Jacksonville Jaguars
2018 Record: (5-11) 4th AFC South
2018 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 15.3 (31st)
Yards: 302.0 (27th)
Pass Yards: 194.3 (26th)
Rush Yards: 107.7 (19th)
Defense
Points: 19.8 (4th)
Yards: 311.4 (5th)
Pass Yards: 194.6 (2nd)
Rush Yards: 116.9 (19th)
When the Jags went to the AFC Championship a season prior, just
missing an opportunity to stamp their ticket to the Super Bowl, the outlook for
the 2018 campaign looked mighty positive.
Starting the year with two straight victories and one verse the
New England Patriots, national media channels were a buzz to what this version
of the Jags would be able to accomplish. While holding a record of 3-1 after
the first 4 weeks of the season, lightning struck this club in the absolute worst
way. Jacksonville was unable to keep the positive momentum going dropping their
next 7 contests untimely placing them out of the playoff conversation.
While the Jaguars finished the year with a 5-11 record, it was
clear their many issues offensively lead to their demise, followed by an
uninspired defensive showing - knowing they had no support. For a team that had
so much promise to compete for the ultimate prize, it was all wasted which
would bring great change to the team.
2019 Offseason WorkBook:
The Coaching Staff
With the Jaguars still moving with coach Doug Marrone as the
sideline boss for the upcoming season, initial coaching transactions did happen
during the 2018 regular season. Marrone was forced to relieve his friend and offensive
coordinator (Nathaniel Hackett) of his duties after being unable to generate
positive offensive production. Finishing out the year with interim play
callers, it was clear a new direction would have to be taken.
While Marrone cleaned house in many respects for specialty coach
support, the biggest headline came when Jacksonville brought on John DeFilippo
to install his systems. DeFilippo came over from Minnesota when he was told his
services would no longer be needed with the Vikings. This hire should bring a
lot more creativity to the group making the Jags far less vanilla with their
schemes.
There’s no question in our eyes that Doug Marrone’s coaching seat
will be very warm entering the 2019 campaign and the only relief will be
putting up wins early an often.
The Offense
Clarity on why the Jags struggled this past season could be
attributed to the lost time of their star running back Leonard Fournette
(injuries). However, the inept play of their starting quarterback (Blake
Bortles) was the primary reason this offense couldn’t muster anything credible.
There came a point during the year when Marrone had seen enough benching Blake
in favor of Cody Kessler which didn’t help the situation.
With early rumors suggesting that Jacksonville will absolutely
move in another direction at the most important position, Nick Foles has been
identified as the team’s potential successor when free agency opens. Though
some will view this move as a glaring upgrade, we reserve the right for judgement
until the season concludes.
The running back situation in Jacksonville is something to review,
with Leonard Fournette having severe issues with health never playing a full 16
game slate in his short career. There is no question that Leonard is a quality
back who can change the course of any contest but his limitations and concerns
rest with not being on the field. Depth will also be a grave concern entering
the new year, as Jacksonville will likely lose TJ Yeldon on the open market and
have already disposed of Carlos Hyde. Adding viable players to help this room
move forward should be a high priority.
When we look back at the receiving core last seasons edition
housed, the prospects of this group making waves looked to be a formality.
Unfortunately, this unit saw a huge loss early on when Marqise Lee was lost to
a season ending injury back in the preseason. Having to move forward with the
younger talent they employed, the outlook was still rather positive. With the
coaching staff looking to Westbrook, Moncrief, and Cole to carry the load, the
group was held hostage to the lack of great quarterback play. We would like to
see another top receiving talent added to the room to bring this full circle.
The Defense
There were many differing opinions regarding the Jaguars defense
last season after the abysmal showing. While we still believe this group will
return to dominating levels of just two seasons ago, some actions will have to
be taken. It was clear to us that the fallout had nothing to do with skill, but
rather inspiration of laying everything on the line knowing the offense
couldn’t support their effort.
The Jags defensive line was a group loaded with talent and still
were able to provide sound performances. What fell off in the grand scheme of
things was inability to stop the run which in our eyes was surprising. Led by
all star Calais Campbell who again led the team in sacks with 10.5, his
supporting cast also continued their strong output. With names like Malik
Jackson, Marcel Dareus, Yannick Ngakoue, it was no wonder they traded Dante
Fowler to the Rams before the trade deadline.
Jacksonville already made headlines to re-tinker this group, with run
stuffer Malik Jackson already finding his walking papers with adequate depth still
housed and prime to take over. Adding depth here isn’t a priority but could be
something they look at this offseason.
The line backing core with Miles Jack and Telvin Smtih leading the
way still preformed extremely well this past season. Both star talents combined
for a whopping 241 tackles on the opposition while being the anchors of this
front seven. It was clear that the SAM line backing position did see a let down
and could use a talent infusion from either the draft of free agency. Either
way, this unit is very sound and will continue to wreak havoc on opposing
offenses.
When we think of this Jags defensive group as a whole, first
thought turns to the outspoken super talent of Jalen Ramsey. Literally becoming
one of the best shutdown defensive backs in all the NFL, he again proved he
could do his job very well. Teamed with his running mate (AJ Bouye),
Jacksonville still holds perhaps the best corner tandem in the entire league.
While we would like to see more depth pieces added to help round out the crew,
this group should return to greatness with some turnover.
Making moves to help progress the secondary, Jacksonville also cut
bait with Tashaun Gipson believing they could add more with a plethora of
talent sitting on the open market at the safety position. A return to greatness
in 2019 is something we could absolutely see with more talent added.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
As mentioned above, the Jags have already made roster moves to
clean up a cap situation that was beginning to look quite problematic.
Releasing Malik Jackson cleared up a healthy 13 million on the books while only
eating 2 million in dead funds. Cutting bait with Gipson also earned an
additional 7.5 million toward the cap helping the outlook that much more.
Adding to that, tackle Jermey Parnell also found his walking papers helping add
another 6 million to the cap.
Though the Jags looked to have a cap crisis on their hands,
currently they sit with 28 million (+$28,293,136) in positive cash flow. With
added funds to help in the potential pursuit of Nick Foles, we could see Blake
Bortles also find his way off the club with his generous 21-million-dollar cap hit
eating up 10.51% of Jacksonville’s current space.
While we could see more moves in the coming days to gain money on
the books, they are off to a good start in this retooling process.
The NFL Draft
With the Jaguars 2018 season fallen by the wayside and the front
office looking to continue building, Jacksonville has a glorious opportunity to
re-stack with holding the 7th overall pick in the first round of the
2019 NFL draft.
Holding 7 picks to round out their board, the Jags hold an extra 3rd
round selection while losing their 5th round pick in previous
dealings. Having secured 4 picks in the top 98 of this year’s draft, the Jags
have the ability to move around with plenty of ammunition.
Sometimes having a terrible season with a stacked roster can
become a blessing in disguise, and the way this is setting up for Jacksonville,
a champion could be made this offseason.
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