Donovin Darius is on with Dempsey and Garrard on the Jags show on 1010XL, and he's talking about the fact that he's been mentoring for the Jaguars for the past couple of seasons, and specifically working with Cyprien and now Josh Evans.
He was asked about what he thought was the reason for the struggles this defense is having right now, particularly in pass coverage. He talked about the fact that it's not the coaching or the play calling that's really hurting these players. He said it's the fact that you've got so much youth on the team, particularly in the secondary, that these players need to develop a routine where they're working overtime on technique, and understanding the fundamentals of their positions. Right now, he said that the younger players are struggling to understand things like the difference between cover 2 and cover 3, contain, etc. He said that it's a matter of the young guys buckling down and putting the time in, and he's doing his part to mentor these guys to help them to develop a work ethic that will allow them to succeed.
Anyone who knows where Darius is coming from knows that this guy was the king of routine, and nobody was going to outwork him when it came to developing his skills as a player. To hear that he is in there working with the youngsters to help them develop is a great move by Gus. Darius was saying that Cyprien has developed, and it's showing on the field in how he's recognizing things more quickly.
Darius was talking about Bortles, and how he had an opportunity to spend some time with him talking football, and he said that the guy has the mentality and leadership skills to be a great player for the Jaguars for a lot of years.
BTW, Daris is an Emmy Award winning producer now. He's been doing training videos in partnership with the league and ESPN, and evidently these videos landed him an Emmy Award.
He mentioned that the guys that are struggling are talented players, but they need to crack down and get into their playbooks, work with their teammates, and put in the extra work that is necessary to make them the best possible players they can be. He said that he constantly preaches to them what an honor and privilege it is to be a player in the NFL, and it demands that they be the best they can possibly be in order to show recognition for what a tremendous experience they're gaining not just as players, but as men.
Darius is a guy that I was happy to see come back to Jax and to get involved with the team again. He's got a future as a coach in the league if he ever wanted to pursue that, but it sounds like he's really enjoying what he's doing now.
So we have a bunch of slackers on our team?
Gus should hire Donovan as assistant defensive back coach.
Quote:So we have a bunch of slackers on our team?
Haha. I think
youth was supposed to be the takeaway, but that is certainly implied too.
Quote:So we have a bunch of slackers on our team?
We have a bunch of young players who don't have a real veteran mentor to help them learn what it takes to become an NFL player. That's why Darius is mentoring these guys.
It's not as much about being slackers as it is about being poorly prepared, and not understanding what they need to do to become legitimate NFL starters.
You didnt come across the middle with DD waiting on you
Quote:We have a bunch of young players who don't have a real veteran mentor to help them learn what it takes to become an NFL player. That's why Darius is mentoring these guys.
The thing is there isn't a single rookie starting in our secondary. They all played at least one season and by now you would think that they understand the basic concepts of cover 2, cover 3, etc. The "lack of veteran leadership" thing sounds like an excuse. Allen Ball has been in the league for how long now?
Quote:The thing is there isn't a single rookie starting in our secondary. They all played at least one season and by now you would think that they understand the basic concepts of cover 2, cover 3, etc. The "lack of veteran leadership" thing sounds like an excuse. Allen Ball has been in the league for how long now?
They're still a very young unit. I don't think Darius would make any excuses for them. He has no reason to do so. He was pretty critical of their play currently.
Quote:The thing is there isn't a single rookie starting in our secondary. They all played at least one season and by now you would think that they understand the basic concepts of cover 2, cover 3, etc. The "lack of veteran leadership" thing sounds like an excuse. Allen Ball has been in the league for how long now?
With youth comes down to knowing what your role is and trusting the others to do their job. Gratz got caught looking away from his zone against the Redskins when Cousins found the fullback in the endzone. Evans has the range, but he is a second too late in providing support over the top. These things get corrected with experience and feedback, and it sounds like DD has stepped up to help make sure the players add to the experience with routine and mentorship. Hopefully it pays off.
I find it hard to believe they don't know the difference between cover 2 and 3. I also think we should be playing more man coverage but that's a topic for another day.
I wonder if the players are trying to do to much. Trying to jump routes and make the big play since there was probably 0 confidence the offense would score.
