09-07-2014, 09:13 PM
We all got excited after the draft, because we felt we had a very good one, possibly a great one. Adding that on top of the team not quitting last year and the free agent signings, the excitement towards the future continued to build throughout the preseason. But the true test would begin today. My thoughts.
1. I have to give kudos to the defense. The front 4 (the starters and rotational guys) got constant pressure on Foles the entire first half and forced fumbles. Keep in mind, some of that was due to Foles holding the ball too long, but simply put those plays would not have happened last year. Furthermore, the defense was pretty impressive containing McCoy. McCoy had some impressive runs due to some of the moves he made just to get to the LOS, but he did not really hurt the Jaguars. Before Cyprien got hurt, the secondary pulled their weight, too, providing enough coverage to cause Foles to hold the ball in the first place. They wore down as the game wore on and the offense didn't give them much help. But if we continue to get performances like this from the defense, we'll win some games.
2. Many have taken the post game opportunity to bash Henne. I think he had a very good first half. His second half was certainly less than ideal, but I do not place the blame for this loss on him. He missed some throws, and he had drops. But he did not cost us this game.
3. What DID cost us this game, IMO was the offensive line, specifically it's inability, from the very first series of the game, to provide credible run blocking. That first series, we had 2nd and 3rd and short yardage. With a power back like Gerhart, we were unable to convert 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 2. Over the course of the game it cost us repeatedly. It kept us in long yardage situations throughout and made the team one dimensional. The inability for this team to run block kept us from punching in at least two of those FG attempts into TDs, and ultimately made the offense easier to defend in the second half. It rendered the offense utterly incapable of holding onto the ball, eating up clock, and giving the defense much needed rest against that high tempo Eagles' offense.
4. While I can understand the rationale behind going for the 4th down at that point in the fourth quarter, I'm not sure I agree with it. As we have discussed in another thread, defense is the strength of this team, certainly at this early stage of the season. Bradley should have played to those strengths. By going for it there and not making it, it gave the Eagles the possession of the ball at point blank range. The defense stopped them, but the field position resulted in a FG and a two score lead. Had they punted away normally and given up a normal return and similarly stopped the Eagles then, a FG was no given, and there was still a chance to tie the game with a subsequent possession. Yes the defense was tired, but I'd rather they be tired with more field to defend.
5. Hated seeing Scobee miss those two kicks. I hated having to settle for FG attempts-especially on the shorter miss-but hated those misses-one of which was a block.
6. Get well soon, Cyprien.
7. Rookie watch
a) Blake Bortles-Did not play
b) Marqise Lee-had a respectable showing with 6 catches and showed ability to separate and get open. However, he might be haunted over the next day or two by two sideline plays he didn't make-a short out pattern on the left side and a deep corner (?) route in the second half down the right. Both of those plays, if made, would have continued drives. In fairness, I do not know if Lee was to blame on that short out to the left in the first half. It appeared to be a bad pass from Henne, but the announcers seemed to place the blame on Lee.
c) Allen Robinson-We have been waiting a long time to finally see him in action due to those dang hamstring injuries that kept him out of most of training camp and the preseason. I wasn't expecting too much from him under the circumstances, but his use and accompanying lack of production was still disappointing.
d) Brandon Linder-seemed okay in pass protection, but without reviewing the game, he did not seem to have a good game run blocking...but nobody did.
e) Telvin Smith-was active throughout the game. Was faked well by McCoy on an early run, but made his presence known on another run.
f) Chris Smith-I think he played, but seemed to make no impact.
g) Luke Bowanko-I don't think he played, but he may have been on special teams.
h) Storm Johnson-DNP
i) Allen Hurns-A most pleasant surprise and a very good debut. After his second catch for his second TD, it seemed Chris Berman's tagline for Cris Carter (All he does is catch TDs) was appropriate for him. He put a sick move on the go route down the left sideline to get the team off of the one. The only knock is what should have been called a fumble late in the game. Nevertheless, I am thrilled beyond measure with him. In just this one game, this UDFA showed more route running acumen, ability to separate than first round busts Matt Jones and Reggie Williams, and infinitely more "want to" than Soward. Every year, we fans like to latch on to these bargain basement, rags to riches mini camp and preseason heroes, only to be let down 99 times out of 100. He appears to be that one we've looked for.
8. Amazingly, there have been those on this board who have wondered why people have shown antipathy towards Chris Prosinski. Now they know (or SHOULD know) why. The "impact" he makes on special teams is far outweighed by the liability he represents in coverage, which surpasses Reggie Nelson at his worst.
9. While I critique Bradley for his 4th down decision late, I think I am not quite as critical as some are about Fisch's playcalling. I think the poor OL performance precluded balance, which precluded effective playcalling later in the game. I suppose you could make the argument they should have run Denard Robinson more, but that is minor.
10. Bottom line: I think a lot of people are unhappy about this loss because of the way it unfolded. Very few actually thought the Jaguars would win this game coming into the game, but when we jumped out to that lead, the understandable sentiment is that we should have finished them off. But many of the same reasons we felt the team wouldn't win coming in-o-line in flux and with weaknesses, are the same reasons we couldn't close the deal today. Had Foles not had such a disastrous first half and we didn't have the benefit of the field position this team had, would anyone have been surprised with a 34-17 loss? No. But despite the disappointing second half and result, this is still a better team than what we were at this point last year. One of the popular benchmarks for evaluating this team expressed on this board was the team being competitive in games, especially against good teams. Well, we were competitive...and controlled most of the game. We can stop the run, rush the passer and create turnovers. We have two young play makers at WR, and maybe even a 3rd when Allen Robinson gets up to speed. And yes, despite Bortles not playing, we can still look forward to the day he does finally play. We still have a weakness, but right now, time is on our side. Patience, my fellow Jaguars fans.
