http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl.../95257612/
"A lot has gone wrong this season for the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose 2-10 record and seven-game losing streak entering Sunday’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings have made coach Gus Bradley’s ouster a virtual certainty.
"But in sizing up how alluring a job this would be for potential candidates to replace Bradley, don’t overlook one thing that has gone right: A young, talented defense overhauled in the past nine months is showing signs of coming together.
"If the Jaguars’ No. 4 ranking in total defense holds, they’d be the first team in a decade to rank that high and finish with a losing record."
And they'd still give up points in key moments, especially at the end of games. The stats are misleading.
They kind of got man handled a bit again in the passing game against the Vikings but they toughened up in the red zone and gave our offense plenty of chances to counter them. It was similar to Detroit. It's a good and promising aspect of our team going into next year. Just aggravating this offense let us down once again.
I owe Britjag a bit of an apology. We still have three games left. And it'll be three really tough games with all of our divisional opponents looking to make a run for the divisional lead. But it does seem they'll keep it going at a solid level. It's still impressive we lack a consistent pass rush and don't force any turnovers as well but yet they still rank this highly.
Quote:And they'd still give up points in key moments, especially at the end of games. The stats are misleading.
Yes, but in their defense, they tend to hold the the other team back but after numerous 3 and outs by the offense, the dam finally breaks. That's what makes it so hard to determine how good they actually are- the unique situation where they don't have an offense to help them out by keeping them off the field.
i just hope none of the D players get hurt in these last three games.
could have been an interesting set of games if we had a dog in the fight.....
But.....we're a gus team,
Quote:Yes, but in their defense, they tend to hold the the other team back but after numerous 3 and outs by the offense, the dam finally breaks. That's what makes it so hard to determine how good they actually are- the unique situation where they don't have an offense to help them out by keeping them off the field.
The times of possession recently haven't been far enough out of balance that it should matter.
This isn't the day's of 2011-2013 when the offense regularly failed to get more than 20 minutes of possession per game and the defense really did get gassed. This is a fairly young defense playing seemingly well when it doesn't matter and getting gashed and giving up lots of points and first downs when it does matter.
Anyone blaming the offense for the defense giving up two touchdowns and another long drive that ended at the goal line in the fourth quarter on Sunday is misguided. That was a defense that isn't as good as their yardage ranking indicates getting exposed.
Quote:And they'd still give up points in key moments, especially at the end of games. The stats are misleading.
yup, and all of Bortles pick 6's limit the amount of time the Jags D is out on the field.
I'd like to see more QB hits, interceptions, forced fumbles, etc before I crown the defense. It is good enough, but it isn't like in the mid 2000s where it dominated games and determined the outcome. Even dopey Gus made that observation.
I don't care about the 4 ranking. give me a defense ranked 15th that cause turnovers and I'd take that over a number 1 ranked defense which causes no turnovers
Quote:The times of possession recently haven't been far enough out of balance that it should matter.
This isn't the day's of 2011-2013 when the offense regularly failed to get more than 20 minutes of possession per game and the defense really did get gassed. This is a fairly young defense playing seemingly well when it doesn't matter and getting gashed and giving up lots of points and first downs when it does matter.
Anyone blaming the offense for the defense giving up two touchdowns and another long drive that ended at the goal line in the fourth quarter on Sunday is misguided. That was a defense that isn't as good as their yardage ranking indicates getting exposed.
Valid point, but we all already know why- they don't get pressure on the passer. The coverage on the back end is good, and the run defense is good. But there's very little pass rush.
It's still remarkable that they are 4th overall, 5th in yards given up per play, and they're 2-11. Glass half full or glass half empty? I don't know. I prefer to think it means we have something to build on.
Sure, the '85 Bears would have stoned the Vikings in the 4th quarter. We're a long way from that. On the other hand, it does seem like we have the makings of a good defense, and the season long stats seem to bear that out.
Quote:Valid point, but we all already know why- they don't get pressure on the passer. The coverage on the back end is good, and the run defense is good. But there's very little pass rush.
It's still remarkable that they are 4th overall, 5th in yards given up per play, and they're 2-11. Glass half full or glass half empty? I don't know. I prefer to think it means we have something to build on.
