I can understand that approach here if the team were willing and able to you know...actually run the ball.

 

But for whatever reason, a coach that said he wants to run the ball seemingly refuses to run the ball.  Too often the team was spread out on the field with 3 and 4 WRs.  In such a small area as inside the ten, that leaves little room for error, especially when teams know you are reluctant to run.

 

I guess I'm hoping that the staff committing to two plays and the requisite personnel groupings those two plays would have would provide a kind of Cortez-burning-his-ships-upon-reaching-the-New-World kind of effect. "Look, this is what we got and help ain't coming so let's make this work."

 

I agree with you and I share your exasperation regarding the approach. I just feel like a true commitment to something would have a positive effect.

---

I'm trying to make myself more informed and less opinionated.

Stop saying whatever stupid thing you're talking about and pay attention to all the interesting things I have to say!

I was at the game.......


I saw a lot of 3rd and less than 4 for the Chargers and a lot of 3rd and 7 or more for the Jags. Reasons?


Rivers has, arguably, the quickest release in the NFL........less than 2.5 seconds, on average. His receivers, supposedly a group off "back-benchers", had to create space between themselves and the Jag defenders.......and they did, consistently. Gain of 6.....2nd down, 4 to go. Two more downs to get 4 yards.........throw a dart at the playbook, any play you want. Hard to defense.


The Jags, when they ran on 1st down, had mostly no gain, or at most 2 yards. A lot of first down passes were out in the flat, gaining a similar result........2nd down, 8 to go. On second down, 55,000 people sitting in the stands could predict a pass if the Jags ran on 1st down and gained less than 4, or the Jags passed on first down and only gained 3 yards or less......3rd down, 7 to go.


Bortles, though I like his upside, is currently last in completion percentage among starting QB's. He dropped to pass how many times? 50 something, counting sacks? We handed the ball to Yeldon what? 10 times? That's not what we drafted him for.

---

Regarding point number 2. To be fair they've tried mightily to run in the red zone and that too doesn't work. It appears they're throwing the play book at the red zone and nothing appears to be working. It's not like we are good at picking up short yardage ANYWHERE on the field much less the red zone.

I'm not sure I would agree to calling running the same run play four times in a row as 'trying mightily'. I would view that as being more like 'tunnel vision' by the offensive coordinator. In fact, I think that a fair amount of our red zone woes is due to our offensive coordinator. Why do we abandon the read option when we get inside the 20?

---

The Jaguars went into this game with a chance to make the playoffs.  After the game, the Jaguars still have a chance, but those chances became a lot slimmer, because not only did the Jaguars lose, but just about every team the Jaguars needed to lose wound up winning.  It was as if fate is telling the Jaguars and fans not to get hopes up.

 

My thoughts...

 

1.  The Hurns injury was scary.  You never want to see anyone sprawled out on the turf like that, especially when they get a stretcher.  But the underdog made good Hurns was particuarly hard to see down there.  I am thrilled the team was taking extra precautions with him and he texted he was okay.  Get well, AH.

 

2.  The story of this game is the team's inability to score TDs in the redzone.  While there are many contributing factors involved with this, to me, the main cause is this team's refusal to run the ball in that area.  The team has stated it wants to run the ball, so I am not sure it is unwilling to do so.  In the past, the team has been unable to run the ball inside the 5, but against the Bolts, the RBs had a nice YPC, against a team that hasn't done well stopping the run. Whatever the rationale for abandoning the run, play action has effectively disappeared from the offense, especially in the red zone.  Whatever the rationale for abandoning the run, the net result is a red zone offense that is one dimensional and much easier to defend.

 

3.  Bortles deserves some blame for this.  Granted, I think the team's imbalance put too much on his shoulders, but again, I think he tried doing too much, as evidenced by the two illegal forward passes inside the ten.  The INT right before halftime I don't think was a matter of him trying to do too much, but it was disastrous nevertheless.  It was another painful growing pain for a QB racing to maturity.  

