For several years the Jaguars were the worst at getting to the QB in the NFL. Not true this season as they are in 3rd place in the NFL with a total of 33 sacks for the team.
Unlike the 1st place team with sacks (The Bills) which is due to two main players (DE Mario Williams 12 & his DT Marcell Darius with 10 sacks)
the Jaguars have been getting equal pressure from several different players on a rotating line;
16th Ranked DE Chris Clemons with 7 sacks and two forced fumbles
27th Ranked DE Ryan Davis with 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles & 1 Fumble recovery
32nd Rankded DT Sen'Derrick Marks with 5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery
81st Ranked DE Andre Branch with 3 sacks 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery
114th Ranked DE Arby Jones with 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble
114th Ranked MLB Paul Posluszny with 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery
114th Ranked OLB Telvin Smith with 2 sacks, 1 int, 4pds, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoverys **
162nd ranked DE Chris Smith with 1.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble
182nd ranked CB Will Blackmon with 1 sack and 1 forced fumble
182nd Ranked DE Big Red Bryant with 1 sack and 1 forced fumble
The team is very good at stopping the run too except a few runs which got past the line and the DBs couldnt stop which hindered the stats.
Yet the team is ranked 27th overall against the Pass in the NFL. I think it shows how truly bad the DBs have been this year. It is true that they've been plagued with injuries to key players, but even from the start of the season the DBs have played poorly.
In fact the team ranks 28th in the league in INTs with only 5 which is remarkable considering how often teams have thrown against the Jaguars!
All opposing teams QBs (even backups) perform great against this VERY weak DB core...
averaging almost a 100 QB rating per game.
The team has a defensive minded Head Coach (Guru) how will he address the team's huge weakness (at DB)? Will Dave Caldwell use his high first round pick on a CB or Safety?
They are getting sacks, which is good. If the offense was any good and the defense wasn't on the field so much, they could probably have more consistent pressure.
Quote:They are getting sacks, which is good. If the offense was any good and the defense wasn't on the field so much, they could probably have more consistent pressure.
^This. The defense has been pretty good since the first couple weeks except for a few big plays a game in the second half. Which would feel as bad if the offense was doing more
Yea the DBs are bad. The only good one we have is McCray. TMD was right. lol.
The biggest problem the #31 ranked Offense posses to the Defense is that they have -10 TurnOver Ratio (despite causing tons of fumbles on defense from the Dline)!
Quote:They are getting sacks, which is good. If the offense was any good and the defense wasn't on the field so much, they could probably have more consistent pressure.
This is a huge issue. Certainly the secondary could be better but what I'm seeing is two things.
1. Is the linebacker play hasn't been good. The safety play needs to be better too. But I believe the better players in our secondary have been trying to help out in spots they shouldn't and its creating breakdowns in coverage and big plays.
The linebackers up to this point haven't been able to stop any passes. 3rd and long? Throw to the middle... 1st down.
2. Is what you said...the defense often times plays well enough and holds the opposition, but they're on the field way too often. The more they're on the field the worse everyone is going to look. When you don't have the depth and players start to get gassed it really shows.
Quote:Yea the DBs are bad. The only good one we have is McCray. TMD was right. lol.
I don't agree. I don't think gratz took the next step that a lot (including myself) thought he would, but if we had a competent offense and cut down the amount the defense is on the field, gratz would look a lot better. As colvin comes along we could see gratz thrive at the nickel spot.
You mean hide Gratz? If he were really good he wouldn't keep getting exposed so much. Being on the field a lot is no excuse for a DB. They don't get tired like the front line, or shouldn't at least.
i agree that the LB group has been bad for the year as well. Only real standout player is Telvin, and I guess JT Thomas has flashed too.
Quote:You mean hide Gratz? If he were really good he wouldn't keep getting exposed so much. Being on the field a lot is no excuse for a DB. They don't get tired like the front line, or shouldn't at least.
i agree that the LB group has been bad for the year as well. Only real standout player is Telvin, and I guess JT Thomas has flashed too.