Sure, the '85 Bears would have stoned the Vikings in the 4th quarter. We're a long way from that. On the other hand, it does seem like we have the makings of a good defense, and the season long stats seem to bear that out.
I don't think a lack of pressure is the only thing to blame. There were a lot of missed tackles and some blown coverages in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
Really I'd say the defense's big problem is the same as the offense's, coaching.
The team is never well prepared and never has a winning game plan. The season looks a lot more like teams play it safe against the Jaguars knowing they can win whenever they feel like doing so in any way they want to while trying to play a game style that minimizes their chances of injury.
There's a lot of talent on the field, but it's never in a position to make a difference.
Quote:I don't think a lack of pressure is the only thing to blame. There were a lot of missed tackles and some blown coverages in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
Really I'd say the defense's big problem is the same as the offense's, coaching.
The team is never well prepared and never has a winning game plan. The season looks a lot more like teams play it safe against the Jaguars knowing they can win whenever they feel like doing so in any way they want to while trying to play a game style that minimizes their chances of injury.
There's a lot of talent on the field, but it's never in a position to make a difference.
The defense has put this team in position to win multiple times. The offense and special teams just can't back them up.
Sure this defense has made some critical bonehead mistakes, but that doesn't negate all the good things they have done this year.
Eliminating these mistakes is what turns a good defense into a great defense.
Also, keep in mind when you are dealing with an offense that struggles so much early in the game to put points on the board, it makes every defensive stand a critical situation. You put any defense in a constant critical situation, you will have critical failures.
I'm sure this defense would love to play in less critical situations where they actually get to play with a lead. That's just not a luxury afforded to them.
The right coach will make this defense a powerhouse quickly. They are very close.
It's also a reason why all of you nancys that keep beating the "no good coach will come here" drum are out of your minds.
There are thirty-two HC jobs on this highest of levels and this one will actually look attractive to the vast majority of candidates.
Especially those being hired from a current coordinator position.
Quote:The right coach will make this defense a powerhouse quickly. They are very close.
It's also a reason why all of you nancys that keep beating the "no good coach will come here" drum are out of your minds.
There are thirty-two HC jobs on this highest of levels and this one will actually look attractive to the vast majority of candidates.
Especially those being hired from a current coordinator position.
I haven't a clue about how desirable the position will be, but it is certain there is a lot of talent on the roster. The right coach will have this roster winning seven or eight more games in his first season.
Quote:The right coach will make this defense a powerhouse quickly. They are very close.
Let's be reasonable here; the speed with which this defence has turned around once picks started getting spent on it suggests that that could already be the case. The right coach will make the
offence at worst mediocre, which will let the defence we already have look more like a powerhouse.
We have a deep-pocketed, patient owner in a Florida city with no-state tax and young talent and cap room for days. What's not to like (outside of the QB play)?
Your not getting it.... really .. Only the LA Rams job is promising. You get to move into a new stadium in 2019 after playing the next 2 years in the LA Toilet. The fan base is fair weather and you have a good young running back.
Oh wait but that is what the media told me.
Quote:Let's be reasonable here; the speed with which this defence has turned around once picks started getting spent on it suggests that that could already be the case. The right coach will make the offence at worst mediocre, which will let the defence we already have look more like a powerhouse.
I see your point - but I believe this defense (despite statistics) is still one big step away from being a powerhouse.
That step is the stupid mistakes that they have continued to make in most of their games this season. A better staff will cut those mistakes by half in a hurry.
Dumb penalties and busted coverages have extended too many drives and resulted in points for the other team way too often this season - and eliminating even half of those mistakes would make a big difference for this defense.
Quote:The times of possession recently haven't been far enough out of balance that it should matter.
This isn't the day's of 2011-2013 when the offense regularly failed to get more than 20 minutes of possession per game and the defense really did get gassed. This is a fairly young defense playing seemingly well when it doesn't matter and getting gashed and giving up lots of points and first downs when it does matter.
Anyone blaming the offense for the defense giving up two touchdowns and another long drive that ended at the goal line in the fourth quarter on Sunday is misguided. That was a defense that isn't as good as their yardage ranking indicates getting exposed.
Of course stats can be misleading - but so can a statement such as yours. If you don't think this year's offense hasn't had an impact on the defense, and not in a good way, you haven't seen the same games I have.
A top 5 defense doesn't give up 25 points to the Vikings.