This defense is very streaky.  They lacked consistency but when they were on they were on. Towards the end of the year if you payed attention you saw real growth in this defense. This team also has a ton of youth on the defensive side of the ball.  They can and should be counting on these rookies from last year to make a huge leap in their second year. I personally would be shocked if we do not see Travon Walker on the defensive line. Lloyd should also be rushing the QB much more. Lets go inside a few numbers.

-Look at what the Jaguars did down the stretch.

-Held the Jets to 3 points
-Held the Texans to 3 points
-Held the Titans week 18 to 16 points for the playoff spot
-Held the Chargers to 3 points in the second half of that playoff game. Trevor has maybe the worst first half ever for a playoff QB. This defense was a huge part of that win
-Held KC the superbowl Champs to 10 points in the second half. This offense shot itself in the foot many times in this game.

I predict a top 10 defense this year. If the team is as worried about the nickle cb position as many have cried about recently there are still plently of quality guys on the street.

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Nah, they're lower mid tier at best. And that's really ok, because the NFL is about scoring points not stopping other teams.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

As we all know, the pass rush has to improve. The run defense is good most of the time. Tight ends eat this defense up. Loyd hurt the coverage a lot. Bombs hurt the defense a lot. There needs to be some more improvement even if it’s an offensive era.

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This defense is very streaky.  They lacked consistency but when they were on they were on. Towards the end of the year if you payed attention you saw real growth in this defense. This team also has a ton of youth on the defensive side of the ball.  They can and should be counting on these rookies from last year to make a huge leap in their second year. I personally would be shocked if we do not see Travon Walker on the defensive line. Lloyd should also be rushing the QB much more. Lets go inside a few numbers.

-Look at what the Jaguars did down the stretch.

-Held the Jets to 3 points
-Held the Texans to 3 points
-Held the Titans week 18 to 16 points for the playoff spot
-Held the Chargers to 3 points in the second half of that playoff game. Trevor has maybe the worst first half ever for a playoff QB. This defense was a huge part of that win
-Held KC the superbowl Champs to 10 points in the second half. This offense shot itself in the foot many times in this game.

I predict a top 10 defense this year. If the team is as worried about the nickle cb position as many have cried about recently there are still plently of quality guys on the street.

Interesting topic.  Let's look at the stats:

Points allowed per game - improved from 28th to 12th ... 28.6ppg dropping to 20.6ppg
Run ranking - improved from 24th to 12th ... 125.1ypg dropping to  114.8ypg
Pass ranking - dropped from 17th to 28th ... 227.9ypg increasing to 238.6ypg
Total yards per game - dropped from 20th to 24th ... 353.1ypg increasing to 353.3ygp

The above is for the total year, I wonder what it would look like AFTER they moved Williams outside.

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A new broom always sweeps clean.

Those stats kind of support what I felt like I saw on the field. Our run D really improved. Really helped us win those last couple of division games coming home. We were still suspect underneath and the opposite side of Campbell.

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The defensive major performance sub-rankings were generally poor, 24th in total yards given up, and especially poor in the passing side, 28th in passing yards given up. The good news is they were actually the 12th best team in terms of points given up per game at just over 20. I do think the defense will organically get better this season, as they had very inexperienced guys with higher ceilings starting (or with significant playing time) last year that will now have another year under their belts (namely Cisco, Walker, Lloyd, Campbell, and Muma). However, to take a more significant step forward, I believe they still need to address the pass rush.

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As long as they can stop the run, the other stuff can be worked on and improved

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I'm not ready to get excited about this defense yet, primarily because it hasn't really been defined yet. But we've got some good pieces, and I'm hopeful.

We had a first year coordinator who inherited an oddly formed roster, added a few project players and other bits of talent, and carved out something that he thought made sense. A couple of veterans disappointed, a couple of new pieces didn't acclimate well, and he stuck with some dysfunctional strategy a bit too long.

After the bye week, we began seeing some adaptation and alterations in coverages and strategy. It helped, but glaring issues were apparent a bit too often.
One thing was certain: The players were bought in and playing hard to win games. There were promising elements.

