Jacksonville Jaguars Season Thread

VirginiaCavs

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Got Sunday Ticket streaming thanks to HeHateMe's post so i'm pumped to watch some Jaguars football without click-bait advertisements flooding my computer screen!


Nick Foles has been declared as 'the' answer to Jacksonville's struggle to make its first ever Super Bowl. While he's obviously an upgrade over Bortles in terms of passing, leadership, everything but scrambling, and while it's cool that he gets reunited with John DeFilippo (the two won a Super Bowl together in 2017, beating New England...btw the Jags sure like to get a lot of pieces that have beaten New England, former Giants coach Tom Coughlin being one --and obviously he has a long connection to the team ) I think a lot of Jags fans are really exaggerating.

Foles can be as good as he wants, but he'll need receivers who can get open and consistently catch the ball. Jacksonville's receiving crew ranked second-highest in drop rate last year. So how is that Bortles' fault? Exactly. Bortles is just one more scapegoat that Marrone is using to save his own ass. First it was Hackett, then Bortles....Doug, pray that it won't be your turn next.

DeDe Westbrook is a pristine route runner, he really is. But he contributed to the drop problem. Keelan Cole, who's built an impressive highlight reel, is part of the problem. Marqise Lee is not part of the problem, but only because he can't see the field. He missed all of last year to injury and is struggling again with injury. The Jags drafted Josh Oliver. I assume they would have drafted a tight end earlier if Josh Allen and Jawaan Taylor both didn't fall well below their expected spots. The San Jose State product is known for his vertical abilities but is useless as a blocker. He's there to add some more hands for Foles to throw to. He's not exactly Zach Ertz, though.

The offensive line is a mix of subpar or unproven talent (on the right side) and guys struggling to rehab and stay healthy after long periods of injury (the left side). It is a fragile group that could look even worse (relative to its ability to stay healthy) without a scrambler in Bortles to bail out of the pocket.

Fournette, I must say, is somebody i'm excited about. He had some attitude issues last year and, from what i've read, he seems to have had some kind of Rocky moment, training in Wyoming during the summer and shedding 20 pounds. He'll be the focal point of the offense because we're currently in 1971 (approximately...). He's never had a high YPC -- even in 2017 -- but how could he when he was constantly dealing with eight men in the box? The attention that he drew allowed Bortles to do anything, it was huge for play-action and otherwise scoring 45 points against Pittsburgh. And i'm all the more excited about the dynamic he brings to this year's offense led by a superior passer.

Regarding the defense, i'm thrilled about Josh Allen. I saw him play against Miami and the explosiveness and general playmaking ability that he brought was momentous, even game-changing. It was Miami. But I think he has the skill set and physical prowess (raw speed and strength) to be a rookie DOY candidate. Obviously he has some great mentors, probably the best guy by PFF numbers off the edge in Calais Campbell being one veteran who has surely given him some sound tips.

The defensive line suffered a huge drop in sacks last year. But it ranked fourth in pressure rate and stands to improve on that with Allen. The defensive line was still its usual dominant self. The difference was that the Jags were falling behind in games allowing offenses to be more balanced. In 2017, the Jags went ahead more often and would know to expect the opponent to pass, which made the d-line's job much easier. Which in turn helped the secondary more. And both made way more turnovers and other game-changing plays that were sorely missed in 2018. The interior does lose Malik Jackson. But Marcell Dareus has always been a solid run stuffer, making a big impact on the overall run D. If Taven Bryan has to be relied on much, God help us, this guy has bust written all over him. The Jags liked his athletic ability and physical measurements, but that's literally all he gives.

The rest of the Jags' defense could take a step back in quality, though. Telvin Smith taking a year off was unfortunate as, outside of Myles Jack -- who's reliable with his sideline-to-sldeline pursuit and, as a former safety, his bright spots in coverage -- there's little to know about. In the secondary, Jalen Ramsey and AJ Buoye are still two top-notch corners. Both ranked top-20 last year in opposing passer rating. But both starting safeties (Ronnie Harrison + Jarrod Wilson) have combined 10 NFL starts and, for better or for worse, the Jags decided to sink or swim with them

One thing I hope for this D to improve on is against mobile quarterbacks -- Mahomes, Prescott, even Josh Johnson (lol) frustrated the D in this regard. I can only imagine the Jags used their offseason to offset this issue, so I won't expect any continuity here, but i'll watch for it.

So for all the hope placed on this defense, the pass rush (defensive ends) Jack and corners are known quantities, while the rest of the linebackers and the safeties are question marks.

Mentally, this team had issues with effort last year. It was a cocky, trash-talking team (looking at you, Jalen) that hates losing and had to learn some humility. Hopefully it will be better for that experience and I trust in Foles to have a positive effect in the locker room.

