Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

This is a
LONG post/breakdown so if you want a
tl;dr version just look at the bolded portion below
and skip my explanation beneath it which details why I think it would work extremely well and lead to big improvements. Now that that's out of the way:


 

 

 

I'm sure some of you would agree that there are some obvious minor changes that aren't made by this coaching staff that could yield HUGE dividends that they just refuse to make for whatever reason; *COUGH* *COUGH* playing anyone but Bortles at QB *COUGH* *COUGH* but seeing as how that wont happen and how it has been discussed ad nausem on the board already, lets take a look at another change that I think makes too much sense right now, given our record and where we're at in the season.

 

Switch Myles Jack and Paul Posluszny, at SLB and MLB respectively.

 

Jack was too good to keep on the bench but i think we can improve 2 positions in both the long and short term with that simple switch in the LB corps. You can keep their game reps/playing time the same as it's been till now for the most part to keep continuity, and still use them at their current spots in some packages.

 

For sake of this scenario I'm not talking about when we move to nickel formations and have 2 LB sets. I'm talking about in our base 4-3 defense with Poz, Jack and Telvin all on the field. Poz would still wear the helmet radio to receive calls from the DC and line up the rest of the defense as he currently does at MLB and has been doing for years. we can slowly groom either Jack or Telvin to take over the playcalling responsibility as they continue to get experience; but in the meantime it would get Jack acclimated to the MLB spot he was drafted for without overwhelming him with too much too soon, this way he can just think of his own responsibility on a given down which lets him play fast/make plays, as he shows prowess doing that at MLB, we can slowly begin to scale up the other nuances and responsibilities of the position to undertake the inevitable transition from Poz to Jack. 

 

Poz at SLB:

Poz showed up this season in a way I haven't seen since he first signed here ages ago, he's clearly integral to the defense in terms of leadership and getting the defense aligned right. It's clear he needs to be on the field, that said I think given his age and slightly declining speed/skillset. he's best suited for SLB in base defenses based on what we ask the SLB to do: Poz is the best blitzer of the 3 LBers. And the Otto spot blitzes more than the MLB and WLB. The Otto is designed to play downhill closer to the line of scrimmage (where Poz is at his best coincidentally), and is more involved with defending the run game and setting the edge, than what is asked of the MLB. The Otto's description/responsibilities fit Poz's strengths as a player seamlessly and would put him in position to do what he excels at more. 

 

Jack at MLB:

On the other side, Frankly Myles Jack's speed is being wasted at SLB. (as evidenced when he flashed his wicked set of wheels chasing down Lamar Miller) Myles' speed, instincts, and ability to play both run and pass is better utilized in the middle [that said Jack's best position is probably WLB, but Telvin can't play any other spot and needs to be on the field since he's the best LB overall so if we're going to play Jack "out of position" the MLB spot is where he should be].

 

Putting Jack in the middle will allow him to cover more ground and put his speed on display to threaten opposing offenses in multiple ways catering to the skillset that made him a truly special player and blue-chip prospect, rather than making him play Otto, essentially in a phone booth at the Line of Scrimmage which really doesnt play to the strengths of his game. 

 

The hangup with Jack in the preseason at MLB was trying to communicate and call plays while still not fully understanding his own responsibilities on the play; keeping playcalling off his plate at first will allow him to just be a playmaker and then once he's settled in he can take over playcalling (or Telvin can call Plays since he has more experience and rarely comes off the field anyway)

 

 

 

 

This is just one example of a change that I'd make that I think would really pay off. Examples of other ideas I've had are: 

 

Moving RT Jeremy Parnell to Guard.

Playing TE Ben Koyack more (he produces everytime he's on the field) 

Playing TJ Yeldon and Chris Ivory at the same time (Yeldon as a "wingback" slot player like they tried to do unsuccessfully with Denard Robinson) to threaten the defense with more versatility and different looks

 

Just an idea, hey it's not like things could really get all that much worse.

 

 

I don't think any of these are good ideas, but at this point in the season, all options are on the table. 

Quote:I don't think any of these are good ideas, but at this point in the season, all options are on the table. 

 

I think that Jeremy Parnell to Guard could work for the same reasons that Maurice Williams worked at the same transition back in 2007 (another guy who had some trouble with penalties and inconsistencies at OT, that kicked inside and became a lights out RG down the stretch of that awesome 2007 run) and similarly (albeit not as successfully) for the same reasons we thought the Joeckel position switch from LT to LG would work.

 

At Guard, Parnell wouldnt have to worry about speed or power off the edge like he does at OT, since the nature of the position is a little more forgiving. By thinking less after the position switch I think he can cut down on his penalties a tad and just beat the guy in front of him.

 

 

The Yeldon-Ivory suggestion is out there I'll admit, but tbh they both struggle getting into a rhythm when they keep coming off the field for one another so that's one way of remedying that to solve the gameflow issue. 

Parnell can go kick rocks after the season is over, he's been nothing short of terrible.

Quote:Parnell can go kick rocks after the season is over, he's been nothing short of terrible.

Yea It's been bad this season, he didn't play nearly this poorly last year though, which gives me some (however slim) that a position change might be able to salvage what's left of his career. The other problem is that there's no one on the street that could come in and be an upgrade (and that's kinda sad since the bar is set rather low) 

I don't have a clue if any of this will work, but this is a quality post.   :thumbsup:

Quote:Parnell can go kick rocks after the season is over, he's been nothing short of terrible.

Agreed. He's been a huge disappointment.

Bench Bortles. Activate Allen. Start Henne for 2 weeks while Allen gets decent practice reps. Start Allen the last 4 games to see what we got.

Quote:Bench Bortles. Activate Allen. Start Henne for 2 weeks while Allen gets decent practice reps. Start Allen the last 4 games to see what we got.

When you're Gus coaching for your job there is no next year.

At least it didn't include the silly idea of moving Fowler to SAM so I can dig it.

An SLB has to cover the TE. Poz can't cover. That's the end of that idea.

Here's what we need to do:

 

Draft offensive linemen.   Then, after we do that, draft some more offensive linemen. 

 

You look at the great teams this year, for example the Cowboys and the Raiders, and they have dominant offensive lines. 

Quote:At least it didn't include the silly idea of moving Fowler to SAM so I can dig it.

I agree the OL needs an upgrade.  I like Beachum at LT.  I think drafting a RT and C/G would yield the biggest improvements.  If you really want to keep Linder at C then we need a big road-grader OG.  Otherwise, draft a C and move Linder to OG.  Parnell should be replaced at RT.

 

If we are drafting again in the top 5, another stud on D might make sense.  This D is gonna be special.

 

I think we may be okay at QB if Bortles spends his offseason in Calif working on mechanics.  I think there should be an open competition with Brandon Allen.  Make Bortles prove himself.  Don't just hand him the job.  Release Henne.

I think the more important moves are things ownership and GMs need to address. Coaching staff and QB status are the two things holding us back. Yes, Myles Jack needs to be on the field a lot more! But that's a coaching decision being made because of their scheme. They need to go. Period.

Quote: 

The Yeldon-Ivory suggestion is out there I'll admit, but tbh they both struggle getting into a rhythm when they keep coming off the field for one another so that's one way of remedying that to solve the gameflow issue. 

I actually think Ivory is/has been the better back.

 

I say you play Ivory every down unless he needs to come out or you got something specific for Yeldon (passing game/screens)

 

Neither guy is going to rush for 100 regularly unless we get a little more push on the inside of the line. Linder has a mediocre guard on either side of him and poor RT and a LT coming off injury but playing pretty well.

Seems like the same issue we've had for year 2/5ths of an Oline.

Quote:An SLB has to cover the TE. Poz can't cover. That's the end of that idea.

Have Gipson or Cyp take the TE, or depending on where the TE lines up, have Telvin or Jack shift before the snap to take the coverage responsibility. It's an easy fix, the MLB covers more than the SLB so "Poz can't cover" as a rationale really makes no sense since he'd be doing less covering at SLB.