The Jacksonville Jaguars have not had a lot of recent success to cling on to, but even with a 4-12 record in the 2013 season they had a lot more positives than they did before it started.
Owner Shahid Khan took over the Florida side ahead of the 2012 season with the intention of starting things from the bottom up. The big aim was to improve on a very underwhelming 2012 so there was plenty of encouragement.
With new general manager David Caldwell and a head coach with fresh ideas in Gus Bradley, the slow progress to turn the Jags from a laughing stock into a serious franchise began in earnest.
Here, Sport Mole takes a closer look at their 2013 season.
Pre-season expectations
For a team so used to losing in recent years, the expectations for 2013 were as low as could be possible. The first aim was to beat 2012's miserable 2-14 record and start to see improvement in a season of transition. A playoff spot was out of the question, but an improvement against divisional rivals as well as matches at home was paramount if the fans were to begin believing in Khan's project. The aim was to get the franchise running the correct way and not beyond its means, so with that in mind the Jags were not expecting to compete - at least yet - with the NFL's elite.
Highlight of the season
There was very little worth shouting about for the Jags in 2013 and possibly the worst of all was their offense. However, that said, the improvement that they showed after a poor start was encouraging. Blaine Gabbert, the 2012 quarterback, was benched for Chad Henne who, despite a sluggish start, showed a lot more in the second half of the season than Gabbert did in the entire previous one. He struck up an understanding with Cecil Shorts, which bodes well for next year.
Biggest disappointment
While the aim was to improve on 2012, even that was looking unlikely after eight games of the season. The Jaguars were absolutely woeful until their week nine bye, losing every one of their matches in the first half of the season. More than this in all but three of them they could not even muster more than 10 points. Perhaps the most disappointing of the lot was the clash at Wembley, the hometown of Khan's new project Fulham. They were torn apart 42-10 to leave plenty of work in the bye week.
Player of the season
There was really only one stand-out player for Jacksonville in 2013, and that was wide receiver Cecil Shorts. Some of his performances were huge in the second half of the season as the Jags won half of their final eight games to post a respectable total. He managed 777 yards from 66 receptions, which is modest, but it was vital for the Jags offense to show that they could at least score points.
Unsung hero
Justin Blackmon is unsung because he had quite a troubled season off the field, meaning he did not spend as much time as he could have done on it. He managed almost half the reception yards in a quarter of the starts he had in 2012, and fans of the Jaguars will be hoping that he can put his issues behind him. With Blackmon and Shorts and possibly a new QB there is promise for next season.
Off-season changes
Of all the franchises in the league, the most movement might well be expected from the Jaguars. They are around £30m under their salary cap and have the third Draft pick, which will mean a lot of players - or a few quality ones - coming in. Selling the club to new recruits might be tricky, but the good news is that with that third Draft pick they should be able to snaffle one of the big QB prospects - Teddy Bridgewater or Blake Bortles. The downside is that Maurice Jones-Drew - a star in recent years - looks to be on the way out.
2014 prospects
The long-term Jags project should be well in motion in 2014. The club will most likely have a number of big free agency signings coming in as well as some high Draft picks to improve the roster and with a good second half of the season there is a platform to build on. All it should take is the right signing in a few positions and suddenly Jacksonville might be looking to challenge for the top two in the AFC South.
Matt Domm
