By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire
It’s roughly two weeks until the NFL draft, and the Jaguars’ camp is relatively quiet.
At least, it is on the surface.
There is more buzz around Jacksonville about the Icemen and their postseason than the Jaguars.
This is what happens when your team implodes unexpectedly with playoff ramifications on everyone’s mind. They were 18-16 the previous two seasons with plenty of promise.
Remember, this is a team that never lived up to its potential last season, and also dealt with some injuries, mainly Trevor Lawrence.
It began with a disappointing defeat to the Dolphins in Miami that easily should have been a victory, and it soon followed with a lackluster effort in the home opener against the Browns, yet another one that should have been a victory.
Unfortunately, those losses set the tone for the rest of the season, and the Jags never truly recovered. You can throw in the downers to the Bears, Raiders, Jets, Titans, and Colts, each of which could have easily flipped the other way.
They sank to four wins, and head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke were pushed out in the process.
New head coach Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone don’t have the same profile and pedigree as Pederson and Baalke. For starters, it is a first-year head coach and first-year 34-year-old GM. You can throw in new VP of football operations, former standout Tony Boselli.
The atmosphere and surroundings are beginning to be ramped up, but it doesn’t appear to be the anticipated hype with the changing of the guard.
The once high expectations for a successful run as an expected contender from a pretender after the 2022 season have been washed out to sea.
So, this spring, the Jags don’t currently have a high profile like the Titans, Brown, Giants, and even the Patriots, whose stock has risen with quarterback Drake Maye and new head coach Mike Vrabel. The Pats also were busy in the free-agent market.
There has been plenty of hype around the Jets with their new head coach, and they have the seventh overall pick, two ahead of the Jags’ selection.
Yet, Coen and Lawrence have stressed that there is plenty of energy around the Jags’ complex. Coen stated that Lawrence is on a football “pitch count,” slowly progressing through steps after his shoulder surgery.
Heading into his fifth year and straddled with a series of injuries the past two seasons, Lawrence is excited and optimistic about the new regime. He’s also ready to play his lead role and lead the Jags back to a contender role.
“Just to have all the guys back in the building, bring some energy, some juice, I know from a players’ standpoint, everybody’s excited,” beamed Lawrence. “Everybody in the locker room is pumped to be back. And the coaching side, you can feel the energy and excitement.”
The buzz for the Jaguars is on the inside, but not the outside.
In roughly two weeks, we’ll know if the buzz is back on the outside.