1. I have to give kudos to the defense. The front 4 (the starters and rotational guys) got constant pressure on Foles the entire first half and forced fumbles. Keep in mind, some of that was due to Foles holding the ball too long, but simply put those plays would not have happened last year. Furthermore, the defense was pretty impressive containing McCoy. McCoy had some impressive runs due to some of the moves he made just to get to the LOS, but he did not really hurt the Jaguars. Before Cyprien got hurt, the secondary pulled their weight, too, providing enough coverage to cause Foles to hold the ball in the first place. They wore down as the game wore on and the offense didn't give them much help. But if we continue to get performances like this from the defense, we'll win some games.
2. Many have taken the post game opportunity to bash Henne. I think he had a very good first half. His second half was certainly less than ideal, but I do not place the blame for this loss on him. He missed some throws, and he had drops. But he did not cost us this game.
3. What DID cost us this game, IMO was the offensive line, specifically it's inability, from the very first series of the game, to provide credible run blocking. That first series, we had 2nd and 3rd and short yardage. With a power back like Gerhart, we were unable to convert 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 2. Over the course of the game it cost us repeatedly. It kept us in long yardage situations throughout and made the team one dimensional. The inability for this team to run block kept us from punching in at least two of those FG attempts into TDs, and ultimately made the offense easier to defend in the second half. It rendered the offense utterly incapable of holding onto the ball, eating up clock, and giving the defense much needed rest against that high tempo Eagles' offense.
4. While I can understand the rationale behind going for the 4th down at that point in the fourth quarter, I'm not sure I agree with it. As we have discussed in another thread, defense is the strength of this team, certainly at this early stage of the season. Bradley should have played to those strengths. By going for it there and not making it, it gave the Eagles the possession of the ball at point blank range. The defense stopped them, but the field position resulted in a FG and a two score lead. Had they punted away normally and given up a normal return and similarly stopped the Eagles then, a FG was no given, and there was still a chance to tie the game with a subsequent possession. Yes the defense was tired, but I'd rather they be tired with more field to defend.
5. Hated seeing Scobee miss those two kicks. I hated having to settle for FG attempts-especially on the shorter miss-but hated those misses-one of which was a block.
6. Get well soon, Cyprien.
7. Rookie watch
a) Blake Bortles-Did not play
b) Marqise Lee-had a respectable showing with 6 catches and showed ability to separate and get open. However, he might be haunted over the next day or two by two sideline plays he didn't make-a short out pattern on the left side and a deep corner (?) route in the second half down the right. Both of those plays, if made, would have continued drives. In fairness, I do not know if Lee was to blame on that short out to the left in the first half. It appeared to be a bad pass from Henne, but the announcers seemed to place the blame on Lee.
c) Allen Robinson-We have been waiting a long time to finally see him in action due to those dang hamstring injuries that kept him out of most of training camp and the preseason. I wasn't expecting too much from him under the circumstances, but his use and accompanying lack of production was still disappointing.
d) Brandon Linder-seemed okay in pass protection, but without reviewing the game, he did not seem to have a good game run blocking...but nobody did.
e) Telvin Smith-was active throughout the game. Was faked well by McCoy on an early run, but made his presence known on another run.
f) Chris Smith-I think he played, but seemed to make no impact.
g) Luke Bowanko-I don't think he played, but he may have been on special teams.
h) Storm Johnson-DNP
i) Allen Hurns-A most pleasant surprise and a very good debut. After his second catch for his second TD, it seemed Chris Berman's tagline for Cris Carter (All he does is catch TDs) was appropriate for him. He put a sick move on the go route down the left sideline to get the team off of the one. The only knock is what should have been called a fumble late in the game. Nevertheless, I am thrilled beyond measure with him. In just this one game, this UDFA showed more route running acumen, ability to separate than first round busts Matt Jones and Reggie Williams, and infinitely more "want to" than Soward. Every year, we fans like to latch on to these bargain basement, rags to riches mini camp and preseason heroes, only to be let down 99 times out of 100. He appears to be that one we've looked for.
8. Amazingly, there have been those on this board who have wondered why people have shown antipathy towards Chris Prosinski. Now they know (or SHOULD know) why. The "impact" he makes on special teams is far outweighed by the liability he represents in coverage, which surpasses Reggie Nelson at his worst.
9. While I critique Bradley for his 4th down decision late, I think I am not quite as critical as some are about Fisch's playcalling. I think the poor OL performance precluded balance, which precluded effective playcalling later in the game. I suppose you could make the argument they should have run Denard Robinson more, but that is minor.
10. Bottom line: I think a lot of people are unhappy about this loss because of the way it unfolded. Very few actually thought the Jaguars would win this game coming into the game, but when we jumped out to that lead, the understandable sentiment is that we should have finished them off. But many of the same reasons we felt the team wouldn't win coming in-o-line in flux and with weaknesses, are the same reasons we couldn't close the deal today. Had Foles not had such a disastrous first half and we didn't have the benefit of the field position this team had, would anyone have been surprised with a 34-17 loss? No. But despite the disappointing second half and result, this is still a better team than what we were at this point last year. One of the popular benchmarks for evaluating this team expressed on this board was the team being competitive in games, especially against good teams. Well, we were competitive...and controlled most of the game. We can stop the run, rush the passer and create turnovers. We have two young play makers at WR, and maybe even a 3rd when Allen Robinson gets up to speed. And yes, despite Bortles not playing, we can still look forward to the day he does finally play. We still have a weakness, but right now, time is on our side. Patience, my fellow Jaguars fans.