OC Jedd Fisch Wants to Keep Jacksonville Jaguars Offense Slow

Per Jaguars.com, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch wants to keep things slow on offense. This comes after there have been many wondering why the Jaguars don’t stick with the two-minute or hurry up offense through the entirety of a game. While Blake Bortles and the offense have excelled in the two minute offense it doesn’t seem likely to be the game plan going forward. Here’s a quote from the piece by Jaguars.com Senior Writer John Oehser:

"One reason is to do so is a “recipe for a very small time of possession,” which strains the defense. “He does have a knack to be able to make plays in that situation,” Fisch said of Bortles, adding, “It’s pretty cool watching him go, but I like to be able to not think that we have to live in two-minute offense.”"

While I disagree that the Jaguars can “live” outside of the two-minute offense, meaning that they can be successful without it, there have been indications that the team can start scoring without the need to hurry up. The point regarding putting strain on the defense should be noted. It is tough for the defense to be successful when it is on the field more. If the hurry up leads to a few three and outs that only take up a minute or two of time, then more stress is placed on the defense.

We saw how that turned out in the first few games, where the defense was forced to be on the field an exorbitant amount of the time.

The Jaguars cannot return to that. They cannot be successful like that.

I appreciate Oehser’s analysis and Jedd Fisch’s undoubtedly thorough look at the possibility of a continual hurry up. I will expound by drawing a comparison.

One of the reasons I like the hurry up so much is because of the way it was employed so effectively by Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts during their heyday (is that still going…?). Sometimes called the “sugar huddle,” the Colts were able to stay ahead of teams by playing fast on offense and outgunning them. They scored more points, more quickly, and aimed to keep scoring points to keep the opponent down. While there were some great defensive pieces with the Colts at that time (Dwight Freeney, Bob Sanders, Robert Mathis, among others) the defense was never “formidable.” Even in their 2006 Super Bowl season they were a below average defense, ranking 21st and 23rd in yards allowed and points against, respectively.

The Jaguars do not have the offense to be in a shootout every game. Nor do they have the defensive pieces to put them in a position to stave off enough drives to keep them ahead.

The Jaguars need to play ball control. They need time of possession. They need to play some more traditional football at this point.

Maybe in a year or two, with a more consistent rushing attack and greater experience on the offense on defense the Jaguars will be able to run a continual hurry up. For now, however, the Jaguars need to take it slow.