Following their humiliation in Seattle last week, Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-drew has ripped into the team¿s play calling and called for them to ¿earn some respect¿ this weekend against the St Louis Rams.
Disgruntled Jacksonville running back blasts play calling after loss
Following their humiliation in Seattle last week, Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-drew has ripped into the team's play calling and called for them to 'earn some respect' this weekend against the St Louis Rams.
While Matt Hasselbeck ran wild on the Jacksonville defence with four touchdown passes, the Jaguars offence was also shut down by the Seahawks as they won out 41-0 in an embarrassing result for Jack Del Rio's men.
Jones-Drew had been in sparkling form before Sunday's game, rushing for 294 yards and scoring five touchdowns, but in Seattle he was held to 34 yards on just 12 carries as the entire offence fell flat.
In a fiery session with reporters this week after practice, Jones-Drew hit out at his lack of action in Seattle, the play calling by the coaching staff and the lack of effort from the team as a whole.
"I don't like to be embarrassed, so I do get upset about it," Jones-Drew said. "You lead by actions. You can only say so much. You can talk to somebody until you're blue in the face and they're not going to do anything."
Not enough
Jones-Drew was particularly upset that he did not get the ball enough against Seattle, as he feels the Jaguars have moved away from the tough running game they were known for last year.
"We have to figure out a way to be consistent," Jones-Drew said. "The running game is like chess. The running game is your pawns. They don't really mean that much in the beginning, but at the end, they surround the king and it's check mate. That's what the running game is.
"It just seems like now if we don't get 30 yards [rushing], we just go away from it. I've never been a part of a team like that. I don't know what it is. We're still trying to figure out what our identity is right now."
Pointing to the fluctuating selections in the offensive line, Jones-Drew says that has not helped the team's running game, with so much change of personnel.
"That's a big issue," Jones-Drew said. "How can you get continuity, how can you get chemistry going on when guys are rotating in and out? That doesn't happen.
"It's like ballroom dancing. You have to be able to move one way or another at the same time, fluently, otherwise you're going to step on her toes and she's going to step on yours."
Respect
The winless St Louis Rams visit Jacksonville on Sunday, and Jones-Drew says that the Jaguars need to step up now and earn back the respect they would have lost in Seattle.
With fellow winless teams Tennessee and Kansas City also on the schedule, Jones-Drew knows the team cannot afford to slump against such lowly opposition.
"Respect is all you can gain now," he added. "It's all about the respect. It's not even about anything else. Do they respect us as an offense? That's the question.
"And right now, no one respects us. We just got blown out. We didn't put up no points. Who respects that? What do you think St. Louis is going to come in here and do?
"We have to go back and gain the respect of everybody in this league this week."
