The Meyer Of London: First Victory A Turning Point Or Gift-Wrapped Stay Of Execution?

By Simon Carroll

The Jacksonville Jaguars left London on Sunday with their first win of the season. Simon Carroll reports back from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on what it means for this franchise – and their embattled head coach – moving forward:

The catacombs of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium echoed with unfamiliar sounds of Jaguar joy on Sunday.

The route from the press box to the Jacksonville press conference is a rather lengthy one. Not a second after Matthew Wright guided his second 53-yard field goal through the uprights to give The Jags their first victory of the season, media members were hastily stuffing laptops into bags and beginning the descent into the depths of the arena. This was less to do with avoiding the shower of plastic pint pots that were raining down from the tier above, and more to do with wanting a front row seat to the post-mortem of a contest that had more than its fair share of storylines.

You hear it before you see it. The Jaguars conference room backs on to the stadium’s rather extravagant NFL home team locker room, with just a wall and a podium separating us from the delirious chaos on the other side. There is no greater tonic to adversity in the National Football League than winning football games. But even with that factored in, what we saw and heard on Sunday did not look like a team falling apart at the seams.

Duval Drama

Credit: Sam Greenwood (Getty Images)

By now we are all well aware of the drama surrounding this football franchise – and it’s head coach – over the last few weeks. If arriving in London without a win in five contests wasn’t enough to turn up the heat on Urban Meyer, his regrettable decision to remain in Ohio following the defeat to Cincinnati cranked the temperature close to a raging inferno.

Those familiar with Meyer’s distinguished but checkered collegiate career will know that his success did not come without some scandal; thirty one players arrested during his tenure at Florida, and a three-game suspension at Ohio State for failing to act on spousal abuse allegations against one of his assistants, demonstrated his willingness to blur the lines of morality if it helped fill the win column. Combine this with his lack of NFL experience, and health concerns that forced him to step down from both the aforementioned roles, and his appointment as the sixth head coach in Jaguars’ history was predictably questioned.

Expectations for a franchise that won just one game last year were raised to unreasonable standards when Jacksonville won the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. But the new regime did themselves no favours either; contentious draft selections of ‘third down running backs’ in the first round, the signing of Tim Tebow as a tight end that felt nothing more than a PR stunt, and the hiring and firing of a strength and conditioning coach that had been let go from Iowa because of accusations of bullying and racism – at every juncture it appeared that The Jaguars were leaving themselves exposed to scrutiny and derision.

Urban Meyer won’t be the first or last man to be caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but the backdrop of his short tenure in Duval County brought his credibility and ability to do the job into question. With rumours of players openly laughing at his attempts to apologise, many wondered if he would still be employed by the time this team returned from their trip across the Atlantic.

Bunkering Down

The Jaguars kept a tight ship during their stay in London. Based in Watford, they restricted media access to practice coverage that amounted to nothing more than a series of rehearsed warmups and stretches. The Friday press conference was short and terse, with Meyer, Lawrence and Shaquille Griffin paraded out in front of the UK press for approximately ten minutes each. Compare that to the lengthy and considerable exposure the Dolphins allowed and you would have thought it was an MI5 operation. But if any team knew how to handle the long trip, it would be Jacksonville – this was their eighth visit to these shores, even if it was their new head coaches’ first. Who were we to tell them how to handle their business?

In classic British fashion, questions about Meyer’s recent indiscretions from the UK media were clumsily muted, and after answering but not answering, things swiftly moved on to the usual collection of “how has your trip been, how are the facilities, have you tried fish and chips” that routinely permeate these opportunities. Lawrence and Griffin were more amenable, but still running out the company line of how the team was still behind the coach, still fighting for each other, and how one win would give them the confidence to kick on.

No soundbites, no juicy scoops like Flores provided with his revelation that Tua would start; essentially the Jaguars gave away nothing. And by that same token, they also gave no reason to expect anything different from this ailing franchise come Sunday.

Game Time

Credit: Ian Walton (Associated Press)

And yet, for those who have been keeping a close eye on The Jaguars, things have slowly been coming together on the field, even if things off it were burning down to the ground. In something of a breakout performance for this offense, Jacksonville had the Bengals on the ropes in their Week 4 Thursday Night Football contest before Joe Burrow finally dragged Cincinnati over the line. Meyer’s night of shame didn’t appear to affect the team against the Titans ten days later – the scoreline suggested an easy win for Tennessee but the stats tell a different tale. Jacksonville matched or outplayed their AFC South rivals in every metric except for 3rd down conversions, and ostensibly lost the game in the five minutes either side of halftime. A loss is a loss, and two is twice as bad – but the performances, even with external pressure mounting, were getting better.

