Fulfilling great expectations requires great accountability. That's why Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith is already speaking out in camp.
"With the players that we have I just think as a team we should be further than we are," Smith said, via ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "As players, we've got to do our part in the sense of it's not scheme, none of that. It's what do we want? What's our mentality going to be?
"The mindset of this team, things that we should be using to beat opponents are still beating us."
Perhaps this is evidence of the more hard-nosed Tom Coughlin-Doug Marrone era taking shape. The team tried desperately to inject a new, more urgent attitude in its players this offseason and having one of the teams' better defensive players call out the rest of the unit is at least... something.
While the offense and quarterback Blake Bortles have embodied the team's struggles over the past year, this defense is now talented enough on paper to carry gargantuan expectations of its own. The club has a top-three pick in Dante Fowler and bolstered its defensive line with veteran Calais Campbell. They have a top-five pick in Jalen Ramsey at cornerback along with this year's free-agent prize cornerback A.J. Bouye.
While depth might not be Jacksonville's strong suit yet, this is a collection of Pro Bowlers or soon-to-be Pro Bowlers. Smith thinks they should start practicing as such.
