Gene Frenette: 2023 schedule convenient for Jaguars to finally get off to fast start

Among the more distressing trends in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ history has been their notoriously slow starts. Not just in the first quarter of games, but the first quarter of the season.

Over the past 15 years, a record of 18-42 over the season’s first four games is the NFL benchmark of futility. The only teams with records nearly as bad are the Cleveland Browns (20-39-1) and Detroit Lions (21-38-1). The Gus Bradley years of 2013-16 were especially painful when the Jaguars combined for a measly two wins over the first quarter of the season.

Only once since 2008 have the Jaguars won at least three of their first four games, and that 3-1 start in 2018 was followed by a seven-game losing streak. But there’s potential good news on the horizon.

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In 2023, the Jaguars couldn’t possibly ask for a more convenient opening month schedule. Matching the only 4-0 start in history, back in 1998, isn’t out of the realm of possibility, albeit a home matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 17 will be challenging.

Two of the first four games are against AFC South rivals in the Indianapolis Colts (Sept. 10) and Houston Texans (Sept. 24), one that may be starting a rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson and the other most certainly starting a rookie in CJ Stroud.

It’s hard to imagine a Trevor Lawrence-led offense having a bad enough day to lose either of those games. Furthermore, with the Colts having the ugly distraction over drama surrounding star running back Jonathan Taylor, it’s doubtful ex-Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew will exact revenge on his former employer or seeing Richardson win his NFL debut whether Taylor is in a Colts uniform or not.

Facing the Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Desmond Ridder at Wembley Stadium in London (Oct. 1) is also a favorable matchup. No matter how diverse an offense Falcons coach Arthur Smith thinks he has this year, does anybody see Lawrence losing again in London to an inferior team like what happened last year against the Denver Broncos? That’s hard to envision.

As for the much-anticipated home opener against the Chiefs, this meeting against the defending Super Bowl champions comes at an ideal time. September in Jacksonville can be most unpleasant for the best of road opponents, especially when the weather is oppressive and the Jaguars have a respectable team.

This scenario played out in the New England Patriots’ last visit here in Week 2 of 2018. The Jaguars jumped all over Bill Belichick’s team for their only win against quarterback Tom Brady, a 31-20 victory in which Blake Bortles played lights out with 376 passing yards and four TDs on a 97-degree day.

On another steamy afternoon, I can still picture the Super Bowl-bound Seattle Seahawks wilting in the second half of the Jaguars’ 2005 season opener. Players on the bench were shading themselves under makeshift tents, while Seattle’s offense had zero points and 97 yards after halftime.

If the Jaguars must win a shootout against Mahomes and that K.C. juggernaut, their chances are likely better in September weather conditions. The Chiefs might also have to deal with monster pass-rusher Chris Jones, unhappy with his contract, possibly holding out into the regular season. Either way, this Chiefs’ showdown looks more winnable than the two meetings last year, and those were plenty competitive.

With this opening schedule, circumstances are ripe for the typically slow-starting Jaguars to be no worse than 3-1 in the first month. They can’t waste that opportunity.

Coughlin’s time with Jaguars pivotal

When New York-based NFL writer Barry Wilner presents the case for Tom Coughlin on Tuesday to be the lone Hall of Fame nominee from a dozen candidates in the coach/contributor category, he believes the eight years spent as the Jaguars’ head coach can give him an edge with voters.

Though nobody disputes Coughlin winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants puts him among the favorites, Wilner intends to argue that his first eight seasons in Jacksonville is every bit as impactful for him getting a Hall of Fame bust.

“Everybody thinks he should go in as a two-time Super Bowl championship coach, but I’m going to put a heavy emphasis on him being a contributor to the sport because he built the Jaguars from the ground up,” Wilner said of Coughlin taking an NFL expansion franchise to two AFC title games in its first five seasons.

To help build his case, Wilner has spoken not only with Coughlin, but communicated with about a dozen people intimately connected to his career. Whether by email or phone, Wilner has spoken to, among others, former Jaguars players Tony Boselli, Jeff Lageman and original owner Wayne Weaver. Among the New York Giants, he’s talked to quarterback Eli Manning, Hall of Fame pass-rusher Michael Strahan and is waiting for a return call from owner John Mara.

Wilner hopes Coughlin’s impact with the Jaguars will convince voters to put him ahead of other top coaching candidates like Mike Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos, and Mike Holmgren. However, he also thinks Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft and John Wooten, a longtime scout and former director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, have strong cases to also be the HOF nominee.

NCAA should loosen restrictions

The NCAA’s denial of a waiver for Florida State transfer Darrell Jackson to play in the 2023 season — almost identical to North Carolina receiver Devontez Walker being rejected after transferring from Kent State — is an illustration of the college governing body needing to be less restrictive in special circumstances.

Jackson, who originally enrolled at Maryland and transferred to Miami, wanted to move again to be closer to his mother, who has an unspecified medical condition, in Havana, Florida (20 miles NW from Tallahassee).

Walker transferred to UNC to be near his grandmother, who raised him and also has medical issues. The NCAA ruled this week neither player could suit up for their respective ACC teams.

The NCAA wants to crack down on excessive player movement with two-time transfers, but the college free agency train has left the station, so there’s no need to be as strict policing it.

Walker (6-foot-5, 334 pounds) is an NFL prospect and will play for FSU in 2024, so what’s the point in delaying his journey toward a better future?

For players with real-life concerns about family circumstances, which can be easily verified with minimal investigating, the NCAA should show more compassion and let those athletes be immediately eligible.

Will RBs ever get paid?

If 26-year-old Saquon Barkley had to settle for a one-year contract from the New York Giants paying him just above the franchise tag and the Colts’ Taylor is requesting a trade, it’s fair to wonder if any consistently productive running back will have a shot in the future at a big second contract.

It certainly doesn’t help their cause when the Kansas City Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco, a seventh-round draft pick, rushes for 830 yards on 149 carries (4.9-yard average) as a rookie and scores a Super Bowl touchdown. Pacheco was especially damaging against the Jaguars, rushing for a combined 177 yards on 28 carries (6.3 yards) in two Chiefs victories.

Quick-hitting nuggets

The Jaguars’ lone victory in their last 11 preseason games came in a 34-14 road win over the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. Only five starters from that game are still on the roster — quarterback Trevor Lawrence, left tackle Walker Little, center Tyler Shatley, safety Rayshawn Jenkins and defensive end Dawuane Smoot. …

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp had the worst record among 20 International League teams in the first half of the season at 32-42. Midway through the second half, the Miami Marlins’ Triple-A club is 22-15, riding a seven-game winning streak and stands just 1.5 games behind the first-place Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Why the turnaround? Nobody has flipped the script more than catcher Austin Allen, who began the season 2-for-47 and has a 1.042 OPS in his last 51 games, hitting .292 with 18 home runs and 31 extra-base hits. Jumbo Shrimp outfielder/infielder Xavier Edwards, a first-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres in 2018, is leading all of minor league baseball with a .367 average. …

Maybe the stunning way in which the United States women’s soccer team exited the World Cup shouldn’t be such a big shocker. Granted, Swedish goalkeeper Zecira Musovic pulling off great save after great save was a huge factor, but let’s not forget that Megan Rapinoe — who did her part by sailing a crucial penalty kick over the crossbar — and teammates scored only one goal in their last three matches. This was not anything close to the same version of the USWNT we saw win the last two World Cups. …

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540 

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: With ideal schedule setup, no excuse for Jaguars to not be fast starters