(08-15-2021, 02:38 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote:

(08-14-2021, 10:56 PM)Bullseye Wrote: We've been waiting for this moment since January.  We knew the first overall pick was ours and that we'd likely use it on Trevor Lawrence.  Once we found out Urban Meyer would become the coach, whether we like the UM hire or not, we all wanted to see the new era, especially QB Trevor Lawrence.  Now at last, we get our first glimpse of this promising new era in game action.

Here are some of my thoughts...

1.  Though it's just a color, it was nice to see the Jaguars in teal again.  My preference is for the teal jerseys and white pants, but this uniform combo was okay.

2.  We got our first look at the defense first.  One of the things that jumped out to me immediately was how often the corners were up on the WRs.  For years, people would complain about how soft the coverage would be with our CBs playing off the ball.  That doesn't seem to be a characteristic of this scheme, as I rarely saw the CBs play off the ball very far in this game.  Perhaps that is more a function of the Browns' starters not being in the game, but those who were tired of the vanilla scheme of past Jaguars' defensive coordinators like Wash may like Cullen's schemes a little better.  That said, we really couldn't get any stops.  We controlled the run okay, but the Browns converted a lot of 3rd downs and extended drives.

3.  The first thing that stuck out to me about the new offensive scheme is how often the Jaguars were in 4 WR sets.  Bevell was OC in Seattle, where there was a heavy emphasis on the running game.  I'm not sure what he did in Detroit....so I'm not sure if the approach-even in this early point-was part of UM's influence on the offense, whether it was a capitulation to having TL as our QB, whether the coaches wanted to get some particular things done offensively, or some combination of the above.  But like the defense, the initial impression I am  getting is a more aggressive posture.

4.  CJ Henderson has been the subject of a lot of negative speculation this pffseason as a whole, and including this week, as trade rumors circulated in the press and on message boards.  Defensive assistant Charlie Strong said the team would do everything they could to get Henderson on track.  It seems the efforts have paid off, because henderson had a fine game.  his two PBUs on 3rd downs were things of beauty, reminiscent of his game against Indy in last year's season opener.  I can only hope he keeps
that up.

5.  Another veteran DBs who put on a good show was Sidney Jones.  While fighting the injury bug last year, he played well for us as a midseason pickup.  Tonight, he had good plays in pass defense and in run support.  I expect Jones to make this team and be a key contributor to this defense. 

6.  One thing that was not so good was the pass protection.  Many of us were adamant that the team address the offensive line in a significant way this offseason.  Tonight was but the latest reminder of why that was the case.  The team gave up sacks on each of the team's first three possessions against the Browns' second team defensive ends.  On the first play, while TL could have gotten rid of the ball quicker, the DL pretty much collapsed around him.  While technically I think Cann gave up the sack on that play, the line was pushed back into TL's face.  The second sack was just flat out bad, as Taylor was flat out beat for a sack.  There weren't many runs, though the team did a good job on Robinson's 9 yard run.  The pass protection must improve.

7.  Rookie Watch:
     A.  Trevor Lawrence-at long last, Jaguars fans caught a glimpse of the future, and he did not disappoint.  He showed toughness in taking those two sacks and getting up from them without issue.  He showed poise in converting 3rd downs after taking those sacks, hitting an out to Marvin Jones, and later hitting Jones on a 35 yard pass.  On that 35 yard pass, nobody was open initially, and he had a chance to possible scramble for a first down, like many rookies or young QBs would do.  Instead he continued to scan the field and read the defense and wait for a receiver to come open.  He wasn't perfect.  I mentioned earlier about how he could have gotten rid of the ball earlier on that first sack.  There was another pass to the right he overthrew.  On another incompletion to the left, he could have stepped up in the pocket and instead went outside the tackle.  But I certainly did not see the skittishness the writer thought he saw.  Overall he was good...6-9 overall.  One thing I noticed was I guess my own reaction.  In years' past, a sack early in a series would serve to extinguish hope in the drive succeeding.  But the sacks he suffered early on didn't send me into any sort of despair in terms of the success of the series.  Don't get me wrong...I was dismayed beyond measure that TL got hit in the first place (especially twice in one quarter).  But once he got up from those sacks, I didn't really worry about whether we'd convert.  I always felt we had a chance to continue the drive...and he made plays to continue the drives.  I'm happy with what I saw of him.

     B.   Travis Etienne-didn't see much from him.  He had a two yard run, which was pretty good as far as two yard runs are concerned, but anyone looking for fireworks from him was disappointed.