On a good note, Bortles eclipsed 20 TD passes for the year, only the 3rd Jaguars QB to do so.

 

4.  I think Julius Thomas' critics are much quieter today.  Thomas has a big day, eclipsing 100 yards for the first time this year and caught a TD.  It is the kind of performance that is going to cause defenses to devote more attention to him for the rest of the year, and give Bortles more confidence in him.

 

5.  In another post, I typed the sentiment that Jaguars fans have a justifiable respect of Phillip Rivers bordering on phobia.  Yesterday, we saw why that is.  Once again, without a semblance of a pass rush to slow him down, Rivers picked us apart for four (4) TDs.  Gates was controlled last year, but he caught two of those TDs this year.  While I don't think the coverage was as bad as it was last year when McCoy told his coordinator to call whatever he wanted because we couldn't cover them, without the ability to pressure, the end results were not much different.  This is yet another game I am left to wonder how a healthy Fowler would have affected.

 

6.  For the second week in a row, special teams actually had a pretty decent game.  Greene had a decent punt return.  Myers hit all of his FGs, though he missed another extra point.  The kick coverage didn't give up any huge returns, and they actually blocked a late Chargers punt to keep us in the game until the last minute or so.  While I am thankful for the improvement in this area of the team, I wish we had this level of play much earlier.

 

7.  I thought Poz had a great game in run defense.

 

8.  Nice to get a glimpse of the albino tiger.  Depending upon what happens with Hurns, Lee will have a prominent role against the tacks.  He nneds to show up and show out.

 

9.  Please take any Tyson Alualu related plays out of the offense.  If you want him to perform as a fullback, draft or sign a fullback.

 

10.  Bottom line:  This week was a kick in the gut for our team's playoff chances.  But they aren't extinguished yet.  There is still a chance for this team, but time is running out.  The Texans and Colts seem to be stabilizing themselves just at the right time.  We have to brush this loss off and return to winning.  Beating the loathsome and detestable tacks again is the only way to start.

 

Excellent analysis as always Bullseye.  I would add something more.  Quite a few people are bringing up the lack of red zone production on the offense, while also pointing to the defense.  One other thing to consider is the STUPID COSTLY penalties.  I turned to my wife and told her that the "Jaguars are shooting themselves in the foot".

---

There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm not sure I would agree to calling running the same run play four times in a row as 'trying mightily'. I would view that as being more like 'tunnel vision' by the offensive coordinator. In fact, I think that a fair amount of our red zone woes is due to our offensive coordinator. Why do we abandon the read option when we get inside the 20?

They ran and it didn't work. They pass and it didn't work. I don't like the 4 run plays in a row thing either, but saying we should run more, which was a response to his point, is unfair given that they've tried that. They just stink at it right now for whatever reason.

---

They ran and it didn't work. They pass and it didn't work. I don't like the 4 run plays in a row thing either, but saying we should run more, which was a response to his point, is unfair given that they've tried that. They just stink at it right now for whatever reason.

 

I'm sure that this will be an unpopular post, and Minorcan it's not directed specifically at you.

 

I do agree that the run was abandoned not only in the red zone, but in the game period.  However, in the red zone, where was Toby Gerhart?  Why not play him on a 1st down in the red zone?  Even if he doesn't carry the ball, the defense would have to account for him since he is allegedly our "short yardage" RB.  We also have a pass-catching TE in Julius Thomas as well as two other tight ends that can catch passes (Marcedes Lewis and Clay Harbor) along with Allen Robinson who is good on the "jump ball".

 

You line up 3 tight ends and your "short yardage running back" and make the defense adjust to it.  Try to run with Toby.  Next down P/A and throw to one of the big guys, etc...

 

My point is that Toby Gerhart should be used more in these situations to create match ups.

---

There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

about all I got out of  it is that bortles needs to learn how to throw the fade

---

More Chris Smith please.

