Jacksonville Jaguars Mid-Season Report Card – Grading the Offensive Line
By Daniel Lago
Oct 13, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars center Brad Meester (63) at the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Jaguars 35-19. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the midst of arguably the most inept stretch of football in the history of the NFL. Mercifully, they have a bye this week to regroup and reevaluate some players and decide how to approach the last 8 games.
The bye week also gives us the opportunity to grade the personnel and their performance so far. Today we look at the much maligned offensive line.
| Snaps | Sacks | Hurries | Hits | PFF Pass Block | PFF Run Block | PFF Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uche Nwaneri | 539 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6.2 | -7.7 | -1.2 |
| Brad Meester | 539 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2.3 | -3.3 | 0.1 |
| Will Rackley | 455 | 3 | 5 | 15 | -7.6 | -12.3 | -21.4 |
| Luke Joeckel | 280 | 3 | 1 | 11 | -1.0 | -5.6 | -6.1 |
| Cameron Bradfield | 269 | 2 | 3 | 13 | -4.1 | -6.6 | -9.9 |
| Austin Pasztor | 268 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6.8 | -4.1 | 2.5 |
All of the statistics and grades above are from Pro Football Focus and they tell a pretty interesting tale. The most obvious and damning grade is obviously Will Rackley’s. Rackley has consistently looked terrible on the field and routinely finds himself on his butt via a defensive lineman or his own clumsiness. He has the third worst overall grade for a guard according to PFF and he’s been equally incompetent run and pass blocking. He will almost certainly not be a starter on the offensive line in 2014.
Aside from Rackley, the offensive line as a whole has not been terrible, especially in pass blocking. Luke Joeckel played almost all of his snaps this year at right tackle, but the little time he had at left tackle he held his own against Robert Quinn. Austin Pasztor has stepped in and played terrifically on the right side, not giving up a sack in 4 games. He and Joeckel are likely the starting tackles in 2014.
Uche and Brad have been serviceable but are also likely gone in 2014. David Caldwell will look to inject some youth in the offensive line to build with whoever they draft at quarterback. The interior of the line will look completely different but hopefully better.
Mid-Season Grades: Offensive Line
Uche Nwaneri – C+
Brad Meester – C-
Will Rackley – F
Luke Joeckel – B-
Cameron Bradfield – D
Austin Pasztor – B
– Daniel Lago
Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89