Will The National Media Let Gardner Minshew Play Football?
Will the national media allow Gardner Minshew prove he is the right quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars or is the narrative already written on a failed system that will allow the downtrodden NFL franchise select savior Trevor Lawrence with the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft?
So much has already been written since February about the Jaguars – the limited good, the struggling ugly and the immense awful – of a franchise “tanking” to make sure it acquires more draft capital. After watching three key players leave this past week and general manager David Caldwell tell the local media he likes the roster and thinks the team will remain competitive this coming season, the words “worry” and “scary” come to mind immediately.
Everything, however, rides on the arm (and mobility) of No. 15.
There will not be a more scrutinized quarterback in the NFL this season than Minshew, who is being asked to prove everyone wrong about his capability to lead a football team on the field and win games, against the odds of a football nation that wants him to succeed but does not believe in the black and teal he wears on his jersey.
The Jaguars aren’t void of talent, with DJ Chark and an underrated wide receiver room at his disposal. The running backs are pedestrian at best. The offensive line should be better. And as has been talked about so many times this offseason, Jay Gruden might be the best acquisition the team made to help the future of this franchise.
For a player who was a sixth-round draft pick and outplayed other rookie quarterbacks in the league last season, Minshew deserves more respect and attention for the greater good. There is no lack of confidence. His teammates in the locker room rally around him. Minshew is still the right quarterback for this organization. Part Brett Favre, part Mark Brunell and part everything that is special about a rage to riches story.
The national pundits still seem to want to crush the dream, the idea another sixth-round draft other than the one playing football in Tampa Bay can win football games – potentially Super Bowls.
The Jaguars play football in less than a week, have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL and should play with a chip on their shoulders. No one should have a bigger chip than Minshew, who was declared the starter from Day 1 of camp.
All I can say is believe the hype. Listen to the confidence and don’t bet against someone who has found a way to win all his young career.
If the Jaguars are as horrendous as some predict, this will become a different topic within the first half of 2020. The coaching staff will change in January. The front office will also adapt to change. The Jaguars will preach about draft capital and the continuation of building another new culture. But for now, it is Minshew who must use big shoulders to care the burden of change.
He has proven he can do it before and showed he is more than ready to do it in North Florida. The local media will give him the change to prove he is just as good or better than he was last season. Will the national media allow him to do it and when he does, will it admit it was wrong?
Minshew might not care about an apology. All he wants to do, as the leader of this franchise, is win football games.
