Gene Frenette: Jaguars aim to follow Chargers' blueprint of being fun, explosive offense
When Zay Jones was contemplating his next NFL destination during the March free agency period, he made his decision separately from teammate Christian Kirk, even though the Jaguars’ receivers share the same agent (Zeke Sandhu).
It turns out both were on the same wavelength, specifically about a potential franchise transformation under first-year coach Doug Pederson. Jones passed up a little more money from the Chicago Bears to sign with the Jaguars, who gave a mother lode contract to Kirk (four-year, $72 million).
Two games into the Pederson era, both Jones and Kirk feel the suspicions they had six months ago about the play-calling acumen of a Super Bowl-winning coach bringing juice to a dull offense is starting to resonate.
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Maybe for the first time since the late 1990s — back when three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Mark Brunell had impactful weapons Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell at his disposal — things are looking up for the Jaguars’ offensive attack to evolve into an entertaining, fun product.
Now this is going to take some time because Trevor Lawrence is still a work-in-progress QB, but the Jaguars have pieces in place to make fans and NFL observers think they’ll at least be interesting to watch.
Kirk believes Pederson learning under Andy Reid when he was on the Kansas City Chiefs’ staff, leading to his first head coaching job and a Super Bowl title with the Philadelphia Eagles, gives the Jaguars confidence this offense will shed its past reputation as vanilla and boring.
“I think, actually I know, it all starts with Doug and Press [Taylor, Jaguars’ offensive coordinator] and their backgrounds,” said Kirk. “Doug being able to learn under the Andy Reid tree. I was asking him about it last week, just the creativity and how it was being around Andy, how he’d go about designing some of these plays. You watch Kansas City, they’ve trademarked coming up with different ways to get certain guys the ball.
“All these eccentric plays that you kind of shake your head at, because you’re like, ‘How do you create something like that, create different mismatches?’ You kind of pick their brains and ask them about their creativity process, how they go about breaking the game plan down. I definitely see the potential of this offense just being able to have no limits on it.”
For an offense stuck in the bottom quarter of the NFL rankings in total yards most of the past decade, and currently ranked 14th, that’s an encouraging prospect.
Chargers know entertainment
Sunday’s road matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers is an intriguing one because the Jaguars will face a franchise whose offense has long been a textbook example of an entertaining product.
With 24-year-old gunslinger Justin Herbert (listed as questionable with a rib injury) consistently moving the chains, plus having formidable receivers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, the Chargers are in position to continue a tradition of being one of the NFL’s most compelling attacks to watch.
Dating back to quarterback John Hadl with the AFL Chargers in the 1960s, the league’s only long-term franchise fixture in southern California has had an abundance of offensive weapons on a fairly consistent basis.
Since the start of four-team divisional play in 2002, the Chargers have been a top-10 offense 13 times and only once been in the bottom half of the league in total yards.
While the franchise has never hoisted a Lombardi trophy, it’s a team that often stayed relevant with a dynamic offense.
The Chargers have five Hall of Famers at four different skill positions — quarterback Dan Fouts, tight end Kellen Winslow, running back Ladanian Tomlinson and receivers Lance Allworth and Charlie Joiner — plus guaranteed Canton-bound TE Antonio Gates and possibly QB Philip Rivers.
In addition to having the NFL’s coolest helmet-uniform combination, the Chargers were often must-see TV through the years, notably during the 1980s when their “Air Coryell” offense under innovative coach Don Coryell made a lasting impression.
Before Ohio native Brandon Staley took the Chargers’ head coaching job last year, the former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator was well-versed in the team’s history.
He was particularly enamored with the impact Coryell, a current nominee for the Hall of Fame in the coach/contributor category, and another Chargers’ coach, Marty Schottenheimer, had on the franchise and the league.
“I love the history of the game and all the people Coryell impacted,” Staley said Wednesday in a conference call with the Jaguars’ media.” Whether it’s [former Washington Commanders coach] Joe Gibbs or any of these offensive coaches that you know are going to be Hall of Fame coaches, he had such a footprint on the league.”
What about Pederson’s impact?
Pederson, who grew up 90 miles north of Seattle, was a Seahawks fan. He often caught glimpses of the Chargers on television in the late 1970s and ‘80s because they were in the same AFC West division with the Seahawks for 24 seasons until Seattle moved to the NFC West in 2002.
“Dan Fouts and the guys, growing up on the West coast,” Pederson said of his Chargers’ memories. “Being in that same division, it seemed like they were always — either them or the Raiders — the ones to knock the Seahawks out of the postseason at some point. They were fun to watch. Their tight ends, their skill guys, and they always had a rich tradition of that, and they still do.”
Being fun to watch would not describe the Jaguars of the last decade, at least not the offensive portion of the show. The franchise had ground games that were periodically effective with Leonard Fournette one year (2017) and the tail end of Maurice Jones-Drew's career, but nobody tuned in to watch the Jaguars in anticipation of seeing a pyrotechnic offense.
It’s different with the Chargers. Whether in Los Angeles or during their 55-year run in San Diego, they often had offenses with an explosive element.
“I just know the team has always been one of those teams that is super dangerous,” Staley said. “Taking the job here, with us being in L.A., possibility was the term that just kept coming to my family’s mind when we were going through that [hiring] process. There’s just so much possibility here. I still feel that to this day.”
The Jaguars feel just as emboldened about the offense Pederson is putting on the field. His reputation for being an aggressive play-caller, combined with GM Trent Baalke and Pederson acquiring more playmakers for Lawrence, has fans more optimistic that this team will be more fun to watch in the coming years.
'Could be very special'
Zay Jones sees the same possibilities for Jacksonvile’s franchise that Staley envisions for his Chargers, largely because the Jaguars receiver did his homework before signing as a free agent.
He had conversations with former Eagles Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews and Nick Foles — the Super Bowl hero and former Jaguar — to get input on Pederson and their feedback helped sway his decision.
“Their wisdom and what they took from this offense and their experience with Doug was very positive,” Jones said. “They had a lot of success going back to Philly. When I got here, I liked what I saw, what we were building with Trevor. I liked his upside, plus the addition of Christian [Kirk] and the weapons.
“I really believe in what we’re doing. Look, man, I’ve seen some teams really take off when people least expect it happening. I won’t speak on the future or what it’s going to look like. But you just take a snapshot of the guys we have in this room right now, and the hunger within the coaching staff, it could be very special.”
Defining special for each NFL franchise requires context. When you consider the Jaguars’ 44-120 record the past decade, it’s not a high bar to raise expectations, particularly when it comes to being a fun, entertaining offense.
“We have the weapons, but we just want to go win,” said tight end Evan Engram. “We could run the ball 50 times in a game, and if that’s our M.O. that week, that’s what we’re going to commit to. Or we could be flashy and throw the ball 50 times as well. What we definitely want to be is explosive.”
Truthfully, the Jaguars’ offense hasn’t had the quarterback or the weapons to be what the Chargers have been for a long time. Their only real shootout-type win in recent memory was 45-42 in the 2017 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Will that change with Pederson’s bold play-calling and surrounding a talented triggerman in Lawrence with a better supporting cast? Taylor has no doubt.
“I think as a unit we believe that in ourselves, that if we need to go out and win a slugfest, we could do that just as fast as the game is being dictated,” said the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator. “If we need to go win a shootout, we can do that.”
If the Jaguars become as fun and entertaining as the Chargers past and present, that’d be a sight to behold.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars may finally have weapons to be as fun, entertaining as Chargers
