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| Tuesday, October 5 No rift, no offense for Jags By Eddie Pells Associated Press |
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin insists there is no tension between himself and quarterback Mark Brunell. It makes explaining Jacksonville's startling lack of offense that much more difficult.
Brunell, who went 10-for-25 for 85 yards in a 17-3 victory over the Steelers, has a 70.4 quarterback rating, behind Trent Dilfer and barely better than Stoney Case, Jeff Blake and Brian Griese. The struggling Kordell Stewart had both more yards (123) and a better completion ratio (15-for-32) than Brunell did Sunday. Some other facts and figures are so bad, they're almost laughable:
It was that play that stirred talk of a rift between Coughlin and Brunell, after Brunell tersely deferred the explanation of the play call to Coughlin. Coughlin, meanwhile, said Brunell should have thrown the ball away instead of forcing it into double coverage. Coughlin and Brunell also were quick to shoulder their share of blame. Both denied they were trying to shift the blame or that the exchange resulted in tension. Still, the stories persisted all week. And after the game Sunday, Coughlin directed a profanity-laced tirade at a Jacksonville beat writer with TV cameras rolling and members of the national media watching. Coughlin was asked about it again Monday and continued to insist nothing was wrong. "There's not any worry from my standpoint," he said. "And as far as I know from talking to Mark, there's no problem. I have never put any substance to that and won't. It just doesn't happen. It's not going to happen." Coughlin gave the players the day off Monday, and Brunell was not available for comment. When he returns, he'll be answering as many questions about his relationship with Coughlin as about the offense, which has been predictable and ineffective since the opening-day 41-3 victory over the 49ers. Part of that has to do with the absence of running back Fred Taylor, who has missed all or part of all four games with injuries to his foot and, most recently, his hamstring. "What we've designed as an offense certainly has Fred Taylor very much in mind," Coughlin said. "I'd like to be able to count on that." The coach said other problems stem from breakdowns at varying positions on almost every play. He also suggested that living up to the pressure of being touted as one of the best offenses in the league could be wearing on the players. "Sometime, in trying as hard as you can, things don't come as naturally as they need to come," Coughlin said. "So much has been made of this talented group of people, and so much has been made as soon as their performance level was not quite what expectations are. But that's part of the process too -- learning how to deal with it." |
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