61k in attendance for preseason. That's really impressive

Even preseason steeler's games draw a crowd here.

---

1.) on the play in which Thomas was injured, Blake made the right read.  about 60% of the time that corner is late recognizing the under route and Thomas is free to run about 8-10 yards and easily make the first down, and another 25% the TE just runs over that corner.  He was unlucky, very unlucky. 

 

If there was anything that could have been done differently i hate the idea of running crossing routes into a 15 yard comeback (Robinsons route).  That means that the corner on that side of the field can turn his hips and find the QB.  great awareness by him and in the future id like to see Robinson on a route that either drags the corner down the field or opens the honey hole.  Any space that appears around robinson later is purely because the DB had already reacted to the throw underneath. 

 

2.) there were two things that really alarmed me last night.  a.) on the 20 plus yard run from Belle Jonathan Cyprien took a bad angle.  If he takes a good angle then he is smacking bell in the hole at the line of scrimmage and probably tackles him for no gain.  you can't give an offense like the steelers free first downs and field position like that.  I say it alarms me not because of one series in the preseason, but because that's been his problem since he's been a pro and its a trend he needs to reverse.  b.) Luke doesn't look like a left tackle.  I'm not even talking about a top tier left tackle, i mean he doesn't look like a left tackle.  on the sack he gave up you would scold a high schooler for his technique.  bending at the waist and heavy legs.  That's a problem.  On Bortles TD run he was beat on a counter spin move and if Blake hadn't already broken the pocket it could have been another sack.  And this is from a guy in Jarvis Jones who has struggled since he's been a pro.  When you watch Parnell he fires out of his stance, his hands are at the ready his knees bend and his feet move.  Luke's technique looks terrible and if you can't block Jarvis Jones and his 4.9 explosiveness in the preseason what are you going to do when that's Watt and or Clowney trying to make ESPN?  I need to see more. 

 

3.) there were two things that frustrated the heck out of me and I'm calling out two players.  a.) Clay harbor.  one of the most frustrating guys on the team.  Why?  Because he has the tools.  If you draw up pa move TE on a chalkboard it looks just like him.  He's got the size and the movement skills.  I don't know what his 40 is and i don't care.  he gets depth on his routes and he surprises safeties.  He has a chance to be a heck of a player.  This preseason is a good test for him because this offense to a certain degree is going to be based on the player that he backs up.  his only problem is that he has to catch the ball when his talent gets him into position.  He's going to have opportunities to make big plays and his legs will get him there but his hands have to close the deal.  b.) same story with Allen Hurns.  this kid has shown that he can run routes and can get behind people.  He's even more important because (and not to knock its just a reality of football) Lee will probably miss more time this season.  It's a violent sport and some guys just get nagged by injury.  Right now hurns is our flanker and he needs to emerge as a consistent field stretcher.  I think he has the talent to get behind people.  got to catch the ball. 

 

4.) the really good.  All Jag QB's.  Blake Bortles, 11-15 with three drops.  WOW.  Not perfect, not 400 yards in a quarter but that's beyond efficient.  He pulled the string on two passes last night and got them up over defenders into the arms of his receivers like a magician.  The one Clay dropped was a crime before men.  On the one pass that he did miss, it might have been the best read he's made since he was a jag.  He read the delayed blitz from his right side and before the guy even crossed the line of scrimmage he was climbing the pocket and correctly identified Clay Harbour one on one with a smaller player on a post route he just overthrew him.  In fairness, that has to be a TD but in know that his mechanics are coming but i love where his head was on that play.  That was the sharpest i have ever seen Chad Henne play in Teal.  I mean WOW.  The play that he made to Clay Harbour was just beautiful, on time, safety had no chance.  big ups to Greg Olson, that's my favorite route combination (post, streak forking the safety to that side of the field.).  Stephen Morris looked like a pro.  He threw the ball with more conviction and zip than i have seen from him.  I know it's preseason but after the fumble and loosing the lead for his personal journey it was big to show the coaches that he could lead the team down field.  For the offense to be this new and dealing with recieverrs this young you can tell that they put a lot of work in and credit Blake for being the leader.