All that amounted to nothing when – after the game was restarted following a delightfully British spot of pitch invading by some moron in a Dolphins jersey – Miami dominated the first quarter. No sooner had Jackson de Ville completed his trademark zipwire descent then the Jags were on the back foot. They simply couldn’t get their opponents off the field on third down, a metric that has plagued them all season. Tua and Waddle moved the ball down the field with ease before the ‘Bama pair combined for the opening touchdown.

The Jaguars sputtered in response, settling for a field goal on their first drive and nothing much else for the next three possessions after that. Offensive penalties blighted both team’s attempts to move the football. But all of a sudden Lawrence found a rhythm, leaning on Laviska Shenault and Marvin Jones. James Robinson got rolling, and in the blink of an eye Meyer’s men were back in the game – Jones with an acrobatic catch to reel in the TD pass from their rookie gunslinger and make it 13-10. Despite being down three – and frankly it should have been more – The Jags were back in it.

Rudimental Awakening

Credit: Adam Davy (Associated Press)

The second London game of 2021 saw Rudimental perform the halftime show – an apt appointment for the back to basics football Meyer had in store to start the second half. A healthy dose of the run game through the furious James Robinson saw The Jags take the lead for the first time in the game, the bowling ball running back barreling over the line to complete a seven play, 75 yard drive that took just two and a half minutes. The huge swathes of Dolphin aqua in the stands were muted – what was once seemingly a procession to victory became a game fraught with nerves and mistakes.

Miami nearly wrestled momentum back; Lawrence’s former Clemson teammate Christian Wilkins forcing a fumble that was recovered by the defense. But on the very next play Tua’s pass intended for Waddle was picked off by Nevin Lawson – a rare interception for this Jaguars defense. Jacksonville had the lead, the ball in enemy territory, and were just over one quarter of football away from an unlikely victory.

In every game of football there comes a point where the contest is won and lost, where the margins narrow and the room for error disintegrates. Meyer’s decision to go for it on fourth and one at the Miami 9 yard line rather than kick the simple field goal to tie the game looked to be that moment. When Robinson failed to pick up the 36 inches required and the ball was turned over on downs, it felt like a sea change, as if Jacksonville’s flimsy conviction had just evaporated into the overcast Haringey skyline. And when Tua and Mike Gesicki marched Miami down the field on a 91 yard drive, culminating in another Jaylen Waddle touchdown, the narrative of the contest had appeared to deliver a familiar ending for the supposedly home team Jaguars.

Final Flores Flourish

Credit: Matt Dunham (Associated Press)

Sat up in the press box, laptops all around were chattering to the sounds of a well-read story being recaptured in a thousand words, Meyer condemned to possibly his final defeat before the team plane had landed back in Florida. Jacksonville barely moved the football on their next drive, punting after just one first down.

At this point, needing to just salt the game away, Brian Flores decided to become a key character in this Floridian derby. At a moment to be cautious, Miami throws the ball three times out of four snaps, keeping time on the clock. Flores throws the challenge flag not once but twice, firstly for an obvious out of bounds catch by Miles Gaskin, and secondly to contest that the tip of Jamal Agnew’s finger had touched their punt, and with the ball recovered in the endzone, Miami should be awarded a touchdown. The call was close – extremely close. But with not enough evidence to overrule the onfield decision, it was hard to see a favourable outcome for Flores. Two timeouts needlessly burned, and the ball was given back to Jacksonville with plenty of time left on the clock.

Despite the pessimism of maybe fifteen minutes prior, it seemed as if The Jaguars remember they are only three points behind in this contest. They moved the ball 44 yards before new Jaguars kicking legend Matthew Wright nails his first 53 yarder, a healthy dose of late swerve appreciated by a crowd familiar with similar trajectories for rounder footballs. With the scores tied, Flores makes his next big mistake, going for it on 4th down in his own half of the field. Malcolm Brown fails to move the sticks, and with 100 ticks left on the clock, the Jags found themselves tantalisingly close to a first win in 21 games.

Of course they made it hard for themselves, a false start by Chris Manhertz knocking them back five yards. But Flores was the gift that keeps on giving; with five seconds left and Jacksonville facing 4th and 8, the Dolphins head coach uses his final timeout. Meyer, with this extra bit of thinking time, checks out of the classic hail mary play and opts for an audacious short pass over the middle to Shenault, who gets the requisite 9 yards, is downed by contact, and the Jags stop the clock with a timeout. 1 second remained in the game, enough time for Wright to nail his second 53 yarded of the afternoon (and incidentally, his whole career), sparking eruption on the home team sideline.

