Quote:Texans had the #1 defense last season, didn't they?
No. They were 7th....but they sucked. That's in yards given up. They we're 7th because teams didn't put up a lot of passing yards on them. They were nearer the bottom of the league in stopping the run, rushing the passer, points given up. We beat them twice with what almost was THE WORST OFFENSE OF ALL TIME. They are not good.
What's even more bizzare is they were 11th in offense. We rate offenses/defenses in yards. Probably not the best idea. They had a -19 turnover differential, that's 3x worse than the Jaguars. They didn't score, and gave up a lot of scores. They just all around were bad.
The better defense won the SB, and the better defenses fared better in the playoffs. Even against the top offenses.
Quote:The better defense won the SB, and the better defenses fared better in the playoffs. Even against the top offenses.
Yes, I agree in playoff games having a good D get's you further. But an offense I believe wins the grind in the regular season. Have an offense you can count on in the regular season get's you by squeakers in the regular season.
But I'm just picking at nits with that.
As for our chances this season, I just don't see it happening. We're no where near where we need to be. Our D-Line looked very impressive, there's no doubt. Our secondary even looked good. Alualu even had a sack, and we were pressuring the QB on almost every pass play. That's great, but with Henne as our QB, and with what how he handled the 1st quarter of the preseason, there's no way we're putting up more than 13 to 17 points a game. That's just not gonna get it done.
As for the c'lots... I'm still not sold on Luck. This year will be interesting with him. He's a dump down short pass kind of QB, or at least that's how the majority of the offense looks with them. Maybe it was by design based on his youth. But If all he's gonna do is throw short to intermediate balls all the time, eventually defenses should be able to T-off on that, or at least minimize the damage he can do.
I think in 2015, if we start Bortles by November will be the year we really become serious threats to win the division. As of right now, we're fighting for 2nd in the AFCS. But hey, 2nd is better than where we were.
We'll be competitive this year. And that for us will be a welcome change, at least from me. I just don't want to build up too much hope, considering where we've been the last few years.
Quote:Yes, I agree in playoff games having a good D get's you further. But an offense I believe wins the grind in the regular season. Have an offense you can count on in the regular season get's you by squeakers in the regular season.
But I'm just picking at nits with that.
As for our chances this season, I just don't see it happening. We're no where near where we need to be. Our D-Line looked very impressive, there's no doubt. Our secondary even looked good. Alualu even had a sack, and we were pressuring the QB on almost every pass play. That's great, but with Henne as our QB, and with what how he handled the 1st quarter of the preseason, there's no way we're putting up more than 13 to 17 points a game. That's just not gonna get it done.
As for the c'lots... I'm still not sold on Luck. This year will be interesting with him. He's a dump down short pass kind of QB, or at least that's how the majority of the offense looks with them. Maybe it was by design based on his youth. But If all he's gonna do is throw short to intermediate balls all the time, eventually defenses should be able to T-off on that, or at least minimize the damage he can do.
I think in 2015, if we start Bortles by November will be the year we really become serious threats to win the division. As of right now, we're fighting for 2nd in the AFCS. But hey, 2nd is better than where we were.
We'll be competitive this year. And that for us will be a welcome change, at least from me. I just don't want to build up too much hope, considering where we've been the last few years.
Very good points. I just think the offensive shift (scoring, and the rules changes that favor the offense) have overshadowed the fact defense still matters, and now probably more than ever. The mighty offenses couldn't keep up with their regular season output once the post season came around.
I still just hope we can stay in the game. I would love for us to win the South but i still have my doubts with such a young team. Anything can happen tho.
Im excited to see what Chris Clemons can do for us, if Red Bryant and Marks play like they did all season. I saw both Bryant and Marks blow through multiple blockers on multiple plays. If that continues, id be willing to bet Clemons reaches 10+ sacks this season.
The D will prevent us from getting blown out by double digit leads, but unless we get our WR corp back in action, we're sucking.
Quote:The D will prevent us from getting blown out by double digit leads, but unless we get our WR corp back in action, we're sucking.
There you go. You still have to score to win. Perhaps we'll lose with dignity this year.
Win the division? Hell no!!! They have a QB. We have Henne. Nuff said. Stop with this. Next year is when I look for the Jags to compete with the colts when Bortles takes over.
The biggest jaguar hater walterfootball.com agrees. Hell has frozen over bruhs.
http://walterfootball.com/preseason2014week1.php
"If Bortles starts this year, Jacksonville will be very competitive. In fact, the Jaguars could contend for a wild card spot. I kid you not. The defense will keep the team in games. The pass rush has improved tremendously. Sen'Derrick Marks was unblockable in this contest; he had numerous pressures in brief action and also forced two fumbles, though one was negated by a penalty. Newly acquired Chris Clemons was also a force."
Offense gets you to the postseason, but defense clinches the postseason. I'm optimistic about Bortles, but the OL and receiving corps are suspect
Quote:I'm willing to bet the texans have a top 10 defense again this season.
Maybe by virtue of playing against the titans and us four times and the NFL east.
Quote:I'm willing to bet the texans have a top 10 defense again this season.
Maybe by virtue of playing against the titans and us four times and the NFC east.
Lets be real about this.
The defensive line gives us the best chance to do better than 4-12. Im not worried about this year however. I want to see this team develop its rookies.
Quote:Lets be real about this.
The defensive line gives us the best chance to do better than 4-12. Im not worried about this year however. I want to see this team develop its rookies.
exactly....the only expectations I have is to do better than last season and develop the younger players.
THe division title talk is funny by that other poster tho.
Maybe for 2015 we can realistically start discussing that.
I'm still saying 7-9 and no wildcard or div. title.
The defense is still very young and unproven. Depth could be an issue yet again, so I just can't see this team winning any championships just yet.
With no Bortles and the WR's acting like they've been recently, we all can just wait till next year. Even if we can miraculously clinch a wildcard spot this year, Henne will not lead this team deep into the playoffs with the current roster and himself.
All depends on how long we're stuck waiting for Bortles to take the starting position. I have ZERO faith we can move the ball as an offense with Henne.