and start anew but that’s not going to happen. Owner Shad Khan isn’t about to change the leadership of the team when he’s seen improvement and believes the team is on the verge of being competitive for the division title.

“Are we better than we were in year one? Year two?” Shad said when asked how he’d evaluate Bradley and General Manager Dave Caldwell at the end of the year. It’s clear Khan believes the team is better and that Caldwell and Bradley deserve a fourth year to finish the beginning of the process.

Anytime you ‘rebuild’ in the NFL, it’s a longer than expected process. And when that rebuilding includes a franchise, rookie quarterback, that process can be slow and painful. That’s what the Jaguars are experiencing right now. Those growing pains that come with tearing a team apart and putting it back together along with trying to shepherd a young quarterback into the league. Usually teams do one or the other, but not both at the same time.

If Bradley’s postgame comments that he echoed on Monday sounded familiar, it’s because they are. His team hasn’t been able to grab the consistency or the precision that necessary to win in the league all year long. It’s come in fits and starts with the hope it’ll be the standard they eventually achieve.

“This is a precision league,” Gus said at his Monday recap. “We knew what we were getting into. When I talked to the defense about it too, it’s one thing to talk about precision, its one thing to talk about execution and how you have to be on it, but it’s another to experience that, and we experienced it.”

Although the Jaguars knew they were eliminated from the postseason before kickoff in New Orleans, Bradley doesn’t believe it effected how they played. He thought the team lacked that certain ‘edge’ that’s necessary to play at the highest level.

“What I would say is that I think there’s a certain edge that you need to play the game with, and I think when you go in there and you totally trust your preparation, you’re very confident, you get to the point where you play with that edge. And we’ve got guys that have that edge but when you have that confidence to go out there to where an opportunity comes your way you can’t wait for that opportunity, that sort of an edge.”

Even though it’s the final game of the season, most players know they’re still being evaluated, not just by their team but by the entire league. The Jaguars have made some moves in the defensive backfield with Dwayne Gratz, DeMetirus McRay, Davon House and others but it hasn’t increased their ability to stop other teams in critical passing situations. Bradley isn’t afraid to send somebody to the bench and he’ll be looking at those guys this week in practice.

“I would like to see more productivity,” he said when asked about the defensive backfield personnel changes. “I think what we talked about earlier, that edge. You watch them and it’s pretty consistent but that edge to make a play, that edge that when your number is called you make a play. I think that’s the challenge that we’ve got to get our guys to, to the point when an opportunity comes to make it.”

Sunday AM Update: Reports this morning say Drew Brees will play for the Saints despite only practicing on a limited basis Friday. Brees has a heel problem with a torn plantar fascia but apparently will start.

“It hurts to walk. It has its challenges,” Brees said earlier this week. “But we’ve come up with a good plan for this week, how to support it and how to make it as manageable as possible.”

The Saints will be without WR Marques Colston because of a chest injury suffered last Monday vs. the Lions but TE Benjamin Watson is expected to play.

For the Jaguars, don’t expect to see Telvin Smith or TJ Yeldon against the Saints. After not practicing all week both are listed as doubtful for the game.

JAGUARS STILL MOTIVATED?

With two weeks to go in the regular season, despite their 5-9 record the Jaguars are still in the playoff chase. They have to win both of their games and a lot of things have to happen in the division to help them, but mathematically, they’re still in it. Maybe they’re using that as motivation, but in reality, they know they’re not a playoff team. You can see it in their eyes and hear it ring a bit hollow in their voices when asked about the postseason.

That’s why it’s impressive to see the effort in practice and hear Head Coach Gus Bradley talk about their preparation this week. In most NFL cities this week they’re either preparing for the postseason or next season. Bradley is talking about ‘competition’ and ‘juice’ and this week, not about the future.

“Yeah, third down situations,” the Jaguars Head Coach said when asked about his practice routine this week. “We did a lot of good-on-good again in the red zone and out in the field, so they got another shot at it.”

He remained focused and specific about what they’re up to, 15 weeks into the season. “The part I like about it, it was highly, highly competitive, and there was a lot of juice, as we say, on the field for it. So that’s what you’d hope when you have those third-down situations, or whatever the situation period is, that the intensity rises because it’s not a service look. There’s great competition.”

Most coaches are talking about evaluation and getting ‘looks’ at guys this time of year. Others are talking about managing their stars on the field as they gear up for the playoffs. Bradley is remaining steadfast in his belief that going out there and ‘being our best’ is the main goal, regardless of the out come.

“Well, I think you give them enough to concentrate on.,” Gus explained when asked how he’s keeping the players focused this week on their game and not the happenings beforehand wince their matchup against New Orleans was ‘flexed’ to the 4pm slot.

“I think they know what we’re trying to get accomplished here, and some of the things that took place last week and in previous weeks that we need to get corrected.”

By the time they get to kickoff in the Superdome the Jaguars could know their postseason hopes are gone. So if they’ve been using that as motivation, what’s next?

“My hope is that’s what we’re trying to go get done on Sunday as well as being at our best,” Bradley said, referring to one of his favorite themes. “But I’d be naïve not to know that our players are going to be listening or watching it prior to us getting on the bus. But I feel pretty good just how they handled this week. So put a lot on them a lot of distractions-wise just to see where we’re at with things and very pleased with how they’ve handled it.”

In his comments right after the loss to the Falcons on Sunday, Head Coach Gus Bradley said “this stings” and “we’ll look at it but there are a lot of plays we left out there.”

After looking at it, Bradley thought the same thing. Lots of opportunities lost.

“Right now all that is on my mind is how are we going to start faster, how are we going to take care of third downs to where it’s a nonissue and consistently playing at a high level,” he said on Monday “That’s the areas that we really need to attack right now; tighter coverage in the secondary and with our underneath coverage, so that part is what all of our emphasis is on.”

Without a third down conversion on offense the entire game and not being able to get off the field on defense on third down, it’s hard to start fast or score points with any consistency.

Bradley admitted the Jaguars were on the precipice of grabbing momentum going into the locker room at halftime but the interception thrown by Blake Bortles on the goal line sapped some of the Jaguars energy.

“In that situation throw it away and let’s live to fight another play,” Gus explained. “Also in that situation he could look backside. There’s a possibility of looking backside with the one on one. There were multiple things we could have done.”

Bradley is harping on the learning curve that’s still going on with his young team and his quarterback.

“I think the learning part of that situation was there’s more plays. We’ve got a couple of more plays here. If it’s not there we appreciate your competitiveness and wanting to make a play in that situation but if we have to throw it away we have to throw it away so he’ll learn from that.”

Although the interception by Bortles was the obvious mistake, according to Bradley the whole team didn’t perform with the two things he’s looking for: consistency and precision.

“We just felt like as a team we didn’t play as efficiently and as precise as we liked to do in all situations. There are certain situations that stood out.”

A certain amount of accuracy is expected from every NFL quarterback with some able to fit the ball into smaller windows than others. Bortles wasn’t particularly accurate against Atlanta and it cost the Jaguars a couple of big plays in critical situations.

