(08-15-2021, 01:33 PM)CTEisREAL 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.

Maybe you saw a different game than me.  I came away seeing a bad team and I was very unimpressed with all the QBs.  The OL is pitiful.  Lawrence made one throw when he had all day and Jones still had to make a great catch to make it work.  Sorry.  I cannot buy this.  We're in for a long season.