Nate Stupar. 

 

I know it doesn't make any sense, but Nate Stupar is my standard answer to any question about the Jaguars.

---

I like the additions, but until they bring results... it's still pass rush.

---

"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

Whatever position Alualu plays.  So back up 5 tech.  Oops that is me pushing my agenda again. 

---

Clemons upgraded the pass rush, and is proven.  Hayes, Watson, and Reynolds are a collective weakness. 

---

What I'm thinking is, this defense is designed to apply pressure to the QB.   That means a superstar on the back end would clean up.   And we have... Winston Guy?

 

Free Safety is our biggest need.   We need an Earl Thomas. 

---

Am I crazy? What about Cyprien?

---

i

---

Am I crazy? What about Cyprien?

 

I don't know if you were responding to me, but if you were, Cyprien doesn't play free safety.   He plays strong safety. 

---

Dug into PFF stats to ease the dead zone boredom and there is some interesting info to be had on this topic of free safties and defensive backs in general.

 

First, let me make a couple points:

 

Stats are history and very poor indicators of rookie potential.

Stats can tell some things but not all things.

You can probably find a stat to support just about anything.

 

Cyprian started fifteen games and played all the defensive snaps in each game, 1062, That is a tremendous accomplishment for a rookie.  Ten of his starts were at free safety and five were at strong safety.  Out of the 86 safeties ranked, he ranks 84th.  Even though PFF stresses that its grading is history based rather than potential based they give him an average rating on their depth chart as our starting strong safety going into this year in spite of the terrible rookie numbers.  He graded -17.5 overall and most of that was from the -14.8 pass coverage portion.  Two of his last three games were graded negatively for pass coverage. 

 

Evans started ten games at strong safety and only a single game at free safety.  He played 682 snaps and ranked 78th of 86.  He graded out at -10.9 overall and -7.9 on pass coverage.  

 

Guy started two games at free safety.  He played 363 snaps and ranked 68th of 86.  He graded out at -6.9 overall and +1.4 on pass coverage.  Guy has only one more year in the league than Cyprian and Evans and he played very little in that year so he is almost as green as they are.

 

So what do we make of these stats?  First thing I thought was although I had always considered Cyprian as a strong safety I now wonder if he was drafted as the hope for the future single high safety and has since been been shifted to a better position for him as a strong safety.  Only Gus and Caldwell know the answer to that.

 

Second, the concern for the free safety position is valid.  It is disturbing to see so many negative grades for pass coverage for a position that is the key if we are going to mimic the Seattle style of defense with a single high safety standing alone on a rather large island.

 

Third, they are all essentially just starting their second year so no one, except maybe Dave and Gus, know what we really have at safety now.  

 

Fourth, our four cornerbacks are ALL ranked in the upper half of the league.  Of the 110 rated cornerbacks, Ball is 20th with a +7.5, Blackmon is 22nd with a +7.2, Gratz is 38th with a +3.3 and Mike Harris is 48th with a +1.1.   This tells me that the little known quality we displayed at cornerback may have been offsetting the deficiencies at safety.  It also says we ought to be giving our cornerbacks a lot more appreciation than we are.

---

Other.

 

Until we have a dominant pass rusher that is proven, that's the biggest defensive need.

 

 

I quote you, for you said it first. You must share your +1 with the others that have followed.

 

I don't care what position it comes from, but for once in a long time I just want opposing teams to have to game plan for a sack master on every passing play when they play us.

---

What I'm thinking is, this defense is designed to apply pressure to the QB.   That means a superstar on the back end would clean up.   And we have... Winston Guy?

 

Free Safety is our biggest need.   We need an Earl Thomas.

Hey we would all love to have a Earl Thomas but so would other 30 Nfl teams. I think we're gonna be ok at Free safety. We need a Robert Quinn or Michael Bennett more.

---

I would have to agree. The Jaguars let a lot short catches turn into TD's. Ineffective safety play means an average QB can pick your team apart by simply playing keep away.

 

It's hard to blame the DE's for not producing sacks when the opposing WR's are open after 2 seconds, and if they catch it, they normally pick up the 1st down on 3rd and long or just flat out score by running to where the FS should be.

 

This.

 

Plus there were alot of times the team played zone and let alot of short catches turn into big gains especially on 3rd down conversions.

---

Whether someone has a liberal, or conservative viewpoint, a authoritative figure should not lock a thread for the sole purpose to get the last word in all the while prohibiting someone else from being able to respond.

Until this team can get after the quarterback consistently, with just a base defense or with the front seven in general, it's hard to tell what you truly need upgraded from a positional standpoint. Maybe you don't need to upgrade the OLB, ILB, CB, and SS/FS positions once you realize those guys play pretty decently and at a respectable level when the DE or "Pass Rusher" or "Rushers" are doing their job. But after finishing dead last in sacks over the last two years, if you say anything outside of "Pass Rush" needing improvement on defense, I'd second guess you in many facets of your life probably.....

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Until this team can get after the quarterback consistently, with just a base defense or with the front seven in general, it's hard to tell what you truly need upgraded from a positional standpoint. Maybe you don't need to upgrade the OLB, ILB, CB, and SS/FS positions once you realize those guys play pretty decently and at a respectable level when the DE or "Pass Rusher" or "Rushers" are doing their job. But after finishing dead last in sacks over the last two years, if you say anything outside of "Pass Rush" needing improvement on defense, I'd second guess you in many facets of your life probably.....

