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

From what I'm hearing there was some contact and House fell, borderline offensive PI. Haven't seen the video yet though

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

From what I'm hearing there was some contact and House fell, borderline offensive PI. Haven't seen the video yet though

@steeleru7: "@NFL: .@steelers WR @ThaBestUNO takes Davon House on a 45-yard stroll to THE House. #PITvsJAX <a class="bbc_url" href='http://t.co/FD5Z4pVYRw'>http://t.co/FD5Z4pVYRw"</a>

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@steeleru7: "@NFL: .@steelers WR @ThaBestUNO takes Davon House on a 45-yard stroll to THE House. #PITvsJAX <a class="bbc_url" href='http://t.co/FD5Z4pVYRw'>http://t.co/FD5Z4pVYRw"</a>

Yeah Bryant palmed him flat to the ground....

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

I've watched the condensed version a few times and I have two general takeaways:


Bortles is getting a much cleaner pocket


and


Our WRs are getting much better separation.

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Yeah Bryant palmed him flat to the ground....

That isn't Offensive PI. Bryant beat his press badly and flew by

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That isn't Offensive PI. Bryant beat his press badly and flew by

Not saying it was, it was before 5 yards, just that's what I had heard, but it's still just more than him just running by him.


No excuse for House, he got beat, and McCray may get some reps bc of it. Just saying he was pushed. I want to say his near INT was against Bryant too. Don't remember off the top of my head

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

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

Davon House jumps in front of route showing great athleticism and awareness. A sign of things to come?

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Football is finally here.  It was a gorgeous day at the stadium....not too hot.  Nice cool breeze. 

 

My thoughts on the game:

 

1.  I thought Blake Bortles had a good game.  He showed good pocket presence, climbing the pocket nicely on a couple of throws.  He seemed to find open targets constantly, even some late.  He would have had a better game, but for some drops.

 

2.  I think one of the reasons Bortles had a good game is because we had a competent running game.  Throughout the first half, the team was in good second and third down yardage because the running game performed well even without Yeldon.  I thought Robinson, and Pierce had some good runs, and for all the flack Gerhart has received, I thought he looked decent, too.  I think this will bode well for the offense in the future if we can keep this going.  We;ll definitely need it because...

 

3.  Joeckel did not look good.  Joeckel has absolutely no business getting beaten that bad around the corner by a 37 year old.  It was embarrassing to see him get beaten like that. His sack surrendered stalled the drive down and made us settle for a field goal.

 

4.  It was good to see the CBs up in the receivers' faces and challenging them.  However, such a strategy often results in big plays if the corners do not do their jobs.  House was torched deep in camp by Arrelius Benn, and was torched tonight by a good receiver in Martavis Bryant.  While I am not panicking yet by any stretch, seeing him get burned deep twice in such a short time frame is troubling.  I also thought it was interesting that Colvin was named the starter opposite House.  Neither he nor McCray gave up any big plays.

 

5.  Clay Harbor showed the big play ability that makes him a good target, and makes his disappearance last year (supposedly in Fisch's doghouse) even more of a mystery.  But he has to catch the pass he dropped, even though he redeemed himself later with that TD from Henne.  That is the kind of play that can adversely change momentum.

 

6.  There has been a lot of discussion about the lack of depth at LB, but I thought the reserve LBs played pretty well.  Armbrister was in on several tackles.  Jeremiah George had a key stop and was in excellent position on a pass defense that somehow got completed.  Lotulelei sniffed out a screen nicely for a loss,

 

7.  Rookie Watch:  This was a disappointing aspect of the game.  Because three of the first four draft picks and four of the eight overall missed the game due to injuries, the kid at Christmas feel that comes with the first preseason game was muted.

 

     A.  Dante Fowler-DNP;  on IR

     B.  T.J. Yeldon-DNP

     C.  A.J. Cann-had kind of a weird game to me.  Despite his size and the perceived power he possesses, he did not get much movement in the running game at all.  However, he and Wisniewski combined to give Jaguars QBs completely clean pockets inside. When they were in the game, the only pressures came from the outside.