"A Three Hour Root Canal"

Credit: Simon Carroll (The Touchdown)

And so there we were. Huddled together in a small conference room, face masks hiding our dropped jaws from what we had just witnessed. So many storylines, so many narratives! Meyer is the first up to the podium, a man who has the gait of someone twenty pounds lighter than when we saw him on Friday. He was candid, admitting his team needed a win and he was relieved to get it. He was playful, joking that he can never really enjoy a game, calling it a ‘three hour root canal’. And he was optimistic, suggesting the bye week would allow them to get some key personnel back on the field. He also conceded that the Miami timeout allowed them to change the play that ultimately decided the game:

Urban exited stage left to smiles and laughter after the final question, where he was asked if he had a quick word with his kicker before the winning field goal:

“Last thing he needs to see is me before he’s making that kick.”

An excellent segue into the next man up. As of Wednesday, Matthew Wright is the undisputed kicker for The Jaguars after the team released longtime servant Josh Lambo – A far cry from his previous role as a software engineer just a month ago. But on Sunday, TV cameras caught Lambo being the first man over to the sidelines cheering with Wright after both his big kicks. The new leg in town couldn’t have been more appreciative of the support from his teammate, even though his success likely spelled the end of the former Everton man’s four year career in Jacksonville:

“Yeah, he’s actually been really helpful. There’s no bad blood between either of us. We’re both here to do the job, and we’re just competing, and he’s been really helpful actually with everything because he’s had quite a long successful career, so he’s had some wise words for me.”

Rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence is as comfortable in front of a microphone as he was under center at Clemson. He learns he is the first rookie quarterback to win a game in London, talks through his touchdown pass to Marvin Jones, and confirms that they changed the crucial play. As he departed the stage with that beaming smile, someone asked him if Jacksonville were London’s team, was he London’s quarterback?

“Yes Sir!”

Veteran Leadership

Credit: Simon Carroll (The Touchdown)

Interestingly enough, it was a pair of veterans who perhaps gave a clearer insight into the unexpected team cohesion. Edge rusher Josh Allen blamed himself for the Dolphins’ opening touchdown, and spent the whole game trying to atone for it – which he did with the late fourth down stop:

“Oh, man. We needed to make a play, and that was just a situation where it was like, this is it. We’re either going to win this game or we’re going to go to overtime, know what I’m saying? Guys wanted to make that play, and it felt great. Oh, Lord, it felt great. I thought they was going to do some tricky stuff on us, but obviously we stopped them”.

Marvin Jones – for my money the MVP of this game – was absolutely delighted to have finally played in a London game, detailing his love for travel and how a trip over here had eluded him:

But it was in response to a question about his role as a leader of a young team that left you feeling that – from the ten year veteran to the rookie quarterback – the players were still believing in the process for this team:

“Yeah, definitely showing them the way. Obviously this is my 10th season, and I’ve been around the block. I’ve played a lot of games, and we do have a young team, so it’s up to us to bridge that gap between rookie and vet. The sooner you do that, the better the team — the better the cohesion is and the better we do. That’s all our job is, just to tell them our experiences and go on from there.”

A Corner Turned?

How much one win tells us about any football team is debatable. Some will point to the opposition in this contest; a Dolphins team that is a shell of it’s 2020 self, with a debilitating list of injuries and a head coach that seemed hell bent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They will argue a last-minute victory against a 1-5 opponent with more questions than answers means little for the Jaguars going forward.

I beg to differ. Without getting too excited, this win brings Urban Meyer some much-needed validity. At every juncture in this game, Meyer and his staff got it right; from getting Lawrence in rhythm to targeting opponent weaknesses, from establishing the run to ballsy play calls at key moments. Whilst questions about his personal character, roster construction, and even his health remain, at the very least he has proven he can compete on game day. He hasn’t lost this locker room, and the performance of himself and his team on Sunday showed it.

Yes, the Jaguars are still a poor football team. They have less talent than the majority of the other franchises in the league. Their defense ranks last in turnovers and cannot get off the field. Their offense has disciplinary issues, finishing this game with a whopping EIGHT penalties attributed to false starts or holding, at a cost of 54 yards. Some of this is on Urban, without doubt. But they are indisputably getting better. Without a win to back up this progression, people can start to doubt whether strides have been made at all.

Credit: Jasen Vinlove (USA Today Sports)

This team isn’t making the playoffs, and those that thought landing a rookie quarterback sensation would be a magic sponge for decades of mismanagement were simply kidding themselves. So the question becomes, how do you measure success this season? If Meyer’s mishap two weeks ago has been forgiven, then he is to be judged on the field. And what exactly has he not delivered that fans and ownership expected? Wins are the NFL’s only currency – they buy you more time. Considering how long The Jaguars kept the likes of Gus Bradley and Doug Marrone around, this one likely bought Urban Meyer until the end of the season at least.

Sat in the Tottenham Hotspur media lounge before kickoff on Sunday, a good friend of mine said in a totally unrelated conversation that “one swallow does not a summer make”. Despite the newfound optimism, Meyer will be keenly aware he needs a few more in the win column if he is to avoid a winter of discontent.

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

HEAD OF CFB/NFL DRAFT CONTENT

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST.

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