Gus Bradley, the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars was displeased by the attitude and sloppiness that his players displayed during their practice session on Tuesday. He watched his players on the sidelines playing carelessly and decided he could not stomach his upset any further. Consequently, he terminated the practice session a period early, which was the first they held with the team in full pads. Even as NFL predictions against the spread takes note of such negligible actions, Bradley demanded all players congregate in a huge circle, and began to shout, “Unacceptable” a couple of times.
According to Bradley, the team should play by the laid down standards, and this calls for high expectations that all players should rise to for the betterment of the squad. Therefore, every player has to point out the applicability of safe practices and ignore all unacceptable practices. Bradley also expressed that the players should not have any excuses or justification for their behavior because it was their first day of practice in full pads, and they were practicing in a conducive environment. The head coach vividly uttered his displeasure that his team was not at their best for no constructive reason, and they had to resume practice actively.
Bradley’s anger intensified due to the troubling pattern of play displayed by the offense, especially with the mishandled snaps executed from Mackenzy Bernadeau to Chad Henne. Furthermore, poor interceptions from Jalen Ramsey against Max Wittek as well as Prince Amukamara picking off Blake Bortles carelessly. The lack of urgency that Ben Koyack displayed when he dropped passes in the end zone apparently heightened Bradley’s ire.
According to QB Blake Bortles, since the entire team had the Monday off, Bradley had the right to get angry. Bortles expressed that the team did not practice according to their standards. He also acknowledged that when they fail to play up to the expected standard, either everyone usually ignores the issue. However, Gus rose up against the developing norm in a bad game and intervened before things went out of hand and ensured the team was on the right path in line with expectations. As stated by Bortles, the sloppiness displayed by the team did not match their set expectations, but he was sure every player heeded the coach’s advice accordingly.
According to Bradley, he believes most of the players will make a positive response when they resume their Wednesday practice. He stated that the Jacksonville Jaguars has a bunch of players who have leadership qualities, and they can take care of the situation without him revisiting the entire story once again.
Coach Bradley’s praise for his players clearly indicated that the Jacksonville Jaguars has something special because coaches who ensure his players remain accountable usually develop good teams. On the other hand, great teams usually have players holding their teammates accountable whenever some situations get out of control. According to Bortles, getting to the point where teammates hold each other responsible for their actions will develop the Jaguars into a great team that meets and even surpasses standards.
