08-23-2015, 08:54 AM
We all felt good about the way the team was progressing after the win against Pittsburgh last week. But we wondered could we, to use Gus Bradley's terminology, stack a couple of wins together on the road against the G-Men? Unfortunately we didn't, but there is much to discuss about the game. Let's get to it. Of course, all of my views are subject to further review and revision.
1. Rotoworld did a hatchet job on Bortles last night, indicating he was panicking in the pocket when there was pressure. I now realize where retired Pravda writers go and do with their time, because that bit of propaganda would have done them proud. Bortles was fine last night. Last preseason, there was an urgency and an arrogance to the way he played. This year thus far, the abiding sense I get from him is one of control. Last night he moved the team effectively on all of his possessions. Every throw seemed to find an open guy, and his misses were not misses by much. One was a case of miscommunication (and both receivers in the area were open). A couple of other plays could have been as much a matter of timing as accuracy. Again he was victimized by some drops, including the one time he threw into double coverage. Hurns got behind the double coverage and Bortles hit him in the hands with the ball on a deep pass. Hurns dropped it. Brunell critiqued Bortles on the play by not hitting Clay Harbor who was breaking wide open underneath Hurns towards the right sidelines. I cannot dream of saying I know more about QB than Brunell. But given that Hurns got behind the coverage and given the throw was accurate, I, speaking solely as a fan, cannot find much fault with Bortles on the play. There were no plays where Bortles threw and I was left wondering what in the world was he thinking. By all accounts thus far, Bortles is progressing nicely. We are hearing it from the coaching staff and the media members who are attending practices. We saw it when we went to the practices and the scrimmage. We are now seeing it unfold before our eyes in the preseason. He isn't a hall of famer yet, but it appears he will give us at least competent QB play for the first time in years.
2. Continuing on the Rotoworld "critique," they said he panicked under pressure. Now perhaps their definition of pressure is different from mine, but I only recall one play that Bortles faced any real pressure, and that was the fumble. That is a testament to the play of the offensive line. I thought the first team OL did a very good job in the game. I thought this year's pariah, Joeckel, played well. He was flagged for holding, but from the replay angles, that looked like a questionable call. I felt Wiz did quite well in his start, and I noticed movement in the running game on his blocks, which is a good thing. The running game as a whole continued its solid play. Robinson and Gerhart were getting good gains. The first team OL deserves praise for the second week in a row.
3. It really stinks to see McCray and George Reynolds go down on back to back plays with apparent knee injuries. Both walked off and put weight on their legs. Hopefully, neither player is seriously injured.
4. It was good to see Odrick and Miller return from injuries. Unfortunately, that did not translate into stoutness against the run or pressure on Manning. The Giants running game gashed us a couple of times when the first teams were in, and Manning had time to throw and throw deep on us, even though he didn't complete many passes.
5. I would like to think Manning's early struggles came against a defense with a talented secondary who shut down the Giant receivers. You could say it happened, but Cruz and Randle didn't play. OBJ really didn't do much of anything, beside give a frustrated shot to Sergio Brown that should have been flagged.
6. IIRC, Hurns dropped a couple of passes last night, including the bomb. It doesn't do any good for him to beat coverage if he can't catch the ball when delivered reasonably to him. Robinson, on the other hand, showed why so many here are excited about the receiver he could become. His catch and run was a thing of beauty.
7. Rookie Watch:
A. Dante Fowler-IR; DNP
B. T.J. Yeldon-DNP
C. A.J. Cann-last week, I remarked that Cann did not get much movement in the running game, but tended to provide a pristine pocket from inside. He continued his good pass protection from what I saw, but there were times he dominated his guy in the running game, at one point folding his guy over on a double team.
D. James Sample-DNP
E. Rashad Greene-had a nice punt return, though it was not as good as the one last week. Also had a fumbled return that he fortunately recovered himself. He played early with the first team in the slot, and had 2-3 catches as I recall. Good game overall, but he has to correct the fumbled punt.
F. Michael Bennett-Did not stand out to me, but I wasn't focused on him. I definitely have to go back and review the game to comment intelligently here. If anyone else has some insight as to his performance, I welcome the input.
G. Neal Sterling-DNP. He'd better get healthy fast.
H. Ben Koyack-Did not stand out to me.
I. Cap Capi-Did not seem to flash the pass rush ability he showed last week, though I was impressed with his hustle in pursuit on a running play.
J. Corey Grant-showed good speed on a kick return. Has a shot at making this roster. Will be a difficult cut.
K. Nick Marshall-was off sides on a FG attempt but did not seem to stand out. Another player that requires additional review from me.
8. I thought Armbrister was all over the place last night. Even though he had that PI penalty, I thought he was in excellent position on the play, just like he was on that wheel route in practice. He looks like he can be a very good nickel backer for us because he seems really good in coverage downfield.
9. Scobee looked good on his kickoff and long FG attempt (which nets those who registered a free Firehouse sub!!!!!). Myers had a very good performance last night.
10. Bottom line: While the Jaguars lost the game, once again there were a lot of encouraging signs to take from the game. Bortles seemingly showed a command of the offense and of opposing defenses, making good decisions and avoiding bad decisions. He needs to continue honing his timing down with the receivers, and maybe adjusting a throw here or there, but he appears on the right track. The running game and the OL once again showed improvement and competency, and this is without Yeldon. I am still worried about the defensive line stopping the run and pressuring the passer, and I am hoping the injured guys are not seriously injured and will return soon to the lineup. But I like a lot of what I am seeing.
