The dopest jersey in the NFL?

I may be more excited for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new uniforms than I am for the draft. Lies, I’m stoked for the draft, but the new uniforms that are revealed tomorrow are going to be awesome as well.

While we won’t get any sneak peaks like Steelers fans did when James Harrison tweeted their gaudy alternates last year, we do get a little bit of intrigue.  Jags guard Uche Nwaneri tweeted this about the Jags’ news jerseys:

Just tried on the new @jaguars uniform! U guys are in for a real suprise! #DopestJersey in the #NFL

— Uche Nwaneri (@Chukwu77) April 22, 2013

The Jacksonville Jaguars are set to unveil new helmets to go with their uniforms at 1:30 pm on April 23.  The Jaguars should be unveiling the home, away, and teal alternate variants of the jersey.  If they are really as dope as Nwaneri says they are then it should be something awesome.  The details of the new jersey have already been “leaked” but as they haven’t been confirmed we really won’t know what they look like until the official unveiling.  It’ll be nice to finally get the official look and be able to see what the Black and Teal will be wearing in the coming seasons.  From what I’ve heard, I like it.

- Luke N. Sims

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Sep 30, 2012; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars guard Uche Nwaneri (77) before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Everbank Field. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

It seems that Pro Football Focus’ numbers continually keep putting Jaguars players as some of the most overvalued players from 2012.  After a 2-14 season, that is to be expected.  Once again, the Jaguars manage to land an offensive lineman on the list.  Considering that the Jaguars allowed over 50 sacks this season, it shouldn’t be shocking to see that O-linemen are overvalued by the Jags.

Uche Nwaneri did not score well in PFF’s Performance Based Value measurement. The statistic measures a player’s output in comparison to his salary and that of the players at his position. Coming in as the ninth most overvalued guard in the league, Nwaneri may be surprising for some Jags fans.  Considered one of the better offensive linemen on the Jaguar roster, Nwaneri did struggle during pass protection.  Which is precisely what PFF notes:

 Nwaneri played in 15 games this year, battling ankle and knee issues for most of the time before missing the season finale with a concussion. Nwaneri’s +5.4 run blocking grade was seventh-best among right guards for 2012. However he struggled in the passing game, allowing five sacks and 29 total pressures on the season, ranking 41st in our Pass Blocking Efficiency rating out of 50 guards.

The Jags are looking for upgrades at left guard and right tackle to play in the line with LT Eugene Monroe, Center Brad Meester (the team seems to be working on a deal with him), and right guard Nwaneri.  Even if they fill the massive voids at left guard and right tackle, it may be prudent for the Jaguars to begin looking for upgrades at right guard too if the play doesn’t improve.  Keep in mind that Performance Based Value is not indicative of future performance, so Nwaneri could very well rebound and have a great 2013.

- Luke N. Sims

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You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims

Eugene Monroe’s disappointment has a very real basis.  Source: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Over the next week or so we will be going through the Jacksonville Jaguars 2012 roster to try and find the problems that led to the franchise’s worst-ever record: 2-14.  There were so many problems with this team that it goes well beyond one article. So, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll take it one position at a time.

This Week: the offensive line.

Here are the other parts of the series: QB

Calling the offensive line one position is not really a fair way to treat all of the individual players’ contributions.  While all linemen block, the positions have different responsibilities.  The left tackle’s role is decidedly different from the role of the right guard.  While both block, the value of that position to a specific scheme or play varies, with the left tackle generally being considered the most valuable position on the line.  Despite a strong left tackle like the Jags’ Eugene Monroe, the offensive line as a whole can look bad.  Therein lies why we will treat it as one position: it is a unit.  Of all positions in football, the offensive line positions require the most cohesive play.  If the line has one weak spot, then the entire line is weak.  If the line is not all on the same page, it is likely the play will fail.

That failure is a major reason why the Jaguars finished the season 2-14.

The Jaguars have two solid contributors on the offensive line: Monroe and right guard Uche Nwaneri.  Center Brad Meester is an older veteran who is just grinding out his last few playing days.  He can get the job done on occasion, but it is difficult for him to look good or perform well without the rest of the O-line performing well.  Two positions (left guard and right tackle) are completely unsettled and filled with underperforming players on the roster.

Despite a top left tackle and good right guard, the entire Jaguar offensive line has failed.  As a unit, they have failed.

The only offensive linemen with overall positive grades- according to Pro Football Focus – were Monroe and Nwaneri.  PFF breaks plays down by player for every play, so even if the entire line has a terrible year a player may still be graded positively.  The only other players to receive a positive grading in a blocking category were Austin Pasztor (three games), and Herb Taylor (two games).

Every other offensive lineman failed miserably.

The Jags had 10 offensive linemen take snaps during the 2012 season.  That’s two linemen for every one position – if that doesn’t tell you of the O-line turmoil the Jags had, then nothing will.  Combined, they allowed 33 of 50 sacks (28 on Chad Henne, 22 on Blaine Gabbert), 46 of 51 QB hits, and 129 of 138 hurries.  To give you an idea of how much that affects a quarterback, Gabbert and Henne combined had pressure as a result of offensive line play on 31.6% of their drop backs.  As we examined when diagnosing the quarterback play, this gravely affected Henne and helped knock Gabbert out of the regular season.

But pass blocking is not the sole duty of the offensive line.  They also have to run block.  Run blocking is a little more difficult to grade because things like QB hurries, hits, and sacks are not a measurable stat for running backs.  For that, we either have to trust that statistical sites like PFF did their homework correctly and properly graded each run blocker, or we have to trust our eyes to see how well they did.

Center Brad Meester was particularly bad at run blocking this season.  Source: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t trust my eyes because to me it all looked like it had gone to hell in run blocking.

The Jaguars couldn’t run this season even if they had Barry Sanders in the backfield.  Maurice Jones-Drew posted some gaudy numbers (4.8 yards per attempt) without a passing attack to balance him before being injured.  Yet, of is 4.8 yards per attempt, 2.3 yards per attempt came after contact.  Jones-Drew was getting hit and still managing to keep going, but the other Jaguar running backs simply couldn’t do that.

The offensive line was not getting enough push to move the play forward and they were letting players get to their running backs too often.

The Jaguars’ woes happened largely due to the O-line’s inability to protect its quarterback and provide running room for its running backs.  When the O-line fails to protect the quarterback, entire plays break down quickly.  Most of the players on the offensive line for the Jaguars do not deserve another shot with the team because of their inability to protect the players they are tasked with protecting.

The offensive line is just a part of the problem, but a very big part.  Next time we’ll look at what many consider to be a bright spot for the 2012 Jaguars, the wide receivers.

- Luke N. Sims

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You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims