10-01-2017, 07:25 PM
A gloomy, dreary result for a weekend of gloomy, dreary weather this weekend. I have heard a saying that a win has many fathers but a loss is an orphan. Sorry to say that there is lots of DNA from lots of people in this loss today, as more than any loss in recent memory, all three phases of the game played key roles in the loss. My thoughts on the game...
1. Bortles and the offense started off like they were unconscious. They moved the ball effectively and put it right in the end zone. There was tough sledding after that. Bortles did NOT have a good game after that first possession. Batted balls continued to plague him, which is near incomprehensible for a guy who is 6-5. He had, by my count, about 4 batted balls today, two by Lony Ealy, one of which was caught by Ealy for a turnover that gave the Jets the ball in point blank territory. Kudos to the defense for keeping them out of the end zone that possession, but it resulted in a FG.
2. I think part of the offense's problem is that it still lacks a #1 WR or a TE that can stretch the field. Hurns made some decent catches, but you never got the sense the Jets and their mediocre CBs ever respected the Jaguars passing game or receivers. Marqise Lee's late drop of a good Bortles pass arguably cost the Jaguars the game. Barring the unforeseen development of a guy like Cole, Strong or Westbrook once he comes off of IR around week 8, this won't change, and as a result, we'll continue to see teams stuff the box, which leads me to...
3. the moribund running game. Fournette is getting some solid 4-5 yard runs, but there aren't any explosive plays in the running game. It seems Fournette has to break or drag a tackle to get those 4-5 yards. The OL is not allowing for any explosive running plays, or anything barely above routine. This was most telling in short yardage situations, where on 3rd and one, they tried that pass to Grant that lost five yards, and late in the game when they passed three times inside the five and settled for a FG. I shudder to think they spent millions of free agency dollars last year on a power back, the 4th overall pick in the draft this year on another power back, and all of those physical practices in training camp only to avoid pounding the ball in short yardage.
4. The defense does not escape any blame. To the contrary, any time a defense allows two TD runs of 65+ yards and over 200 yards rushing total, they are deserving of blame. There are some encouraging things I've seen about this defense. They have shown big play capability on all three levels of the defense. But that won't do any good if they can't stop the run, especially if they are not playing with any leads.
5. It wasn't all negative on the defensive side of the ball. They did notch four sacks. Ngakoue had two sacks, absolutely abusing former Jaguar kelvin Beachum and forcing a fumble. Fowler had a sack and forced a fumble right before the end of regulation. Campbell had a sack, as did Church. I want to say that Jack had an outstanding game, as he was all over the place early on and had the fumble return for a TD. But gap integrity was non existent for much of the game, and I am hesitant to credit him, or anyone with any good performances without knowing who missed their gap assignments on those long runs (most seemingly the same type of zone blocking runs that allowed cutbacks.).
6. Special teams wouldn't be special teams without some shared responsibility for this loss. Myers barely kept his FG miss inside the stadium. Granted 52 yard FGs are not chip shots, but c'mon. Marqise Lee contributed to the poor special teams performance by horribly misplaying that last OT punt by the Jets. Granted the meadowlands and the new Met life stadium are notorious for swirling winds, and that punt went further than expected, but Lee's misplay of that punt cost the Jaguars about 30 yards of field position. After factoring in the block in the back by Benn, the Jaguars started their last possession inside their own three (3) yard line. The fake punt allowed right before halftime was infuriating, and the Jaguars were fortunate the Jets followed that up with a delay of game penalty and a missed FG right before half. Even though they seem a lot more infrequent under DeCamillis than they were the last few years, those plays are equally unacceptable.
7. Rookie Watch:
9. Bottom line-a very disappointing loss today. Despite wholly inept run defense, ineffective offense, and regressive incompetence in the passing game, there were still opportunities for this talented, young team to overcome their lapses and beat what should have been an over matched team. Doing so would have been a huge confidence boost for this young team, and would have been evidence of the "grit" that TC mentioned earlier. Instead, they squandered the opportunity to seize sole possession of first place in the division, and the first 3-1 start in forever. Worse yet, as it stands now, this team looks like it can't run the ball or stop the run, in addition to not being able to pass the ball well enough. The good news is that we're in a three way tie for first in the division, and still have important games left and time to fix at least some of the problems in the rush defense.