“I think if you look at the passes that we threw, that’s what took place. There were some chances for us to make some big plays, but it was either, would have been a great catch? Yes. Was it a catchable ball? Yes. It would have been a great catch. Could it have been more accurate? Yes”

Bradley was also very direct about what his defense needed to do to give the team more chances to win. “Six points in the second half did a pretty good job against an explosive team. We need to get off the field and get the offensive the ball and more opportunities and we didn’t do that. We really struggled on third down in the second half.”

And why did that happen? The same things that have cost the Jaguars in the past. Bradley thought they got away from some of the things they had accomplished in the last couple of weeks.

“It’s the discipline part; we have to execute the assignment, execute the defense’s calls,” he said with some authority as a former defensive coordinator.

“We just didn’t make plays. It comes back to footwork when you’re playing a corner instead of a six-inch step, it was an eight-inch step and it got you a little out of whack and you didn’t get your hands up like you did in previous times. Some of those things are coming back, so it’s the consistency.”

You couldn’t have picked an almost perfect team for the Jaguars to play this week besides the Atlanta Falcons. Coming off their big 51-16 win over their division rival Indianapolis, the Jaguars are favored against an Atlanta team that has struggled, losing 7 of 8 games and six straight.

But it doesn’t mean they’re a pushover for the Jaguars and that’s been the theme all week. Nobody’s a pushover in the NFL and if you don’t bring your best effort or if you think all you have to do is show up to win, you’ll be sorely disappointed. It seems kind of silly to even entertain those thoughts when talking about a Jaguars team that is 5-8 and just a month ago all anybody talked about is if they’d win another game and would Gus Bradley and Dave Caldwell last the season.

Fortunes change quickly in the NFL and while the Jaguars are a better team than they’ve been, they have been the closest thing to a pushover in the league for nearly three years. With that in mind, Bradley says the team should understand just who they are.

“I think they’re very confident,” he said this week referring to the win over Indy. “What I like about it is that they have put that one aside and they’re really working on things that we need to work on. It’s been good.”

Atlanta is the best test for a young Jaguars team because they have Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. A good quarterback/wide receiver combination has given the Jaguars problems and today is no different. With a lack of pressure on the quarterback, an experienced guy like Matt Ryan has had his pick of targets. Phillip Rivers shredded the Jaguars defense with a mixture of reading defenses, quick throws, and of all things, using his legs. The Chargers snapped their losing streak against the Jaguars and the Falcons are trying to do the same.

“They’re very talented at quarterback, at wide receiver and at running back, and other positions as well,” Bradley explained. “That’s definitely caught our attention, what they’re (the defense) seeing on tape, so I just see a really focused group on the field. And a real determined group.”

They’ll need to be today in order to keep the momentum they’ve built and the confidence in who they are and how they’re playing. In this season of two steps forward, one step back, we’ll see if this young team can take that second step forward today.

One thing that’s changed with the Jaguars offense is the production from Julius Thomas at tight end. Thomas’ injury in the preseason slowed what the Jaguars were hoping he could provide to Blake Bortles and the offensive production but in the second half of the season it’s been just what they hoped for.

“I think that we knew there was a chance. I would say where he’s at and what he’s done for us, I don’t know if it exceeded expectations,” Bradley said this week. “We felt pretty strongly about him but very happy with how he’s come along. I think the big thing with him was just getting in a groove with Blake.”

It’s what Bradley was expecting and has been waiting for from his second year quarterback and prized free agent acquisition.

“I think after the injury there was some time there where he was competing but the timing wasn’t quite right,” Gus explained. “They took time after practice and really worked on it. I just think it’s starting to come together but it’s still a work in progress.”

With his size and speed, not to mention his hands as a receiver, Thomas creates real matchup problems on defense, something Bradley is well aware of as a former defensive coordinator. Bortles knows when he comes to the line of scrimmage and sees any number besides one starting with a “2” trying to cover Thomas, Julius is going to be open.

Bradley put his defensive coach hat on to explain how he would see it if he was trying to play defense against Thomas in the grand scheme of a defensive philosophy. “If we want to run our pressure who’s matched up with who, and it puts you into that thinking. Then you start to think is it worth it to run that pressure? In order for us to run that we have to run this matchup.”

As long as Bradley is the coach, Thomas fits into the mold of the kind of player he wants on his team. Dedicated, professional, prepared and a good teammate.

“I think what it says about him is just his spirit all the way through. He missed a lot of games, had the injury but another guy that never wavered. He’s strong throughout, competed, competed through his injury and that’s where I’ve learned a great deal about Julius.”

Scoring on offense, defense and special teams for the first time since 2011, the Jaguars routed the Indianapolis Colts 51-16 at home for their 5th win of the year on Sunday. The 51 points is a regular season team record behind the 62 scored in the playoffs against Miami in 2000.

For 28 minutes, the second meeting between the Jaguars and Colts provided almost no excitement, bad offense, field goals and no touchdowns. For the last two minutes in the first half, there still wasn’t much offense but both defenses scored TD’s to make it at least interesting.

After a big week against the Titans,, the Jaguars offense struggled against Indy early after their opening drive. Taking the kickoff, the offense got a couple of breaks and ran TJ Yeldon enough to allow Jason Myers to kick a 46-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Indy did virtually the same, twice, and led 6-3 going into the second quarter. Matt Hasselbeck wasn’t sharp against a depleted Jaguars defense playing without Paul Posluszny and unlike the previous week, Indy was held to field goals in the red zone instead of touchdowns.

As they started near their own goal line with two minutes to play in the half, quarterback Blake Bortles couldn’t handle the snap from Stefan Wisnewski for the second straight week and again it resulted in a defensive TD. Robert Mathis fell on it in the end zone for an easy touchdown and a 13-3 lead.

Going to their hurry up offense, the Jaguars were marching right down the field when a delayed safety blitz dropped Bortles in the backfield for a sack. Instead of just eating it and moving on, Bortles tried to wriggle free, with the ball popping out and picked up by the Colts. Luckily, Yeldon saw it happening and tackled the defender in Jaguars territory.

Looking for more pressure on the quarterback, the Jaguars tried some different schemes and different personnel against Indy. Chris Smith provided some speed off the edge and they were hoping Nick Marshall might be a good slot, man coverage guy. Smith did get some pressure on Hasselbeck but Marshall was picked on all half. Nonetheless, it appeared to light a fire under Andre Branch who sacked Hasselbeck on the next series, forced a fumble, scooped it up and ran for a 49 yard TD.

It was the play that saved the game and perhaps changed the conversation and the entire season. If Indy scores there, who knows what happens but instead the Jaguars were back in it.

Almost on cue, Jason Myers missed the extra point (and was treated to a loud chorus of boos from the fans in attendance) making it 13-9 at halftime.

No offensive touchdowns, three field goals and honestly, a few laughs.

Keeping Myers is a decision Gus Bradley and GM Dave Caldwell will have to own since his misses last week changed how the game was played, but they refused to make a change. I know you “found” him and he’s your guy but you can’t play the game around your kicker.