 

Of course you are correct that our pass rush has sucked for the last two years, but I am projecting that we already have the guys to provide a vastly improved pass rush ( all the new defensive linemen including Chris Clemons).   I do not think I can project vastly improved free safety play, because we didn't do much about it in the offseason.  

 

I think maybe the people who say pass rush needs the most improvement are not taking into account all the new players we have acquired in free agency and the draft. 

---

Of course you are correct that our pass rush has sucked for the last two years, but I am projecting that we already have the guys to provide a vastly improved pass rush ( all the new defensive linemen including Chris Clemons).   I do not think I can project vastly improved free safety play, because we didn't do much about it in the offseason.  

 

I think maybe the people who say pass rush needs the most improvement are not taking into account all the new players we have acquired in free agency and the draft. 

 

I don't think our pass rush will be "vastly" improved. We went out and got upgrades, no doubt about it, but it's not like the guys we picked-up were game changers at their previous stints. I don't think we'll finish dead last though, and it's not far fetched to see us finishing in the top twenty hopefully this season in sack totals.

 

As far as free safety play, they're just letting things play out like they should. You drafted Cyprien and Evans last year, let them get their feet wet abit, now let's see how they look this year with that rookie season out of the way and under their belts.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

I don't think our pass rush will be "vastly" improved. We went out and got upgrades, no doubt about it, but it's not like the guys we picked-up were game changers at their previous stints. I don't think we'll finish dead last though, and it's not far fetched to see us finishing in the top twenty hopefully this season in sack totals.

 

As far as free safety play, they're just letting things play out like they should. You drafted Cyprien and Evans last year, let them get their feet wet abit, now let's see how they look this year with that rookie season out of the way and under their belts.

 

Just to be clear, I'm not concerned about Cyprien, I'm concerned about the other safety.   The one that we don't know who the hell it's going to be.   I really don't think the answer is on the roster. 

 

As for our pass rush, I think Chris Clemons was a game-changer until his injury, and it is very possible if not probable that he will recover and be his old self.   I think our defensive line could be a strength this year, with all the added depth and veteran talent.  I just don't see that at safety other than Cyprien.   And that's why I'm saying free safety, the safety other than Cyprien, is my biggest concern on defense. 

---

Clemons and Bryant WERE game changers in Seattle. Red was the leader of the DL. As I have told my son several times stats are studied to much now because of Fantasy Football. Sometimes a player is just what you need at a position and have 25 tackles and 2 sacks.

 

The only thing I worry about is their age. They are here to teach and be leaders. They will be starters but will play in a rotation. We are going to be better on defense now! Next year we will add more Free Agents with us being so far under the cap.

 

We are in for a nice ride sometimes in the next 2 years.

---

Just to be clear, I'm not concerned about Cyprien, I'm concerned about the other safety.   The one that we don't know who the hell it's going to be.   I really don't think the answer is on the roster. 

 

As for our pass rush, I think Chris Clemons was a game-changer until his injury, and it is very possible if not probable that he will recover and be his old self.   I think our defensive line could be a strength this year, with all the added depth and veteran talent.  I just don't see that at safety other than Cyprien.   And that's why I'm saying free safety, the safety other than Cyprien, is my biggest concern on defense. 

 

Solid point. Cyprien I hope this year the game slows down for him. As far as Clemons though, man, based on our luck with getting these types of pass rushers (good stat sheet, coming off an injury) it just never seems to work in our favor. As soon as we signed Clemons I thought to myself "Great, here we go, hopefully this isn't another Hayward or Kampman". Free Safety is certainly a position to watch. Hopefully Evans, like Cyprien, has the game slowed down a bit around him this year.

---

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Solid point. Cyprien I hope this year the game slows down for him. As far as Clemons though, man, based on our luck with getting these types of pass rushers (good stat sheet, coming off an injury) it just never seems to work in our favor. As soon as we signed Clemons I thought to myself "Great, here we go, hopefully this isn't another Hayward or Kampman". Free Safety is certainly a position to watch. Hopefully Evans, like Cyprien, has the game slowed down a bit around him this year.

  Clemons came on in the last part of the season and played well in the SB... I think it took him that long to get fully healthy....He will make an impact imo.

---

I'm mostly concerned about OLB.  The starters are replacement level at best and they're about 1 injury away from starting guys who are CFL caliber.    Geno Hayes is a solid vet WLB replacement level starter as a WLB, and a borderline liability at SLB.  I'm intrigued by Watson (Ive liked him since his FSU days) but he hasn't been an impact NFL player and I find his "groin injury" rather troubling.    When "groin injury" lingers on into 4-5 months, we're now moving into a likely sports hernia type of situation.  LaRoy Reynolds should be a fringe end of roster/special teams contributor and last resort depth.   If Watson has a serious injury, Reynolds is a Week 1  NFL starter, and who's his primary backup?  

 

  I like Telvin Smith longterm, but I think he'll need an adjustment year in Bradley's system and he'll need another offseason to gain weight before he can be anything but a will.    I want the unit to collectively progress in the complexity of Bradley's system rather than play the vanilla version we had to revert to in the 2nd half of last year (thus the addition of Red and Clemons), and I don't want to dumb down the defense again just to flatten the learning curve for a rookie 5th round draft pick who's being shoehorned into a starting position out of necessity.  

---