Quote:So in 2014, the Jags D is 28th in yards/game, 21st in yards/play, 28th in total points...

 

The D Line is better than last year without a doubt, but the LB corps and the secondary is weaker so it's hard to sell the D this year better than last year other than havnig more sacks this year.

 

Also, 2 key players, Gratz and Cyp who we hoped last year were ascending players, are not improving at this point.  That also ignores that we were all hoping that Evans might be a starting caliber FS.

 

Telvin Smith and Colvin show potential but it's hard to really call the D this year that much better than last year overall when considering all position groups.

 

The defense is definitely better this year, you mentioned the defensive line but the linebackers are better as well, specifically in coverage, that (along with an incompetent pass rush) was the achilles heel for this defense last year. There's absolutely no way the 2013 defense would've held the high powered Colts offense to 23 points in that dome, that was one of the more impressive performances of any defense this year. I'm not declaring this unit the second coming of the 2000 Ravens, but it's clearly a unit that disrupts QB's with its pass rush and has the ability to shrink the field with the speed of its linebackers in coverage. There are some nice building blocks on the defensive side of the ball, there are impact players on the defensive line, and potential impact players at linebacker (Telvin Smith) and in the secondary (Demetrius McCray), there's no reason to think they won't continue to improve in 2015, especially considering our cap and draft position.

---