The best and most telling game that the Jaguars will play during the 2014 season will be the first game in Philadelphia.
"But Chaps, why will the Philly game be the best and most important game? It's so early in the season."
The culture change is what will be focused on during this offseason. The Jaguars front office, coaching staff, and fans have all pushed the culture change that is happening under Head Coach Gus Bradley and General Manager Dave Caldwell.
In my opinion, the game against Philly is the type of game that the Jaguars would have gotten absolutely rolled on during the early games of last season. Philly would have dominated Jacksonville much like San Francisco, Seattle, and Kansas City did.
The Eagles are interesting for many reason. Nick Foles will be going through his first complete offseason as the incumbent starter. Will the tape on him during the offseason help other teams prepare? Will he have that classic 2nd-year starter slump? We should see the first glimpses during the first game.
Most Jaguars fans will remember that Gus Bradley was the 2nd choice in Philadelphia to Chip Kelly. Chip Kelly enters his second year as the Eagles coach and surprised many by leading his team to the playoffs in his first season. While the Eagles were on an early season hot streak, the Jaguars were mired with one of the worst starts in NFL history. The Eagles will want to match and improve on their 2013 campaign; in contrast, the Jaguars will want to have a completely different type of game than they did in last year's opener.
The Jaguars will have, presumably, another top-5 pick in their fold, and the Eagles will be without Desean Jackson. The Eagles were a tough draw for the Jaguars first game, but if Gus Bradley is the coach we think he is, he will have this Jaguars team excited about the opportunity to compete against last year's NFC East Champion.