What’s Next: Defense Returns To Dominance

It’s getting so bad I’m having dreams about Daryl Smith starting at linebacker for the Jags.  Fortunately those dreams will be coming to an end.  With the return of George Selvie, Austen Lane, and John Chick this team has begun to climb out of the  hole that they had dug for themselves.  Last year’s defense was an impressive unit with slight problems.  This year’s defense has been injured and underwhelming.

Yet the unit is on the rise.

Since the bye week the Jaguars defense has been stout against the run and has shut down Aaron Rodgers.  Further, they have racked up four sacks (two for Jeremy Mincey) in the past two games.  That’s more than half of the sacks (7) they have had on the season.  Last week against Aaron Rodgers and using a depleted secondary the Jaguars were able to limit Rodgers to a meager 186 yards while limiting the running game to under 70 yards total.  The Jaguars had yet to limit the opposition to under 100 yards on the ground until the Raiders game two weeks ago.

This unit is finding its groove at the right time for the Jaguars.

Matt Stafford is a gunslinging quarterback who could hurt the Jaguars this next week, but if the unit continues to gel tehy may be able to bottle up the runners and force Stafford into some ill-advised throws.  This could get good for the Jaguars defense.  Of course this is all speculation but you can’t deny the high the team has been on the past two weeks.

This week could be a return to dominance for the Jaguars defense. The pass rush and good containment when rushing has contributed to two decent outing for the Jaguars D.  If they can do it again it will go a long way toward promoting more success in the second half of the season.

– Luke N. Sims