Photo: Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio looks on in the final seconds of a 20-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game in San Francisco, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

In a press conference earlier in the week, Jack Del Rio said his team would clearly need to travel better than it did in its last outing to the west coast. Of course, Del Rio was referring to Week 5, when the Jaguars flew across the country to Seattle, only to get shut out by the Seahawks 41-0. Well, I guess you could say this game was better. Instead of getting shut out, the Jaguars scored a whole three points on their way to a 20-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday.

Yeah, you’re right. It wasn’t really “better”. It was just a different kind of bad. The Jaguars weren’t blown out like they were in Seattle. In fact, the Jaguars hung in the game and gave themselves several opportunities to get back into it. Unfortunately, they did an equally good job of squandering those opportunities at the worst possible times. On four trips to the red zone, the Jaguars only produced three points, and David Garrard fumbled the ball away twice.

There’s no doubt that after such a poor showing, the knee-jerk reaction in Jacksonville will be to crucify Garrard. And although I do think at times he holds on to the ball too long and tries to do too much, I do not think that the burden of this loss should be placed entirely on Garrard’s shoulders. All too often the pass protection was breaking down before Garrard even had time to set his feet. By the end of the game, the Jaguars’ quarterback was hit a total of 12 times, including a season-high six sacks. Now I don’t care who you are, but if you’re getting beaten down like a rag doll all day, you’re going to have a tough time throwing the football.

They say that football games are won and lost in the trenches. The team that wins the battle at the line of scrimmage is usually the team that goes home happy. On Sunday, the offensive line struggled greatly to provide David Garrard with the time he needed to effectively distribute the football. The 49ers came in with a good game plan for stopping the run and kept the O-line on their heels for much of the game. Rookie left tackle Eugene Monroe looked like a turnstile at times, and his draft-mate Eben Britton had a tough day as well, despite playing very well against the Bills last week.

There’s just something about that west coast trip. The good news is that this coming Sunday the Jaguars will begin a stretch of three consecutive home games, starting with their division rival, the Houston Texans.

Or at least it would be good news in other cities.

Jacksonville provides a different dynamic that must be acknowledged. Despite being in the thick of the AFC Wild Card race, the Jaguars are in a difficult position where each week they must not only try to win a football game, but also try to impress and win over the people of Jacksonville. This year, blackouts have become customary on Sundays, yet yesterday’s away game against the 49ers was actually televised. It was one of the few times the people of Jacksonville were able to see their team for free. Unfortunately, they probably didn’t like what they saw.

If the Jaguars hope to gain respect from Jacksonville and from the NFL, they will have to prove that they are a true playoff caliber team and not a soft-schedule impostor. As the temperature drops and we head into December, the road gets increasingly difficult. The Jaguars’ final five opponents are all AFC teams. The first four of which, including Indianapolis and New England, are very much in the playoff race.

It’s in the crisp December air. Teams across the league have caught the scent of post-season football. The Jaguars MUST be ready for war. However, to win the war they’ll have to win the first battle. And it all starts in the trenches.

Gil Samson writes articles about the Jacksonville Jaguars. When Gil is not writing, he is riding motorcycles and planning his next tattoo. Gil is regularly cited on ESPN's AFC South Blog.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 11:34 am and is filed under Jaguars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.