Coach Jack Del Rio expressed disappointment in his offense’s lack of points production in Sunday’s 14-12 loss at Indianapolis.
“Twelve points is not enough; not enough production. We must be better across the board. We must be better on offense,” Del Rio said at his Monday afternoon press conference.
The Jaguars head coach reaffirmed his expectation for victory, despite the Jaguars having four rookies in the starting lineup.
“I’m in it to win. I’m not going to lower our standard for any reason,” he added.
Maintaining that standard on defense will become especially difficult this week, as the Jaguars prepare to host Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals, the defending NFC champions. Making the task going forward especially difficult for the Jaguars defense is the loss of defensive end Reggie Hayward for the season. Hayward sustained a fracture of his lower leg in the late stages of the loss to the Colts.
“It’s not a career-ender,” Del Rio said of the injury. Del Rio met with Hayward on Monday. Hayward is expected to undergo surgery on Friday.
The Colts are the only AFC South team to have come out of the opening weekend of the season with a win. “Three of us feel that way today,” Del Rio said of the disappointment the Jaguars, Titans and Texans share.
“Obviously, we need to improve in several critical areas. One good area was the turnover battle. That was a positive,” Del Rio said.
Despite having completed five of his first six passes, quarterback David Garrard finished with only 14 completions in 28 attempts for just 122 yards and a 61.9 passer rating. Del Rio said Garrard missed some open receivers. Nate Hughes is one of those. Hughes was wide open in the end zone but Garrard didn’t see Hughes early enough to get the ball to him before a Colts defender closed on it.
“He missed some things yesterday. I don’t think there’s any question. We had Nate down the seam. We had Troy (Williamson),” Del Rio said. “When plays are there, you have to take advantage of them. There are some things we felt we could’ve done better. There are things they feel they could’ve done better, too.”
Running back Maurice Jones-Drew was wearing a wrap on his right forearm, wrist and hand when he met with the media on Monday. He would not divulge the extent of the injury or when it occurred on a day when he carried the ball 21 times for 97 yards and a touchdown, caught five passes for 26 yards and failed on a “Wildcat” formation PAT attempt.
When will Del Rio lighten Jones-Drew’s load by having him share carries with another back?
“We’ll get to who the other back is when we possess the ball long enough to need another back. We need more snaps,” he said.
Del Rio was also asked whether he was pleased by the performance of his defense in its new 3-4 alignment.
“Am I happy with the 3-4? I’m happy with the corrections we’ve just made. I feel like we had a good plan yesterday,” Del Rio said.
Playing the 3-4 wasn’t made easier by the loss of Hayward.