Sep 11, 2011; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Dwight Lowery (25) celebrates after intercepting a Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (not pictured) pass to seal a 16-14 victory during a game at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Fernando Medina-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL today has been changing more and more into a high speed, pass-happy league, and the teams that follow that mold are the teams that get the press because for most fans its exciting to watch.  However when the post-season rolls around that’s when the old fashioned style teams come out to play and the teams you see going deep into the postseason are not the teams that are hyped up for being high scoring.  Really its the teams that keep the scores down and play well on defense.

“Defense wins championships” its been the motto of most sports for a long time now, and to look at recent Super Bowls the teams that represent each conference usually end up being teams that have a great defense that is complimented by a good offense that can put enough points on the board to get the win for their team.

Luckily for the Jaguars new Head Coach Gus Bradley is a defensive minded coach and a pretty good one too.  He spent the last three seasons in Seattle putting together what is now one of the top defensive backfields in the game today.  After what happened in the draft you can only assume that Bradley is trying to re-create in Jacksonville the kind of defensive backs he had in Seattle and so far the potential is there for him to be successful.

The Jaguars will be returning Safeties Dwight Lowery and Chris Prosinski along with  corners Kevin Rutland and Mike Harris.  Lowery as of now is expected to start at one of the safety spots with the second round draft pick Johnathan Cyprien.   The Jaguars have also brought in a former player of Bradley’s from Seattle in Marcus Trufant who will battle with Rutland, Harris, third round pick Dwayne Gratz, and free agent signing Alan Ball for a spot to play at corner.

With this kind of competition and the youth mixed with some fairly established veterans to help keep them focused the potential is there for Bradley to put together a pretty stout defense.  Although the Jaguars will not be considered a top contender this or maybe even the next, this group of young players give Jags fans something to look forward to this season to show progress is being made.

- Mike Milder

Whether they are someone in the spotlight, or just a guy who is a long shot for even the practice squad, I’m sure to take a look at each individual player. On a roster as young as this and with this much competition, you just never know who will start turning heads in OTAs, training camp and preseason games.

It’s no secret. The Jags running game last year was flat out embarrassing. Between the Maurice Jones-Drew holdout, to his season ending injury, to the stable of spare part running backs the Jaguars fielded last year, the Jaguars running game was just another thing that went wrong in 2012. Fortunately, it looks as if we’ve gotten some new pieces and I am looking very much forward to seeing exactly what the backfield will look like come September.

So just how did Jacksonville improve the position? It started with the signing of free agent Justin Forsett back in March. It only got better, when in April, Caldwell drafted one of the most explosive players from college football in Denard Robinson and it was decided that running back would give him (Robinson) the best opportunity to make a difference come game time.

Before we continue I have to note (even though it’s been noted plenty in the last week) that FB/RB/Special Teams Ace, Montell Owens was released last week in order to make room for center Dan Gerberry. This move came as a shock to most. It wasn’t necessarily shocking to me seeing as how the Jaguars want to get younger and faster, but it was a bit upsetting. Owens is a blue collar player who stepped up and did everything he could to help the team. It’s easy to do that…when you’re on a winning team. Most of the time Owens was not on a winning team, yet he always put it on the line, and he made two pro bowls as a special teamer on the way. Owens had a visit with Buffalo yesterday, and I wish him nothing but the best.

We continue our position battles series today, taking a look at the running backs:

• Maurice Jones-Drew: After coming off of a record campaign in 2011, claiming the league’s rushing title, Jones-Drew faced a tumultous offseason in 2012 that included a hold out, but that’s neither here nor there. A foot injury claimed his season in week 6 and that was it.  I’m focused on Jones-Drew’s health this year. Not only does he have to be healthy, but he has to return to 2011 form. Jones-Drew has been the lone threat, the lone weapon for this team for years. One of the last of the workhorse backs, a healthy Jones-Drew returning to home run threat form would certainly be advantageous to young players in a new system, and it would definitely help take some of the load off of Gabbert or Henne’s shoulders.
  

  Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

• Justin Forsett: Forsett was the second free agent signed after free agency opened on March 12. Forsett played in Houston last year backing up Arian Foster, but before coming to Houston he played in Seattle. Forsett has always been a solid complimentary back, and he has shown that he would be able to handle the job if the primary back goes down. One of the things that was so terrible about last year (one of the many, many things) was seeing just how much depth this team DID NOT HAVE. Forsett provides quality depth at the position.
• Denard Robinson: Selected in the 5th round of the 2013 draft, the Jaguars selected QB/WR/RB/KR Denard Robinson. Everyone who watches college football, and especially if you’re a Michigan fan, can see just how special of an athlete Robinson is. Hands down one of the biggest playmakers in college football, Robinson did have to make a position switch upon arriving to the pros. Wanting to contribute, and not being selfish whatsoever and understanding he’d be a better fit somewhere else on the football field, Robinson made the switch to wide receiver. Bradley will play him at running back which I feel will give him the best opportunity to benefit the team. I would not be one bit surprised though to see him get involved in the passing and return game.
• Jonathan Grimes: A late season addition in 2012 due to the walking wounded at what seemed like practically every position, Grimes came into the league as an UDFA with Houston last year. He’s spent time with Houston, the New York Jets, Houston again, and finally Jacksonville. Grimes is young, which is probably the only reason he’s stuck around this long, and he will be fighting for a back up spot.
• Jordan Todman: Todman was a player I was interested in as a late round flier in the 2011 draft. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 6th round. Todman hails from UCONN, having been 2010 Big East Offensive Player of the Year before forgoing his senior season and entering the 2011 draft. Since then he has bounced around the league. The Jaguars found him on Minnesota’s practice squad and signed him in late November of last year. Once again, Todman is a young player who accomplished a lot a UCONN, but will be hard pressed to find a spot on the roster.
• De’Leon Eskridge: Eskridge came to the rookie mini-camp as a workout guy and was signed shortly after. At San Jose State last year, Eskridge had 207 carries for 1,025 yards and 11 TDs. He was selected All WAC Second Team by the coaches, but due to a bad 40 time, Eskridge fell out of favor and went undrafted. Lucky for Eskridge, he came to the right camp. He worked hard and obviously showed enough to get a contract. He’ll be competing with for a backup spot, and would be a good candidate for the practice squad.
• Lonnie Pryor, FB: Pryor is one of those UDFAs that has a real shot. With Greg Jones going to Houston and with the recent release of Montell Owens, Pryor is a prime candidate to step up and be the lead blocker for Maurice Jones-Drew. He was a part of a FSU rushing offense that scored 40, yes 40 rushing touchdowns in 2012 and averaged 205 rushing yards a game. Pryor is an outstanding blocker, and he can also be a factor running the ball, tallying 47 carries for 376 yards and 8 scores last season.
• Will Ta’ufo’ou, FB: Ta’ufo’ou came into the league as an UDFA in 2009 with the Chicago Bears. He was with the Bears until 2011. Afterwards, he was signed to Cleveland’s practice squad, but was released in November of 2011. He was signed by the Jaguars in July of last year. Since then he’s been on both the Jaguars’ practice squad and active roster. He appeared in six games last year for Jacksonville. He will be Pryor’s main competition for the fullback position, but Pryor still has much more upside.

With so much talk about how Gabbert, Henne, Marcedes Lewis, Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon will respond to Jedd Fisch’s offense, you really don’t hear very much about what kind of role the running back will play. We have a superstar in Maurice Jones-Drew, who if healthy, should be one of the top rushing performers in the league again. Forsett and Robinson should be the back ups with Robinson getting involved in more ways than one (ie. wide receiver, kick returner, etc.). Pryor should be the starting fullback barring a terrible camp.

I highly doubt we’ll carry more than 4 backs (3RBs,1FB), so Todman and Grimes would have to be absolutely lights out in order to earn a roster spot. You just never know on a roster like this though. Either one could flash enough at camp to convince Bradley to go heavier at RB than originally intended which of course if the great thing about competition.

-David R. Johns

November 8, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Jerry Hughes (92) sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert (11) during the second quarter at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret that the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line was lacking in 2012.  It was a rough season for Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne under center.  Things like this happen to bad teams on occasion.  We need look no further than the Arizona Cardinals to see just how terrible a season can become due to poor offensive line play.  The 2-14 Jaguars just didn’t get a chance to win four games early like the Cardinals did.

In looking at the problem we can see if the quarterback or the offensive line was at fault.  Well, more importantly, Pro Football Focus can look at the numbers and give us what they perceive as accurate from their well trained eyes.  Gabbert and Henne were sacked 22 and 28 times, respectively.  We’ve had a field day suggesting that the quarterback play could be better.  We’ve looked at the best numbers available as to how the quarterback does better with more time.  The truth is, however, that the team just wasn’t that good at protecting their quarterback…and according to numbers from Neil Hornsby of PFF, most of those sacks are on players not under center.

Gabbert and Henne accounted for all of one sack and one pressure on themselves all season long.  In 705 dropbacks Jaguar quarterbacks actually outperformed many others…by not harming themselves.  Henne is the only quarterback with 300+ attempts who, according to PFF, didn’t get sacked, hit, or pressured because of himself.  Hornsby notes that this is in no way a “positive” indicator of quarterback play as some players at the top of the list may hold onto the ball longer to make something happen.  So, Horsby took a look at the small sample size that is quarterback play when holding onto the ball for four seconds.

Blaine Gabbert landed at ninth in “rating per dropback.”  Chad Henne landed at 21, just below the NFL average.

We’ve made excuses in the past about how the team has problems and how this is so much bigger than just the quarterbacks.  As the offensive line has improved this offseason, I think we’ll see better quarterback play.  There’s no way that Gabbert and Henne are able to hold onto the ball for more than four seconds on every dropback, but with some better play perhaps they can become those guys that make something happen.

- Luke N. Sims

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