Last week, excitement was overflowing in Jag nation. Football season was finally here, many Jaguars fans got their first in game look at the new video boards, and all Jaguars fans got their first in game look at Blake Bortles, whose debut made many believe he's the QB we've been looking for. The defense was downright nasty against Tampa, while several other rookies and free agents looked good, How would the team fare on the road against a team with a better offense than Tampa?
My thoughts...
A. After last week's game, the chorus got louder that Bortles should start and Henne should be relegated to the bench. Well, Henne showed last night that he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Henne had a good game and moved the team.
B. The offensive line, however, remains a problem. While there were no disastrous shotgun snaps last night, there were still missed blocks. Brewster got beat badly on at least one play. I thought aside from an early bull rush from one of the game's best DEs in Jared Allen, Joeckel did well. But worse, this unit suffered two injuries...Pasztor and Bowanko. Hopefully neither injury will be too serious.
C. The starting defense played pretty well, though the performance was not nearly as dominant as it was against Tampa. Aside from Clemons, I did not see anyone ever really pressure Cutler or the backup. Chicago also got some decent runs. I still think the defense will be better overall, but I think last night was a more accurate reflection of how the D will perform.
D. Continuing on that theme, Dwayne Gratz was a monster tonight. No picks, but he was all over the place. Every time you turned around the announcers were calling his name. He had several solid plays in run support, and showed good coverage overall. The PI call against him was completely bogus.
E. One of the biggest problems with the injury to Doss and the Sanders suspension is that at the moment, we don't have a competent punt returner. Wiil Blackmon has given us good play at DB, but is a liability in fielding punts. For the second game in a row, Blackmon failed to field a punt, costing the team field position.
F. It was good to see Toby Gerhart for the first time. He had a couple of decent runs despite some seemingly shaky run blocking. One thing that has been a problem to me. As I indicated earlier, the team seems determined to run outside more. However after two games, it appears the only guy who has proven able to get outside is Denard Robinson. Even though Robinson also had some good inside runs, it seems like if this trend continues, defenses will key the run depending upon the personnel. Speaking of RBs and Robinson, for the second game in a row, it's arguable Robinson had the most impressive runs in the games. I wonder if he is coming closer to passing Todman on the depth chart.
G. Rookie Watch
1. Blake Bortles-His second performance left me smiling as much as his first. After an ugly first pass, we had quite a few "wow" moments for me. There was one play in the third quarter where he identified the mike and the blitz, audibled out of the play, looked off the safety to the right, looked back all the way to the other side of the field, and hit a receiver deep down the sideline in a perfectly thrown ball. There were other play where Bortles exhibited an excellent ability to throw on the run, even against his body. The one play coming out of his end zone where Gruden initially trashed him for the throw was still amazing. Gruden even backtracked on much of the negative criticism when he got another look at the throw. Bortles even seemed to show a good command of the hurry up offense, and once again he led the team to points. He needs to get the team in the end zone, and I would like a larger sample size showing how he would handle the blitz, but for the second week in a row, he looked good enough for observers to argue he should be the starter.
2. Marqise Lee-Displayed what I expected him to do in the first game. He was involved early and often in the passing game. He showed good short area quickness and separation. I thought he had a better chance to score on a play if he kept running inside instead of juking it back outside, but he caught his first TD later. I think whatever "worry" there was about him last week was diminshed.
3. Allan Robinson-DNP
4. Brandon Linder-got some playing time at G and C. Nothing stood out good or bad, but I will need to rewatch the game to get a better feel for his performance. I suppose that is a good thing.
5. Aaron Colvin-DNP
6. Telvin Smith-Did not seem as omnipresent as he was against Tampa, but did make his presence felt, showing good range for a linebacker, tipping a pass that led to an INT.
7. Chris Smth-though he got a couple of pressures, he did not jump off the screen the way he did against Tampa. His burst looked like that of a "normal" DE instead of all world like last week. Still put in some quality minutes and did not seem to hurt himself with his performance.
8. Luke Bowanko-got playing time at C and did not stand out. Was injured late. Hopefully the injury is not serious.
9. Storm Johnson-Had a nice kick return, IIRC caught a pass that netted decent yardage, and had a couple of decent runs. Has looked better than Todman thus far, though watching him, you get the sense he dances too much on outside runs.
10. Allen Hurns-Had another solid outing. I think his familiarity with the offense helps him, and it shows in his play. As of now, he survives the final cut, and will be hard to cut when guys return from injury and suspension.
11. Deandre Coleman-did not stand out against Chicago the way he did against Tampa.
12. Rashaad Reynolds-IIRC had a fumble recovery.
H. Speaking of DBs, there was talk that Josh Evans had fallen down the depth chart and his stay on the roster may be tenuous. It' a good thing for him he showed good awareness and ball skills by coming up with the INT on the Telvin Smith tipped pass.
I. Interesting to see "Cookman on Cookman violence" when BCU grad Ryan Davis absolutely belted former Pro Bowl WR/KR Eric Weems on an eary kickoff return. I. Bottom line: Even though the final score did not go the Jaguars way, Jaguars fans have to be pleased with what we saw last night. The starters outplayed the Bears starters the entire first half. Bortles continued to give Jaguars fans hope and excitement over the future of the QB position. Other rookies shone for the first time, while Telvin Smith continued to shine. Second year players like Joeckel, Cyprien, Gratz and Robinson continued to show improvement. Though the injuries to the OL were unfortunate and the last thing we needed, like last week, the lasting impression from this game is that we are a better football team than we were last year.
Worst to 1st. Curse Reversed!