1. Rotoworld did a hatchet job on Bortles last night, indicating he was panicking in the pocket when there was pressure. I now realize where retired Pravda writers go and do with their time, because that bit of propaganda would have done them proud. Bortles was fine last night. Last preseason, there was an urgency and an arrogance to the way he played. This year thus far, the abiding sense I get from him is one of control. Last night he moved the team effectively on all of his possessions. Every throw seemed to find an open guy, and his misses were not misses by much. One was a case of miscommunication (and both receivers in the area were open). A couple of other plays could have been as much a matter of timing as accuracy. Again he was victimized by some drops, including the one time he threw into double coverage. Hurns got behind the double coverage and Bortles hit him in the hands with the ball on a deep pass. Hurns dropped it. Brunell critiqued Bortles on the play by not hitting Clay Harbor who was breaking wide open underneath Hurns towards the right sidelines. I cannot dream of saying I know more about QB than Brunell. But given that Hurns got behind the coverage and given the throw was accurate, I, speaking solely as a fan, cannot find much fault with Bortles on the play. There were no plays where Bortles threw and I was left wondering what in the world was he thinking. By all accounts thus far, Bortles is progressing nicely. We are hearing it from the coaching staff and the media members who are attending practices. We saw it when we went to the practices and the scrimmage. We are now seeing it unfold before our eyes in the preseason. He isn't a hall of famer yet, but it appears he will give us at least competent QB play for the first time in years.
2. Continuing on the Rotoworld "critique," they said he panicked under pressure. Now perhaps their definition of pressure is different from mine, but I only recall one play that Bortles faced any real pressure, and that was the fumble. That is a testament to the play of the offensive line. I thought the first team OL did a very good job in the game. I thought this year's pariah, Joeckel, played well. He was flagged for holding, but from the replay angles, that looked like a questionable call. I felt Wiz did quite well in his start, and I noticed movement in the running game on his blocks, which is a good thing. The running game as a whole continued its solid play. Robinson and Gerhart were getting good gains. The first team OL deserves praise for the second week in a row.
3. It really stinks to see McCray and George Reynolds go down on back to back plays with apparent knee injuries. Both walked off and put weight on their legs. Hopefully, neither player is seriously injured.
4. It was good to see Odrick and Miller return from injuries. Unfortunately, that did not translate into stoutness against the run or pressure on Manning. The Giants running game gashed us a couple of times when the first teams were in, and Manning had time to throw and throw deep on us, even though he didn't complete many passes.
5. I would like to think Manning's early struggles came against a defense with a talented secondary who shut down the Giant receivers. You could say it happened, but Cruz and Randle didn't play. OBJ really didn't do much of anything, beside give a frustrated shot to Sergio Brown that should have been flagged.
6. IIRC, Hurns dropped a couple of passes last night, including the bomb. It doesn't do any good for him to beat coverage if he can't catch the ball when delivered reasonably to him. Robinson, on the other hand, showed why so many here are excited about the receiver he could become. His catch and run was a thing of beauty.
7. Rookie Watch:
A. Dante Fowler-IR; DNP
B. T.J. Yeldon-DNP
C. A.J. Cann-last week, I remarked that Cann did not get much movement in the running game, but tended to provide a pristine pocket from inside. He continued his good pass protection from what I saw, but there were times he dominated his guy in the running game, at one point folding his guy over on a double team.
D. James Sample-DNP
E. Rashad Greene-had a nice punt return, though it was not as good as the one last week. Also had a fumbled return that he fortunately recovered himself. He played early with the first team in the slot, and had 2-3 catches as I recall. Good game overall, but he has to correct the fumbled punt.
F. Michael Bennett-Did not stand out to me, but I wasn't focused on him. I definitely have to go back and review the game to comment intelligently here. If anyone else has some insight as to his performance, I welcome the input.
G. Neal Sterling-DNP. He'd better get healthy fast.
H. Ben Koyack-Did not stand out to me.
I. Cap Capi-Did not seem to flash the pass rush ability he showed last week, though I was impressed with his hustle in pursuit on a running play.
J. Corey Grant-showed good speed on a kick return. Has a shot at making this roster. Will be a difficult cut.
K. Nick Marshall-was off sides on a FG attempt but did not seem to stand out. Another player that requires additional review from me.
8. I thought Armbrister was all over the place last night. Even though he had that PI penalty, I thought he was in excellent position on the play, just like he was on that wheel route in practice. He looks like he can be a very good nickel backer for us because he seems really good in coverage downfield.
9. Scobee looked good on his kickoff and long FG attempt (which nets those who registered a free Firehouse sub!!!!!). Myers had a very good performance last night.
10. Bottom line: While the Jaguars lost the game, once again there were a lot of encouraging signs to take from the game. Bortles seemingly showed a command of the offense and of opposing defenses, making good decisions and avoiding bad decisions. He needs to continue honing his timing down with the receivers, and maybe adjusting a throw here or there, but he appears on the right track. The running game and the OL once again showed improvement and competency, and this is without Yeldon. I am still worried about the defensive line stopping the run and pressuring the passer, and I am hoping the injured guys are not seriously injured and will return soon to the lineup. But I like a lot of what I am seeing.