 

He only had 16 snaps and I remember seeing him more times than I seen Branch and Clemons. They both had 57 and 46 snaps... The only times I remember seeing either of them was on their stupid offsides penalties.

---

I pretty much never blame the play calling but I thought it was awful. The only throw I can really remember aggressively trying to score in the red zone was a fade to hurns that overshot.


We have Julius Thomas and Allen Robinson total jump ball mismatches. Just spread the field and throw it up wide or drill a pass in the middle to hurns/Walters

---

I don't.

 

You can accomplish a pass with a run look far more effectively with a true FB than with Alualu.  A true FB can run more effectively, catch more effectively, and in any instance other than a run up the middle, would likely be better in lead blocking than Alualu.

Sorry but I am missing the point here.  Tyson did the job when he was in as a FB.  He lead the attack and cleared a hole from where I was sitting.  If your point is we need a true FB then ok, but in the grand scheme of things I don't think Alualu coming in on certain downs is a huge problem.

---

Original Season Ticket Holder - Retired  1995 - 2020


At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.
 

Copycat,

 

I guess my rant has its origins on the short yardage play-actually one of the few times the Jaguars tried play action.  Alualu had to run a pass route.  It looked like he struggled to get open on that short route, and Bortles didn't even try to throw to him.

 

It seems with few exceptions, none of the plays involving Alualu have actually worked.

 

It's a gimmick.

 

Gimmicks are kinda cute until they start to fail.

 

That gimmick's shelf life has expired for now.

---

 

Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Jagibelieve,

 

I prefer your suggestion to use Gerhart in short yardage to the use of Alualu in similar situations.

 

At least if you run the play action, Gerhart has a chance to get open and I would feel much more comfortable with him catching the ball/running the ball than Alualu.

 

Regarding the stupid penalties, to me there weren't many killer penalties this past game.  The offsides were annoying, but nothing backbreaking.

 

But that has been an issue overall with this team for years.

---

 

Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Copycat,

 

I guess my rant has its origins on the short yardage play-actually one of the few times the Jaguars tried play action.  Alualu had to run a pass route.  It looked like he struggled to get open on that short route, and Bortles didn't even try to throw to him.

 

It seems with few exceptions, none of the plays involving Alualu have actually worked.

 

It's a gimmick.

 

Gimmicks are kinda cute until they start to fail.

 

That gimmick's shelf life has expired for now.

Gotcha!  To your point perhaps if they are not going to go out and get an actual FB then maybe they should fully integrate Tyson in that roll until they are willing to do so?

---

Original Season Ticket Holder - Retired  1995 - 2020


At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.
 

We drafted a pass rusher and he got taken out during camp so I'll say he won't do much and also he is from the Gators and we haven't had much success with players from them. Yes, you have to keep running the ball and if you have 3 guys dressed out for it then use them all. FB, runs inside/outside. It's not gonna help the run if you don't throw the ball down the field to back off CBs. That is why the LB was able to react and pick the ball off. I said it before, you won't win games pattie caking down the field. Jags are predictable. Blake gets rushed they start throwing short jump route passes. Tenn will blitz cause we don't pick them up. He will take sacks and they will act like he doesn't have time. We won't do any hard counts no matter how aggressive they are. No screens in the 1st half. Our D will stay on the field more than our O etc...... Maybe not lets be hopeful

---

ZiggySmash...

 

I have problems with some of your premises.

 

First, just because Fowler got hurt in minicamp doesn't mean he's doomed to nothingness.  Granted, just because he was drafted in the first doesn't mean he is destined to succeed, either.

 

Furthermore, the team has had success with Gator players, most notably Fred Taylor and Mike Peterson.

 

To a lesser extent. Bobby McCray had a 10 sack year for us then fell off the face of the earth.

 

There have been busts coming out of UF, too.

---

 

Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

The Jaguars went into this game with a chance to make the playoffs.  After the game, the Jaguars still have a chance, but those chances became a lot slimmer, because not only did the Jaguars lose, but just about every team the Jaguars needed to lose wound up winning.  It was as if fate is telling the Jaguars and fans not to get hopes up.