Quote:With youth comes down to knowing what your role is and trusting the others to do their job. Gratz got caught looking away from his zone against the Redskins when Cousins found the fullback in the endzone. Evans has the range, but he is a second too late in providing support over the top. These things get corrected with experience and feedback, and it sounds like DD has stepped up to help make sure the players add to the experience with routine and mentorship. Hopefully it pays off.
I spoke to someone this week, and the Gratz situation really has the coaching staff concerned. From what I was told, he's not the brightest guy on the roster, but the kind of regression they're seeing from him this year has them completely dumbfounded.
Darius nailed it when he said it's about recognizing the coverage, understanding your role, and executing it correctly.
DD has stepped up to help the guys, and that's never a bad thing.
On a side note, he's not the only former player who has been "mentoring" guys. From what I was told, Boselli has been working with Joeckel too.
Quote:I find it hard to believe they don't know the difference between cover 2 and 3. I also think we should be playing more man coverage but that's a topic for another day.
I wonder if the players are trying to do to much. Trying to jump routes and make the big play since there was probably 0 confidence the offense would score.
I think there's some validity to that statement.
Donovan's assessment is what I see on the field. Tons of mental errors. I think bradley hit the nail on the head when he said they are in a race to mature. Fortunately, The owner is patient enough but the fans aren't. Hopefully Bortles' bombing antics will keep us entertained until the rest of the team can get their feet under them.
This team has all the makings of a sharp incline at some point either late this season or next season.
Quote:I spoke to someone this week, and the Gratz situation really has the coaching staff concerned. From what I was told, he's not the brightest guy on the roster, but the kind of regression they're seeing from him this year has them completely dumbfounded.
Darius nailed it when he said it's about recognizing the coverage, understanding your role, and executing it correctly.
DD has stepped up to help the guys, and that's never a bad thing.
On a side note, he's not the only former player who has been "mentoring" guys. From what I was told, Boselli has been working with Joeckel too.
That’s disconcerting, you can bet offensive coordinators on other teams see it as well, and will continue to attack Duane's side of the field with complex route combinations. Winston Guy was struggling mentally as well, that's a bad combination.
Quote:That’s disconcerting, you can bet offensive coordinators on other teams see it as well, and will continue to attack Duane's side of the field with complex route combinations. Winston Guy was struggling mentally as well, that's a bad combination.
There's a reason they're eager to get Colvin out there. They want to see him starting on one side, and McCray on the other when that happens. They see Gratz better suited to play the nickel.
This sounds spot on. The youth is this team's gift and curse. The talent for the team is definitely there but they just need to gain the experience and know there assignments to the T. Unfortunately veterans still make mistakes so it would make sense to see the young guy make tons of them. I'm sure its more than just knowing cover 2 and cover 3. They have to know distances to play according to the hash marks, if the coverage is rolling, an audible that is closed, angles they should take when attack wideouts etc..
They'll get it together they just need the time
Quote:This sounds spot on. The youth is this team's gift and curse. The talent for the team is definitely there but they just need to gain the experience and know there assignments to the T. Unfortunately veterans still make mistakes so it would make sense to see the young guy make tons of them. I'm sure its more than just knowing cover 2 and cover 3. They have to know distances to play according to the hash marks, if the coverage is rolling, an audible that is closed, angles they should take when attack wideouts etc..
They'll get it together they just need the time
Anyone whos played madden or watched a ton of football know the difference between cover 2, 3, and 4. What they don't know is where to be like you said. Good analysis.
It's crazy to think that just about every hit DD laid on receivers back then now would be 15 yard penalties.
Quote:This sounds spot on. The youth is this team's gift and curse. The talent for the team is definitely there but they just need to gain the experience and know there assignments to the T. Unfortunately veterans still make mistakes so it would make sense to see the young guy make tons of them. I'm sure its more than just knowing cover 2 and cover 3. They have to know distances to play according to the hash marks, if the coverage is rolling, an audible that is closed, angles they should take when attack wideouts etc..
They'll get it together they just need the time
Darius said pretty much the same thing. He said that it's a matter of spatial awareness in many instances where they're not getting into the right position, and that's creating gaps that shouldn't be there.
Agree. It's going to take some time.