The Jacksonville Jaguars will face the first test of their 2022 season on Sunday against the Washington Commanders, and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun has a good idea of what it’ll take to get their schedule started with a win. He spoke to reporters on Monday afternoon about how the team can put itself in a position to win before the game even kicks off, and about the attention to detail that will be necessary to emerge from the weekend victorious.
“We are definitely trying to get off to that fast start,” Oluokun explained. “Everything starts with practice today. I told them, win this practice today. You don’t win on Sunday, you win in your preparation, just making sure we’re doing everything right to be in the right positions and then being able to make those plays as the week goes on.
“Then we’ll have the confidence to do it in the game. [We are] definitely trying to get off to a fast start, keep our morale high going into the year. Week in, week out, always trying to win that game. If we come off a win, try to win that next game. We’ve got to be able to stack them. That’s how to be successful.”
His confidence in the team’s ability to take a step-by-step approach to playing winning football is well-founded after an offseason that saw the Jaguars acquire a tremendous amount of talented players. Oluokun was among the new faces that joined the team in free agency, and along with offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, receiver Christian Kirk, and defensive end Folorunsu Fatukasi, he looks to bring a new identity to Jacksonville in 2022.
It’ll take a herculean effort to get this team into the playoffs after posting the worst record in the league last season, but with some luck and the game plan laid out by Oluokun on Monday, they might be able to get pretty close.