(08-05-2022, 02:20 PM)MarleyJag Wrote:

(08-05-2022, 01:23 PM)Bullseye Wrote: I look at it like this.

We finished with the worst record in the league before Urban Decay was hired to be our coach, and then with him, we had the worst record in the league.

We are now a year removed from Urban Neglect and we have Doug Pederson as our coach.

Assuming no major infusion of talent, what is the difference in wins and losses Pederson should reasonably be expected to have?

Meyer was *so* monumentally dysfunctional, I think just having a professional coaching staff alone is worth 3 or 4 more wins. I also do think this team is more talented than they were last year although depth is still suspect as CTEisREAL said. However, the WR corps is going to be below average when it's said and done even if Kirk puts up near pro-bowl numbers. There's just not enough horses there. We have to hope our TEs make their mark. I do also think our defense is going to be really good by the time we're into the second part of the season. Arrow is pointing up even if we only flirt with .500 this year.

So aside from the WR corps, are there any other factors that would serve to counteract the positive impact of coaching on the W-L record?

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(08-05-2022, 07:41 PM)copycat Wrote:

(08-05-2022, 09:15 AM)Bullseye Wrote: Apologies for the delay in posting.  By the time the game was over, I had absolutely zero energy.

For the first time in a long time, I'd say we had a pretty favorable offseason.  Last year's excitement over getting Trevor Lawrence was more than offset by the horror that was Urban Blight.  But this year, though the fans didn't get what they wanted in Baalke's firing, we DID get a new head coach with Super Bowl bona fides in Doug Pederson.  He seems universally respected by national observers, and that was reflected in the words of the pre game commentators on NBC.  His hiring was compounded by a comparatively strong free agency period, and further bolstered by what I believe was a solid draft.  So considering we're coming off a league worst record for two years in a row, many Jaguars fans were looking forward to this season more than you might otherwise expect.  Of course, getting satisfaction from the tremendous football withdrawal got delayed by inclement weather. 

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the game.

1.  Great to see Boselli walk across the field as a member of the 2022 Hall of Fame class.  He looked pretty happy walking across the field.  Congrats again, Boselli.

2.  It was NOT great to see the first series pn both sides of the ball.  The defense allowed the big pass play on the first play, and got gashed in the running game.  They did hold them to a FG, which I suppose was good, but generally it was not a good showing.  I was disappointed with Devon Hamilton on on a big run.  The sieve like run defense continued on the second drive.  Offensively, we went three and out.  If you don't understand preseason football or were just looking for many positive signs, you left those first two series disappointed.

3.  Glad to hear Tyson Campbell is okay.  Also good to see Andre Cisco starting at S.

4.   What was NOT good to see was two former Jaguars WRs-Keelan Cole and Tyron Johnson-showing more burst and big play ability than our current group.

5.  Understanding neither Robinson nor Etienne played, rating the RBs based solely upon who played last night, Cottrill played the best, followed by Sargeant, Arnstead abd Conner.  Cottrell showed the same big play and receiving ability he displayed last offseason, even if he seemed a bit brittle last night.  Sargeant had some decent moments and showed good hands, including a nice one hand grab on a pass that may not have been intended for him.  Armstead didn't stand out too much.  Conner had some tough runs, but did not have a lot of room.  I will say the RBs seemed to be utilized in the passing game more than in the past.

6.  Special teams:  Nice to see a made FG.  Santoso looked huge, and he seemed to hit the ball well, but his kick just stayed outside.  Fry made his kick. Cook was used way too much, because the offense couldn't get anything going.  There seemed to be no egregious lapses in coverage.


7.  Rookie watch:

     A.  Travon Walker:  Admittedly, I was less than enthusiastic about the Walker pick.  Since then, I've heard some good things about the pick, but I largely dismissed the reports as being premature minicamp optimism.  But if last night is any indication, we seemed to have gotten the gamble on potential over production right.  The very first play, Walker got a good pressure on the QB, although he got a roughing the passer penalty.  Can anyone tell me what exactly he did on that play?!?  The hit didn't seem to be late.  I couldn't tell if he made contact with Stidham's helmet.  His hands were around Stidham's shoulder pads, but it didn't appear to be a horse collar.  The ref did not elaborate on what exactly Walker did.  In any event, he affected the QB on that play and got a sack in the next series.  He appeared to show a strong punch to the tackle's chect and disengaged well to get the QB as he stepped up.  Was last night enough to show Walker is ready for a future Canton enshrinement?  No, but it's an encouraging start.

     B.  Devin Lloyd-Did not play due to the hamstring injury.

     C.  Luke Fortner-I did not watch him closely.  There weren't any errant snaps, nor did I see any penalties called against him.  On the other hand, there didn't seem to be much room inside running the ball.

     D.  Chad Muma-With Devin Lloyd and Oluakon out for the game, Muma got a lot of my focus in this game.  Though the raiders ran a few successful screens, I maintain that the breaches in the defense were NOT his fault.  He seemed to diagnose the screen passes early on.  One pne play, while he did not make the tackle, he slowed the RB down so he could be tackled after a minimal gain.  On another screen. again he diagnosed the play quickly and was in position to make a stop immediately, but he got blocked.  On yet anothe one, his assignment seemed to take him away from the direction of the screen.  In the running game, he showed the ability t reach the sideline in pursuit on a run to the right.  However, I did not notice him in runs straight at him.  There were too many missed gap assignments, but I don't know how many were attributable to him, nor do I know how he fared when he had to stack and shed a blocker.  Bottom line is I saw some good things-but still an incomplete.  I'm not prepared to blame Muma for all of the failures in the run defense the way some are.

     E.  Snoop Conner-See RB discussion above.

     F.  Gregory Junior-Did not notice him

     G.  Buster Brown-Did not notice him.

     H.  Willie Johnson-Was a star of the game.  The UDFA out of Marshall showed a smooth change of direction and a sudden burst a few times during the game, including on an 88 yard punt return that was called back due to penalty.  He helped himself last night.

     I.  Kevin Austin-Got a lot of buzz and the most prominent UDFA signing this year, but hasn't done much of anything.  I barely noticed him last night.

     J.  LeJuan Winningham-he had been getting the buzz that Austin was getting.  He had a catch last night, but nothing that really stood out.

     K.  Grant Morgan-In the pregame show, Jeff Lageman identified LB Grant Morgan as a player to watch.  I looked for him and did not notice him until late in the game.  He showed very good closing speed on a sack where the QB moved outside of the pocket.  He looked like he was shot out of a cannon.

8.  Arden Key looks like he will contribute to the pass eush.

9.  TE Luke Farrell had a couple of nice catches.

10.  Bottom line:  It's preseason and I'm not too worried.  There's no game planning, many of the starters didn't play.  But it's somewhat concerning for this team to declare the defensive emphasis will be stopping the run and for the defense to perform so poorly on that area, even for the first preseason game.  We play Cleveland next and they have a very strong running game.  We will have had the advantage of playing in a game already.  I am hoping to see a better run defense.  But thank God football season is back!!!

TLTR.  I had but one impression, those mostly bottom 2nd stringers and 3rd stringers played exactly like our 1st stingers for much of the past decade.

The sad part is for much of last season, guys who are 2nd and 3rd teamers yesterday like Treadwell, Chaisson, and others were good enough to start over the last two years and get playing time.

It should NEVER, EVER be like that for this team ever again.

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