JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) A day after the most embarrassing loss in his NFL tenure, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley still had a job.
And it seemed to be causing him some angst.
Bradley expressed frustration Friday with his team’s lack of discipline during a 36-22 drubbing at Tennessee , which came five days after an equally humbling home loss to Oakland.
Rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey was penalized for hitting a player well out of bounds in the first quarter and defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. was flagged for throwing a punch early in the second.
”There’s never an excuse for not playing with great effort,” Bradley said during a conference call with reporters. ”We won’t, cannot and will not tolerate lack of discipline, things under our control. We have a standard that we place. If you’re not meeting that standard, get your butt going.”
The Jaguars (2-5) got their butts kicked in prime time Thursday night, showing little skill and even less self-control in losing to one of the franchise’s former coaches for the second straight week. It dropped Bradley’s career record to 14-41 in three-plus seasons in Jacksonville. Owner Shad Khan decided against making a coaching change Friday, and Bradley vowed to keep his staff status quo during the small break.
The Jaguars play at Kansas City on Nov. 6.
It’s uncertain whether Bradley will make any major adjustments before then. What is clear is his dissatisfaction with penalties, including Fowler’s penchant for committing silly ones.
”It’s selfish and with those acts there are consequences,” Bradley said. ”I mean every player is different. I mean if there’s a guy that’s really riled up, I’m not going to put him in the situation where he’s going to hurt the team. So I think to say that everybody is treated equally, well every situation is different, and knowing the players and knowing where they’re at and that’s the decision I have to make.”
Fowler’s flag turned a 15-yard completion into a 30-yard play and helped the Titans build a 17-0 lead. Fowler, the third overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, was benched for the remainder of the half. He has been flagged eight times this season, including twice for personal fouls.
The antics came just five days after a late meltdown against the Raiders. Receiver Marqise Lee was flagged for using a racial slur. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson was ejected after picking up two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, including one for using abusive language toward an official. And Ramsey was tossed for fighting.
”Guys got to make smart decisions,” Bradley said. ”You don’t want them to play with anxiety and be uptight and think that everything they do wrong they’re going to get yanked out of the game. But they also have to understand that things that affect our team, and ones that are under their control, at times, have consequences and they’ve got to do right and they’ve got to make smart decisions. I think we’re more going about it that way.”
Regardless, the bigger issue is figuring out how Jacksonville was flat and listless for the second straight week. Players looked uninspired, digging themselves another early hole and showing little, if any, ability to climb out. They trailed 27-0 at halftime, and although the offense’s ineptitude was no surprise, the defense gave up 354 yards.
And that happened three days after Khan addressed players and coaches for the second time in less than a month.
On Friday, Bradley met with his team without the owner present. Bradley still believes in his players and insists they need to play looser and with more poise.
”I think the way you lay it out to get that anxiety out is that when you believe in people, you have to be honest with them,” Bradley said. ”It was a very honest meeting. And I think when they know, clearly understand the expectations and what’s ahead of them, you relieve some of that.”
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