This little bit from today's Ask Vic is giving me the chills.
Aaron from Milroy, PA: We honestly have no room to talk about the 375 rushing yards we put on the Colts last year. Today was a terrible performance. Our passing game was good for once, but the defense and the running game let us down. How did that happen?
Vic: You're right; this was a dose of humble pie. How did it happen? Well, there are a lot of theories. You can start with a defensive line that is still in rehab. Jack Del Rio told us, again, last week that he doubts that Reggie Hayward will ever be the same again. Marcus Stroud is coming off a major surgical procedure. John Henderson is favoring a neck/shoulder thing. Paul Spicer missed nearly all of training camp with a bad back and Bobby McCray has always been more of a pass-rusher than a run-stuffer. Put all of that together and I think you can see the picture. Unfortunately, I didn't see it coming and I should have. There are a lot of theories. The heat should've been to the Jaguars' advantage but you could also look at it this way: It has been awfully hot here for a long stretch and big guys such as Henderson can't be pushed in that kind of heat. I wonder if the cumulative effects of more than a month of sizzling temperatures didn't take their toll on the Jaguars. I could give you several more theories and suppositions, but it is what it is and both teams knew what they were facing. I don't think you're going to hear Del Rio or any of his players making excuses.
Vic: You're right; this was a dose of humble pie. How did it happen? Well, there are a lot of theories. You can start with a defensive line that is still in rehab. Jack Del Rio told us, again, last week that he doubts that Reggie Hayward will ever be the same again. Marcus Stroud is coming off a major surgical procedure. John Henderson is favoring a neck/shoulder thing. Paul Spicer missed nearly all of training camp with a bad back and Bobby McCray has always been more of a pass-rusher than a run-stuffer. Put all of that together and I think you can see the picture. Unfortunately, I didn't see it coming and I should have. There are a lot of theories. The heat should've been to the Jaguars' advantage but you could also look at it this way: It has been awfully hot here for a long stretch and big guys such as Henderson can't be pushed in that kind of heat. I wonder if the cumulative effects of more than a month of sizzling temperatures didn't take their toll on the Jaguars. I could give you several more theories and suppositions, but it is what it is and both teams knew what they were facing. I don't think you're going to hear Del Rio or any of his players making excuses.
I've made a lot of bombastic statements about the Jaguars having the best defense in the league this year. Obviously we have some problems to overcome on our defensive line. Problems that I took for granted.
I'm not giving up, but I guess the dose of reality that our front four are hurt and struggling is important to remember. The Falcons are going to try and gash us up the middle. I hope we can prepare for that and find a counter.
-Chris