08-15-2014, 04:53 PM
Quote:The popular theory on Jacksonville’s plan under center is to have Blake Bortles sit and learn behind Chad Henne, entering the starting lineup when ready later in the season. After building on his impressive preseason bow, that date might be moving forward. Following an underthrow on his first pass, Bortles (29 snaps, +1.3 passing) fired a couple of impressive passes deep to the outside with his 29-yard gain to Kerry Taylor down the left side a particularly well-placed throw.
If the Jags are to continue their plan and not go early on Bortles’ strong preseason then they will want Henne to keep playing like he did with the first team. Not as impressive as Bortles, Henne (34 snaps, +0.3 passing) was still solid while hitting on passes in the short and intermediate area to keep the offense ticking over. You may not want to buy in too soon to a young quarterback and risk his development by throwing him, but if Bortles can maintain and even build on this strong start then the pressure will only grow on Henne to keep the young charger off the field.
Rough Outing for McClendon
The interior of the offensive line might be one area for concern in Jacksonville. New signingZane Beadles is off to a solid enough start but right guardJacques McClendon struggled again last night. After a disappointing showing against Tampa Bay a week ago, McClendon struggled again, adding pass protection woes to his troubles as a run blocker. There is always the caveat of sample size but through two games McClendon has played 56 snaps and registered a -6.8overall grade which isn’t the sort of start you’d like. Lamarr Houston and Jeremiah Ratliffeach got the better of McClendon twice while also adding a false start to his ropey start to preseason. Reserve RGBrandon Linder has put in two solid performances thus far (68 snaps, +2.1 overall) so if McClendon continues to struggle then his starting job may yet come under threat.
Hood Shines Again
After a disappointing start to his career as a first-round pick in Pittsburgh, Ziggy Hood has made a positive start to his time in a new scheme. A particularly ineffective 3-4 defensive end in every sense for the Steelers, Hood looks a different player this preseason. Following up a solid showing against the Bucs (21 snaps, +1.2 overall) Hood flashed in all three phases (22 snaps, +3.6 overall) and was arguably the best player in the game.
He got started against Kyle Long, driving across the Bears’ first-string RG, to get in on a tackle for loss that was wiped out by one of the many penalties in last night’s encounter. He would add to this with a smart play blocking the release of Shaun Draughn on a screen to force a throw away before adding a hurry and a sack (also nullified by a penalty) early in the third quarter to round out his display. Sometimes defenders are simply miscast in certain systems, at this stage it’s too early to say that Hood will turn things around, but the early signs are very promising.
<a class="bbc_url" href='https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/08/15/refo-jaguars-bears-preseason-week-2/'>https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/08/15/refo-jaguars-bears-preseason-week-2/</a>
Nice to see Hood showing up. He would've been that much better if we didn't have so may penalties. Disappointed to hear about McClendon.