Jaguars On The Prowl
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Most Jag fans felt like this was going to be the year at the beginning of the 4th quarter last Sunday in Foxboro.
New England came back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Jaguars had no idea what hit them. Sure, Tom Brady doing Tom Brady things played a major role here. Tom Brady is the best QB in NFL history and Jacksonville became another Brady victim in the AFC title game.
The Jaguars went 7-2 with a playoff win over Buffalo at Ever Bank Field in 2017. The Jags went 5-5 on the road with a signature win over Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
The biggest turnaround for Jacksonville in 2017 was the running game. In the five previous seasons the Jags ranked no higher than 22nd in the league in rushing offense.
In 2017, the Jags were first in the NFL in rushing offense averaging 141.4 yards a game. The biggest reason for this was the addition of Leonard Fournette. The rookie from LSU had 1,040 rushing yards and 268 carries for 9 TD’s and carried the ball over 20 times in each of the Jags three playoff games. Fournette had 109 yards in the big road playoff win against the Steelers.
The Jaguars offense finished the season ranked in the top 6 of the league in rush yards, points per game, yards per game, and time of possession, but yet Blake Bortles takes a lot of heat from the fan base for underperforming.
Bortles passed for 3,687 yards which was in the top half of the league. He passed for 21 TD’s which is middle of the pack and threw 13 interceptions. Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger threw more picks than Bortles but yet they don’t get the heat from the fans and media that Blake does.
Bortles is still a young QB that will continue to improve. The Jaguars averaged 224.6 passing yards per game which ranks 17th in the league. Did I mention that the Jaguars led the NFL in rushing offense? Translation is that Jacksonville is right on track on improving the offense which is what Doug Marrone has stated all along.
With the addition of Cam Robinson, the OL improved dramatically. The running back position is set with Fournette for a decade. The WR corps probably needs upgrading in the upcoming draft. The perception is that the jury is still out on Bortles.
On defense, the Jaguars finished in the top two in the league total yards allowed, points per game, and sacks with 55. Jacksonville led the NFL is pass defense only giving up 169.9 yards per game.
The only warning sign for Jacksonville is rushing defense where the Jags allowed 116.3 rushing yards per game which ranked 22nd in the league. The Jags may need to add some depth at middle linebacker and some run stuffing road grader depth in the middle of the defense.
The Jaguars have the best CB tandem in the NFL in A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey and maybe the best overall secondary in the NFL that totaled 21 picks in 2017.
This defense is special at rushing the passer. Calais Campbell had 14.5 sacks, Yannick Ngakoue had 12, and Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler had 8 each thus earning the title “Saxonville” in 2017.
Telvin Smith led the team with 102 tackles and Myles Jack followed with 90.
This team isn’t going anywhere folks. The Jags are built like a cold weather team that can run the football and play defense in January.
The New England Patriots run may be over after this Super Bowl because I guarantee you a 41-year-old Tom Brady in 2018 does not want to see this defense again.
If I told you before the season the Jags would play in the AFC title game you would have said pass me some of what you are smoking.
No more tarps covering empty seats in the upper decks Jaguar nation. This team has earned your support.