As the second half started the strange nature of the game continued. It was clear whatever was said in the locker room made the Jaguars defense angry and they played like it. Fast and mean, they forced a Colts three and out and got the ball on their own 20.

On first down, Bortles rolled to his right and hit Allen Hurns near the sideline. As the ball left his hand, it appeared Bortles had thrown an interception but the defender missed and Hurns caught it, ducked under a tackle and ran 80-yards for a TD. It was the longest TD of the year for the Jaguars and the longest career catch and throw by Bortles and Hurns. 16-13 Jaguars after the PAT. And by the way, the crowd went wild when Myers made it.

Still mad, the defense forced another 3 and out and this time Rashad Greene fielded it at the 20 (after taking a peek at the coverage) beat one man after the catch and streaked 80-yards for a touchdown. A hold could have been called at the end of the play but wasn’t and again, Myers made the PAT (driving the crowd into a frenzy). Jaguars with a 23-13 lead.

Hasselbeck was knocked out of the game by a big hit from Roy Miller putting Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback. Another Vinatieri FG made it 23-16 midway through the third quarter.

Building a little momentum, the Jaguars offense moved the ball, blending the pass and run, a big play on pass interference covering Marqise Lee leading to a touchdown. Allen Robinson made a good move in the end zone and Bortles found him for the first time in the game. The crowd was delirious when Myers made the extra point to give the Jaguars a 30-16 lead.

Getting the ball back after a punt, the Jags continued their solid play into the 4th quarter with Denard Robinson running hard for the injured Yeldon who left the game with a knee problem. Bortles hit Julius Thomas for his third TD pass of the game and a 37-16 lead. And yes, the crowd went crazy again when Myers hit the PAT.

While division games are important, beating the Colts is especially pleasing to the Jaguars. Indy has owned the division for so long Gus Bradley has never been on the winning side in this match up. So it’s no surprise that it can get a bit chippy between the two teams. Telvin Smith hit Hasselbeck while he was going out of bounds, forcing him out of the game, again and continuing to swing the momentum the Jaguars way. DRob scored from a yard out after a nice 3rd down conversion to Greene over the middle to make it 44-16. Jonathan Cyprien grabbed an interception off Charlie Whitehurst and took it to the one. Bortles took a big, unnecessary hit on a third down bootleg after two attempts up the middle but scored on a QB sneak to make it 51-16.

So what are we seeing here? The end of the Colts 16 game division-winning streak for sure. But are the Jaguars combining all of the things they’ve learned through the first 12 games of the year and building some momentum? There will be talk about contending for the division title if a couple of things fall their way, but more than anything they need to keep looking in the mirror and figuring out what they’re doing right and try to build on it. Finding some consistency, something they can count on every week is what this team needs to finish the year.

In the week following the loss to Tennessee, Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley was searching for answers just like anybody else. Having acknowledged that his team is having trouble getting to the quarterback no matter what they’ve tried with different packages, Bradley says they’re taking things back to the beginning.

“I think that you do get back to your fundamentals. Sometimes a game like that it re-elevates the need for that, whether we shrink the package or the calls that we use, we’ll see. It’s really based by game.”

Once again the Indianapolis Colts will be without Andrew Luck at quarterback but they beat the Jaguars in Indy in the first meeting between the two teams in 2015 with Matt Hasselbeck at the controls. Veteran quarterbacks give the Jaguars problems and Hasselbeck is no different with his ability to read coverages, avoid the rush and get the ball to the open man. While that’s a given, Bradley says the Jaguars are looking inward before concentrating on the opponent.

“You know what, I think what we’ve learned, we talk about it, it’s about us but this week it really is,” he explained at his weekly Wednesday press conference. “We’ve got to get some things corrected and that’s been the emphasis for us. We tackle better, we use our fundamental principles, cover better and then let’s see.”

In his third year as the Jaguars head coach, Bradley has never been on the winning side against the Colts, but again, he’s aware of that but not focused on it this week.

“Again, it’s about not them,” Gus said. “Just like last week red zone and offensively, is it corrected? I can’t say that, it doesn’t carry over to the next week. Every week you’ve got to go out there and prepare. So it comes back to nothing to do with the Colts, it’s about us and what we need to do. That part hasn’t changed.”

In what Bradley calls “this stage” of the team’s development, they’re in one-possession games and occasionally, four times this year, get on the winning side of those. Other times, they haven’t been able to overcome their own mistakes but the head coach says the culture is changing, allowing the team to “bounce back” when things go wrong. “Yeah, I do see progress in that. I don’t think we’re so orientated based on that, or one play. We throw an interception and the game is over; our guys have learned to quickly recover It’s very interesting to me how some of the things that separate some teams brings us closer together.”

If, In fact, adversity brings the team together and drags the fans along for the ride, this team, and their fans should be a pretty tight group. Bradley credits the atmosphere in the locker room and the things the players can count on, day in and day out as the glue that’s kept them together.

“I think the culture is meant for times that you establish it and it’s something that they can count on day in and day out and I think that’s where it brings power. They know when they walk in the building what’s going to take place it brings strength.”

In their continuing struggle to find some kind of consistency, the Jaguars are hit or miss when it comes to which side of the ball will show up each week. While building a strong run defense, one of the best in the league in yards per carry, the Titans took advantage of the short passing game and the yards after catch on Sunday to move the ball against the Jaguars. For Gus Bradley a former defensive coordinator and a defensive minded head coach, it’s about getting pressure on the quarterback.

Somehow.

“We’re trying to figure it out,” Bradley said after looking at video of the loss at Tennessee. “It’s all about rush and cover. Right now, we’re not putting that together. If we need to send more guys in pressure, it’s hard for us to hold up with the coverage. If we’re playing the extra guy in coverage, then we’re not getting the pressure that we need.”

It’s not for lack of changing things up. During the game, Thurston Armbrister was benched in favor of Jordan Tripp at the Otto (strong linebacker) position. If Paul Pozluszny can’t play because of a broken hand, it’ll be Tripp at middle linebacker. Armbrister just needs to play better.

“I think he’ll respond,” Bradley explained. “He went back in there. It’s not like he didn’t play anymore. He was in there in goal line situations. I think it’s more of a heightened awareness of what we expect out of that position.”

And while there have been opinions that Defensive Coordinator Bob Babich isn’t putting the Jaguars in the right situations for down and distance, Bradley disagreed, saying no matter who’s calling the plays, it’s the way the players execute that makes the difference.

“We ran three-man, four-man, five-man, six-man, different styles of pressures,” Gus said. “I think that we’re competing to try to figure out what works best for our guys. We’ve got some good players and right now, we’re not playing fast. I think that’s what we need to take a look at more than anything.”

In Bradley’s scheme that worked so well in Seattle, it’s what he calls the “Leo” position that can change how the defense plays. That player needs to pressure the quarterback, but also set the edge and have speed. Chris Clemons did that last year and it was expected Dante Fowler would fill that role in 2015. After he was injured in the spring, Clemons and Andre Branch took over the position by default, but haven’t produced.