A note on Bryan...he represents a ridiculously long string of bad, senseless, stupid draft choices made by the Jags' Front Office. Bad draft picks are a big reason why this team lacks depth. Preseason is only preseason but it still isn't supposed to go that bad! If Foles gets injured, the team is done. Hopefully the Jags get much better luck in injuries last year.

So really: the offense needs to control TOP, move the ball, and give its defense the lead more often so that the pass rush (an unrelenting strength of this team with its menace of defensive ends) can get to work.
 
Josh Allen was a great pick. Really wanted the Jets to pick him over Quinnen. The Jags should be pretty good but I always question the ultimate upside of teams with questionable offenses as well as conservative minded head coaches like Marrone who I am not a fan of at all.
 
They did Marrone kind of dirty on scheduling (and the Titans for that matter). Both Titans and Jags have division opponents W2 and then have to get their shit together and play each other 4 days later on Thursday Night Football week 3. That's a hell of a look ahead and I wonder if it'll even factor into this week's games.

It won't be Vrabel's first look at a short turnaround either, as he hosted the Jaguars (+5.5) last season on Thursday night and kicked the shit out of them 30-9. Vrabel also coached three other games on shortened weeks last season (5 days rest) and won all three of them. So as HC he is 4-0 on short weeks. However, W3 will be the first time Vrabel's team has had to travel on a short week. So that's an unknown (in an already small sample size).

*also something I noticed is that Marrone's games later in the day have gone over the total, fwiw.. also road teams in W3 Thursday night football 0-5 ATS L5 (again, fwiw)..
 
This team is so undisciplined. When it cant dominate opponents it throws fists instead — just like Fournette did last year vs Buffalo
 
The missed tackles were disgusting. Clueless and incompetent young outside linebackers and safeties. Cause we paid so much for Foles we‘re worse off at so many positions and still lack talent as wide receiver so Foles couldn‘t have mattered so much anyways. But Chiefs offense also quite the test for any defense really. Don‘t want to overreact, though many of the things I saw were just plain objectively bad. This def isn‘t the 2000 Ravens thats obvious. I really don‘t have faith in coaches to instil discipline
 
This o-line is criminally bad. The pass pressure allowed and penalties are absolutely ridiculous. The rookie must have like four holds in two games so far?
 
The run defense has major problems, opposing o-lines get so much push. Its best antidote seems to be getting help from the secondary. The front seven sucks against the run. Especially against power backs.
 
Minshew is mediocrity embodied. Missed a couple throws due to pressure had a big one brought back due to a hold. I like Chark but nobody there to really help him. He sometimes holds on to the ball too long so hes fumbled three times. Lenny is also helpless behind this line, often nowhere to go
 
Ball was over the goal line! Refs were so clutch for Houston! The running into instead of rough the punter the incomplete pass called a catch by Hopkins leading to three points and now the ball over the goal-line! Home cooking!
 
Gotta say I like Chark, he has nice hands and Minshew seems to like him. DeDe saw him only a couple times and Conley feels in between, bad drop late tho.

Why run Fournette up the middle tho with Minshew hot game on the line and that having failed all day! That is truly truly some James Franklin shit in fact he did just that last year vs Ohio State! Moron and peanuthead would be friends!
 
Myles Jack got ejected for fighting and he was still captain today
Jalen Ramsey wasn't disciplined at all for flipping out on Marrone
Marrone is an idiot for not challenging that incomplete pass to Hopkins that was ruled complete.
The Jags are about the third-most penalized team since Marrone took over. 19 penalties so far in two weeks. The players don't respect him, they're not held accountable for their actions, Marrone doesn't instill any discipline into his players.
The play call by the two-point conversion was idiotic as runs up the middle hadn't worked all game and Minshew was red hot.

I think Marrone is a piece of trash whose days in Jacksonville are numbered. I saw Del Rio on ESPN the other day...I kinda remember that guy...


This team is also paying for some seriously stupid GM decisions like drafting this bust Fournette when Deshaun Watson was available and investing so heavily in Nick Foles when not even God could throw to our receivers and behind this o-line and with this bust of a running back ad do anything.
 
So I bet Houston today thinking Todd Wash would trot out his usual soft zone and Watson would pick it apart. I mean how the hell was I supposed to know that he'd actually game-plan in accordance with his secondary's skill set this time -- like he allowed Ramsey to play man, which is where he thrives.
 
Ramsey requested trade.


FUCK MARRAONE GET RID OF MARRONE. I don't want to lose Ramsey! He's so solid in man coverage, definitely an elite cover corner. FUCK MARRONE. Why would we keep this piece of shit bum of a head coach WHO CANT DO SHIT for the team either in-game or preparatory. FUCK THAT FAT FUCK!
 
