Preseason week 3

One word for all Jaguars fans: RELAX. Take a deep breath, and tell yourself “self, this is the preseason.” It’s going to be OK, I promise.

I’m not blind to what happened in the game. That first half on offense was brutal to watch, especially the passing game. Our punter looked bad and we made some really stupid mistakes and penalties (Manuwai in particular). There were a lot of good things (believe it or not) that I will cover a little later, but let’s get the bad out of the way. Our offensive line got beat, and beat bad, on some plays. The skill players had a hard time holding on to the ball with Leftwich losing a fumble in which he should have slid about a second earlier. It is, after all, the preseason…don’t take unnecessary hits! George Wrighster also almost lost a fumble, but luckily it rolled underneath him so it looked like a non-event. As I said previously, Hanson (P) did not have a very good night. Normally he can change the field and pin teams deep in their own end. Game 3 he didn’t get it deep when he needed to and put it deep in the end zone on at least one occasion. This will be something to watch in the regular season, but for now I’m inclined to give him a pass given his historical numbers and skill. I was not a big fan as to how our defense responded to the Bucs’ opening drive. An elite defense needs to be able to come in anywhere on the field and make it difficult for the offense to move, especially after a turnover. Of course, they fixed this problem with all subsequent drives so again, I don’t feel this is a big concern. We also had some injuries, but from all indications Mike Pete and G Jones will be ready to go for week 1. Lastly, I still feel we are looking for the third linebacker. I know Greisen had the interception, but I think you need to keep it in context (it was Gradowski throwing a rookie ball off his back foot into triple coverage) and I didn’t see much else from Greisen when the first team was on the field. I don’t have the film, but this was my impression.

I know what everyone is freaking out about – the O-Line. “We’re doomed” “We can’t block a brick wall” “Revolving doors”. And some of this criticism is legitimate. They definitely need to pick up their play. But let’s wait until the regular season begins. Give them a chance to show what these guys do best. They game plan, they adjust, and most importantly, they wear you down. Make no doubt about it; this offense is a second-half offense. There were times against the Bucs that they did give Leftwich more than enough time. I haven’t reviewed the tape, but if I remember correctly we didn’t keep too much help back for the o-line. It was pretty much our five vs. their four and their four are very, very good. Also, we were running the ball very, very well. Kyle Brady had some great blocks and I really liked how well our receivers block in space. At one point in the game Taylor had 5 carries for 25 yards. This is how our offense should work. Run, run, convert on third down. Run, run, convert on third down. Run, play action pass over the top. That’s why we have three good tight-ends and a stable of good to potential great running backs. Remember, we have played three of the best defenses in the league over the past three weeks, and everyone knows that the defense is almost always ahead of the offense during the preseason. Give them a chance. If after Indy we don’t have it together, then it is time to panic. We will play to our strengths come the regular season, which brings us to the good portion of last nights game.

Our defense looked great, especially our run defense. We were getting pressure only rushing four or five, which is the ultimate goal. Not only are our starters good, we have some phenomenal depth. Anthony Maddox recovered a fumble caused by a great play by 7th rounder James Wyche. Dee Webb showed starter quality speed and hands on his interception. Toefield and Wimbush showed flashes of what they are capable of. All in all I am encouraged by the play thus far from the Jaguars. Del Rio and staff are good at what they do, and have given us no reason up to now to doubt their ability to address the problems they have and to find a way to fix or work around those problems. Their will be no report for the fourth preseason game but I will briefly preview Jags/Cowboys and my predictions for final standings. Go Jags.