“I can’t argue that fact. When we’re looking at the LEO spot, what we’re getting out of the Leo the last couple of weeks, we need to find a way to get more. Straining. You’re right. I think overall the Leo spot, what we’re hoping to get out of that position, we’re not getting exactly what we want.”

That’s pretty frank talk for a coach who usually deflects any criticism of his players. But Bradley knows it’s a glaring spot on defense that isn’t getting the job done and he can’t hide it. He’s looking for ways to get that position with more production in the pass rush to take pressure off the rest of the defense. They’ve gone to Chris Smith on occasion but because of needs at other positions, he was inactive against the Titans. He’ll get a closer look for the last quarter of the season.

“The pass game is where we haven’t seen as much production as we need out of that. To challenge them in different ways, that’s a conversation that we’ll have as a coaching staff and talk to both of them and all of them. They’re hurting just as much too. They want to try to find a way to be more productive, we were close on occasion. We have to find a way, whether it’s through games, different alignments, things like that. We have to find a way to get more production.”

While thankfully talk of the post-season has faded since last week’s loss to the Chargers, the Jaguars five remaining games will give them a glimpse to the future and a chance to put some numbers up that show they’re an improving team.

Facing the Titans today, they have a chance to win their 4th game in six tries and grab their fifth victory of the season, a number they haven’t reached since 2011

“Football, like life,” Owner Shad Khan said in London, “Isn’t a straight line up. There are some ups and downs.” Khan was referring to the overall picture of the Jaguars since he took over in 2012 and the assessment of General Manager Dave Caldwell and Head Coach Gus Bradley.

When you look at the big picture, no question the Jaguars are an improved and improving team. But when you see it game-by-game, play-by-play, the mistakes and consequently the losses can be discouraging. It’s not in his nature to be discouraged so Bradley chooses to see it from the other side of the equation.

“We’ve entered this next stage,’ Bradley said earlier in the season after one of several close, heartbreaking losses. “It’s a stage where we’re in these one possession games and we need to learn how to win those games.”

In the cyclical world of the NFL, the Jaguars should be an ascending team considering their draft position in the last four years and the money they’ve had available in free agency.

Showing that he didn’t think they were ready yet, Caldwell has been very conservative during free agency, taking players in their second contract phase who looked to have some years and some upside remaining in their career. This year’s class has provided some stability both short and long term on offense and defense. Based on the growth of their young players and what the expectation will be when it comes to wins and losses next season, it won’t be surprising to see a shift in the free-agent focus once 2015 concludes.

To a certain point, Caldwell and the Jaguars will be interested in short-term fixes and big-money free agents they haven’t competed for in the past. The losses of Sen’Derrick Marks, Dante Fowler and James Sample this season didn’t give them a chance to look at those three positions (interior Dine, Leo and safety) and those three have been deficient in their 2015 production. No doubt free agency will be a place the Jaguars look to fix that issue.

Still in the NFL’s concussion protocol program, Allen Hurns won’t play today, his first missed game in 27 NFL games. Marqise Lee should get the start after missing six of the first eight games with a hamstring injury. Lee has great speed and was a dynamic college player, but since turning pro, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Every time he runs a route, he’s one of those guys you expect to put his hand up and come to the sidelines once the whistle blows. If he can stay healthy and productive, it changes the whole dynamic for the Jaguars offense.

The same could be said for Rashad Greene who’s “suddenness” Gus Bradley has talked about during the week. Greene’s 63-yard punt return set up the game winning TD for the Jaguars in the last meeting between these two teams on November 19th. Adding him to the offensive mix creates matchup problems for a third corner or a safety trying to cover him in the slot.

Putting Toby Gerhart on injured reserve ended his season and possibly his Jaguars career this week. Bernard Pierce is listed as questionable and Dan Skuta will miss this game as well.

Today against the Titans it’s a chance to show that the Jaguars are capable of beating teams they’re supposed to beat. Going up against a team that’s “beatable” and taking care of business is something the Jaguars need to learn how to do in a business like fashion.

Across the board, the Jaguars are a better team than Tennessee and quarterback play will be the difference. If Blake Bortles starts to play better as he had earlier this year, the Jaguars will come home with a victory. But if he continues to struggle, especially in the red zone and if Marcus Mariota’s ball handling, running and intermediate passing game are successful, it’ll be tough to secure a road win in Nashville.

If you want to consider most everything else on both teams being equal, it could come down to quarterback play this week for the Jaguars against the Titans. As the number two pick out of Oregon, Marcus Mariota is a true rookie. Blake Bortles is in the middle of his second year in the league. Bortles has shown great improvement over his rookie year although he’s hit a bit of a plateau recently while Mariota has been impressive since day one. His quarterback rating through 11 games is 92.0, good by any measure.

“That’s a pretty good quarterback rating,” Jaguars defensive coordinator Bob Babich said on Thursday. “I believe in the red zone that he’s really good. He’s done a great job for a rookie. Obviously, I think as our players do on our defense, rookies, as they play, the more they play the better they get and the more things they recognize, and those types of things.”

Babich agreed that Mariota is most comfortable with intermediate passing routes because of the offense he played at Oregon. But it’s his ability to keep plays going and get out of trouble that Babich said he recognized early.

“Well, I think he can scramble and make some plays with his legs. He’s doing a good job of scrambling with vision and looking downfield and pulling it down … And I think that with slants and things like that, he’s really good with his timing and his accuracy.”

Just 18 days are between the two meetings of the AFC South rivals, so what they used in the first meeting doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll show up in game two.

“You can’t get comfortable because you think ‘We know those guys,” Head Coach Gus Bradley said a couple of times this week. “You get to know their personnel but last time it was a short week. They didn’t show everything, they’ll have some new players in the lineup. We have to guard against thinking we know what’s coming.”

Babich agreed you have to look at it like a whole new opponent. “It’s a little cat-and-mouse game, obviously the same thing – we’re looking at what they did versus us. In a game like this, your fundamentals – you have to make sure your fundamentals take over – and possibly do some things schematically, or whatever you need to do.”

Last week Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers took advantage of a Jaguars defense that seemed to regress to the same problems they created at the beginning of the year. Part of that was Rivers, part of that was the defense just not playing well. Not enough pass rush, not good enough play on the back end.

“We were discouraged – starting with me,” Babich explained. “We were discouraged with the way we played, in particular in the second quarter. The guys came out, fought hard [and] gave up only 10 points in the second half. So, starting with me, I have to do a better job.”

It was a cold morning in Chicago , November 30, 1993. I had watched ABC News Nightline the previous evening with Wayne Weaver, then of 9 West shoe fame, and now the new face of Touchdown Jacksonville! Nightline spent a segment on NFL expansion, outlining how Charlotte had secured a franchise in October and how the NFL had tabled the decision on the 30th team until their next meeting.

I had been with Weaver the day the league awarded Charlotte a franchise a month ago and then told him to wait. He was not happy. In October, Wayne invited me to walk with him at the Chicago Hyatt to the NFL’s temporary offices where he was to meet with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. As we waited outside the door for Tagliabue to finish up and speak with Weaver, I asked Wayne, “What are you going to tell him?”

