The Jacksonville Jaguars are built around a stout defense and the power running of Leonard Fournette.
And as Fournette proved in 2017, how he rolls contributes significantly to the team's chances for success given the ground-and-pound mentality on offense as a complementary piece to the defense.
A hamstring injury, however, saw the second-year pro miss six games this season and the Jaguars' offense floundered, which placed stress on the defense.
When asked Thursday if he was where he wanted to be physically entering the season, Fournette indicated there could have been improvements.
"I could be in better shape," Fournette said, via the Jaguars' official website. "I'm fine, though."
The same sentiment can't be applied to the entire Jaguars team at this stage of the season, of course.
After entering the 2018 campaign with high hopes of returning to the postseason, the team is stumbling through a disastrous 4-10 season that's seen the benching of quarterback Blake Bortles and the firing of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Fournette also hasn't displayed the explosion of his rookie season, where he totaled 1,040 yards rushing and nine touchdowns, which included a 90-yard run, on 268 carries in 13 games.
In seven games this season, Fournette has 396 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 115 carries, averaging 3.4 yards per carry, and he has yet to top 100 yards rushing in a single game.
Still, there won't be any looking ahead to the offseason on the part of Fournette and his teammates despite the dismal 2018 season. They want to finish on a high note, starting with Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins.
"At the end of day, man, just keep fighting," Fournette said. "No matter what the circumstances are, keep battling. This has been a tough season for us as a whole, even for the fans and everybody else ... just showing that willpower, keep fighting."