Ramsey requested trade.


FUCK MARRAONE GET RID OF MARRONE. I don't want to lose Ramsey! He's so solid in man coverage, definitely an elite cover corner. FUCK MARRONE. Why would we keep this piece of shit bum of a head coach WHO CANT DO SHIT for the team either in-game or preparatory. FUCK THAT FAT FUCK!

While i agree w your moron sentiments I’m not all that sure I’d want Ramsey. There no question he has elite cover skills but his mouth writes checks his play doesn’t always back up and he strikes me as a fuckin headache.,
 
While i agree w your moron sentiments I’m not all that sure I’d want Ramsey. There no question he has elite cover skills but his mouth writes checks his play doesn’t always back up and he strikes me as a fuckin headache.,

He's played extremely well this season. KC wasn't his fault as well, he was a relative bright spot, and he did well against Hopkins, he was all over him.
 
He's played extremely well this season. KC wasn't his fault as well, he was a relative bright spot, and he did well against Hopkins, he was all over him.

He plays great a lot of the time, just don’t see him making a huge impact in their win total and don’t believe you should ever fire a coach for a player and empower him in a way there no taking back after that.
 
He plays great a lot of the time, just don’t see him making a huge impact in their win total and don’t believe you should ever fire a coach for a player and empower him in a way there no taking back after that.

Let's fire Marrone and not say it was bc of Jalen.
 
He’s only a problem when they are losing lol. I’d take him in a heartbeat, at least his issues are on the field and bc he wants to win. Can’t teach talent.

Exactly. Dude is filled with competitive fire. He's a trash talker but it's part of his swagger. Good defenders should talk some shit, strike some fear into their opponent. He's confident af and I love that.
 
Its just fucking absurd that we’d rather keep shit coaches like Wash and cut great players than find a good DC who suits his secondary‘s strengths and a competent head coach. Fuck Marrone and Wash. This is one bad franchise..going back to the constant losers we take early in the draft from oh so beloved University of Florida and the retarded cap-killing investments in Bortles‘ extension and Foles. Everything is so poorly run!
 
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Its just fucking absurd that we’d rather keep shit coaches like Wash and cut great players than find a good DC who suits his secondary‘s strengths and a competent head coach. Fuck Marrone and Wash. This is one bad franchise..going back to the constant losers we take early in the draft from oh so beloved University of Florida and the retarded cap-killing investments in Bortles‘ extension and Foles. Everything is so poorly run!

Well this season is about to get away from you. No way Marrone lasts thru this.
 
I loved the attitude from the team. Sacksonville was back and a big part of it was, like in 2017, playing with a lead. Calais Campbell looked as young as ever, Derrick Henry was good, but he was contained. Mariota did have a good deal of opportunities but was simply inaccurate. With a competent quarterback it's a close game (like with Houston). Jags are very vulnerable defending the middle of the field, fantasy players should play tight ends against them, especially as long as Jalen is still blanking the top receiver

Jags are one centimeter away from 2-1 and division lead...
 
Two first-half thoughts in Denver:

1) the offensive line continues to be trash. Piss-poor protection for Minshew and Fournette. Fournette's one good run came when he FINALLY got the tiniest hole made by the o-line.

The penalties are still a problem and they tend to come from the o-line. Three from LT Cam Robinson in the first half alone, one unnecessarily and avoidably negating what would have been a beautiful touchdown pass from Minshew to Shark.

2) Zone defense sucks, especially when the pass rush does nothing. What is up with this pass rush, one week amazing and the next nothing? I don't think it's so much inconsistency as playing with a lead. Jax has been behind the whole game and Denver is enjoying a balanced offense with tons of misdirection to negate Jax speed on defense. Flacco's INT was a gift but that Cam penalty prevented Jax from fully taking advantage, would have been 17-10 Denver going into halftime with Jax starting 2. half with possession
 
Keep up the ground game, those holes for Lenny have been huge for him and really decisive for the entire offense!
 
A taste of what Jacksonville O can look like when it actually creates these funny-looking gaps of space for Fournette...holes, I think you call them?
 
Jalen absence concerning as not only does Herndon suck, but he‘s even crappier with game on the line. Having a soft-coverage loving moron for a DC doesn‘t help. Wash should have stuck to his little league (figurative) coaching career.
 
Minshew isn’t spectacular but he makes plays. Fournette is the key. He runs like that jags get tough to beat, but more often than not he runs like he did last week. All the teams in the south are 2-2 and all have flaws. Division is up for grabs. Titans get Lewan back next week which should bolster the OL
 
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