(09-10-2017, 06:35 PM)Bullseye Wrote: A couple of things before I get into my game takes:
First, I sincerely hope everyone is safe from the hurricane and there is little to no loss of life and health and property to people throughout the region. To piggyback on this, I hope Houston and the areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey recover quickly from the storm. Those of us who lurk and post on these boards have our differences, but I hope we all emerge from these storms unscathed.
Secondly, I want to alert any readers of this post that due to technical issues, I missed the first half. I listened on the radio but did not see. I watched the second half, so take my analysis with a grain of salt. That said, my thoughts on the game, for what they are worth...
1. Prior to today, Jaguars fans had a litany of complaints about this team stemming from last season and extending though the preseason. Bortles was a turnover machine. We can't run the ball, even in short yardage. Our offensive line was not good. We don't get any pressure on the QB. We don't create turnovers. Special teams weren't any good. Our coaching is incompetent. After today...at least for this week...all of those criticisms save one were silenced. Bortles was steady, if unspectacular as caretaker today. We were able to run the ball and pound the Texans. The offensive line stifled the vaunted Texans front 7. The defensive line stole the show from the Texans' front 7, registering TEN (10) sacks! The team forced three turnovers, and Marrone coached a heckuva game. The only real question mark was Myers, who missed a FG and an extra point.
2. The defensive line was amazing. I figured the Texans might have problems blocking our guys without Duane Brown and the general state of their O-line, but ten sacks was beyond any reasonable expectations. Every starter along the DL made an impact. Calais Campbell FOUR sacks??!?!!? Yes!! Ngakoue has what...2 sacks and a forced fumble, that was returned for a TD by Dante Fowler, who forced a fumble and had a sack himself. Malik Jackson notched a sack and Abry Jones recovered a fumble. We didn't get this from our defenses under JDR. We won't have games like this every week, but this performance gives me hope that our defense-especially the line, can be a catalyst in games to come, instead of a liability.
3. The offensive line was a most pleasant surprise as well. Houston has traditionally killed us with their defensive line. Not today. Did Houston notch any sacks against us? Did they really even pressure Bortles? I know they weren't able to stop the run. The guards that appeared to be such a liability were nothing of the sort today. They put Watt on a milk carton. Outstanding performance all around given the opponent.
4. I sure hope Allen Robinson is okay. If this is, in fact, a season we return to respectability, we will definitely need him.
5. This board is a whole lot different after a win...especially a relevant win.
6. I continue to fear Myers will cost us a game.
7. Rookie Watch:- Leonard Fournette-100 yards rushing and a TD in his first game. I will take that any time.
- Cam Robinson-Shut down Jadeveon Clowney and Mercilus was also a non factor. Watching him and Joeckel today makes me think that trade up one spot to get him might have been one of the most important moves in the draft.
- Dawaune Smoot-got some reps and almost had a TFL.
- Dede Westbrook-on IR-DNP
- Blair Brown-DNP
- Myrick-DNP
- Keelan Cole-Bortles threw to him on what looked like some sort of crossing route. Ball was either tipped or hit his shoulder.
8. One of the things I enjoyed most about this game is the way the defense continued to attack, even with a big lead. The team blitzed Savage, and when they forced him out of the game, they blitzed the rookie Watson, too. This, among other things, makes me more confident in the coaching.
9. Bottom line: I know many observers will attribute the Texans' performance to the difficulties dealing with the hurricane aftermath. I have no doubt that may have played a factor. But most of these same observers thought the hurricane would be a positive intangible factor for the Texans. Futhermore, the hurricane did not make the Texans' QBs any less experienced, did not cause or lengthen Duane Brown's holdout, did not create the talent deficiencies elsewhere on the OL, and did not make the Texans shorthanded at WR. Nor did the hurricane cause the Jaguars to sign guys like Campbell and Church, draft guys like Fournette, Robinson, Ngakoue and Fowler, or name Marrone head coach. Despite what many naysayers will try to say, this was an earned win for our Jaguars! Any attempts to de-legitimize it are disingenuous and ultimately false. The Texans had this [BLEEP] kicking coming, as do the tacks next week.
P.S. Irma go away!
Today was a great [BLEEP] day. Came in thinking (like many of us I'm sure) that we would lose today. That our Oline would be destroyed, that the texans D would be too much and that we were still essentially the same team as last year with a few added pieces. Couldn't have been more wrong.
Great anaylsis as always Bullseye, tis great to finally be able to talk about ourselves in a positive light.
The biggest takeaway for me, above all else, was the mentality of the team. We marched into an incredibly hostile building, with the entire city of houston behind the Texans and dominated them. Pretty early on it was clear we were here for business, we weren't here to be part of some feel good story or play second fiddle. We shut the crowd up and were physically superior to the texans from the get go.
I was waiting all game us to shoot ourselves in the foot and turn this into an L but it didn't happen. The drive right after the texans scored/was given a TD was critical. Bortles calmly marched up the field and scored. No messing about.
Dline was outstanding. Sure the texans Oline was bad but these guys were bloodthirsty, there was no let up , no breaks. Watson made it tough for a bit but we adjusted. Calais, Fowler, Yannick, Abry all immense. There was a certain chemistry there too. They played off each other.
Oline was just as outstanding in its own right imo. Shutdown one of the best front 7s in football. Considering we all thought this was our biggest weakness it was crazy to see them play like that. The only defense we'll play all year as good as that will be the Seahawks. I barely noticed Cam play which is always a good thing. We opened up enough holes in the run to be effective, sure there was some issues but overall it was effective. It looked like a unit that knew how to work off each other, much like the dline.
Bouye and Ramsey are the perfect duo. Both know how good they are and aren't afraid to let receivers know. Sure you might beat them once or twice but you sure as hell ain't getting an easy game.
Myles Jack was all over. Telvin his usual self.
Fournette was as advertised and more. He can catch passes pretty darn good too.
Bortles looked confident and in control. I gained a ton of respect for how he handled himself out there. He isn't perfect, and probably isn't the QB next year but he played well.
The coaching staff deserves a ton of credit. Great gameplan. Marrone seems to know what hes at.
Could talk for days about this game really.
One final note..feel awful for ARob. Appears to be a season ending knee injury (likely ACL), in his contract year. This is his 4th season and he's had a season ending injury in two of them. Worked so hard this offseason, now the team looks to be decent and he's out. Not sure how we approach his contract, maybe a short incentive based deal? Teams might still offer him a lot. Would be interested in hearing what y'all think on that..
