Most of us are encouraged, even if our enthusiasm is tempered due to the team's past performances and this being preseason.

 

Nevertheless, it's felt a little better to be a Jaguars fan than it has in a while after the team beat Pittsburgh.

 

What sort of things are you looking for in this upcoming game?

 

1.  Continued consistency from Bortles-Bortles played well against Pittsburgh.  Though he had a couple of high throws, most of his throws were on target.  Several instances showed Bortles scanning the field and not locking onto a single receiver, stepping up into the pocket and not abandoning the play with a premature scramble, and making a good throw.  I would like to see him do this in a hostile setting.  Granted, a road preseason game is typically nowhere near as intense as regular or post season as far as the crowd goes.  But having him perform well on the road will increase his confidence, the team's confidence in him, and the fans confidence overall.

 

2.  Continued improvement in the running game-One of the things that made last week so encouraging was the team showed balance.  Denard Robinson, Toby Gerhart and Bernard Pierce all had their moments on the ground as the team was able to run the ball effectively. 

 

3.  I want another big game from the passing offense-Too often in this team's history, I can recall instances where we have gone up against a team with an area depleted by injuries, only to have our team not being able to capitalize on it.  In 2004, the Titans came in to Jacksonville with a depleted secondary and beat us because Garrard and company could not exploit them.  A few years later, we went to Seattle, whose offensive line was decimated by injuries.  Jaguars fans hoped for a big game from the pass rush.  Instead, our beloved Jaguars got smacked 41-0.  Though this is preseason, the Giants are an injury depleted secondary.  I would like to see this young group exploit this with some big plays.

 

4.  Improvement in the defensive trenches.  Last week we played without our starters on the OL.  We get some reinforcements this week.  Odrick, Miller and Clemons are now healthy.  I want to see improvement in stopping the run, and a stronger pass rush.

 

5.  More from the young guys.  Sure, Sample will likely have to wait another week or two to return, as will Yeldon.  But can Cap Capi continue to make an impact on the pass rush?  Will Cann continue to provide a good pocket and get more movement in the run game?  Can Rashad Greene make more big plays in the passing game and on punt returns?  Can Bennett continue to make an impact at DT?  What will other UDFAs like Grant and Marshall do?

 

6.  Will the secondary pass this test-Last week, the DBs had to go against one of the best passing attacks in football with Big Ben, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant.  There is another formidable test

this weekend with Eli Manning, Odell Backham , Jr., and a healthy Victor Cruz.

 

7.  How deep is LB?  Going into last week's game, there was wide concern about the depth and lack of experience at LB.  I think that was lessened to a certain extent with the performance of the backups, but was that an aberration, or will guys like Fortt and Armbrister show they can play at this level?

 

8.  The kicking competition:  The talk surrounding it seems to have died down, as it seems that Scobee has taken control.  Will Myers stick around, or will Scobee cement his spot on the team and lengthen his tenure.

 

9.  A healthier team-As exciting as it was to see Julius Thomas, it was equally disappointing to see him out for at least three games due to injury.  We need to get through this game with no further injuries.

 

Your thoughts?

 

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Besides seeing a continuation of the offensive progression/consistency, my biggest is your #6. I want to see how our secondary hold up against some more good receivers. No big plays. Or at least not bc of poor coverage, not much you can do if Eli throws a perfect pass (lol)


Aside from the my second specific area is progression from Joeckel

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

I want to see the first team D rebound against a first team O.  That first series (only series Big Ben played) was a disaster.  

 

Continue to see Blake, the running game and Oline progress get better.

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I want Bortles to throw 2 TDs and show us he is in fact a QB that will take us places, even if the coaching or other players break down around him.


I want Chris Smith to get a sack on first stringers.

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No one has said this, but how will Colvin, McCray and House match-up against Victor Cruz and OBJ? That's important to watch out for. We can't get burned by the passing attack again and we need to show we can play lock down defense. Especially since there is no scheming and its standard plays for the offense/defense. If we can't do it in the pre-season, we definitely won't during the regular season.

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The Giants O-line was completely dominated by Cincy's Defensive front last week. Eli Manning played 4 series due to the fact the first three offensive series all went 3 and out.


The Giants offense did not look good at all. Now their defense is riddled with injuries too.

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Sosa...see #6 in my post.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Sosa...see #6 in my post.

Oh wow, can't believe I skipped right over that one, my bad lol.

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More of the same on offense.  

 

Better pass rush on defense.

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Less drops

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Oh wow, can't believe I skipped right over that one, my bad lol.

In fairness to you, I rambled on quite a bit there.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

The Giants O-line was completely dominated by Cincy's Defensive front last week. Eli Manning played 4 series due to the fact the first three offensive series all went 3 and out.

The Giants offense did not look good at all. Now their defense is riddled with injuries too.

It would be nice if we could duplicate that...but I don't see our current D line to be as talented as Cincy's.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Easy

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I'd like to see a better showing from the starting defense. I know not all of our starters will be on the field at once to start the game but their last showing wasn't very impressive. I also want to see reasons to believe T.J. Yeldon can be our every down back. Also less drops with key big play chances that negated first downs by Hurns and Harbor. We won't catch everything but it has been plaguing many players except for Allen Robinson.

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No pain, no gain.

Run clogging by the d line and good/smart plays by the linebackers. How about some aggressive play by our corners too.


I want Bortles and the offense to do well but I'm not going to read into it too much if it's 2 TDs or 3 3 and outs.

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More defense in the first quarter.

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I would love to see the defense force a three and out. And then Bortles and the first team offense to come in and go right down the field and score like Roethlisberger did last week.

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I want to see a score on the first offensive series a stop on the first defensive series, and no significant injuries. 

 

Other than that, it's mostly seeing which 2nd-tier and bubble players stand out.

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To see Harbor and Hurns catch the stinkin ball!

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Another dubya.

 

I'd like to see Bortles play less. 

I NEED to see Joker play better (I'm not harping on the guy like many, but he can't whiff bad)

More run game progression... first game was good, let's see s'more.

 

Sacks.

Not a lot... but I wanna see Eli go down once.

I know we don't have our full starting line out there... But a couple late game sacks against backups backups from Cap Capi ain't gonna cut it.

 

Hurns, Harbor, Pierce...

Catch the ball.

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