     C.  Tyson Campbell-had a game that epitomized all of the good and bad the scouting reports said about him.  Has good length and showed pretty good coverage ability and had a nice pass breakup.  however, he got beat for a TD on a play where he had good position but somehow couldn't manage to make a play on the ball.

     D.  Walker Little-played LT in the second half and looked pretty good for the most part.  On the TD pass, he would have been beaten badly on the inside, but Derwin Gray was there to pick off the rusher.  Was off balance on the two point conversion attempt,  but otherwise was effective, if someone awkward looking.  Opened a nice hole on a running play.

     E.  Andre Cisco-had an active night with a pass breakup and was in tight coverage underneath for much of the game.

     F.  Jay Tufele-I did not see the wide array of moves that some observers wrote about.  What I did see was a good burst and explosiveness off the snap/quickness off the ball.

     G.  Jordan Smith-I remember not being too crazy about this pick in the immediate aftermath of the selection.  However, I thought he played well tonight.  He did a good job crashing in from the outside to shut down a run.  I just wish he arrived and hit with more force, because the back was able to advance the ball some after the hit.  I saw the anti Tayen Bryan, as Smith showed excellent awareness, and paired that awareness with some athleticism on a batted down pass.

     H.  Luke Farrell-I think he had a catch and got open underneath on a pass that went deeper.

     I.  Jalen camp-had a catch....about 9 yards.

8.  I think it's interesting that these late addition receivers like treadwell, Tayvon Austin and Pharoah Cooper continue to make plays.  Conversely, Collin Johnson not only did not have any catches (to my knowledge), his penalty brought back a long kickoff return.

9.  Special teams were so so.  Logan Cook had some good punts, but Lambo missed a FG.  There were two long returns negated by penalty-one allowed and one made by us.

10.  Happy Birthday Tebow.  Too bad you didn't have any catches and your attempt to block on that sunning play was not good.  On the other hand, I think evey other TE caught at least one pass (Shaunessey didn't play-at least I don't think.)

11.  The more I see of Gotsis, the more I like him.  Thought he and Ekuale both had good games.

12.  Injury watch:  I saw Tre Herndon, Wingard, and Ross go down with injuries.  Hopefully none are too serious, though the Ross injury looked bad.

13.  In trouble-this is a new category I'm trying out.  Not designed to bash a player, but serves as a stock down sort of topic.  Collin Johnson, Jawaan Taylor and Taven bryan did not help themselves.

14.  Bottom line:  While the bottom line results were disappointing, I can't say I am disappointed at the main attraction-Trevor Lawrencel.  Despite the lackluster performances overall, there were some things to be excited about.  Trevor Lawrence was good, as was the run defense.  I think the secondary has some promise, though I did not like the passing yards and lack of stops overall.  It's a marathon, not a sprint, but I want to see overall improvement.  But I'm thrilled we finally have football back tp debate and discuss.

Great analysis as usual. 

2. The overall downfield coverage seemed to be a bit hit and miss. I think some of that was due to the lack of a pass rush we are still showing. The run defense was fantastic though and I loved seeing the aggression from the new scheme. We couldn't stop them in the passing game though, because they were killing us with the underneath screens to the RB's. We had no answer for that. I'm hoping they work on this during practices or else opposing defenses are gonna hone in on this and copy it. It's just the first preseason game though, so I'm not too worried. 

3. I too liked the aggression shown from the offense, but that was countered by the abysmal play of the O-Line. When the pocket folded up like a lawn chair on the first play of the game and Lawrence was sacked, I think my heart stopped for a moment. This is the kind of thing I was afraid of when we retained Warhop as the O-Line coach. Maybe we need to scale back the aggressive offensive play calling a bit until we get the pass protection to a manageable level. 

4. Surprisingly, I was really impressed by Henderson's coverage. If he can play like this and prove me wrong every week, it would be wonderful! I sincerely hope he keeps this up. 

5. Jones has been our most consistent CB since coming to Jacksonville. The only thing holding him back is his health. I am cautiously optimistic that he has turned the corner and he can play a full 16 game season. He is definitely needed. 

6. Agreed. I've said it from the day we drafted him, Jawaan Taylor gets out of his stance way too slow and is consistently beaten off the edge. He NEEDS to be replaced in the starting lineup before he allows something bad to happen to Trevor. I was impressed with Walker Little. It is the first time I've ever seen the kid play since there is virtually no college tape on him due to injury and him sitting out due to Covid. In one preseason game, he already looks like an improvement at OT. I know he was brought in to replace Cam Robinson, but at this point Taylor is way more of a liability. Cam's contract is guaranteed this season, so we might as well play him. We need to either insert Little as the starting RT or start him at LT and move Robinson to RT. This has to be done before the first regular season game or I might have a nervous breakdown. We must protect Trevor.  