We'll have a much better idea of what this defense is when the calendar turns the page into 2024. I think it's still largely unknown, and therefore neither underrated or overrated.

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As long as they can stop the run, the other stuff can be worked on and improved

I actually think it’s the opposite.

You gotta stop Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, Rodgers, Herbert….

Be average at stopping the run and try to be elite at rushing the passer/coverage.

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As long as they can stop the run, the other stuff can be worked on and improved

I actually think it’s the opposite.

You gotta stop Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, Rodgers, Herbert….

Be average at stopping the run and try to be elite at rushing the passer/coverage.

Yup. No one else is winning the AFC until Mahomes is contained and Kelce's magical midfield appearance routine is figured out. With his running ability and backyard football tricks, Mahomes will get you near and far. Every second he gets in the backfield significantly increases his odds of moving the ball.

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The defense as a unit, wasn't horrible. The biggest issue they had all season was giving up monster sized passing plays late in the game, and it typically was over the head of shaq griffin or tre herndon. Outside of that, we lacked a significant pass rush.

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The defense is what it is. The Jags have taken the "The best defense is a great offense" approach. They will, imo, get better in some ways than last year, but it'll be because the offense keeps them off the field for the majority of the game. Big play, high octane offense that is can score in a multitude of ways, but is also capable of controlling the game clock whenever they decide to...... Sound familiar?

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The defense is what it is. The Jags have taken the "The best defense is a great offense" approach. They will, imo, get better in some ways than last year, but it'll be because the offense keeps them off the field for the majority of the game. Big play, high octane offense that is can score in a multitude of ways, but is also capable of controlling the game clock whenever they decide to...... Sound familiar?

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They need to generate pass rush from surprising sources, like the late rounder Abdullah. Maybe Lloyd finds his niche as an OLB or Walker becomes a dominant force inside. Otherwise, we'll see more of the same -- the Chad Hennes of the world marching up and down the field in crunch time. Edge rusher wasn't addressed in free agency or the draft (outside of Abdullah). Maybe they're banking on Allen playing lights out in a contract year and Walker taking the next step.

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"I am only an average man, but by George, I work harder at it than the average man." - Teddy Roosevelt

While I agree with many points made about our defense, evaluating the defense is only one portion of the equation. I looked at a few of the playoff teams from a statistical point per game. The Eagles not surprising were #2 in offense and defense. (the 49ers were #1) What was a surprise was KC while #1 in offense was #11 in defense. The core metric of the last 4 teams seemed to be the point differential. That is what is shown below.

Chiefs 7.5
Bills 8.4
Bengals 5.6
Jags 3.3
Chargers 0.8
Ravens 1.9
Dolphins 0.3
Eagles 8.9
49ers 9.6

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A new broom always sweeps clean.

I mean

That defence won us the Cowboys game in overtime
That defence also sent us past the titans to win the divison

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The defence will be a lot better this year. You have to expect big jumps from Walker, Lloyd and Muma. I know they said they view Antonio Johnson as a safety, but surely he’s going to be competing at nickel aswell.

Personally I think they’ll bring in a veteran pass rusher aswell.

What is hopefully going to help the defence is actually playing with a lead. So much of last season we were having to come from behind. The offence should be amazing this season, so we’ll see how that helps our defence.

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The Defense was up and down. It wasn't bad overall, but it wasn't good either. Of course the Pass Rush needs to get home more often. The Run Defense was solid though.

Unless they can figure out how to cover the middle of the field and figure out how to cover TEs, nothing is going to change much. This has been an issue for this team forever it feels like, regardless of the scheme or personnel.

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It could be interesting to see how good this defense can be if it’s playing with the lead more often this season.

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The pass defense is still a big concern to me.

Walker is still raw and unproven. Allen is decent but not great imo. Herndon and Jenkins are lacking in coverage skills.

This could put a lot of pressure on Trevor and the offense this season. At the very least a solid pass rusher needs to be added.

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I feel like we need another impact free agent vet on defense. I know we have little money left though. Here’s to hoping the defense gels more this year.

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