 

     D.  Sample-DNP

     E.  Rashad Greene-had a very nice punt return.  Did not dance like Sanders.  Just turned it up the field, getting kudos from teammates.

 

     F.  Michael Bennett-flashed twice, showing the ability that made most pundits declare him a steal.  On a running play to the left, he beat the guard cleanly, drawing a holding penalty and still managing to tackle the RB for a five yard loss.  He also defected a pass late in the game.

 

     G.  Sterling-DNP

     H.  Ben Koyack-IIRC, he had a short catch, but nothing particularly great.

     I.  Cap Capi-He is an unheralded star of the game.  he had two sacks, including the game clincher, and had another pressure where he hit the QB and forced an errant pass.  With Marks returning from injury and Clemons something of a mystery, we will need new guys to help generate pass rush.  I will say this:  I do not know if he will make this team.  But if he does and becomes a factor in the pass rush, with his name and undrafted lineage, he will certainly become a fan favorite.

 

     J.  Nick Marshall-Did not really stick out too much.  He missed a tackle in the flat,   and was beaten deep down the sideline on another play, but the pass eas errant and the receiver could not come down with the ball in bounds.  Seemed to look pretty decent otherwise.

 

    K.  Grant-had a couple of decent kick returns.

 

8.  Speaking of kick returns, Storm Johnson did not help himself with that fumble.

 

9.  One of the hot topics since the scrimmage was the talk of a serious kicking competition between Scobee and Myers.  If this is true it certainly seemed to wake Scobee up.  Scobee was crushing the ball on kickoffs today and made his FG.  Myers missed his FG, but also crushed a kickoff.  Scobee has to have the clear edge.  Redfern had a good night punting, too.

 

10.  Not big on criticizing play calling in the preseason, but I hated the 4th quarter play calling, particularly inside the 5 for the go ahead TD.  Stop being cute and run the ball.  You are a team trying to forge an identity as a team that can run the ball.  You do that in part by converting short yardage situations.  That sequence, plus the sequence in the subsequent possession where they passed on first and 20 with little time remaining kept the Steelers in the game needlessly at the end.

 

11.  I sure hope Thomas is okay.  When he caught that pass on the roll out early, I was glad to see it, but my heart skipped a beat when he got upended like that.

 

12;  Bottom line:  It was preseason, so we shouldn't pop the champagne.  Nevertheless, there was some reason for encouragement.  Bortles looked good.  The offense was able to generate a running game.  And even though it is just the preseason, it was good to get a win, especially against the Steelers.

 

My take on the game and response to your comments.

1.)  I felt Blake did good stepping up in the pocket but his anietxy (probably from last year & due to Luke's poor blocking) had him throw a bit high or off as he probably had footsteps in his head.  I need to see him play a whole half next week and better to truly feel confident.

 

2.) I felt the run game went well because of the huge improvement in the Offensive line (despite Luke who was embarassed on that play you had referenced).

 

3.) I know many won't agree but I think Gus should send a message and give Young a chance to start at LT this week.  Hopefully it'll light a spark under him to try harder, but that game was hard to watch.  I remember one play where he totally whiffed on a blocker on a run play.  Along with the lack of effort to beat the guy on the outside, there were several plays he just looked horrible.

 

4.) I need to see more from House, but for the most part he looked good.  I would say he is equal to Ball, I havent seen any kind of upgrade at this point.

 

5.) I was sad to see Harbor drop a couple passes but at least he is getting open, and when you think of it that will really be Thomas running that route (provided he can remain injury free- he already broke his hand).

 

6.) I am very conserned about SAM Skutta, on one play I saw Telvin Smith have to run from the opposite side of the field to stop a running back that Skuta should've had behind the line but he messed up.  A couple of times Skuta was out of place or blocked too easy.

 

7.) The only rookie that I even really noticed was Capi, man way to make a statement in a game.  Sad that we didnt get to see Yeldon play, but it seems everyone is getting finger & hand issuses what is up with that?