Without hesitation, the future Jaguars owner turned to me with a narrow eyed, unblinking stare and said, “I’m going to ask why we didn’t get what we came here for.”

And with that, the receptionist invited Weaver into the offices. He turned and said to me, “Wait here.” So I sat back down, grabbed a newspaper (still popular then) and settled in for a long wait.

Much to my surprise, it wasn’t more than 15 minutes before Wayne walked back out the door, stern faced and clearly still not happy.

“How’d it go?” I asked somewhat jovially, trying to lighten the mood.

Weaver would have none of it.

“I wanted to know why we didn’t get an NFL franchise and he didn’t have an answer. He said, ‘Be patient,'” Wayne answered as he strode toward the lobby.

There, the other members present in Touchdown Jacksonville were briefed on what the NFL was thinking and what they’re jobs were for the next 30 days. No matter what was said, it was obvious, the league was trying to put a franchise back in St. Louis and avoid Jacksonville. The Cardinals had moved to Phoenix and with the lure of Budweiser and other institutional money in St. Louis, the league wanted a franchise there. And the little publicized fact was Weaver’s connection to St. Louis where he had lived and worked.

But to Jacksonville’s gain, Wayne turned down the league’s suggestion that he become the principal owner and managing partner in St. Louis instead of Jacksonville.

So about 30 days later we were back in Chicago at the same Hyatt going through the same song and dance with the NFL Owners. Weaver had invited me after the viewing of Nightline to go for a run in the morning.

“Seven AM, in the lobby,” he said

So at seven I was standing in the lobby in running shorts and long sleeved shirt and a knit hat. Weaver appeared moments later wearing the most beautiful running suit I had ever seen. We headed out into the cold morning, well below freezing, anticipating something around five miles. We chatted the whole time about how Wayne should present himself to the media when, or if, he got a franchise.

“You’re the shark, we’re the guppies,” I told him. “Move where you want and we’ll follow.”

Then I added, ‘When you’re up there with the Commissioner, look at the back row where the camera’s are. I’ll be standing there pointing into the camera. You look there and you’ll be speaking to all of Jacksonville,” I said with a bit of hyperbole. (In a side note, we stopped at about the three mile mark to catch our breath and out of a grove of trees in the suburbs of Chicago, stepped about a 8 point buck, 10 yards from us. I’m not much for ‘signs’ but I turned to Wayne and quietly said, “You’re getting a team.”)

This time in Chicago they would award one franchise instead of two. Baltimore was still in the picture with two ownership groups, Memphis still thought they had a shot but it was St. Louis and Jacksonville as the front-runners.

Current Jaguars President Mark Lamping knows the inside story of the St. Louis bid. The infighting, the “who’s in charge” that sank their bid. To the public though, they brought in Dan Dierdorf to help make their presentation. Dierdorf, not yet a Pro Football Hall of Fame member (Jack Buck was his biggest patron) might have told the St. Louis story to the NFL Owners but in public he spent most of his time running down Jacksonville. As part of the media in attendance at his press conference, I heard Dierdorf go out of his way several times to outline how Jacksonville couldn’t support a franchise and didn’t deserve one. Perhaps he thought he was doing his job. But at the time, it was unseemly.

Nonetheless, the presentations concluded and the different city representatives were sent to separate suites on one of the top floors of the Hyatt’s adjacent towers.

Weaver invited everybody along who looked like a familiar face from Jacksonville. Ensconced in the suite, the league sent instructions to sit tight while the owners voted. They’d let us know the outcome.

So along with several other media members, I settled in with TD Jax members like Tom Petway and Chick Sheerer to wait. I was looking at the plans HOK had proposed for stadium improvement with Petway when a security guard started to sweep through the suite saying “Media out!”

I grabbed the plans, put them in front of my face and turned on the couch to look at Petway. He just smiled as the guard walked by.

Hearing “But Kouvaris is still in there,” from one of our competitors as the door to the suite was closed only heightened my sense that I was in the right place at the right time, but probably shouldn’t be there.

We had arranged through the Channel 4 News Director Nancy Shafran and a high-level officer of TD Jacksonville a code word, “Tangerine” to tip us off if Jacksonville were to be awarded the franchise.

Suddenly, bursting through the front door was Ron Weaver, a Jacksonville local and Wayne’s brother who had brought Wayne to the table as the principal owner the league was looking for. TD Jax had put together enough money but the league didn’t want to deal with a committee. They wanted one person, and Weaver was that guy.

I jumped out of my seat and found myself in a circle with Ron, Wayne, his wife Delores and David Seldin of TD Jax and the potential Jaguars President.

“You’re getting an NFL team,” Ron blurted out to his brother, red-faced with excitement.

Out of turn I asked, “How do you know that?”

Ron turned to me and said, “Because I just ran into the finance committee chairman in the hallway and he said we were the choice.”

Everybody knew the full NFL Owners membership had never turned down a recommendation of the finance or expansion committee so this seemed to be it: the dream coming true.

“I should go,” I said to Seldin as I turned away, shook both Wayne’s and Ron’s hand and hugged Delores. Seldin agreed and I walked to the sofa to gather my things.

In 1993, mobile phone technology was not what it is now and at the time I carried one of those phones everybody makes fun of: big, bulky, looked like the son of something the GI’s carried in WWII.

As I carefully put the antenna up to the window to see if I had service, I dialed the news director’s private number. When she answered I simply said, “Tangerine.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Nancy said excitedly.

Before I could answer, the other phone in her office rang and she said hold on. In something that seemed surreal at the time, I heard a familiar voice say from the other room of the suite, “Tangerine.” It was our source, confirming what I had just told her.

We quickly formulated a plan, I said my goodbyes’ and headed to the ballroom where the announcement would be made.

As I approached the elevator, a young producer from our competition at the time stepped out of one of the two elevators and asked, “Where is everybody?”

What happened next I’m not sure is ethical or right, but it’s what actually happened.

“Down that hall,” I motioned to her, knowing full well the numerous security guards wouldn’t let her approach the Jacksonville suite.

As she walked off, I stepped into her elevator and hit every floor’s button and jumped out as the door closed. Slowly. I then grabbed the other elevator and hit, “1.” Before the doors opened, I hit every floor’s button on that panel as well, figuring it would buy us some time.

I knew we were right, and wanted us to be first, an important element in the news business.

I briskly walked to the ballroom where Tom Wills, the Channel 4 Anchorman was just about to go on the air.

I had walked by a small room entering the ballroom that had boxes of t-shirts and hats with “Baltimore Bombers” and other contenders emblazoned on the front. The one that was missing was “Jacksonville Jaguars,” confirming what I already knew.

“We’re getting a team,” I said to Tom with a huge smile on my face.

“If you’re sure, let’s go with it,” Tom said. I’ve always appreciated the trust he had in me at that moment, littlerally putting his credibility on the line just on my word.

In seconds we were on the air announcing that shortly, the NFL would award the 30th franchise to Jacksonville.

Sure enough, Paul Tagliabue announced Jacksonville would be awarded the franchise and bedlam ensued at home.