 

All season long the Jaguars had chances and blew it.  Playing the Carolina Panthers and after tackling TJ Yeldon, MLB Kuch goes out in the middle of the game for example.  Playing the Colts without Luck against an aging veteran whom hadnt played in a long time, and many other mishaps.  The team has shown improvement, but it also showed no improvement in some key areas like stopping the pass.  The team has been the worst in INTs & PDs among DBs for 3 straight years with House & Ball (previous years) being the only ones that showed some promise among them.  It raises the question if with even more talent could Gus win enough to go all the way or is he simply a bad coach?


 

My thoughts...

 

1.  The Hurns injury was scary.  You never want to see anyone sprawled out on the turf like that, especially when they get a stretcher.  But the underdog made good Hurns was particuarly hard to see down there.  I am thrilled the team was taking extra precautions with him and he texted he was okay.  Get well, AH.

How on Earth did Allen Hurns not get drafted?  He not only has great talent at WR but he is tough, dependable, and a true team player.  He has that drive to play and be great that GMs try so hard to find in players.  I hope he gets healthy soon and remains that way.



 

2.  The story of this game is the team's inability to score TDs in the redzone.  While there are many contributing factors involved with this, to me, the main cause is this team's refusal to run the ball in that area.  The team has stated it wants to run the ball, so I am not sure it is unwilling to do so.  In the past, the team has been unable to run the ball inside the 5, but against the Bolts, the RBs had a nice YPC, against a team that hasn't done well stopping the run. Whatever the rationale for abandoning the run, play action has effectively disappeared from the offense, especially in the red zone.  Whatever the rationale for abandoning the run, the net result is a red zone offense that is one dimensional and much easier to defend.

An interesting fact is that last year OC Greg Olson was ranked 32 in rushing attempts, (of course they had RB issuses but a big part of it is his scheme to throw first & run after you have the lead to kill the clock).  He is currently ranked 28th in rushing attempts in Jacksonville.  {24th ranked in Yrds as compared to 32nd ranked last year in Oakland in run yrds, both last year & this year 32nd ranked in rushing Tds as an FYI}.  GM Dave Caldwell brought Marrone in primarily for the Oline & Olson while he is the OC he's biggest thing was to improve Blake Bortles which he has done. The Offense is better than it was the previous two years but it is still only average among the league.  The bigger problem is the Defense on this team though, which is bad since that is Gus Bradley's expertise.



 

3.  Bortles deserves some blame for this.  Granted, I think the team's imbalance put too much on his shoulders, but again, I think he tried doing too much, as evidenced by the two illegal forward passes inside the ten.  The INT right before halftime I don't think was a matter of him trying to do too much, but it was disastrous nevertheless.  It was another painful growing pain for a QB racing to maturity.  

On a good note, Bortles eclipsed 20 TD passes for the year, only the 3rd Jaguars QB to do so.

Anyone that watched that game could let you know it wasnt a good day for Blake, yet stat wise he looked okay.  In fact most teams wouldve loved to have that kind of stats from their QB, so you do have to look towards the Defense for the loss against the Chargers.



 

4.  I think Julius Thomas' critics are much quieter today.  Thomas has a big day, eclipsing 100 yards for the first time this year and caught a TD.  It is the kind of performance that is going to cause defenses to devote more attention to him for the rest of the year, and give Bortles more confidence in him.

Any way you look at it, he was suposed to be the main receiver in the Red Zone and only now is starting to look like the guy that the team had hoped for which part of it is injuries & timing with Bortles.



 

5.  In another post, I typed the sentiment that Jaguars fans have a justifiable respect of Phillip Rivers bordering on phobia.  Yesterday, we saw why that is.  Once again, without a semblance of a pass rush to slow him down, Rivers picked us apart for four (4) TDs.  Gates was controlled last year, but he caught two of those TDs this year.  While I don't think the coverage was as bad as it was last year when McCoy told his coordinator to call whatever he wanted because we couldn't cover them, without the ability to pressure, the end results were not much different.  This is yet another game I am left to wonder how a healthy Fowler would have affected.