7. Agree with pretty much everything you said. 

8. We seem to be very deep at WR, which is a big reason why I am totally opposed to any rumors of trading for Michael Thomas. I like what we have, a lot. 

9. Agreed the penalties were frustrating. I'm not too concerned about Lambo. He has been the picture of consistency throughout his time here and he is coming off of injury last season. I have confidence he will knock the rust off before the season starts. Logan Cooke looked fantastic. 

10. Tim Tebow could be gone as early as Tuesday. If not, it won't be too long after that. He is not making the final roster. 

11. Agreed. Gotsis was made for the 3-4 scheme. 

12. I loathe preseason injuries. Hopefully, none are serious. 

13. I had pretty high hopes for Johnson, but from everything I read, he is getting outplayed in camp and that was obvious tonight. With all the depth at WR, he may not make the final roster. Taven Bryan is a goner and Jawaan Taylor MUST be benched!

I almost didn't even recognize Duwane Smoot. He looks like he's lost 30-35 lbs. He had a nice pressure in the first half. I was really impressed with Cisco. I believe he will start by the first game. Minshew wanted a chance to be named the starter. Well, it's evident that he shouldn't even be the primary backup. Beathard gets rid of the ball so much faster and is so much more decisive than Minshew, it's ridiculous. Overall, I'm satisfied. I knew we weren't gonna be a playoff team and we certainly aren't. There were some good things to take away from this game though and I am hopeful for the future of this team. I haven't been able to say that for over a decade, so that's something.

Thank you, sir.

2.  As I agreed in an earlier response, the underneath stuff killed us.  While it is better than being killed by downfield stuff, it still needs to be controlled.  I think  that if Watson doesn't play for Houston, either Taylor or whoever else plays for the Texans will try to play it safe and attack underneath.  Knowing Cullen's propensity to blitz, it's not out of the question that other teams will utilize underneath passing to counteract it.  We have to clean that up.

3.  Agreed completely.  I didn't think the team had enough run-pass balance.  While I completely understand the faith UM has in TL, TL can only justify that if he has help.  That help can only come with better personnel and with playcalling.  Unless we somehow can find another Ben Coleman on waivers, the personnel isn't likely to change.  But we need more balance offensively to give TL the help he needs...because the OL isn't going to if Taylor is the starting RT.

4. & 5  Based upon what he did early last year, I'm sot surprised that he is capable of this level of play.  His innate talent isn't the question in my mind.  My concern is his intangibles.  If Henderson and Jones are healthy and playing, we'd have a very solid and capable 1-4 CB group all capable of playing effective man coverage.  All of those guys showed some good things.

6.  I am with you on the nervous breakdown thing.  But I am more fearful TL might have a breakdown-nervous or physical-if Taylor is permitted extended play as the starter.  I still wish we had taken Jenkins or Brown, but I'll have to be content with Little being inserted as a starter at T for now.

8.  The depth at WR is an argument against Thomas.  To a large degree I am surprised we can get so much production from guys who weren't added until June...and as late as August.  I wanted to see more of Josh I...because I have read some good things about him.  I think Dorsett is toast at this point, and I think Johnson isn't far behind even though I think he offers far more.  If he's cut, Johnson is a guy we will look back on and wish we had made room on the roster for him.

9.  I'm not concerned about Lambo.  I just need him to stay healthy.  Cook was outstanding.

10.  Kane wanted substantive Tebow discussion.  I said he really didn't warrant much substantive discussion.  A look at his lack of contribution in the game and the comments in this thread shows why I feel that way.  Nobody but Tebow homers thought he had a serious shot at making the final roster, and nothing he did last night changed that impression.

13.  I had high hopes for Johnson, too...and perhaps he could turn things around enough to realize those hopes for us.  But I have always suspected that he was not a UM type of receiver.  Taylor must be benched...but I'm beyond that at this point.  not only does he need to be benched, he needs to be moved inside, even if it means adding a camp cut to replace him at RT.  He can't handle space at all and his size doesn't ever seem to translate into power.  If he could have replicated Jermey Parnell or the guy we signed from Baltimore, he'd be fine.  But he hasn't come close.

I'm glad football season is here though.  I like what TL presents thus far.  I like what the secondary presents.  I think if Henderson has it together, this could be the deepest secondary we've had.  Whereas we had no strengths last year, I think the secondary represents an area of strength right now, as does WR.  There is some basis for hope we are a better team this year, but it's far from a complete team.

---