(01-18-2020, 06:32 AM)surfon Wrote:

(01-17-2020, 10:02 PM)NYC4jags Wrote: I know you are kidding, but the resident crew that complained all year about some mythical "run, run, pass" offensive strategy they thought  they perceived should be aware that the Jaguars passed on 61% of their first downs in 2019.

That's the twelfth most in the entire league. More than KC, PHI, DAL, HOU, GB, NE, SF, BALT, and several others. 

Fans are so quick to blame playcalling and scheme for poor player execution that these perceptions become very skewed. All three were factors in the Jags struggles last season, but the notion they didn't throw on 1st down is inaccurate.

Yea well if my choice was always either 2nd and 8 or worse if i ran on first down,  I probably would call more pass plays too.  Performance or lack thereof can also dictate play calling.  What was the jags average second down yards to go when they ran on first down if ya got those stats i would be interested in a discussion.

I don't have those numbers. Wish I did. 

There were certainly plenty of first down runs that didn't go anywhere - and much of that goes back to scheme and dictating a loaded box by putting 7 guys on the line and only 1 or 2 receivers wide.  The Jags did that a lot in 2019 and it resulted in Fournette facing a ton of early contact. (he averaged 1.4 yds before contact on the year)  Nonetheless they succeeded on first down runs enough to maintain a balance and a respectable 4.3 YPA number for LF. 

Interestingly enough, DeFilippo actually tried running Fournette out of some slightly more spread out formations early in the season but it was going nowhere. It wasn't until he started adding multiple TEs as blockers that things started to click in the run game. To me, this is an indictment on both the offensive line and on the back. The line wasn't giving him lanes with just 5 guys blocking and LF wasn't finding the creases when they were there. 

We can pick apart the numbers all day and speculate as to WHY Flip passed on 1st down frequently, but the fact remains that the Jags indeed threw the ball on first down more than 20 other teams last season. Which was my entire point.

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