Moeller: What Can Grant Udinski Do For an Offensive Encore?

-


By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire

JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsnews.com) -When he took over as offensive coordinator last season, Grant Udinski had plenty of pressure on him.

Udinski was part of the new regime under GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen. He had the challenge to take the team to the next level after predecessor Press Taylor failed in his attempt the previous three seasons.

But this was a new beginning for Udinski.

He previously had served  as assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach  for Minnesota during the  previous three seasons, and was an assistant coach for four previous seasons. 

There were plenty of questions surrounding the 29-year-old on whether he was ready for the job. 

He certainly had the deck stacked against him.  

Udinski inherited an offense that was derailed due to Trevor Lawrence’s early season-ending injury, and the Jags never got on track with a 4-13 overall slate. Prior to that season, they produced a pair of 9-8 seasons.

The slate was wiped clean with the ousting of head coach Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke.

Udinski was fortunate to have main chips Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and Brian Thomas Jr. in place, and Gladstone added Jakobi Meyers. Top-pick Travis Hunter was gone after seven games, but he showed enough flash. 

The arsenal was full.

There was plenty of speculation on whether this was Udinski making all the calls, or if it was a joint effort with Coen, or if Coen made all the calls.

Whatever the case, the Jags’ offense produced.

They were 11th in total yards per game (337.4), 12th in passing (222.3), and 20th in rushing (115.1).

They also ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in points per game (27.9 - sixth), scoring margin (+138 - fourth), first downs (356 – seventh) and total touchdowns (55 – fifth). The team's 474 points scored, 55 touchdowns and 356 first downs also established new franchise records.

The 4-13 did a complete reverse to  13-4. On the other side of the ball, Anthony Campanile gained high marks across the league, but Udinski should have been mentioned in the same breath.

Yet, both did receive interviews for head coaching vacancies.

Udinski will call plays for the Jags’ three preseason games beginning in New Orleans Saturday. 

He recently has liked what he has seen from some of his main weapons from last year along with running backs LeQuint Allen and Chris Rodriguez, wide receiver CJ Williams and Josh Cameron, and tight ends Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol. 

Unfortunately in football, though, honeymoon periods don’t last long. Coming off his banner year , Udinski will be expected to produce another record-setting year.

And, this time around, he is following in his own shadow.

The encore awaits.

Popular posts from this blog

DAYTONA 500: Byron uses instincts, luck to steer to improbable victory

-
Image
Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images) William Byron celebrates Sunday's Daytona on Victory Lane By Don Coble   DAYTONA BEACH – William Byron’s race-winning move started when the field stormed off the second turn on the final lap of the rain-delayed Daytona 500 Sunday night. As the leaders frantically jockeyed for position on the backstretch, the cars on the inside lane seemed the most out of control. He went for broke by moving next to the outside wall at the Daytona International Speedway. “I just trusted my instincts,” Byron said after becoming the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Denny Hamlin won in 2019-20. “I was getting in the third lane, regardless, because I was probably sixth coming out back.” As he expected, the inside turned into a high-speed game of bumper cars along the backstretch. Although cars were crashing and sliding in every direction, his Chevrolet darted through the carnage unscathed in an improbable rally that took him from ninth place to Victory Lane...
Read more

Golf: Remembering Kathy Whitworth, the Game’s Greatest Winner

-
Image
  The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth yesterday. Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off. In the short time I spent with Kathy, I was truly blown away by her and her approach to the game and to life. Her strength, insightfulness and vibrancy were obvious from the minute you met her! She inspired me as a young girl and now as the commissioner and I know she did the same for so many others. We all mourn with Bettye, her family and the entire golf world.” – LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan (From the LPGA) By Ron Sirak The dining room at Trophy Club Country Club near Flower Mound, Texas, gazes upon the rolling hills and old oak trees through which two courses meander, one named for the club’s most famous member, Kathy Whitworth, the other the lone design by the icon of Texas golf, Ben Hogan. Inside the dining room the wall opposite the windows appears at fi...
Read more

ReliaQuest Bowl Goes to LSU Tigers over Wisconsin Badgers, 35-31

-
Image
(Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)   TAMPA (Florida Sports Wire) - Garrett Nussmeier showed why LSU is confident he's capable of thriving as Jayden Daniels' successor. The 13th-ranked Tigers (10-3) launched the team's post-Daniels era with a 35-31, come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, with a calm Nussmeier leading a 98-yard drive to produce the winning touchdown in the closing minutes. "You do what you have to do to win the football game. It doesn't matter if you start from the 1, the 2 ... you just stick to the process play-by-play, move the chains, move the chains and put the ball in the end zone," the third-year sophomore said. "That doesn't just speak to me, it speaks to our entire group," Nussmeier added. "You can't do it by yourself. And to go 98 yards with the game on the line, that means a lot to me. To be the leader of the offense, that matters more." Stepping in to make his f...
Read more