Jack Del Rio’s 3 secrets to winning

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Maurice Jones Drew likes to go for it!

You will have to admit that you were not picking Jacksonville to win a whole lot of anything this year.

Admit it in now. It helped clear up a lot for me to admit it.

Ahh, that feels better.

Jack’s 3 secrets

So how is Coach Jack Del Rio pulling this off in Jacksonville. After all he got rid of his incumbent quarterback Byron Leftwich and went with David Garrard. That is a heck of a gamble for a usually conservative guy.

Now it is time to reveal Jack Del Rio’s 3 secrets to winning.

1. In the off-season, Del Rio fired offensive coordinator Carl Smith, who had 19 years of NFL experience. Del Rio replaced Smith with Dirk Koetter, a guy who had never coached in the NFL. source

Ok, so one is to get a real offensive coordinator with experience.

2. Del Rio shocked the league when he cut quarterback Byron Leftwich, who had been the starter from the start of the off-season, a week before the season opener and replaced him with David Garrard. That move put Del Rio on the hot seat before the campaign even started.

Now two is to go with the guy that is going to execute what you are going to run, not necessarily the most athletic or even the best quarterback, but the one that will get the job done.

3. Finally, the formerly conservative and defense-minded Del Rio has been taken over by the spirit of T.J. Cloutier, a fellow former pro linebacker who is now in the Poker Hall of Fame. Borrowing from Cloutier’s aggressive tactics, Del Rio and the Jaguars led the NFL in fourth-down attempts and conversions.

Number three is crucial. You are very conservative coach, recognize that you need a strategist that can take chances when warranted.

The Jaguars have gone for it on fourth down 33 times this season, an average of more than two per game – more than doubling the average (16.1) through the rest of the league.

This is a huge philosophical shift for Del Rio. Over his previous three years as coach of the Jaguars, Del Rio had gone for it on fourth down a total of 42 times. In 2003, Del Rio’s first season, he went for it 26 times, but the Jaguars were in the midst of rebuilding and were 5-11 that season.

The offense and the defense were a little leery about this at first, but as it worked it has given both units great confidence.

“You have to like that approach,” Jones-Drew said, talking like a typical offensive player. “You want to get after people and you love it when the coach has confidence in the offense to go get it. I think it makes us more relaxed because we know we’re going to get that chance. You hear him say it a lot, ‘We’re in four-down territory now’ and that gets you thinking confidently.”

David Garrad keeps the ball

It helps a great deal that David Garrard never seems to give the ball to the other team.

Whether Del Rio’s aggressive approach remains in the postseason, where some coaches become even more conservative, remains to be seen. However, Del Rio earlier this season downplayed the notion that he has changed. He said it’s more about circumstance. For instance, Garrard has been exceptional this season in protecting the ball (only three interceptions), allowing Del Rio to gamble in other areas.

So, Jacksonville keep gambling and win a playoff game against Pittsburgh, a team they beat this year and last year?

Admit it, you don’t think so do you!

But Jack Del Rio has the 3 secrets to winning, so look out!

NFL Football Fan Question Will Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh?

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