Doug Marrone Reflects on Jaguars' Penalties in Win Over Colts

During the 2019 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars were second in the NFL in penalties and most in penalty yardage. They concluded their Week 1 win having lowered their average and sensing an improvement in the category.

As Myles Jack popped up, he immediately motioned for an official to pull a flag all the while staying in the face of Indianapolis Colts receiver Parris Campbell. Teammates began to step in between the two players. 

It was impossible to not flash back to the Jacksonville Jaguars 2019 season opener when Jack got caught in a scuffle with Kansas City Chief receiver Demarcus Robinson, threw a punch, was ejected and had to be forcibly removed by teammates.

But on this Sunday in 2020, during the Week 1 win against the Colts, Jack kept his reaction muted. He asked for—and received—the call as officials hit Campbell with an unsportsmanlike conduct flag. It sent the Colts back 15-yards.

That drive in particular featured six penalties—four for the Jags totaling 31 yards, as well as two for the Colts for 30 yards as Indianapolis settled for a field goal. That accounted for the majority of the Jaguars penalties for the entire day however (6-61). 

And the moment with Jack drawing the penalty on his opponent instead of himself is a step in the right direction for the team that was the second most penalized in the league last season.

DAMN! Myles Jack 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/KSU5yxSWad

— Fitz (@LaurieFitzptrck) September 13, 2020

The Jaguars finished the 2019 season with 132 total penalizations, trailing only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (133). The Jags did lead the league in yards of penalties, with 1,165. They also led the league in offensive holding (30) and in the ambitious “other” category (i.e., encroachment, face mask, roughing the kicker, etc.) with 44 flags.

That’s an average of 8.25 penalties per game. So six; it’s at least a start on an improvement.

“Some of them you look at and you’re like, ‘Hmm, I don’t really know about that.’ And some, you say, ‘Hey, that’s a good call,’” Marrone told reporters on Monday.

“And I look at them as far as the areas of things that you can, in the heat of the moment, that you can correct, especially things that you can control with unforced errors. I mean, that’s always the biggest one for me.”

The Jaguars gave up five first downs by way of penalty, receiving only two. But for the first game of the season, without the advantage of preseason games to shake off rust, the one offensive penalty and five defensive flags can all be fixed according to Marrone.

“The next thing that comes into play is—okay the first thing—our focus now is to make sure we correct them.”

There were two penalties that could have been back breakers, both in the 4th quarter. The first was on 4th and 1, from the Jaguars 36-yard line. Rookie Jags defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson intercepted Philip Rivers. Chaisson returned the ball 16-yards and given that the game was tied at 17-all at the time, giving the offense the ball back at midfield would have been a game-changer.

Instead the interception was negated due to a holding call on DJ Hayden and the Colts received an automatic first down. A self-inflicted penalty two plays later meant the Colts had to settle for a field goal, but took a 20-17 lead nonetheless.

The next drive, the Jaguars offense found pay-dirt to take the 24-17 lead. And when Rivers took the field again, he was picked off by Andrew Wingard. The Jags converted that into a field goal to take a touchdown lead.

WINgard.@deweywingard | #DUUUVAL

📺: 9/20 at 1pm on CBS pic.twitter.com/FwGHqvI09Q

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 13, 2020

It came under threat again when the Colts converted a 2nd down with a 12 yard pass and received 15 additional yards due to a Dawuane Smoot roughing the passer call.

“He said he was going to block a ball and you come down with your hand on the helmet, you can’t do that,” Marrone said of the Smoot call.

“The defensive ones we’ve talked about, we’re going to address with our players, of ‘Hey listen, there’s more of the position than the technique that put us into that position, than it was anything else.’”

Just like they were with Wingard’s interception on the drive following the negated Chaisson interception, the defense once again saved itself. The roughing the passer call gave the Colts a fresh set of downs. But on that 4th and 5, rookie defensive back CJ Henderson knocked the pass away to turn the ball over on downs.

That ability to remain calm and draw together will inevitably lead to less penalties and, as Marrone describes, more progress as the Jacksonville Jaguars continue with the 2020 season.

Myles Jack (44) and CJ Henderson (23) make a tackle in the 2nd half to help give the Jaguars a win. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s funny. I think people put a lot of words—and rightfully so at times—they’ll talk about maturity or experience, and all those things do come into play, but when you have a young team like we have, I think the best word is probably just trust. I think that they trust each other, they trust that everyone’s going to continue to fight, everyone’s going to continue to play. I think that’s where we’ll get better, going on.

“In other words, when we watch this film, when we watch the effort, when we watch everything, it’s of, ‘Hey listen, you have to trust that everyone’s going to do their job. Make sure you do yours. Don’t look for anything else.’ I think those are the things that—I keep using this phrase, ‘Hey we’re going to keep moving forward.’

“Today, normally, we’re with the coaches, then you go through grades. And my main concern is when we get with our players, what are we going to be able to do to help them to continue to get better? What are we going to do? If we say, ‘Oh we’re going to get better at everything,’ then nothing really gets better. You know, really picking specific things that we can sit down with them, give them specific goals during the week and just keep working to get better, just keep working on moving forward.”