Jaguars counting on better West Coast trip

By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.(AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars’ last trip to
the West Coast was a debacle.

Defensive end Quentin Groves caused a three-car accident on his
way to the airport, missed the charter flight and got fined by
coach Jack Del Rio. Receiver Mike Sims-Walker missed curfew
before the game, got benched and fined. Things got worse when
the Jaguars took the field.

The Seahawks picked apart Jacksonville’s secondary, sacked David
Garrard five times and handed the Jaguars their most lopsided
loss (41-0) in Del Rio’s seven seasons. Seven weeks later, the
Jaguars (6-4) are preparing for another cross-country trip and
looking for better results at San Francisco.

“Everybody makes mistakes,” running back Maurice Jones-Drew said
Wednesday. “We learn from our mistakes and hopefully we change
it this week.”

The shutout in Seattle may have been a turning point for
Jacksonville.

Jones-Drew ripped the team three days later, questioning
play-calling, personnel decisions and the team’s offensive
identity. The Jaguars responded by winning four of their last
five games.

Although they eked out wins against St. Louis, Kansas City, the
New York Jets and Buffalo – four teams outside the playoff
picture that have 11 victories between them – the stretch
boosted the confidence of a young group trying to find some
consistency.

But veteran receiver Torry Holt won’t let his teammates get too
cocky.

“If we don’t go out there and handle our business and play the
way we’re capable of playing, we can get our butts spanked,”
Holt said. “If we go out and play well and handle our business
and execute, they can get their butts spanked. It can go either
way.”

Del Rio opened Wednesday’s team meeting talking about the need
to travel better this time around. He didn’t alter the itinerary
from the Seattle trip, though. Players and coaches are again
leaving Friday, a day earlier than usual, because of the long
flight and three-hour time change.

Sims-Walker declined to revisit what happened in Seattle, saying
only, “Lesson learned. That’s over and done. We’re moving on.”

Groves, meanwhile, poked fun at himself.

“I’m getting a driver,” he said.

Rushing to get to the airport on time, Groves was issued a
warning citation for an improper lane change after his Cadillac
Escalade started a three-car wreck. The crash did an estimated
$28,000 in damage, sent one driver to the hospital with minor
injuries, and raised questions about whether Groves tried to
leave the scene and was given preferential treatment by airport
police.

Del Rio certainly didn’t give him a break. Groves had to buy his
own flight to Seattle and was fined about $7,500.

“You don’t get a chance to pay that in installments,” Groves
said. “Oh no, they take that right on out. No installments. We
want ours now. We want all that now.”

How did he break the news to his wife?

“I said, ‘Baby, I got fined.’ She said, ‘How much?’ and I slept
on the couch that night,” Groves said.

Garrard said what happened before the game had no bearing on the
field. He pointed to poor execution as the primary problem.

Nonetheless, that didn’t stop him from taking a shot at his
teammates.

“We might (get Groves) one of those little DMV cars that says
‘Student Driver’ or ’First-Time Driver,”’ Garrard said. “We just
need to be better. Overall, everybody make sure they’re in their
rooms and that kind of stuff. I believe we’ve learned from last
time.”

The best Jaguars newsletter on the web