 

5.) I was kind of bugged when Devon house got torched, but for a middle tier corner playing press that will happen for time to time.  later in the game he dropped a pick when he ran a skinny post for the receiver and had him blanketed. 

 

6.) Storm Johnson was terrible.  He ran with no conviction, dropped passes, and fumbled a kick off.  If this were a reality show he would have had to give up his spot in the tribe to Corey Grant in the locker room. 

 

.7.) the leader in the clubhouse for punt returner is Rashad Greene, would like to see more of him on offense.

 

8.) A rob might just be a 1.  He might not be a top of the league #1 but he might just be a #1. 

 

9.) How good does it feel after a preseason game to not have to hear the excuses from the O-line that you have to play together for 3.5 quarters and tire out the defense before you can run the ball for more than a yard.  At this time last year any time we tried to run the ball our guys were getting hit in the backfield.  Denard looked great.  I think that with what he does on kick offs and the explosiveness he has out of the backfield he has established a role for himself as a runningback in this league.  If he can catch the ball consistently down the field he could be really big time.  I was glad to see Tobby healthy.  Last year he got hurt and he never got going.  When he's not hit as soon as he gets the ball, that pile moves!  hit him flush at the line of scrimmage at its a 4-5 yard gain our way and he shows straight line explosion.  Caught the ball really well too! 

 

10.) I don't think linebacker is as big of a problem as some thought.  Jeremiah George and Ryan Reynolds looked like guys who were coming into their second year. 

---

Kept my eye on Branch for much of the game. Wow! He appears as ineffective as ever.

---

Is it me, or did they tone down the gold in our helmets from last year?

---

You can also tell that shoelace has been putting work into perfecting his craft

---

Is it me, or did they tone down the gold in our helmets from last year?

 

I don't think so

---

;

;

Is it me, or did they tone down the gold in our helmets from last year?

Perhaps you need to see Dr. Bowden? Seems your eye is shaped like a football and needs to be more rounded from INTACS surgery. Then you can be cut by Caldwell for not knowing how to block our franchise QB

---

Oh my god.


Let it go people. Players get hurt in football. Whether the throws are good or bad or on time or late


Stop nitpicking over one play. Blake had a very good first game and although the offense struggled to start they had some good drives later on.

---

Want to talk about nit picking? How about our awful play-by-play guy? Some of his calls it almost sounded as if he's dejected that Bortles scored a touchdown. Well, he is a Steelers fan after all....

---

I saw Depth.

First string and second string playing well. " it takes more grace than I can tell, to play the second fiddle, well" and I think Henne is doing it with the 2nd and 3rd stringers. 4th quarter sold me on the nice depth the Jags have this year- although for a moment I thought they were trying to play like Seattle- I mean 2nd and 1 on the 1 yard line and they throw....and throw again...The section I was in wa schanting "Beast mode, Beast mode!" to get the point accross- It was a good game.

---

There were lots of good things.   

 

1.  The most important critique I have was Bortles' dive at the pylon.  I cannot emphasize how ill-considered that appears to me.  BB is FAR to important to this team to take that kind of risk.  He very easily could have been injured.  Save that move for a game where it's the difference between a playoff spot (or win).  Very bad judgement..  Other than that, I loved what I saw from BB.

 

2.  Doss' punt reception, and subsequent 'jump' or whatever it was...   just stupid.. sorry..   that's asking for a turnover.  One turnover from a punt/kick returner in a season is one TOO many.

 

3.  In like fashion, Pierce's 'jump' over the defender at the sideline.  Same issue, asking for injury, and a turnover.  It's one thing for the top 10% of the most athletic NFL players, quite another for these guys.  Neither of which has the kind of skill to get away with it for long.

 

4.  The announcer said something about Bradley's going to be (paraphrasing) 'unconventional' with respect to certain play calls.  Sounds to me like an excuse for going for it on 4th down when it is not warranted.  We just don't have the quality of plays that can assure success.  Until I see that, I am opposed to the gambler mentality.  JDR had that foolishness, and he was a butt-lousy gambler too..

---

I saw Depth.

