While it is true that the Texans are much, much better than the Vikings, it is no excuse for rolling over and letting the Texans have their way with the Jags.  The defense looked confused and overmatched.  The offense looked very out-of-sync and ill-prepared.  Hopefully this game will be a wakeup call for the men in teal and allow them to band together and get to work.  Here is what we saw in the Jaguars’ Week 2 loss to the Texans:

-The defense lacks swagger – It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but the defense looked defeated before the end of the first quarter, waving their white jerseys in the air as a sign of surrender.  In his second NFL game, rookie defensive end Andre Branch was an absolute non-factor from the first Houston snap.  The rest of the defensive line was not much better.  The linebacking corp with the exception of Paul Posluszny seemed to lack the ability to tackle anyone wearing a blue jersey.  The same goes for defensive backs like Aaron Ross who looked like he was more worried about messing up his uniform than making a tackle.  The score could have been much worse if the Texans hadn’t relaxed so much about midway through the third quarter.  The defensive group as a whole seemed to be void of any confidence or aggressiveness.  Mel Tucker better step up and get this group moving in the right direction soon.

-The offensive line is miserable – As the injury bug makes its way around the offensive line unit once again, it makes me wonder if Blaine Gabbert will become another David Carr.  We have seen Gabbert play well and we know he is improving stepping into the pocket when pressure is on, but when there is pressure on every play, it’s hard to blame him for dumping the ball off to a running back or tight end.  Eugene Monroe did an excellent job against Jared Allen in Week One, but the Texans have multiple pass rushers and Monroe can’t be everywhere.  The injury excuse is wearing thin.  While it means that our best options may not be there, this happens seemingly every year and something has to change.  Get better trainers or get healthier linemen but we have to get better up front.  Every team has injuries and every player on our sideline is a professional football player.  It’s not like we are pulling our backups from local high schools.  Gabbert was under nonstop pressure yesterday and didn’t even attempt a pass to a wide receiver until late in the game.  When he did have time it resulted in a beautiful pass deep down the field to Laurent Robinson that split two defensive backs and led to the Jags only touchdown.

-Brian Anger might actually be our best player – It pains me to admit it, but the Jaguars did a great job when they drafted Brian Anger in the third round.  While I will forever believe we could have drafted an every down player instead, he is living up to the hype and for a team that punts nine times a game, it’s nice to know the punter is a potentially great one.

I am putting Gene Smith on notice today, Monday the 17^th, 2012.  We have heard the same thing over and over.  “We’re young.” “We’re rebuilding.” “We must stick to the plan.”  When your team wins about 25% of its games year after year, you aren’t rebuilding, you just suck.  That’s what the Jags are turning into, a team that sucks.  We have changed owners, coaches, and quarterbacks.  We have bought into the same excuses and empty promises for years.  If the Jaguars’ 2012 season continues the way it has played out through two weeks, there is only one more thing to change, Mr. Smith.

The Jaguars’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week One will be a tough one to deal with for a while.  Although there were definitely highlights, promising improvements, and overall a lot to be excited about, the Vikings are seemingly one of the weaker opponents on the Jaguars’ 2012 schedule.  You never want to read too much into the first game of the season, win or lose, but I believe the Jags needed to leave Minnesota with a victory.  Here is what we saw from the black and teal in their 26-23 OT loss:

-Line play: The Jaguars got pushed around on both sides of the ball.  The offensive line experienced their annual rash of injuries throughout the game, which crumbled what little congruity they might have developed in their short time together as a unit.  The Vikings had a consistent push on the interior of the line throughout the game and that needs to be fixed moving forward.  Conversely, the defensive line was having trouble getting to quarterback Christian Ponder on a regular basis and running back Adrian Peterson averaged nearly five yards per carry and scored two touchdowns.  The Jags still have to play Arian Foster and Chris Johnson twice this season so the defensive front will have their work cut out for them if the team is to win its divisional games.

-All aboard the Blaine train: Like coaches predicted and Jacksonville fans hoped, quarterback Blaine Gabbert showed marked improvement from last year.  It was only one game, but Gabbert looked poised and confident in the pocket.  It was noticeable progress from his rookie campaign and a great sign heading into the rest of the season.  Gabbert’s 58% completion percentage is right where it needs to be and his few overthrows will likely dissipate with more experience with the receiving corp.  Hopefully the Blaine haters will realize that he can be a solid NFL quarterback now that he is better prepared for the season and there are improved weapons on offense.