He is a great QB and this team can't even stop bad QBs so of course playing against a good QB is going to result in a loss usually.  It does make you wonder why a CB wasnt drafted in the 1st round hopefully this is the year.  It also makes you wonder if this is Babich last year as a DC if not Gus Bradley as an HC.



 

6.  For the second week in a row, special teams actually had a pretty decent game.  Greene had a decent punt return.  Myers hit all of his FGs, though he missed another extra point.  The kick coverage didn't give up any huge returns, and they actually blocked a late Chargers punt to keep us in the game until the last minute or so.  While I am thankful for the improvement in this area of the team, I wish we had this level of play much earlier.

Myers really needs to practice those extra point kicks, but he's young and they cant find anyone that is better...so.... he's probably here to stay.



 

7.  I thought Poz had a great game in run defense.

A healthy Poz is always great for the Jaguars especially since they are set up to stop the run which is his strong suit.  I think  he's currently rnaked 6th in tackles in the NFL despite missing time due to injuries this year.



 

8.  Nice to get a glimpse of the albino tiger.  Depending upon what happens with Hurns, Lee will have a prominent role against the tacks.  He nneds to show up and show out.

Have you noticed that they OC Olson usually only has him run a reverse once in awhile from week to week with hardly any routes run.  Not sure if he'll ever turn out to be the WR they had hoped for when they drafted him.



 

9.  Please take any Tyson Alualu related plays out of the offense.  If you want him to perform as a fullback, draft or sign a fullback.

I wonder if Tyson Alualu will even be on the team next year.



 

10.  Bottom line:  This week was a kick in the gut for our team's playoff chances.  But they aren't extinguished yet.  There is still a chance for this team, but time is running out.  The Texans and Colts seem to be stabilizing themselves just at the right time.  We have to brush this loss off and return to winning.  Beating the loathsome and detestable tacks again is the only way to start.

Anything is possible in the NFL especially in the AFC South with the Colts & Texans being tied with only 6 wins for the lead.  The Jaguars would have to win out the rest of their games this season, and I don't see that happening after the way they lost to the Chargers.

 

I enjoyed reading your thread/post.  I commented in Teal.

 

[url=http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/OlsoGr0.htm%C2][/url]

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I can understand that approach here if the team were willing and able to you know...actually run the ball.

 

But for whatever reason, a coach that said he wants to run the ball seemingly refuses to run the ball.  Too often the team was spread out on the field with 3 and 4 WRs.  In such a small area as inside the ten, that leaves little room for error, especially when teams know you are reluctant to run.

 

This refusal to run the ball is so weird. People act like our running game is really bad... but Yeldon is averaging 4 YPC. Denard is averaging 4 YPC. That's middle of the pack. Surely not to the point where you'd abandon the run completely and pass it 50 times a game like they've been doing. This running game can be decent, they were playing the worst run D in the NFL, and they called 12 run plays... I don't get it. 

---

It is OC Greg Olson's scheme he passes first and tends to only run heavy when the team already has the lead to kill the clock.  Which helps TJ Yeldon and D-Rob get more yards because teams dont stack the box as they tend not to expect the run.

---

It is OC Greg Olson's scheme he passes first and tends to only run heavy when the team already has the lead to kill the clock. Which helps TJ Yeldon and D-Rob get more yards because teams dont stack the box as they tend not to expect the run.

I've enjoyed the first season with olsen. Hopefully he creates a better red zone attack soon.

---

My thoughts...

 

1.  The Hurns injury was scary.  You never want to see anyone sprawled out on the turf like that, especially when they get a stretcher.  But the underdog made good Hurns was particuarly hard to see down there.  I am thrilled the team was taking extra precautions with him and he texted he was okay.  Get well, AH.

