Jags Face Do-Or-Die in Denver

“It’s a half an inch here, it’s an inch there.”  Such were the words of Jaguars first year defensive coordinator Gregg Williams explaining the fact that opposing teams have scored on their last possession in every game this year.  The Jaguars defense has looked OK at times, but that “last inch” or “last half inch” has belonged to the opposing offense each time out.  Is there any reason to think that will change this week in Denver?

The quotes from head coach Jack Del Rio are in a similar vein.  Phrases like “Do what we do better” and “Keep having the courage to do the right things,” from the Del Rio press conference, make it clear that the Jaguars don’t plan on making major adjustments and instead hope they will have a breakthrough of effectiveness by sticking to their game plan. 

Williams brought in a game plan of more blitzing and pressuring the quarterback, but it hasn’t worked.  The press and blogs have heaped blame on their first two picks in the draft, Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves (first and second rounders respectively), but Del Rio was quick to remind that sacks result from a compbination of pressure and coverage by the secondary.  And the secondary has, in my view, suffered significantly over the last two weeks. Evidence of this can be found in th fact that their last two opposing quarterbacks, Matt Schaub and Ben Roethlisberger, have both found themselves in Yahoo Fantasy Sports’ “Who’s Hot” category the day after they put up gaudy numbers versus the Jags.

Safety Reggie Nelson remains a key injury and will miss the Denver game.  Cornerback Drayton Florence was also sorely missed last week, but is upgraded to “probable” for tomorrow.  The other corner, Rashean Mathis, is also banged up and listed as “probable” for Sunday.  Add this all up and its hard to tell if the Jags secondary will be in a position for a bounce back performance or if Jay Cutler can expect the same kind of big day as Schaub and Big Ben enjoyed. 

On the offensive side of the ball, the Jags vaunted running attack has been conspicuously absent from all but the Indianapolis game this season.  Del Rio credited Pittsburgh in two areas for their snuffing out of the Jaguar running game - the Steelers D did good job tackling, and they limited Jacksonville to 3 out of 13 on third down conversions.  These shortened drives prevented the Jags from really getting Taylor and Jones-Drew into the game, as the running tandem got only 15 carries in total against Pittsburgh.

I expect the Jaguars to do a better job rushing the ball tomorrow, but I haven’t seen enough effective drives from the passing attack to believe the Jags can come back if they find themselves trailing Denver late.  I’m also really not sure the secondary will contain Cutler and company, especially with the devastating Brandon Marshall in the mix.  The NFL is an unpredictable league week to week, so this very well could be the week that the pep talks stick, and the “stay the course” mentality results in a game where the Jags finally play up to their potential.  However, I’ve seen enough powerless play to say, given the lingering injuries in the secondary, that tomorrow will be more of the same.  31-24 Broncos.

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Last post (s) by Mark Reichman

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