Perhaps it's merely coincidence, but I tend to think the reason there is so much discussion in Jaguars nation about the importance of the Head Coach-QB duo is that for the first time-at least since the TC /Brunell era if not ever-we actually have that combo in Pederson and Lawrence.  Pederson has proven to be able to win a Super Bowl with Philadelphia back in 2017, while Trevor Lawrence was touted as the best QB prospect to come into the league since Andrew Luck.  After a rough start, he is beginning to realize his potential and since midseason has been playing as well as any QB in the league.  While the general feel good consensus is that we have that combo, very few fans think we're a Super Bowl team at the moment

So if combinations/duos are key to building a championship team, and we have the most important part head coach and QB, what would be considered the nexst step, and do we have it? Do we have the makings of it if not the complete duo?  If so, who are they?  Have they begun to manifest the essential building block to a Super Bowl winning franchise?  If not, what's missing?

I assert the next stage in Jaguars ascent are catalysts/playmakers/dominant players on at least two levels of the defense, with a dominant DL/edge rusher being the most vital.   The Steelers of the 1970s added their HC/QB combo with Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw.  But that team was as well known for their defense.  The Steel curtain had an insane 6 Hall of Famers on that defense:  DL Joe Greene and LC Greenwood, LBs Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, and CB Mel Blount and S Donnie Shell.Because they had dominant players at all three levels, in addition to the HC/QB combo, they were able to be a dominant franchise, and have followed that same basic formula over the past 50 or so years since.

The `980s 49ers had their HC/QB combo in Bill Walsh (known for his command of the West coast offense) and Joe Montana.  While they got most of the glory from those 1980s teams, the fact is they did not ascend into Super Bowl champions until they added defensive catalysts in Edge Rusher in Pro Bowler Fred Dean, ILB Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds, and three rookie DBs in Hall of Fame CB Ronnie Lott, DB Carlton Williamson, and Eric Wright.  With catalysts on at least two levels of the defense-edge rusher Fred Dean and the secondary with Ronnie Lott, they combined with Walsh and Montana utilizing that formula to win 4 Super Bowls in the 1980s.  The 1990s saw a few teams utilize that formula to win championships.  Dallas had their HC=QB combo with Jimmy Johnson and Troy Aikman (though it took them a couple of years to get the right OC in Norv Turner to get the most out of Aikman.  They were able to reach the playoffs in 1991, but they weren't able to reach the Super Bowl until they were able to add a dominant edge rusher in Charles Haley and two excellent DBs in SS Darren Woodson and CB Kevin Smith.   The Green Bay Packers had their HC?QB Dup in Mike Holmgren and Brett Favre, and created a Super Bowl caliber defense by adding Hall of Fame DE Reggie White, Pro Bowl Sean Jones, and a DB in Hall of Fame SS LeeRoy Butler.  Denver won their first two Super Bowls with Shanahan-Elway as their HC-QB combo, and had multiple defensive catalysts in former KC Pro Bowl DE Neil Smith and former Pro Bowl S Steve Atwater.  The 2000s saw other champions follow that same basic formula (Patriots, Steelers, Rams, Seahawks) to reach and win Super Bowls.

A few points of clarification:  not every team that won Super Bowls followed that precise formula.  The 2000 Baltimore Ravens certainly didn't fin their QB in Trent Dilfer, and while he was considered a good offensive mind coming from Minnesota, I'm not sure if Brian Billick could be considered a great head coach.  But their defense was dominant on three levels (McCrary. Adams, Siragusa and Rob Burnett along the DL, Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and at LB, and Chris McAllister and Rod Woodson in the secondary), they were able to overcome the lack of nearly any contribution from the passing game.  Tampa showed a similar dynamic, as they had dominating pass rushers in former Pro bowl DE Simeon Rice, Hall of Fame DT Warren Sapp, LB Derrick Brooks, and DBs Ronde Barber and S John Lynch, to overcome a marginal QB in Brad Johnson.  The offensive version of these teams would be the 1999 Rams, who had a dominant DL with Kevin Carter, but so so LBs and DBs, but their offense was so dominant it overcame whatever shortcomings they had on defense.  But all of those teams featured good pass rushers whether as a hand on the ground DE or as a stand up 3-4 OLB like Lawrence Taylor and Charles Haley.

Those of you who have read my posts over the years know I am a staunch advocate of investing earrly picks on the skill positions, and as a general proposition, I do not deviate from that philosophy.  However, within the context of the Jaguars specific rebuild, I submit that at least in the interim additions of Zay Jones, Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, Travis Etienne, Tyson Campbell and the future addition of Calvin Ridley represents substantial skill position investment, even if they could stand to add another CB or two this offseason.   They will definitely need substantial skill position investment within 2 seasons.

So with all of this in mind, do the Jaguars have that defensive duo that can take this defense to the next level? At the moment, no.  I think most Jaguars fans were thrilled when we landed Josh Allen. but in terms of dominance as an edge rusher, he's more a supporting actor than a leading man.   The LB group as a whole COULD prove to be a strength if we can add an explosive edge rusher opposite Allen.  Lloyd is e very good athlete and is involved in a lot of turnovers. However, for whatever reason, he doesn't seem to be grasping the scheme, and for him to be involved in the turnovers as much as he has been considering he's making mental mistakes, once he fully grasps the scheme, he should be an amazing player.  But I'm not sure if he's that edge rusher the team needs.  Muma comparatively speaking seems more limited athletically but could be a key cog. We MIGHT have that guy in the secondary with Tyson Campbell.  We have no dominators in the DL.  The bad news is to maximize and accelerate this team's climb to contender, this offseason (draft) will needs some playmaking defenders, especially at pass rusher.  The good news is edge rushers-especially 3-4 edge rushers-can reasonably be found in the mid rounds.

Thoughts?

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