No I don't mean hide him. Corner in the NFL today is a ridiculously hard job. The wr always has the advantage. Doesn't matter who you have out there. The more they're in the field the more of a chance you'll see plays made on them.
McCray rarely gets plays made on him no matter how much he's out there. Because he's good.
I hate to be a downer here, but that's all they are doing. We get torched every week. We cannot hold someone under 20 points to save our lives. That's awesome we can finally get sacks, but it does nothing for stopping the opponent on 3rd down and scoring. I don't know what's up with this either. If someone told us this 4 years ago, we'd think we were a top 5 defense.
I'm just sick of this team being good at one thing. They need to get coached up and be good at all phases. Special teams has been a complete nightmare...
I agree CSO14 the Special Teams Coach Mike Mallory should be fired for the poor ST performance. I mean he has ProBowl type talent with Anger & Scobee yet we see all these blocked punts & blocked FGs....
so many different mistakes primarily from either being confused of the plays or bad coaching.
The DBs have played horrible all season long, hence the constant change at FS from Martin to Evans back and forth...
cuts and rehires.. a lot of that blame can fall on Gus & Dave Caldewll.... at the DB level.
I just read this link
http://espn.go.com/blog/jacksonville-jag...api_public
which shows the ESPN writer Michael DiRocco feels that Jaguars offense & the turnovers they allow are the reason the Jaguars are so bad.
CB Aaron Colvin could be the answer at CB if he remains healthy and is able to learn fast in these few weeks going into next season.
McCray might be okay on the other end if he continues to improve..
Josh Evans has to go... he's a good back up for depth not good enough to start at FS.
Quote:I hate to be a downer here, but that's all they are doing. We get torched every week. We cannot hold someone under 20 points to save our lives. That's awesome we can finally get sacks, but it does nothing for stopping the opponent on 3rd down and scoring. I don't know what's up with this either. If someone told us this 4 years ago, we'd think we were a top 5 defense.
I'm just sick of this team being good at one thing. They need to get coached up and be good at all phases. Special teams has been a complete nightmare...
The defense actually held four straight opponents under 20 points. But because the offense was so putrid and because of the pick 6's, they only went 1-3.
Regardless on how good we've been getting to the QB this year, we still lack an elite pass rusher that is so important in today's game. We also lack youth at that position.
If we're picking in the top 2 and can't trade down, an edge rusher might be the only position that offers value. Very rarely does a DB go in the top 5
D-line is playing great. Too bad our O-line gives up more sacks than our defense gets. We might actually have an offense if our QB wasn't on his back half the game or had more than 2 seconds to throw something other than 5 yard slants and screen passes.
Quote:Regardless on how good we've been getting to the QB this year, we still lack an elite pass rusher that is so important in today's game. We also lack youth at that position.
If we're picking in the top 2 and can't trade down, an edge rusher might be the only position that offers value. Very rarely does a DB go in the top 5
And looking at the draft, it is looking that way. Most drafts have Leonard Williams and Randy Gregory going 1-2 in some order. And Shane Ray is mentioned as a potential top 5 pick too.
That happens when you have poor DB and LB play.
I agree that LB play hasnt been great but they are at least average. I think Hayes will get better this weak after all this time practing at strong, and Telvin too at weak.
I think the biggest concern is FS Josh Evans and CB Gratz. They are the weakest links!
Quote:D-line is playing great. Too bad our O-line gives up more sacks than our defense gets. We might actually have an offense if our QB wasn't on his back half the game or had more than 2 seconds to throw something other than 5 yard slants and screen passes.
The turnovers are ridiculous from Blake throwing dumb passes due to pressure from the Oline wiffing and poor play calling to D-rob/shoelace fumbling all the time. If the offense could just get more time of possesion and less turnovers the Defense could keep this team in it until the end.