 

8.) I thought shoelace did great with the first return and the 2nd. Storm is probably going to get cut if he doesnt show something during preseason, especially being out of shape a few weeks ago.

 

9.)  Scobee is still king but that young kid has a leg on him.

 

10.) I disagree I thought the offensive play calling was decent, but I do remember one situation where I thought Blake shouldve called an audible based on what he was seeing--- maybe Olson was testing him... i mean its preseason a lot of Coaches come out very vanilla or the opposite they try things to see how would it work out for game situations when the season starts.

 

11.)  He broke his hand on the fall.

 

12.) The wins are almost pointless in preseason, except when your team barely wins at all during the regular season it is good to get a win to build confidence.  I always tell my wife that the first half especially the first qtr is the real score (win or loss) in preseason sadly the Steelers starters walked down the field and scored rather easily on the Jaguars then benched Big Ben and shortly after others when the Jaguars came back with two touchdowns in the 2nd.  Either way I was happy with the overall results.  I felt we learned a lot that we had doubts on, for example Luke Joekel was a huge doubt by many fans and he proved us right by having a horrible performance.  I do not think that Marrone will let that slide, if he doesnt improve in the next few weeks he will replace him.

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My impressions&ramblings from game 1


Bowanko has improved upon a relatively successive rookie campaign for a late draft pick. He's stronger and could be an anchor in the middle.


Parnell can really move, stout player


Linder is better, our best oline player. He does it all, pass protect, bull doze, second line screen blocker, trap, pull, wow I like watching this guy. Adding to what JohnO commented on Linder, is he hardly ever looks beat or lost. He's always at the right place at the right time, kind of like AR15 on third down. Trust, power, smarts.


LJ seems lost on some run plays. Attacks well on others. Inconsistent on pass protecting as well.


B5 is feeling the pocket very well. Steps up to avoid the rush to create a second pocket. Takes calculated risks when mobile, though still doesn't see the entire field (miss to clay harbor on second drive on 3/11 is a great example. Lofted the ball over the middle defender and slightly above CH, last year this was a pick after the step up - AR15 was wide open at the right pylon as a safer throw). BB5 is also controlling defenders with much more presence this preseason than last. Looking off defenders in the middle of the field is the sexy way but he's also doing it in delay runs, screens, bootlegs. On the drop to clay harbor on the 3rd drive at ~9min Bortles sees the field very well and makes an excellent throw. On a called play action defender 57 steps up to be a second line defender for the appropriate gap. With time in the pocket bb5 let's CH develop in his route while 57 is playing catchup to defend CH. A perfect throw is dropped by CH but the play in itself was impressive.


BB5 mechanics look sharp causing accurate throws for two reasons I can see. Shorter windup from the waist/hip wide around the head to the elbow to the ear. Also he's taking smaller steps or hops in the pocket and planting with his left foot to drive all the momentum into the ball causing a laser throw rather than a loft pass. Also his follow through across his body is better than whipping his arm out that I saw last year. His motion in college/2014 had a lot of sidearm and uncontrolled motion. His new motion is short, controlled, and doesn't waste energy.


Clay harbor could start for a lot of teams. He blocks adequately and runs good routes. Id like to watch him more.


Toby is running healthy and I see what got me so excited about him prior to the 2014 season.


Denard is explosive and making excellent cutbacks. Fun duo to watch in 2015. What can Yeldon add?


I think the best addition to the jags I've seen is Olson. He's got good plays for a young quarterback and receivers. I loved the timeout and play call on the third drive around ~9 to go to CH again. It was designed to CH all the way. The y receiver runs 10 and goes to block, the set tight end nic Jacobs is running 5 yards and blocking. Great play call IMO


Next play was the big gain by Benn down the left sideline. Set up by excellent route running by Benn and a terrific pump fake to CH as a curl in the same route tree/side.


Next play is a drop by pierce but look at Linder following up and swallowing up the drop/pot fumble. Love this guy


Nic Jacobs misses his assignment and Pierce gets hammered in the backfield.


