Doug Marrone believes in his roster, even though it is one of the youngest in the league.
Whether quarterback Philip Rivers completes a string of passes or his defense gives up a few big runs in Sunday's opener against Indianapolis at TIAA Bank Field, Marrone believes his players will handle adversity.
"I'm confident in this football team being able to handle anything thrown at them," Marrone said. "I like the communication with the players. I think some people on the outside are thinking, 'What does that mean?' (It means) the players' talks, the rallying for the players, the team-first attitude."
Marrone is optimistic and raring to get the season started to provide a sense of normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Marrone's team has plenty of uncertainty on they will perform this season, especially Todd Wash's defense. The secondary will open with two new starters, strong safety Josh Jones and rookie cornerback CJ Henderson. The defensive front was impacted significantly by attrition.
It's uncertain yet whether they can stop the run any better than last season when the Jaguars allowed an average of 5.1 yards per rushing attempt and 23 rushing touchdowns, the second-most in the NFL.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew is coming off a successful rookie season, but will he be able to make a big jump in first-year offensive coordinator Jay Gruden's system?
He is likely to throw the ball often against the Colts because the passing game appears to be the strength of the offense.
The Jaguars are starting rookie James Robinson at running back in place of Leonard Fournette, who was released and now plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said this past Saturday, they will know what kind of team they have after the first two weeks of the season.
"We play a very talented Indianapolis Colts (team) in Week 1, and then we follow up with a final four team, the Tennessee Titans, so we'll know pretty quick where we measure up with some of the top teams in the league," Caldwell said.
The Jaguars have 16 rookies on their 53-man roster, including all 12 draft picks from the 2020 class. They also had four undrafted rookies that made the final roster _ cornerback Luq Barcoo, defensive tackle Doug Costin, long snapper Ross Matiscik and Robinson.
