Jaguars vs Jets: 5 Players To Watch
By Luke Sims
The Jets come to town to try and best the Jaguars at home. The Jags are coming off their first victory at home two weeks ago after a series of blowouts that left the home crowd sad, dejected, and more than a little mad. In this game a number of players will have to, or probably will, step up. Let’s take a peek at five players to watch on Sunday:
1. Kevin Elliott, WR, Jacksonville: Kevin Elliott should be getting considerably more reps at wide receiver with Cecil Shorts III out. As receivers have seemingly gone the way of the dinosaur for the Jaguars, Elliott will be the second most productive wide receiver for the Jaguars entering Sunday’s game. He will need to play way out of his mind if he wants to fill Shorts’ big shoes in the game. If he plays well then this receiving unit may just have more depth than anticipated. Behing Elliott are three receivers who have all been signed in the last three weeks. He really needs to step up for the Jags to be successful through the air.
2. Eben Britton, G, Jacksonville: Eben Britton will get his first start in a while due to the injury to undrafted free agent starter Mike Brewster who edged him out for the spot earlier this year. Britton has been underperforming during his time on the field this season so it will be curious to see if he can up his game and push to stay on this roster if a new GM rolls into town (or if Gene Smith stays I suppose). Britton will be playing for his job and it would be nice to see some development along the interior of the offensive line.
I really hope Chad Henne has a short memory because Cromartie could make his day a long one. Source: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
3. Antonio Cromartie, CB, New York: The Jets feature some pretty solid secondary players even without Darrelle Revis. Cromartie has been a near expert at his craft for some time and is having a decent season in New York. He is the leading man in interceptions on a very good passing defense. If anybody can make Chad Henne look bad for the second week in a row, it will be Cromartie. He will also limit either Justin Blackmon or Kevin Elliott, whomever he happens to be on.
4. Justin Blackmon, WR, Jacksonville: Can the Jaguars’ passing offense succeed without Cecil Shorts? Blackmon will be the key to that. He has been made a non-factor too many times this season, but this time there won’t be another good receiver starting to help bail him and the team out. Blackmon will have to assert his presence more and win the battles against defenders in order to help the passing offense. Chad Henne will need some help and Blackmon is the most likely source to help him out, but the question remains, can he do it?
5. Shonn Greene, RB, New York: Greene comes into the game against the Jaguars as a very good indicator for success with the Jets. As Greene goes, so do the Jets. They are going to look to assert the run and try to get ball control and constant movement on offense. Greene is the Jets’ man. The Jaguars have a horrendous rushing defense so the yardage could go through the roof for Greene in this game. Keep an eye and see if the Jets are getting him enough reps to grind down the Jaguars.
– Luke N. Sims