-Details, details, details!: A shanked extra point.  A slight overthrow of a wide open Justin Blackmon in the end zone.  Blown coverage allowing Devin Aromashodu to pick up 26 yards in the closing seconds of regulation.  If any of these things were tightened up and executed properly, the Jags would likely be arriving home with a victory.  These little mistakes expose the Jaguars as a team not quite ready to become a force.  They are a young team looking for its identity.  There is still time to find it in 2012, but until they do, expect similar results moving forward.

-Lionel Joel

While this seemingly means there is a lot of pressure on Blaine Gabbert, and don’t get me wrong there is, defense has become a premium.  Regular season games are easier to win if you don’t have to score 35 points every game and in the playoffs sacks and turnovers can completely swing the momentum of a game in a single play.

The 2011 Jacksonville Jaguars finished ranked 6th in total defense.  The franchise resigned many key free agents and brought in Aaron Ross from the Giants through free agency and Andre Branch via the draft.  We will rely on the defense in 2012 to perform as well if not better than 2011.  Will they?

The defense will succeed in 2012 because…

Experience, cohesion, and additions.  The Jaguars did not lose any key pieces from the 6th ranked unit this offseason.  Jeremy Mincey chose to stay in Jacksonville over going to Chicago because he truely believes in what the Jaguars are building towards.  Aaron Ross brings championship experience and leadership to the secondary that definitely needed depth with uncertainty surrounding veteran Rashean Mathis’ knee injury.  Andre Branch is expected to be a contributor at defensive end and possibly compete for the starting job opposite Mincey.  The defense could combine last year’s excellent performance with a full offseason to create something really special under the leadership of outstanding defensive coordinator Mel Tucker (the only carryover from the JDR era).  The Jaguars play 4 of the 10 quarterbacks with the highest interception ratio in 2011 and possibly another 5 games against inexperienced quarterbacks (Luck (x2), Locker (x2), Tannehill).  Those 9 games could easily turn into dominating performances by the Jags’ defense.

The defense will underperform in 2012 because…

Misleading stats, opponents, and pressure.  Let’s face it, our offense was horrific last year.  If it weren’t for MoJo, wherever he may be, we might not have won a single game.  Because the offense was so bad in 2011, many teams focused on ball control and clock management after taking the lead.  Since we entered the 4th quarter losing in 8 games, teams did not attempt many big plays or passes late in games.  This actually pads our defensive stats in a very misleading way.  Comparatively, the New England Patriots had the last ranked defense despite winning 13 games and going to the Super Bowl largely due to their big leads in games that forced opponents to pass a lot and gain more yards.  Their defense was probably better than stats indicated and the Jags defense was probably weaker than stats indicated.  Even though we were ranked 6th overall, we ranked 25th in sacks and allowed the 3rd most yards per completion.  Secondly, our schedule is much more difficult in 2012.  We play 3 quarterbacks that threw for around 5,000 yards last year (Aaron Rodgers fell a few yards shy because he sat out the last game of the season).  Add another 3 games against the Texans and Bears whose quarterbacks were stastically on pace to get there before being injured after 10 games and the result is 6 very difficult games for even the best defenses.  Lastly, if the offense doesn’t improve from a year ago, as unlikely as that may be, we will again have to rely on our defense to bail us out on a weekly basis.  That may prove to be a tough task for a second year in a row.

Stats and rankings can be misleading.  They support both sides of an arguement and rarely represent the whole truth.  The bottom line is that the Jaguars have a good defense.  They played like champions last year despite the offense’s struggles and Matt Turk punting like a cross-eyed infant.  We have a great collection of both youth and experience.  The defense is hungry.  Mel Tucker is one of the best defensive coaches in the league.  Time to buckle the chinstraps and plow our way through the 2012 NFL season.  As Mike Peterson once said, “Welcome to Duval.  Prepare to get hit.”

Go Jags and go USA!

The Br

-Lionel Joel