"This above all," Shakespeare once wrote, "to thine own self be true."
Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio came to that realization. After watching film of his team's first two games, he understood why they were 0-2. They were not playing the game the way they were meant to play it. They had strayed from the philosophy that was so successful for them last season. They were throwing the football instead of running it.
In the first two games, the Jaguars had more passes (63) than rushing attempts (44). It was hard to believe this was the same team that slugged its way to the divisional playoff round last season with a game plan that was more sledgehammer than science. If the Jaguars were to recover and climb back into the AFC race, they would have to be true to thine own selves -- or something like that.
OK, so this is NFL Game of the Week and not Hamlet, but the same principal applies. When the Jaguars went to Indianapolis on Sunday, they knew they had to get back to pounding the football. It would accomplish two things: First, it would take the pressure off their quarterback David Garrard and, second, it would keep the Colts offense and Peyton Manning off the field.
History was on their side. The Colts were without All-Pro safety Bob Sanders and their run defense isn't the same without him. In 2006, the Jaguars met the Colts while Sanders was sidelined with an injury and the Jags rushed for a club-record 375 yards in a 44-17 victory. On Sunday, the Jaguars brought the same playbook to Lucas Oil Stadium and it carried them to a thrilling 23-21 win.
Fred Taylor had 26 rushing attempts for 121 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew had 19 rushing attempts for 107 yards. After averaging just 65 yards on the ground in their losses to Tennessee and Buffalo, the Jaguars had 236 yards on Sunday. They ran 44 second half plays to the Colts' 17. They had the longest drive in team history in terms of elapsed time -- 12 minutes, 18 seconds -- when they marched 82 yards on 18 plays in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, Garrard completed four passes and all four were screens to Jones-Drew, who gained 59 yards, an average of almost 15 yards per reception. It was Jaguar football: not flashy, not pretty, but good enough to win a key divisional game on the road. Josh Scobee won it with a clutch 51-yard field goal in the closing seconds, but Jacksonville's punishing ball-control offense made it possible.
In a league where most teams are throwing the ball all over the place and 4,000 yard passers are common, the Jaguars -- when they are playing like the Jaguars -- seem like a team out of the past. You almost expect to see them playing in leather helmets and high top shoes. But what they proved last season and hope to prove again in 2008 is that the good old-fashioned running game never goes out of style.
Following Sunday's win, Jones Drew said, "We took our opportunities and ran with them."
Ran ... and ran ... and ran ...
Award-winning sportswriter Ray Didinger is a senior producer for NFL Films.
