Tom Coughlin spoke for the fans this past Monday when, during a passionate diatribe during his noon press conference, Coughlin said: "Where's the team that beat Philadelphia? That's what we'd all like to know."
OK, so where is that team?
Well, coach, it's back on the visitor's sideline at The Coliseum in Nashville, where Mark Brunell was momentarily knocked senseless by Titans cornerback Samari Rolle, causing Brunell a concussion from which it would seem he has yet to recover.
When Brunell was struck helmet-to-helmet by Rolle on that opening drive of the game, the Jaguars were 3-1. They had caused Sports Illustrated's Peter King to journey to Nashville to write a story about the surprising Jaguars. It was a story King would never write.
The Jaguars are now 3-4. They have lost three consecutive games and appear to be the exact opposite of the team they were during a three-game winning streak earlier in the season. Since that hit on Brunell along the Jaguars sideline in Nashville, nothing about the quarterback nor this team has been the same.
Where's the team that beat Philadelphia? Well, coach, indications are we left it behind on that sideline in Nashville.
There's no need for massive research in seeking reasons this team has lost three straight. Forget all the self-serving theories. Forget about the play-calling and the pass-rush and the blitz and the swagger and all of that talk-show crap. The answer is much simpler. This team has lost three straight games because its quarterback is still in a fog.
Since that afternoon in Nashville, Brunell's passer rating has fallen from 101.3 (third in the AFC) to 81.2 (12th in the AFC), and the Jaguars' pass offense has plummeted from 16th in the league to 25th.
Do you need more proof that the team that beat Philadelphia is still lying motionless along that Nashville sideline? A man looking like Brunell and wearing a Jaguars uniform got to his feet and went back to the huddle, but he's an impostor. The real Brunell is still on his back on that sideline, waiting for his head to clear and his football skills to return. And until that happens, these will not be the Jaguars who beat the Eagles.
Can you blame Wayne Weaver for being upset?