Tom flew back on one of the two private planes Touchdown Jacksonville had brought to Chicago with Petway, Weaver, and several others. I was assigned to stay in Chicago and report from there. In a bit of irony, the plane Tom and Weaver were on had a flat tire and it took a while for them to fix it and get back to Jacksonville.

It didn’t matter though, the team had already arrived.

It’s a bit of a strange week for the Jaguars coming back from a weekend off and also having Thanksgiving in the middle of the workweek. Head Coach Gus Bradley let his team off over the weekend following the win over Tennessee, and gave the players Monday off before bringing them in for a full workday on Tuesday.

“Sometimes I think when you have some time off like that you come back. I know in the past those Mondays that you have after some time off it takes them a while to get going, but not today,” Gus explained today.

They’ll have Thanksgiving Day off, and then finish up preparations for Sunday’s game against Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. Most players we talked to said the Chargers are the best 2-7 team they’ve ever seen. And most of it starts with Rivers. “He commands the whole offense,” Bradley said on Tuesday. “They go no-huddle and he runs that part of it as well so he just has complete control of the offense, knows defenses, the looks he’s getting and where to go with the ball.”

As far as putting pressure on Rivers in the pocket, Bradley explained why they’d have to play well on the “back end” rather than expect to put Rivers on the ground.

“I know his average time of getting the ball off is under 2.3 seconds, so he gets rid of the ball fast but he takes his shots too. That’s what he did against us last year.”

Now that Sen’Derrick Marks is on injured reserve, the Jaguars are moving a lot of players around on the defensive line. Tyson Alualu has taken on a bigger role. A bit turn of events since Alualu wasn’t sure he’d be on this team in 2015.

“I think with the personnel that we had and when we moved him outside to be head-up on a tackle or head-up on a tight end we did utilize some of his strength so that part of it. I know that was some concern when we got here with his knee but it hasn’t been an issue thus far,” Bradley explained. “His consistency. We know what we’re getting all the time with him versus the run, his toughness, his mentality, every day that he comes to work you know what you’re getting and he’s just been very consistent for us.”

As a free-agent acquisition in the offseason, Jared Odrick was expected to fill a role on the defensive line that wasn’t very glamorous: Take on double-teams, stuff the run, and clog things up. With a sack against the Titans, Odrick raised his profile a bit, but Bradley says he’s always valued Odrick’s contributions.

“I think he’s playing very well,” Gus explained. “When you look at him as far as his role, what we’re asking him to do, and he’s done a really good job. I think he’s been a big part with the run game why we’ve been better versus the run or more consistent versus the run. That was a deal where we felt like we needed that style of player and he’s been a great addition.”

After a win, it’s easy to pick things apart and look at certain situations where it could have been better. When you lose, it’s much more difficult. So on Friday, less than 15 hours after beating Tennessee, Head Coach Gus Bradley was willing to talk about his teams failings in the red zone, something that’s haunted his team all year.

With a first down at the seven yard line to start the half, the Jaguars chose to run Denard Robinson three times, but only gained 5 yards. And all of those were on first down. It was a 13-play drive for 78 yards and 6:50 off the clock after receiving the kickoff so getting only three points was disappointing. With all of the options the Jaguars have on offense, why does it seem so vanilla in the red zone?

“We felt like if we got it to fourth-and-one at that point in time in the game, there was a strong percentage we were going to go for it,” Bradley said as he explained the thought process on a conference call Friday afternoon. “It was second-and-two and we just felt like we could get it on three downs by running the ball. And then when we lost yardage on the third down and went back to where we kicked the field goal.”

All of that is pretty easy to second guess when there’s no success. And it’s not new; it’s been a problem for the Jaguars for a while. Asking why TJ Yeldon hasn’t gotten a chance in that situation gets the same answer from Bradley that he gave after the failure on the goal line against Buffalo: they had Denard in the game.

“We thought we would spell T.J. and give him [Denard Robinson] some reps. ‘D-Rob’ was in there and we went with him. It just happened to be where ‘D-Rob’ was in the game at that time after the hurry-hurry situation …”

After the problems they’ve had in the red zone and the success Yeldon has in small spaces, that’s where Bradley or Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson has to look at Yeldon, go off script, and tell him to get in the game.

But the players have overcome those problems in three of the last four games and come away with a win. That’s the resiliency Bradley has been talking about, the grit and determination he was hoping the 2015 version of the Jaguars would develop.

“Anytime that resiliency pays off and get a win, I think it adds to the mindset. It helps the mindset [and] it gives them confidence,’ he said. “So that part is good. I think we also realize that every game is different, and just because you did it one week doesn’t mean it’ll automatically show up the next week. ”

Whether you watched the game in person or on the NFL Network, you could see a difference in the Jaguars’ body language at the end of the game compared to the last two years and even the first half of this season. They weren’t uncomfortable and seemed to have their act together. Bradley likes what he’s seeing.

“It’s something we can build on and talk to the players about, but more so to understand, ‘What does it take to get to that point where you do have that faith?'”

From a nuts and bolts standpoint, Bradley thought Safety Jonathan Cyprien played well for the third week in a row and liked what Jared Odrick did in the game. He sees improvement in Andre Branch but says he can play better and referred to the “catch radius” when talking about Allen Robinson, Marcedes Lewis and Julius Thomas. “If it’s not perfectly thrown, (they) have the ability to go up and make plays.”

And as good of a designed play the reverse pass from Bryan Walters was, its lack of success surprised Bradley since he had hit it all week in practice. Walters is a former high school quarterback who Gus says has a good arm.

“The timing and whether he had his shoulders squared, whatever the case is. It just didn’t work. He did have good success (in practice), we felt, had a lot of confidence going into it.”

Now with back to back wins for the first time in nearly two years, the second longest drought in the NFL, the Jaguars have a weekend off before preparing for San Diego at home and the final six games of the year. Even with their struggles, could they rest on their recent success?

“They’re sure saying the right things and acting the right way,” Bradley finished with today. “In the locker room, in our talk, in those, couple of players said some things to the team that I thought were spot on. Your actions are going to reflect it. It think when we come back and go back to work, I think that my mind is of the idea that they’ll come ready to go and work because they’ve shown us nothing otherwise.”

Against the Titans tonight, the Jaguars might be a little depleted because of injury but that’s part of the NFL this time of year. The “color rush” uniforms worn by both teams will provide a story line, but this will be a chance for the Jaguars to “ignore the noise,” all of the distractions that go with playing a Thursday night game, and win their fourth game of the year.

While it’s simplistic to distill the game down to a matchup between two young quarterbacks, they do hold the key to their team’s success.

Last week the Jaguars beat Baltimore despite Blake Bortles struggling. The coaches and Bortles himself admitted afterwards that the whole offense had trouble getting in sync, but Bortles also knew he was a part of that problem.

“It’s good to see other parts, defense, special teams, pick us up when we’re not playing well. That’s why it was a team win,” Bortles said on Tuesday.

In the locker room after the game, Head Coach Gus Bradley asked Bortles if he played his best, and emphasized how they still won, with other players getting the job done.