A general statement is about the line. They seem to run block way and pass protect better. I see two factors why is because they anticipate the rush and know the count well. Also they seem to be holding 'better' as in they know what they need to do to just be a hair short of being called for a penalty. Great technique..


Telvin Smith looks fast but also over pursuing some plays. Hard to tell without the starting d line in.


What I'm looking for in game 2 is a focus on the defense and the same great things I noted above for the offense and bb5.

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The only running back to get over 4 yards per carry that game was D-Rob against the Steelers starting defense to boot.  I think that is one thing that we will all continue to watch this preseason.

I agree aPatel06 Linder had a great game, but Luke Joekel played horrible in fact when Chad Henne threw his touchdown pass he had a lot of time thanks to LT Young playing instead of Luke.

Clay has to not drop those passes though.  If he had caught that TD pass and the other dropped he wouldve been the star of the game.

Toby had some tough yards but he only ran for 13 on four carries 3.25 avg, while D-rob avg 5.5 with 22 yards on four carries (he had the better day also returning well). Grant only got to run twice for 3 yard avg, I hope to see more of him next week.  Storm had 7 carries for only 16 yards and returned poorly... i think he's the most likely to get cut out of the lot unless something changes over the next few weeks.

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Fun stats

Chad Henne is ranked 10th in QB rating after one game with 136.3 QB rating, 9/10 for 87 yards and 1 touchdown. 

Blake Bortles is ranked 14th overall in yards with 118, 96 QB rating and 1 rushing touchdown.

Tied for first place is Nordly Capi with 2 sacks

The team is currently in the middle ranked 16th overall in Offense!  (25th in Rushing & 10th in Passing)

after playing against the 11th ranked Defense (which they've played two games so far)

The Jaguars are ranked 15th in Defense (6th against the Run, 23rd against the pass)


The Pass Defense is what worries me the most as I felt the DBs are the weakest link, and now SS Cyprien injured his finger and is out for the rest of PreSeason.

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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.

 

Right... and when Bortles gets hurt, and Henne comes in, you'll be glad we have one of the best backups in the league.  uh-huh

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Right... and when Bortles gets hurt, and Henne comes in, you'll be glad we have one of the best backups in the league. uh-huh

No you are right. It's best if Bortles doesn't try hard.

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Davon House jumps in front of route showing great athleticism and awareness. A sign of things to come?

Doubtful. You're aware of this team's history with free agents.

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Not saying it was, it was before 5 yards, just that's what I had heard, but it's still just more than him just running by him.


No excuse for House, he got beat, and McCray may get some reps bc of it. Just saying he was pushed. I want to say his near INT was against Bryant too. Don't remember off the top of my head

 

Yeah, the first thing I noticed was it was within 5 yards. The second thing I noticed was that for getting knocked to the ground he sure got up quick and was at least in the same zip code at the end of the play. Almost a wash. The getting jammed he can get better at, the speed in recovery is tougher to coach.

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<p class="bbc_left">Education is the cheap defense of nations. - Edmund Burke

<p class="bbc_left"> 

<p class="bbc_left">Or is it from Burke? I tried finding the source, and looked through some of his writings, no luck. Anybody with google-fu got a citation of the source?

That Cat just didn't have "it". Time to Skin the Cat.

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I ain't no monkey... I'm an ape.

Yeah, the first thing I noticed was it was within 5 yards. The second thing I noticed was that for getting knocked to the ground he sure got up quick and was at least in the same zip code at the end of the play. Almost a wash. The getting jammed he can get better at, the speed in recovery is tougher to coach.

I noticed that too. He was up very fast and almost back to a full sprint. He didn't get beat again all game. And I think Bryant was on his side up till about half time.

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

I noticed that too. He was up very fast and almost back to a full sprint. He didn't get beat again all game. And I think Bryant was on his side up till about half time.

 

Landry Jones is horrible.  That should be taken into account.

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Landry Jones is horrible. That should be taken into account.

Understand the point, but that doesn't change that he still had good coverage on the receiver.

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS