Big Cat Country Q&A: How would you adjust your expectations about the Jaguars based on Week 1?

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Let’s answer some questions after the Jacksonville Jaguars shocked the world and beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1!

Today we’re talking about how yesterday’s win changes our expectations for the season, passing instead of running, and a Gardner Minshew statue.

Timmy from Savannah, GA

Q: Like you I was silenced and amazed by the Jaguars’ fantastic effort in Week 1. How would you revise your season outlook after the win?

A: I was really down on the Jaguars leading up to the game and they shut me up, didn’t they? But I did have them winning in Week 1 in my win-loss predictions back before training camp. I thought they’d be worse than they were because of so much roster fluctuation shortly before the game, but they weren’t. They were better in all facets. This wasn’t a fluke win with a Hail Mary at the end, it was winning on all sides of the ball — which is not what I expected even when I said they’d win back in May. That said, I’ll need to see how they do next week against Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans. That is the best run game in football and our run defense will need to have another strong outing before I have them winning more than six or seven games this season. That offense looks good though, doesn’t it?

Lucas from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Why is Gardner Minshew so good?

A: Because he’s much smarter than he pretends to be and he studies his ass off in the week leading up to games. His flaws last season weren’t because he wasn’t mentally prepared — it’s because he was thrown into the fire and the offense around him wasn’t as good as it looked on Sunday. Now that the team has a good stable of receivers, an offensive coordinator who can do more than call run-run-pass in the red zone, and an offseason to prepare, he’s able to settle down and make plays.

Mike from Chicago, IL

Q: What could Gardner Minshew have done to improve today’s performance?

A: He could have handed his lone incomplete pass to Laviska Shenault. In all seriousness, he could have gone to his second and third read a little better and had a little more patience on some of those downs. He took off running on a few plays where guys were open. That’ll come with time. Overall, he did great. If he plays like that every Sunday, this team’s not even thinking about a quarterback next spring.

Alex from Jacksonville, FL

Q: If Gardner Minshew throws for 4,500 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, but the defense causes us to win maybe 2-4 games, do we still take Trevor Lawrence?

A: Um, no.

Thomas from Jacksonville, FL

Q: How does it feel to shut everyone up and beat the Colts?

A: Feels good, Thomas.

Steven from Maitland, FL

Q: It looked like the Jaguars ran the ball less in the second half. Did the Colts do that good of a job taking it away or was the Colts offense on the field too much to get any sort of rhythm going?

A: I noticed that too and I’ll need to go back and see specifically why Jay Gruden went that way with his play calling. There were still a few runs sprinkled in, but there were about twice as many passes called as runs. I think it has something to do with the fact that the passing game was just on a roll — no incomplete passes after that first quarter drop by Laviska Shenault. If it ain’t broke...

Drue from Jacksonville, FL

Q: Do you legitimately believe that after seeing James Robinson’s play and numbers from one game, that he is an upgrade over Leonard Fournette?

A: Yes. I have never seen the kind of burst, acceleration, or willingness to hit a running lane out of Leonard Fournette that I saw out of James Robinson yesterday. But don’t take my word for it... here’s Matt Waldman effusing praise:

Jonathan from Jacksonville, FL

Q: If Gardner Minshew ends up working out as a starter what do you think the Jaguars do with their first round picks?

A: Well, we have two picks, so any combination of an offensive tackle, defensive end, tight end, or linebacker-safety hybrid player would be fine with me.

Mike from Newcastle-under-Lyme, England

Q: Can we build a statue of Gardner Minshew outside the stadium yet?!

A: It’s built.