Big Cat Country Q&A: Where is the Jaguars team from Week 1?

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Let’s answer some Jacksonville Jaguars questions after a disappointing Week 4 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Today we’re talking about Doug Marrone, cleaning house, and how this defense gets back on track.

Mark from Glastonbury, CT

Q: Why does Doug Marrone still have a job?

A: Because unless you’re going to clean house — that is, do away with the entire coaching staff and front office — you don’t fire Doug Marrone. And Shad Khan doesn’t think that fixing the team will require such a drastic step. I don’t agree. I don’t think you should give the guys who got you into this mess a second or third or fourth chance to fix it. You have a ton of draft picks in 2021. You have a healthy salary cap. This is as attractive a job as it will ever be. You should have cleaned house last offseason, but you can still do it after this season. It won’t happen but it should. And to be honest, I don’t think Marrone is the biggest problem. But you can’t fix this team with half measures any more.

Ben from Noblesville, IN

Q: Why did I go to the game? And stay for the whole thing?

A: Because your team was winning at halftime. You thought there was hope that we’d pull this off. But this defense got lucky in Week 1 against a turnover-prone Philip Rivers. Without that, we’re 0-4 and no one is crossing state lines to see them.

Lucas from Jacksonville, FL

Q: How safe is Gardner Minshew’s starting job next year?

A: It all depends on how high our first round draft pick is next spring. I don’t think Gardner Minshew has played well enough to totally convince me that we should pass over a guy like Trevor Lawrence. And a quarterbacks room with Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew would be pretty good.

Leon from Austin, TX

Q: What can the Jaguars do to attempt to salvage this season? No pass rush, no shutdown corners, and most importantly no real offensive weapon besides D.J. Chark.

A: The offense can salvage the season — not in terms of wins and losses, but in how well this team is set up in the future. If Gardner Minshew can play lights out and stave off the Trevor Lawrence talk and if James Robinson can continue to prove he’s the running back of the future and if Laviska Shenault and Keelan Cole can continue to develop... that would be a successful season for me at this point. I wouldn’t expect more than four wins out of this team with how badly the defense has played. We’re looking at a 16-game preseason.

Jacob from Camarillo, CA

Q: So what’s the turnaround on this thing looking like? With cap space, picks, and a new regime, can this team be competitive next year? Two years? Trying to see the light at the end of this tanking tunnel.

A: Well, I doubt we see a new regime. But if the offense can continue being the better side of the ball and playing well enough to win games, I think the turnaround means finding a pass rusher and a shutdown cornerback. It also means C.J. Henderson getting it together. And maybe grabbing Kyle Pitts in the first round next year.

RJ from Sanford, FL

Q: What will it take to change up the defensive staff?

A: Um, about 12 more games of what we’ve seen so far this year.

Keith from Jacksonville, FL

Q: 1-15?

A: Nah. I think we win a few more.

Kelly from Sacramento, CA

Q: Do you think Week 1 was just a poor performance by the Indianapolis Colts? Or is that a testament to how good the Jaguars can be. Because since Week 2, we’ve looked lost on both sides.

A: I think Week 1 was a situation where we caught a team playing worse than it actually is because it was the first game of the season and they were on the road. We also got Philip Rivers, who loves throwing backbreaking interceptions. It was a perfect storm of circumstances for the Jaguars and they took advantage. Since then, teams have played more to the quality of their roster. We don’t have a quality roster, at least on the defensive side of the ball.

Jacari from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Andrew Wingard was all over the field. Do you see him being a potential starter?

A: I mean, he’s starting now. If your question is whether I see him as the starter of the future or the starter when we have other options, no I don’t.

Austin from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Are we going to mess up resigning D.J. Chark like we did with Allen Robinson?

A: That’s a big fear of mine. But no, I don’t think we mess it up. I think we re-sign D.J. Chark.

Mike from Morgantown, WV

Q: Was Josh Allen a product of Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell? Or is he just our only defensive lineman and gets tripled?

A: I’d like to say the latter, but I saw Josh Allen getting handled on one-on-one situations yesterday. He’s not playing as well as he did last year. He’s not playing well enough period and I think he’d be the first to tell you that. He needs help, but that help isn’t currently on the roster and I doubt our defensive coordinator is savvy enough to figure out how to get him into better positions.

Ben from Orlando, FL

Q: From a purely objective point of view, how many games do you think the Jaguars will win this season?

A: Four.

John from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Why am I still in love with the Jaguars even though they constantly break my heart?

A: Because hope springs eternal, John.