“It’s not all on him and I want him to know that. Keep us in games and good things will happen,” Gus recalled saying. “I see his leadership, he’s always been a pretty strong leader, a different styled leader but the team really responds to him. I think he’s done a really good job of growing. We understand that there are going to be games where he’s playing with more consistency than others, but he’s doing some good things.”

On defense, the Jaguars haven’t gotten much pressure on the quarterback and they won’t again tonight. Not from a lack of effort or scheme, but just because the Titans and Marcus Mariota get rid of the ball quickly out of the backfield. Mariota’s ball handling skills have been on display since his time at Oregon and perhaps his arm is a bit stronger than most scouts expected in the pro game. So it’ll be important for the linebackers and the corners to not give him much of a window to throw into when they’re in man coverage.

Despite a bit of a rocky relationship with parts of the media, Titans Interim Head Coach Mike Mularkey says he’s looking forward to coming to Jacksonville. He didn’t get much of a chance the year he was here as head coach, but still lives in Atlantic Beach and says he’ll make it his permanent home once he retires. That might not be soon if this “audition” works out with Tennessee for the second half of the year. “This is not a dress rehearsal,” Mularkey pointed out this week. “It’s my job to get this team as ready as possible to play against the Jaguars.”

Weather could be a factor tonight, but rain or not, look for the Jaguars to try and run the ball against the Titans and take their shots down field when they can. No matter who the running back is, Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson said this week the Jaguars have to run the ball more effectively and challenged the offensive line to make that happen.

Should be fun tonight with all of the surrounding things that go into a nationally televised night game. About a half dozen PGA Tour pros will participate in a “closest to the pin” contest from the fourth level in the South End Zone hitting out to the 50-yard line. It’s about a 125-yard shot but the thing they have to account for is the wind that high. When the Jaguars invited the media to hit the shot this week, it was blowing about 20 mph out of the east.

While the “color rush” will include all gold from head to toe, the Jaguars will have the option to use the gold jersey in the future as their alternate jersey.

Kickoff is 8:25 with the Jaguars Pregame show starting at 7pm.

In his never-ending optimistic look at his team and life in general, Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley applied that to the win over the Ravens on Monday.

“Bottom line, your quarterback didn’t play very well but you were still in the game in the end and you figured out how to win it,” I said as Bradley met with the media.

“Well, he did make those throws in the last drive to give us a chance,” Gus said immediately in defense of Blake Bortles.

“Yeah, but what’s that say about your team? It’s the first time since you’ve become a head coach here that your team didn’t play its best and still managed to win the game. That’s saying something,” I pressed.

“That’s why playing your best is always the goal,” Bradley said, drawing an imaginary line on the wall. “We won the game, and that’s here, but we didn’t play our best, and that’s here,” he emphasized, putting both lines at the same level. “So when you play your best, you’re up here,” he said raising one hand above the other. “And that’s when the wins come.”

Without Blake Bortles playing well, the Jaguars needed other parts of their roster to step up: and they did. Defensively, generally on special teams and the wide receivers made plays. It shows the rest of the roster is getting better, and that their margin of error is a little larger than in the past.

“My message to him (Bortles) after the game was, ‘Were you at your best? Were you at your best yesterday?’ Bradley said at his press conference. “He said he wasn’t and I said ‘How was the outcome? We still won.’ I think that’s a valuable lesson for him in a young quarterback and for him to think that the only way we have a chance is if I play lights out. That’s not the case.”

But Bradley admitted he wants to see improvement from Bortles and the entire offense. They show flashes, but still struggle in the red zone and move the ball in fits and spurts.

“Offensively we weren’t as efficient as we needed to be. I thought we saw good execution during the week of practice, but when it got in the game, we got away from it a little bit,” he explained. We’d like to see more touchdowns. Overall, just the execution offensively and efficiency in the passing game is an area that I think we need to improve on.”

Late Monday, the NFL told the Ravens that Luke Joeckel wasn’t set on the last play and a penalty should have been called and the game ended. It’s so easy to go back and look at critical plays in every game to figure out what went wrong and how it should have gone the other way. Bryan Walters had his feet down last week. Odell Beckham caught the ball for the Giants in the end zone on Sunday night. Big deal, the game is over. But Bradley did go through the sequence leading up to the last play and how he showed some “time critical” plays to the team last Friday emphasizing how everybody had to do their job just to run the play.

“We talked about how little things like that are so important because they give you an opportunity. To see that really come up in the game was cool. Did they reflect back on that? I don’t know. You look at Julius Thomas; he caught the ball and right away he handed the ball to the official and hustled back. That’s been a coaching point through training camp. You saw receivers 30 yards down field and turn around and run back and get all lined up and we made sure we had enough guys on the line of scrimmage. A guy like Wis [C Stefen Wisniewski] is looking at the clock and snapping it with less than two seconds because he knows that’s our only opportunity for everybody to get set up. I think there are so many things that had to take place in that last play for us to get that opportunity and to see that on tape and be able to show that to the players is going to be cool.”

One thing the Jaguars have is “want to.” Sometimes it’s missing on a professional football team, that will to win. They’re getting paid, win or lose and oftentimes on losing teams players look internally and figure if they’re doing their job, they’ll keep their job. I once asked Eric Curry when he came over from Tampa Bay to the Jaguars what the difference was between the two teams.

“These guys want to win,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a good feeling in the locker room to play with guys who want to win.”

In his postgame speech, Bradley lauded the team for their will and ability to play to the end of the game. He told them that some teams search for that intangible for years.

“So many times as a coach, you’re saying ‘I hope they develop that, I hope they learn what it takes and to do it every play and every situation.’ I know it’s something that you hope that your team can demonstrate when needed and I just thought they demonstrated it.”

How does a team develop that will? Bradley believes it comes with players working with each other and believing that their teammates will do their job.

“I think you’re starting to see guys trust and develop those things that we talked about last week and the week before about their effort, their grit, all those things that they’ve been developing. It was good yesterday because they came and we put it together and it gave us an opportunity.”

It was another Monday at the stadium with Gus Bradley after a Jaguars loss. In the past two years, the tone was different because the Jaguars weren’t even in most of the games the lost. This year, it’s usually one possession or two that makes the difference between winning or losing. Even in the Jaguars two victories, one possession made the difference.

“I love the spirit of our team,” Bradley said outlining the positives in the loss to the Jets. “I love how they’re relentless and they don’t blink and they battle and they fight and they scratch. They’ll do anything they can to give us a chance to be victorious. Unfortunately, it’s not enough.”

Earlier in the year, Bradley was concerned that he wasn’t getting 100% effort on every play from every player. He thinks that has changed, and for the better.

“Yeah I think that through the last couple of weeks some things that are taking place. The standard for us will not change. The players adjust to the standard that we create and I think they understand that. Sometimes players come in from other teams and they have to learn the standard and learn what’s expected from them in all situations.”

If the Jaguars are in these “one possession” games, what’s keeping them from winning more? This year, unlike the previous three, they’re making enough plays to win games. But they’re also making enough mistakes to get them beat. With that combination, and the margin of error in the NFL, you don’t win often.

