It is one thing for the Detroit Lions to stink so much that flies won’t go near them. It is quite another thing for the Jaguars to be in need of a good perfuming.
There were high expectations here just a few months ago, understandably.
The Jaguars were a proud team that had won 62 percent of its games over the last four years. A year ago they went 11-5 and made the final four of the AFC before the Patriots knocked them out.
In the off-season they addressed perceived weaknesses with the signing of free-agent wide receiver Jerry Porter and cornerback Drayton Florence and the drafting of defensive ends Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the trophy stand. The Jaguars (4-8), who will visit the Bears on Sunday, became just another team.
The first and, really, the real downfall was the decimation of their offensive line. Backup offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot in training camp and paralyzed from the waist down. Center Brad Meester was injured in camp and missed the first six games. Starting guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams suffered season-ending injuries on opening weekend.
Most people don’t pay much attention to offensive linemen, but teams can’t go anywhere if they aren’t functioning properly.
And the Jaguars’ line has not functioned properly all season. That has changed the identity of the team, preventing it from running the ball as consistently as it must.
A year ago, the Jaguars ranked second in the NFL in rushing offense and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. This year they rank 17th and average 4.1 yards per carry.
“We put together a team in which you possess the ball and play great defense,” Jaguars tailback Maurice Jones-Drew said. “In past years, that’s what we did. But this year we haven’t been consistent. We do it here and there. We don’t really get consecutive runs, we don’t get a chance to get a rhythm. Sporadically, we’ll get a run called now and then.”
The offensive line has affected the passing game as well. Quarterback David Garrard’s passer rating is almost 20 points lower than it was a year ago, and he is averaging nearly a yard less per attempt.
Moreover, he has been sacked once every 13 dropbacks this year against 16.4 last season.
“He has had to withstand quite a bit,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. “He has been hit too much, and I think it has affected him. [But] he has been resilient and has made some plays. He has given us a chance. We just have to do a better job protecting him.”
Porter was supposed to give Garrard a playmaker, but he hardly has been that. He got off to a bad start with an off-season hamstring injury and has only 10 catches.
None of the additions has helped the Jaguars as they had hoped. First-round pick Harvey is starting to show some signs in the late stages of the season after a 33-day contract holdout. He has 1 1/2 sacks.
“The first half of the year was him catching up, getting into shape and learning our system,” Del Rio said. “But he’s starting to come on.”
With underachievement as a backdrop, some locker-room issues also developed.
“In my 11 years this is probably the worst team, emphasize the word ‘team,’ that I’ve been on,” running back Fred Taylor told Sirius NFL radio. “We have some outstanding players, but the mix is bad. We can’t really find that chemistry we need.”
Del Rio didn’t like some of the things he was seeing, so after the Bengals upset the Jaguars a month ago, he decided to demand more accountability from his players.
He had a team meeting and told his players to keep quiet when he was talking. But middle linebacker Mike Peterson couldn’t hold his tongue. Del Rio subsequently kicked Peterson out of the meeting and benched him.
He also banned dominoes in the locker room, caps and hoods in meetings and switched around some of the players’ lockers.
“I thought it was great,” Jones-Drew said of Del Rio’s crackdown. “Some guys were taking some of the freedom for granted, so he gave it structure.”
Though the Jaguars have gone 1-3 since the blowup, Del Rio has been pleased that the team is at least paying more attention to the little things. He said Peterson has put the incident behind him and played well in his new role, and the team has operated with more discipline.
“When there was a lack of preparation or attention to detail, there had to be consequences,” Del Rio said. “It’s OK to do certain things, but you have to take care of your job. If you show you can, we’ll continue to do those things. If you show you can’t, I have to cut back.
“The things I sought to do, in terms of bringing the attention and the focus, were accomplished. And I would do it again in a minute. I just don’t feel good about the won-loss record. But we’re working at things the right way.”
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dpompei@tribune.com
