I have been fighting a cold all week, so my normal level of enthusiasm for the start of the NFL season was a little less than it ordinarily would have been. Nevertheless it was good to be back in the stadium to see my Jaguars. I got an additional bonus when a former STH from the very beginning returned to the section. He is a true Jaguars die hard and a knowledgeable and sensible fan, and one of my most cherished memories as a 21 year STH involved him and the Atlanta game from 1996-the Morten's miss game. Right before the miss, he and I were at the very top of the stadium, trying to convince ourselves that an 8-8 second season was still a good accomplishment, obvious trying to ignore the obvious and overwhelming disappointment that would have lingered with this team for at least a year. Imagine Jaguars history without that miss). I couldn't watch the kick. I looked out over the east stands into the river. Next thing I know, complete pandemonium. I hear him scream and everyone else scream and he jumped into my arms. I can only hope more memories like that with those stakes come up very soon for this franchise. The losing is wearing thin, which brings me to today's game.
1. The temptation for many will be to blame Bortles for this loss. Indeed, his pick six in the 2nd half was a huge play and effectively the difference in the game. However, to me, that pick six was the culmination of very ineffective play by the WRs against what many Jaguars fans felt was a nondescript Panthers' secondary. The few times there were actual separation, there were critical drops. Allen Robinson had a drop really early and was virtually invisible. Hurns had a drop or two as well. The most dependable WR on the day was Greene, who took two wicked hits. The inability of the WRs to get open consistently and catch consistently led to shorter and shorter passes. The coverage tightened accordingly, which invariably led to the INT in the flat. As much promise as the passing game showed in the preseason, I consider this game a complete failure of the passing game from top to bottom.
2. Coming into this season, there was a growing sentiment amongst Jaguars fans that the offense would be the strong side of the ball this year. That still ultimately may be the case before the year is out, but based upon today, the defense is still this team's strong suit. Unfortunately, this team could not make plays when it needed to get off of the field. Clemons had a monster game, and I sincerely hope he can keep it up and teach that spin move to Fowler.
3. I also thought Poz had a very strong game. He had an INT and two other pass defenses, and was in on a bunch of tackles.
4. Luke Joeckel gets a lot of criticism, much of it deserved. But he is the best LT on the team, and it was obvious when he left.
5. Aside from the late pressures, I thought the OL played decently overall. They gave Yeldon and Robinson room to run the ball effectively, and Bortles had time to throw in the first half.
6.Not that I care much for these things, but FAMUs band has the reputation of being the best marching band. I don't know if they altered their performance for the Jaguars' crowd, or they are still feeling the effects from it being suspended, but they had the look of an aging pitcher that lost something off the fastball.
7. Rookie Watch:
A. T.J. Yeldon-there was some apprehension about Yeldon after his first preseason performance. There were even some rumblings about him being a bust (sad but true). But Yeldon had a fine performance today, showing nice wiggle on some runs, showing inside and outside ability. He put a sick move on a defender on a pas reception in that 2 minute drill before halftime that allowed him to get out of bounds and save a time out. If he can continue with performances of that caliber, he will take come pressire off of Bortles, and allow for more effective play action.
B. A.J. Cann-DNP-I don't think
C, James Sample-Did not notice him.
D. Rashaad Greene-had a bunch of short catches and a TD. Showed toughness by bouncing back from two wicked hits. Hopefully he will be okay for Miami. One other negative was his fielding of that punt inside his own five.
E. Michael Bennett-Did not notice him.
F. Grant-had a nice return.
G. Armbrister-Did not notice him, but apparently he hurt his back.
H. Nick Marshall-Did not notice him
8. The thinking here was that with nondescript receivers, the Panthers would not be able to muster much in the passing game. Carolina didn't pass for much, but Ginn Hurt us on a few plays, and they had receivers running open. On Ginn's drop, there appeared that nobody was within ten yards of him How did he get so open? The secondary did not give up a lot of big plays like they did against San Diego, et al last year, but there is cause for concern.
9. Special teams did not cost the team the game, but it was far from perfect. Ginn had a long punt return. As I mentioned before, Greene fielded the punt inside his own five yard line. And perhaps most controversially, Grant, the guy who replaced Scobee, missed an extra point and a FG that followed the Posluszny INT that gave the Jaguars a short field and could have given them momentum. Did you guys noticed that when he kicked FGs, they turned off the video board where he was looking into? Was that coincidental or purposeful? If we have a placekicker that is somehow distracted by scoreboards behind goal posts, that is a problem.
10. Bottom line: This was a winnable game for the Jaguars that they let get away, and a disappointing loss overall. They will have to play much better against a better Miami team to have a hope of reaching .500. If not, this thing could negatively snowball quickly.
Worst to 1st. Curse Reversed!