How on Earth did Allen Hurns not get drafted?  He not only has great talent at WR but he is tough, dependable, and a true team player.  He has that drive to play and be great that GMs try so hard to find in players.  I hope he gets healthy soon and remains that way.



 

2.  The story of this game is the team's inability to score TDs in the redzone.  While there are many contributing factors involved with this, to me, the main cause is this team's refusal to run the ball in that area.  The team has stated it wants to run the ball, so I am not sure it is unwilling to do so.  In the past, the team has been unable to run the ball inside the 5, but against the Bolts, the RBs had a nice YPC, against a team that hasn't done well stopping the run. Whatever the rationale for abandoning the run, play action has effectively disappeared from the offense, especially in the red zone.  Whatever the rationale for abandoning the run, the net result is a red zone offense that is one dimensional and much easier to defend.

An interesting fact is that last year OC Greg Olson was ranked 32 in rushing attempts, (of course they had RB issuses but a big part of it is his scheme to throw first & run after you have the lead to kill the clock).  He is currently ranked 28th in rushing attempts in Jacksonville.  {24th ranked in Yrds as compared to 32nd ranked last year in Oakland in run yrds, both last year & this year 32nd ranked in rushing Tds as an FYI}.  GM Dave Caldwell brought Marrone in primarily for the Oline & Olson while he is the OC he's biggest thing was to improve Blake Bortles which he has done. The Offense is better than it was the previous two years but it is still only average among the league.  The bigger problem is the Defense on this team though, which is bad since that is Gus Bradley's expertise.



 

3.  Bortles deserves some blame for this.  Granted, I think the team's imbalance put too much on his shoulders, but again, I think he tried doing too much, as evidenced by the two illegal forward passes inside the ten.  The INT right before halftime I don't think was a matter of him trying to do too much, but it was disastrous nevertheless.  It was another painful growing pain for a QB racing to maturity.  

On a good note, Bortles eclipsed 20 TD passes for the year, only the 3rd Jaguars QB to do so.

Anyone that watched that game could let you know it wasnt a good day for Blake, yet stat wise he looked okay.  In fact most teams wouldve loved to have that kind of stats from their QB, so you do have to look towards the Defense for the loss against the Chargers.



 

4.  I think Julius Thomas' critics are much quieter today.  Thomas has a big day, eclipsing 100 yards for the first time this year and caught a TD.  It is the kind of performance that is going to cause defenses to devote more attention to him for the rest of the year, and give Bortles more confidence in him.

Any way you look at it, he was suposed to be the main receiver in the Red Zone and only now is starting to look like the guy that the team had hoped for which part of it is injuries & timing with Bortles.



 

5.  In another post, I typed the sentiment that Jaguars fans have a justifiable respect of Phillip Rivers bordering on phobia.  Yesterday, we saw why that is.  Once again, without a semblance of a pass rush to slow him down, Rivers picked us apart for four (4) TDs.  Gates was controlled last year, but he caught two of those TDs this year.  While I don't think the coverage was as bad as it was last year when McCoy told his coordinator to call whatever he wanted because we couldn't cover them, without the ability to pressure, the end results were not much different.  This is yet another game I am left to wonder how a healthy Fowler would have affected.

He is a great QB and this team can't even stop bad QBs so of course playing against a good QB is going to result in a loss usually.  It does make you wonder why a CB wasnt drafted in the 1st round hopefully this is the year.  It also makes you wonder if this is Babich last year as a DC if not Gus Bradley as an HC.



 

6.  For the second week in a row, special teams actually had a pretty decent game.  Greene had a decent punt return.  Myers hit all of his FGs, though he missed another extra point.  The kick coverage didn't give up any huge returns, and they actually blocked a late Chargers punt to keep us in the game until the last minute or so.  While I am thankful for the improvement in this area of the team, I wish we had this level of play much earlier.

