Handing out Jaguar Defensive Grades for Game 1
By Terry OBrien
We got a good look at the team and the players and we were very impressed. Well, we were impressed with most of them. It is time to hand out awards and report cards.
For this I will use my own observations having been at the game and the services of ProFootballFocus.com. They are a service that grades out all of the players.
Since all of the attention in the Jaguar front office was given to the Defensive Line, let’s start with them.
Aaron Kampman: Aaron is credited with 2 sacks (1.5), 4 QB hits and 3 QB pressures. He is considered the second best graded DE for pass rush. (They haven’t graded everyone yet). Aaron isn’t as good on the run but graded overall as our best DE.
Aaron Kampman earns an A.
Derrick Harvey: Derrick is credited with 0 sacks, 1 QB hits and 2 QB pressures. He also played excellent run stopping and dropped into coverage. Derrick was graded as close to Aaron Kampman in performance more on the run than rush. Derrick Harvey earns a B+
Tyson Alualu: Tyson is credited with 1 QB sack and 1 QB pressure. He played the run well but delivered an average performance as a pass rush guy. Not bad for his first game. Tyson Alualu earns a C.
Terrance Knighton: Terance is credited with 2 QB pressures. He played the run as well as Tyson and the rush the same way. This was not a dominate performance by the DT duo but it was good. Terrance Knighton earns a C.
Linebackers
Daryl Smith: Daryl had a great game. He is credited with 3 QB hits and 1 QB pressure. He had 6 tackles and 4 “stops”. A stop is when the offense failed because of him. He was thrown at 3 times with only one completion. He had the game winning interception! His rush and coverage was above average, his run stopping was average. After further consideration, we have decided Daryl was the star player with Aaron Kampman and earned an A+ Daryl Smith earns an A+
Kirk Morrison: Kirk had 1 QB pressure, 4 tackles, 3 stops, was thrown at 2 times with 2 completions. Kirk didn’t have a monster game. In fact he was rather average. Kirk Morrison earns a C.
Justin Durant: Justin did not affect the QB. He was thrown at 3 times and had all three completed. He made 4 tackles and 3 stops. Justin Durant was almost silent in this game. He played the run well, but pass coverage was weak. Justin Durant earns a D+
Defensive Secondary
Rashean Mathis: Rashean had a great game. For all the talk of Denver’s secondary, Rashean outplayed them all. He was thrown at 6 times with 2 completions. He had 1 pass defended which almost was an interception. His coverage was excellent and he played the run well. He had 4 tackles and 3 stops. He allowed only 27 yards in completions and 3 yards in YAC (yards after catch). He missed no tackles. Rahean Mathis earns an A.
Derek Cox: Derek was the Anti-Rashean. He was the only thing Denver had go right for them all game. The Jaguars would have smacked Denver hard except for Derek.
He was thrown at 9 times with 8 completions. He allowed 140 yards in completions and 40 YAC for a total of 180 yards. Denver generated 360 yards of offense. Derek was half of that. He missed one tackle. Derek Cox earns an F.
Anthony Smith: Anthony had 3 tackles, one missed tackle and no stops. His coverage was average and his run support was weak. He really made no plays of importance but he didn’t get burned. Anthony Smith earns a C-
Sean Considine: Sean made 5 tackles and 1 stop. He missed 2 tackles. If you are a safety, missing a tackle is a big red flag. He was thrown at once and it was a completion. He was really a complete non-factor in the game. The runs Denver did rip off needed to be stopped quicker. Sean Considine earns a D+.
Overall Defensive Grades:
Defensive Line earns a B
Linebackers earn a C+
Secondary earns a D+
Our Jaguar defense is a C. We will win only when the offense and defense play well. There is not enough defense here to win games for us. If Derek Cox improves or David Jones plays, and Justin Durant improves, we will begin a march to a much better defense. It is close!
– Terry O’Brien