Quote:We had the best QB in the division. Usually when that happens, you win the division.


Expectations can change during the season when you actually see how other teams are playing. Titans, Chargers, Falcons... All playing terrible football beat us when we had a chance to win the division.


No one wants to start over and the offense definitely improved but there looks to be so much left on the table from this season. So many "what ifs".


I'm excited to watch the offense in their 2nd year with Olsen and Blakes 3rd. I'm excited for Fowler and Marks to come back and for Dave to throw money any everyone under the sun. That doesn't take away from the fact that this season was disappointing. We had a chance to take the division in an extremely weak year ( Redskins).

Being disappointed is one thing.  The OP was angry.  I think most Jag fans were disappointed with the way the season ended, but that doesn't diminish the fact that the the team is still young and ascending. 

 

Expectations can change during the season, but they also must be tempered by the reality that despite the offense improving, there were areas there where the team still had issues.  We had the best QB in the division, but that's like celebrating because someone won the tallest dwarf contest.  At the end of the day, the overall offense still had issues because we couldn't run the ball effectively, so we had no choice but to rely on Bortles more than we should have. 

 

On defense, we lost arguably our best player for the season with Marks, and we lost what was expected to be our improved pass rush with Fowler.  That's kind of critical in where the team really stumbled this year.  We couldn't get the defense off the field on third downs, and it didn't matter if it was 3rd and 1 or 3rd and a mile.  We didn't mount a pass rush that could consistently pressure QBs, and they picked the defense apart.  We made mediocre QBs look like all pros because we couldn't get to them quickly enough. 

 

With the expectation that Marks returns ready to go, and Fowler comes back healthy and able to live up to expectation, and we see improvements to the OL and with the holes on the defense, the team will take a big step next year.  I am not so much worried about the offense because the OL will be better with Linder back, and I expect to see them ditch Beadles and bring in competition for Joeckel.  If we can get the defense back on a good footing, things will turn around quickly.  Next year is a critical year for Caldwelll, Gus, and the team in general.  If they don't make big strides, we're starting over.

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