Myers really needs to practice those extra point kicks, but he's young and they cant find anyone that is better...so.... he's probably here to stay.



 

7.  I thought Poz had a great game in run defense.

A healthy Poz is always great for the Jaguars especially since they are set up to stop the run which is his strong suit.  I think  he's currently rnaked 6th in tackles in the NFL despite missing time due to injuries this year.



 

8.  Nice to get a glimpse of the albino tiger.  Depending upon what happens with Hurns, Lee will have a prominent role against the tacks.  He nneds to show up and show out.

Have you noticed that they OC Olson usually only has him run a reverse once in awhile from week to week with hardly any routes run.  Not sure if he'll ever turn out to be the WR they had hoped for when they drafted him.



 

9.  Please take any Tyson Alualu related plays out of the offense.  If you want him to perform as a fullback, draft or sign a fullback.

I wonder if Tyson Alualu will even be on the team next year.



 

10.  Bottom line:  This week was a kick in the gut for our team's playoff chances.  But they aren't extinguished yet.  There is still a chance for this team, but time is running out.  The Texans and Colts seem to be stabilizing themselves just at the right time.  We have to brush this loss off and return to winning.  Beating the loathsome and detestable tacks again is the only way to start.

Anything is possible in the NFL especially in the AFC South with the Colts & Texans being tied with only 6 wins for the lead.  The Jaguars would have to win out the rest of their games this season, and I don't see that happening after the way they lost to the Chargers.



 

I enjoyed reading your thread/post.  I commented in Teal.

 

 

1.  How Hurns went undrafted is a mystery to me, other than to put it into the category of "stuff happens."  I think fans have a tendency to root for the underdog, and we've had numerous examples of training camp phenoms who manage to disappear.  I think my initial reluctance to get overly enthusiastic about him was my cynicism over that dynamic.  But time has proven him to be an outstanding young receiver.  Sullivan raves about his work ethic and toughness, and simply put, he has one of the best double moves in the game.  We haven't gotten a break at WR like this since signing Jimmy Smith.

 

2.  Taking your post about Olsen at face value, I did not know that about him.  He has a history of coordinating losing teams, so  my inclination is part of that is attributable to not playing with many leads.  But there were three other games this year-Houston, Tampa, Indy-where the team had the lead going into the 4th quarter.  Now I'm wondering if he has an aversion of sorts to running the football.  Bortles seems to have progressed under him from year 1 to year 2.  But I think Bortles progression will prematurely plateau if the team cannot find offensive balance.

 

4.  I hope Julius Thomas' game against the Chargers was a harbinger of things to come in the weeks and seasons to come for him, only with a lot more wins.

 

5.  The one point of contention I have with your post is here.  I do not wonder why this team has not drafted a CB in the first round-at least not since Caldwell has been here.  The team picked too high to pick a CB in the first round, especially when a LT, QB and DE were available at the spots in each one of the past three drafts.  I think if the team wins another game or two and winds up with a pick somewhere between 8 and 14 or so, this might be the year the Jaguars draft a CB high.

 

6.  I hope I am not jinxing him here, but he seems to be gaining consistency in his FG kicking.

 

7.  Poz is reaching that critical point where he is getting old enough to where you have to consider drafting his replacement, but he is good enough to put it off another year.  He has played well for the Jaguars.

 

8.  I have noticed that about the way they use Lee.  I remember reading reports indicating he was having trouble running routes and making the adjustments.  I wonder if that is lingering with him, or at least the doubt his difficulty put in their heads is lingering with Bortles and the coaches.  Perhaps because he hasn't been healthy, he hasn't had the chance to gain timing and confidence with Bortles.  Maybe it's some combination.  All I know is, especially with Hurns likely out this week against the tacks, we need Lee to step up big time.

 

9.  I have been looking for Alualu to be gone from this roster for a long time, but he manages to stay around.  If the team drafts heavy in the front 7 this coming draft, maybe he'll be gone.

 

Thanks for the kudos.  Back atcha!

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!