First string and second string playing well. " it takes more grace than I can tell, to play the second fiddle, well" and I think Henne is doing it with the 2nd and 3rd stringers. 4th quarter sold me on the nice depth the Jags have this year- although for a moment I thought they were trying to play like Seattle- I mean 2nd and 1 on the 1 yard line and they throw....and throw again...The section I was in wa schanting "Beast mode, Beast mode!" to get the point accross- It was a good game.

I had no issue with the play calling. If Morris was even an average QB the team scores on the boot play that he threw behind the TE.

---

"Sucess Is Not a Goal, It is a By-product"

There were lots of good things.   

 

1.  The most important critique I have was Bortles' dive at the pylon.  I cannot emphasize how ill-considered that appears to me.  BB is FAR to important to this team to take that kind of risk.  He very easily could have been injured.  Save that move for a game where it's the difference between a playoff spot (or win).  Very bad judgement..  Other than that, I loved what I saw from BB.

 

2.  Doss' punt reception, and subsequent 'jump' or whatever it was...   just stupid.. sorry..   that's asking for a turnover.  One turnover from a punt/kick returner in a season is one TOO many.

 

3.  In like fashion, Pierce's 'jump' over the defender at the sideline.  Same issue, asking for injury, and a turnover.  It's one thing for the top 10% of the most athletic NFL players, quite another for these guys.  Neither of which has the kind of skill to get away with it for long.

 

4.  The announcer said something about Bradley's going to be (paraphrasing) 'unconventional' with respect to certain play calls.  Sounds to me like an excuse for going for it on 4th down when it is not warranted.  We just don't have the quality of plays that can assure success.  Until I see that, I am opposed to the gambler mentality.  JDR had that foolishness, and he was a butt-lousy gambler too..

 

lol

---

We looked much better running Power O rather than the zone stretch every other play.  Gerhart is obviously better suited for Power O.

---

We looked much better running Power O rather than the zone stretch every other play. Gerhart is obviously better suited for Power O.

It was pretty clear Olson knows how to call plays to a players strength. For wanting to be a run first team I was happy to see the number of deep/intermediate pass attempts

---

IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

Oh my god.

Let it go people. Players get hurt in football. Whether the throws are good or bad or on time or late

Stop nitpicking over one play. Blake had a very good first game and although the offense struggled to start they had some good drives later on.

I take your word on it regarding injuries. Someone called FrailBones might know something about this.

---

Blakes Life Matters

There were lots of good things.


1. The most important critique I have was Bortles' dive at the pylon. I cannot emphasize how ill-considered that appears to me. BB is FAR to important to this team to take that kind of risk. He very easily could have been injured. Save that move for a game where it's the difference between a playoff spot (or win). Very bad judgement.. Other than that, I loved what I saw from BB.


2. Doss' punt reception, and subsequent 'jump' or whatever it was... just stupid.. sorry.. that's asking for a turnover. One turnover from a punt/kick returner in a season is one TOO many.


3. In like fashion, Pierce's 'jump' over the defender at the sideline. Same issue, asking for injury, and a turnover. It's one thing for the top 10% of the most athletic NFL players, quite another for these guys. Neither of which has the kind of skill to get away with it for long.


4. The announcer said something about Bradley's going to be (paraphrasing) 'unconventional' with respect to certain play calls. Sounds to me like an excuse for going for it on 4th down when it is not warranted. We just don't have the quality of plays that can assure success. Until I see that, I am opposed to the gambler mentality. JDR had that foolishness, and he was a butt-lousy gambler too..

Good point. He should have run towards the pylon and when it was clear he was going to get hit he probably should have just thrown it out of bounds. Being one of the excellent established veterans in this league he has really nothing to prove.


And I too was discouraged by the fourth down call. This is preseason- This is serious business and I would prefer if the Jags staff treated it as such.

---

Good point. He should have run towards the pylon and when it was clear he was going to get hit he probably should have just thrown it out of bounds. Being one of the excellent established veterans in this league he has really nothing to prove.


And I too was discouraged by the fourth down call. This is preseason- This is serious business and I would prefer if the Jags staff treated it as such.

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?

---

"Sucess Is Not a Goal, It is a By-product"

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?

Noooooooooooooooooooooo....

---

Davon House smoked by Martavis Bryant for a TD. A sign of things to come?

---