1. Bortles and the offense started off like they were unconscious. They moved the ball effectively and put it right in the end zone. There was tough sledding after that. Bortles did NOT have a good game after that first possession. Batted balls continued to plague him, which is near incomprehensible for a guy who is 6-5. He had, by my count, about 4 batted balls today, two by Lony Ealy, one of which was caught by Ealy for a turnover that gave the Jets the ball in point blank territory. Kudos to the defense for keeping them out of the end zone that possession, but it resulted in a FG.
2. I think part of the offense's problem is that it still lacks a #1 WR or a TE that can stretch the field. Hurns made some decent catches, but you never got the sense the Jets and their mediocre CBs ever respected the Jaguars passing game or receivers. Marqise Lee's late drop of a good Bortles pass arguably cost the Jaguars the game. Barring the unforeseen development of a guy like Cole, Strong or Westbrook once he comes off of IR around week 8, this won't change, and as a result, we'll continue to see teams stuff the box, which leads me to...
3. the moribund running game. Fournette is getting some solid 4-5 yard runs, but there aren't any explosive plays in the running game. It seems Fournette has to break or drag a tackle to get those 4-5 yards. The OL is not allowing for any explosive running plays, or anything barely above routine. This was most telling in short yardage situations, where on 3rd and one, they tried that pass to Grant that lost five yards, and late in the game when they passed three times inside the five and settled for a FG. I shudder to think they spent millions of free agency dollars last year on a power back, the 4th overall pick in the draft this year on another power back, and all of those physical practices in training camp only to avoid pounding the ball in short yardage.
4. The defense does not escape any blame. To the contrary, any time a defense allows two TD runs of 65+ yards and over 200 yards rushing total, they are deserving of blame. There are some encouraging things I've seen about this defense. They have shown big play capability on all three levels of the defense. But that won't do any good if they can't stop the run, especially if they are not playing with any leads.
5. It wasn't all negative on the defensive side of the ball. They did notch four sacks. Ngakoue had two sacks, absolutely abusing former Jaguar kelvin Beachum and forcing a fumble. Fowler had a sack and forced a fumble right before the end of regulation. Campbell had a sack, as did Church. I want to say that Jack had an outstanding game, as he was all over the place early on and had the fumble return for a TD. But gap integrity was non existent for much of the game, and I am hesitant to credit him, or anyone with any good performances without knowing who missed their gap assignments on those long runs (most seemingly the same type of zone blocking runs that allowed cutbacks.).
6. Special teams wouldn't be special teams without some shared responsibility for this loss. Myers barely kept his FG miss inside the stadium. Granted 52 yard FGs are not chip shots, but c'mon. Marqise Lee contributed to the poor special teams performance by horribly misplaying that last OT punt by the Jets. Granted the meadowlands and the new Met life stadium are notorious for swirling winds, and that punt went further than expected, but Lee's misplay of that punt cost the Jaguars about 30 yards of field position. After factoring in the block in the back by Benn, the Jaguars started their last possession inside their own three (3) yard line. The fake punt allowed right before halftime was infuriating, and the Jaguars were fortunate the Jets followed that up with a delay of game penalty and a missed FG right before half. Even though they seem a lot more infrequent under DeCamillis than they were the last few years, those plays are equally unacceptable.
7. Rookie Watch:
- Leonard Fournette-had a good game in terms of total yards from scrimmage, including two nice catches and runs of screen passes, including one that would have provided the winning points and his second receiving TD for the game, but for the holding call on Benn. But he still hasn't had the long explosive run. Not his fault, but we have to try to find a way to get him going.
- Cam Robinson-had a very good game by my estimation. No sacks allowed.
- Dawaune Smoot-played but did not stand out.
- DeDe Westbrook-DNP; on IR
- Blair Brown-did not see him
- Jalen Myrick-DNP
- Keelan Cole-Had a catch and a couple of other targets.
9. Bottom line-a very disappointing loss today. Despite wholly inept run defense, ineffective offense, and regressive incompetence in the passing game, there were still opportunities for this talented, young team to overcome their lapses and beat what should have been an over matched team. Doing so would have been a huge confidence boost for this young team, and would have been evidence of the "grit" that TC mentioned earlier. Instead, they squandered the opportunity to seize sole possession of first place in the division, and the first 3-1 start in forever. Worse yet, as it stands now, this team looks like it can't run the ball or stop the run, in addition to not being able to pass the ball well enough. The good news is that we're in a three way tie for first in the division, and still have important games left and time to fix at least some of the problems in the rush defense.
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