The Sports Xchange

JACKSONVILLE — With the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1-5 and facing the prospect of another season slipping away, head coach Gus Bradley talked about the importance of what he called the “accountability factor” at his Monday press conference.

“To me, accountability is changing someone’s behavior,” he said. “If putting the hammer (down) changes someone’s behavior, then put the hammer down. Ultimately, what we’re after is changing behavior or changing the way (a player performs) if a person is doing the wrong procedure. Let’s change it. However that needs to be done. I think we would all agree on that.”

He was somewhat vague on how he was doing to do that. They play only two more games before the season is half over so it’s getting late to change behavior.

“You have to understand your players and know what they’re about,” Bradley said.

He said if he told linebacker Paul Posluszny he was going to fine him $5, “he would straighten up.”

He said if he told another player that, he might not.

“Everybody is different, so you have to find out what they value and what’s important to them and hopefully, it’s this team,” he said. “I’m sure it is. There are other things personally that you can use. When you find out what they value, it’s easier for accountability to take effect.”

He said he wasn’t worried about players not hearing his message.

“I hear them talking about believing in each other, believing in the progress, believing in the future and what it brings and what we can do,” he said. “When I hear them talk like that, I have no concern about that,” he said.

About getting accountability, he said the important thing is what takes place in the meeting rooms.

“I would say they sense it,” he said. “They understand it and they understand the responsibility and I’ll just leave it at that.”

Veteran defensive lineman Sen’Derrick Marks said, “We’ve all got to be accountable from the top to the bottom. Will that make you win games? Who knows. It’s a start until we get on the right track.”

–Bradley said 90 percent of the players compete all out on every play but a few don’t.

He said those players will “have a let-up or lose their focus for a period of time.”

“That comes back and hits you,” he said. “You can’t do that, you can’t do that in the NFL. In the secondary, if a guy gets behind you, there is no excuse. If you lose your eyes, there’s no excuse. You have to be able to do those things. That’s part of being in the league. It’s playing that complete game.”

On fixing the problem, he said, “It is a challenge. I think that you look at it and as a coach we have to help him through that. We have to get him to understand. I think players must take responsibility. Everybody is involved in that.”

He said if one of the 11 guys doesn’t do his job, “it shows up.” He said it shows up if a holding call forces a team into third-and-long. He said it shows up if one player doesn’t play tight coverage.

“If it is a repeated action, then what is accountability? If they repeat it and they continue to play and go out there and play, what takes place? That’s the decisions we have to make this week,” he said.

Marks said having some players not doing their job is a problem for all teams, but particularly for the Jaguars.

“You see on the film you see a lot of teams where a couple of guys aren’t going as hard,” Marks said. “For us, we can’t play that way. The way our defense is set up, everything is tied in together. Some teams play strictly man-to-man. In our scheme, you can’t do that. Everybody has to work together.”

–The Jaguars and Bills both lost Sunday before their matchup in London Sunday, so teams are 6-18 against the spread the week before playing in London.

The Jaguars, who were favored for only the second time in the last four years against Houston, are back to being underdogs against the 3-3 Bills, who are a four-point choice.

The Bills are favored even though they are dealing with a rash of injuries and had to play EJ Manuel at quarterback against the Bengals because Tyrod Taylor was injured. On top of the injuries, some of the defensive players are complaining about using a 3-4 scheme after using a 4-3 scheme last year. And general manager Doug Whaley has been getting flak from the members of the Buffalo media for trading Matt Cassel to Dallas.

The Jaguars spent a week in London the past two years and were routed by the 49ers and Cowboys so they thought they’d try a different schedule this time.

One of the Jaguars, Dan Skuta, played for the 49ers in their 42-10 victory over the Jaguars in London in 2013.

Skuta said he had 10 tackles in the game and also picked up a Marcedes Lewis fumble and went 47 yards for a touchdown.

Skuta said the 49ers spent a week in London because they played the Titans in Nashville the week before.

“I had a good time,” Skuta said. “It’s good to have a little time to explore and check the city out and embrace the atmosphere.”

Since he’s already had the week-long experience, Skuta said it doesn’t bother him that the Jaguars are only going for the weekend.