“I think for us to make the next big step is what do winning teams do consistently? Gus said, echoing the message he gave to his team. “I think when those teams make plays at critical times like we did in Buffalo. When you get into a situation at a critical time, go down and score and defensively stop them and win a game. We need to do more of that consistently when those times show up and I think that’s what this team continues to grow from.”

Now in the middle of his second season as a starter, Quarterback Blake Bortles looks like a second year starter: He makes some great plays and some bonehead mistakes. Usually he’s decisive in the pocket but against the Jets, indecision led to a sack, a fumble and a turnover. Bradley seems to accept that as part of the growing process at that position.

“He was (indecisive). I think sometimes with Blake, he’s had the ability to, when he extends plays, to make big plays. He’s done that throughout the game. He’s done that throughout the year. I think down in that area, he was extending the play and looking to make a big play. It wasn’t there, so now, just take what you can and move on to the next play.”

Anytime Bradley talks about WR Bryan Walters, he talks about how you can “trust him.” He reiterated that on Monday, saying Walters and other players are building trust with their teammates by consistently making plays. But having said that, Gus explained that the game plan on punt return was to have Walters field it if it was expected to land inside the ten (because of his decision-making on catching it, letting it go, etc.) and have Nick Marshall as the returner if it was outside the ten.

At that point in the game, the Jaguars needed the ball, as Bradley has said for a couple weeks, they needed to play “situational football.” But they stuck to the game plan and Marshall fumbled, in essence ending the game. The head coach said they’ll evaluate what they’re going to do going forward on punt return this week but explained why Marshall was in the game.

“I think with Nick’s situation, one of the things that we’re looking at, we’re looking for returns. We’re trying to get more yards return. Kickoff return, he had a couple of really good returns. Then, the punt returns, the 20-yarder. Going into that, where it was on the field, felt like he gave us the best opportunity. I think when you looked; he saw a lot of green grass down the sideline. Took his eye off of it, first foot, second. You can’t do that.”

We’ve heard that from the Jaguars Head Coach a few times when it comes to young players. He’s willing to put up with some early mistakes but they can’t make the same ones over and over. He gave Jason Myers a pass after the Indy game but put him on a short leash. Marshall might have spent his one chance in New York.

There was an odd situation at Jaguars practice this week: injuries didn’t dictate who could play.

“It’s the first time I’ve looked out on the practice field away from our field and there was no one out there,” Head Coach Gus Bradley said. “That’s a good feeling, to see guys get reps and the number of receivers that we have, running backs and safeties and all of those things. It’s a good sign.”

Although Rashad Greene isn’t eligible to play until the Tennessee game in two weeks, he was practicing, working on his conditioning. Marqise Lee took some reps during the team and the individual drills. The competition at defensive back was heated since the three guys trying to earn the starting spot are all healthy. The coaching staff dragged out the decision on the starter into the weekend trying to get the most information they could.

“So, kind of let it play out again today and see. I know, like I told you [the media], [Dwayne] Gratz did pretty good [and Davon] House did pretty good,” Bradley explained. “I think ‘D-Mac’ [Demetrius McCray] showed up better today than he did yesterday.”

There’s a lot of talk in the NFL of shutting out “the noise.” That’s the stuff about winning streaks, playoffs and coaching hot seats. But Bradley knows the players are adults and hear plenty about all of those things. The fact that the Jaguars are 2-5 isn’t keeping them out of the playoff picture because the AFC South is so bad this year. So, somewhat begrudgingly, Bradley did talk to his team about what’s at stake, but not like, “hey, we can make the playoffs!”

“No, and I think when I said I acknowledged it the other day, it wasn’t like we put up the standings and showed everything. It was just more, ‘There’s some talk,’ so we just acknowledged it. I said, ‘Hey, this is the position, and now let’s go back to work.”

Playing at the Jets and at Baltimore in the next two weeks, the Jaguars have a chance to break their 12 game road-losing streak. Blake Bortles has never won a game on the road. All five wins in the last two years have come at home. Bradley said he didn’t bring that up this week, choosing to focus on things internally instead.

“It really hasn’t changed our mindset, as far as that’s concerned,” Bradley said on Friday before heading to New Jersey. “I really want these guys to understand how important the process is, how important it is to respect the day and get everything we can out of it and really truly believe about going in there and being our best.”

There are some subtle changes to the bye week for the Jaguars players although Gus Bradley wouldn’t outline them specifically. He did say he didn’t “want guys to go home and run hill sprints with their personal trainers” but outside of that, stay out of trouble, clear your mind and be ready for the second half of the season when they come back.

Bradley’s look at the Buffalo win gave him a chance to assess where the Jaguars are seven games into his third season.

“Coming off of this game that we just had, a lot of good things, a lot of things that we need to improve on,” he said at his final press conference of the week. “I think we really need to focus on those areas and attack them like we’ve done some of the other things, try to be ahead of the curve on some of the things coming out of the bye.”

Bradley got specific about certain situations, saying that they won’t be afraid to bring in some kickers if Jason Myers seems to be struggling. And he said the cornerback position that’s been up for grabs between Davon House and Dwayne Gratz remains so. Gratz got the start against Buffalo but House saw plenty of action. Bradley says he wants Gratz to take better advantage of opportunities.

“I think he’s a good technician. I want to challenge him more to be more of a playmaker when there is opportunities. Not guess and go ball-hawking, but when the opportunity presents itself, take advantage of it. I think that’s a step that he needs to take.”

I asked Gus after the game in London if the package on the goal line with Tyson Alualu at fullback only included Toby Gerhart at tailback. He said it did, but admitted that TJ Yeldon “makes people miss” and might be an option there in the future.

“If you look at analytics it probably says kick the field goal at that time.. It was a coach’s choice and it was a strong to go for it. I felt strongly for this reason: I feel like we came out of the locker room and we had a long drive. It was 13 plays. We were ahead by quite a few. It was more of a message to this team, let’s finish. Let’s finish right now, let’s put this in and let’s find a way. And it didn’t work out that way.”

He’s right. If they kick the field goal there, they’re up by three scores. But Gus stuck by his conviction thinking his defense could handle it if Buffalo bot the ball back on the one. But it was a huge momentum swing that the Jaguars took over a quarter to stop. That might have been the most surprising thing and perhaps a signal that the young players on the Jaguars are starting to mature and develop as expected. They stopped the momentum of the Bills and created some of their own.

“It was outstanding to stop momentum and switch it in your corner after the number of three and outs,” Bradley explained. “You talk about uncomfortable, keep your spirit and great growth, its classic illustration right there.”

It might have been most important for a young team to have a positive vibe coming home from London and going into a bye week. Gus likes to talk about the “fits” and “how things look” when reviewing a game. A lot of the Buffalo game had the right look and in the end, a victory on the scoreboard.

Perhaps as a lesson to his team he couldn’t have drawn it up any better.

“To have it all come together in that situation was cool. There was poise, there was grit, there was resolve and all the things that we talk about day after day they used in that situation. They felt it and it was cool.”