How Have Jacksonville Jaguars Addressed Biggest Weaknesses from 2014?

The Jacksonville Jaguars' 2014 season can best be described as patient, promising and rough. A 3-13 record is hard to look at positively, but it was an important year for a lot of reasons, and there were some good things to take away from it.

Rookie quarterback Blake Bortles showed signs of improvement, the defensive line was efficient and hard-hitting, and young players like Telvin Smith and Brandon Linder excelled in their rookie seasons.

Despite the good, it was still a 3-13 season. The Jaguars struggled, and at times, the games became hard to watch. The Jaguars just had too many holes to really hang with the competition.

There were three major reasons the Jaguars had such an abysmal record:

1. Bortles was not properly set up.
2. The defense was on the field too much.
3. The secondary didn't boast anywhere near the talent level or depth that it needed.

Addressing the first reason, it became quickly obvious that the team wanted to start Bortles as late as possible or not at all. The Jaguars made statements saying that they hoped to sit him, but not everyone took that at face value.

However, it must've been true because Bortles performed as one might expect a rookie to, and there was no one to help him.

Save for running back Denard Robinson finding his way, Bortles couldn't rely on anyone to make plays.

That's changed with free-agent signing Julius Thomas, second-round selection T.J. Yeldon and new offensive coordinator Greg Olson. The offense is morphing to fit Bortles' strengths, and with two new weapons, it ought to work well.

Yeldon is a back who can play in any situation, and Thomas is a touchdown machine who is nearly impossible to defend. With a back he can count on for any situation—including catching out of the backfield—and a proven top NFL talent at tight end, Bortles ought to be in much better shape this season.

Watch Yeldon's college highlights to see exactly what he has to offer in 2015:

On defense, Jacksonville never seemed to have a breather or the ability to get off the field. This is due mostly to the poor play-calling of former offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch and reason No. 3.

Olson is planning for an offense that isn't afraid to run the ball at any time and it's fair to expect Bortles to throw much less in 2015, somewhere around 20-25 times a game. Instead of screens and trick plays, Olson has plans to at least work up the field and take a chunk of time while doing it.

The defense was the better of the Jaguars' two sides in 2014, but the plentiful and speedy three-and-outs didn't give it much a breather.

By the end of each game, it was gassed. That will hopefully change with the switch to Olson.

Finally, the secondary was not able to handle most NFL offenses. The NFL is more pass-heavy than it ever has been, and the secondary was simply not good enough to handle the NFL passing game.

This was a big contributor to the defense's inability to get off the field, and when teams can be bailed out of a 3rd-and-13 by throwing at the corners, there's an issue.

The problem here is that the secondary hasn't been fully fixed, which means that reason No. 2 hasn't been properly addressed either. The free-agent signings of Sergio Brown and Davon House are useful upgrades, but the Jaguars don't have an electric secondary by any means.

House will be consistent and a solid corner, but he's not a game-changer.

The rest of the young secondary lacks the punch or quickness you see in franchises like the Arizona Cardinals. Guys like Antonio Cromartie and Brandon Browner were available for not much more than the Jaguars paid for House.

Fourth-round selection James Sample will back Brown at the free safety position, but his transition from his more natural strong safety role will take some time. Between the two, free safety is in a much better place than it was in 2014, but it's still not a position of strength.

As ESPN's Michael DiRocco tweets, Brown will be the starter, but the Jaguars could've gotten much better talent instead:

Devin McCourty and Rahim Moore are both starter-level guys who hit the market. The Jaguars either lost out on them or didn't feel the need for them, signing Brown with the intention of getting another FS in the draft.

The secondary and team as a whole have improved drastically from 2014, but there are still some issues. The Jaguars aren't far from where they want to be, but they're at least a year away.

It's hard to think about next offseason, but head coach Gus Bradley and general manager Dave Caldwell have to plan for it. Do what you can with this season and progress the young talent, but it's important to get top talent in the secondary in 2016.

Which reason do you most think was responsible for 2014's struggles? Answer the poll and post in the comments if you think there's another major reason!

All stats were provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.

Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter at @evanreier.