Jacksonville Jaguars: It wasn’t just Blake Bortles

It wasn’t just Blake Bortles who had an abysmal game. He makes an easy whipping boy but the truth is the whole team looked flat and dead.

This sorry performance is not a good start to the season. In short, there is enough blame to go around. First, the offensive line, next the defensive line, also the wide receivers, the running game, and finally the kicking game. The secondary would be another area but they played without their starting corners. Jon Gruden stated it very well last night. The runners can’t run, the offensive line can’t block, and the quarterback’s mechanics are questionable. It’s very hard for the Jaguars fans to be enthused.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE
The Jaguars offensive line had no push against the defensive line of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They opened no holes for the running backs. The pass blocking wasn’t terrible but mediocre but is a good description. The starting line produced a total of three yards rushing in the first half. This is the Jags STARTING offensive line.

THE DEFENSIVE LINE
The pass rush was nonexistent. Jamies Winston had ample time to throw the ball and looked a little like Tom Brady. Furthermore, the Bucs running game averaged five yards a carry in the first half. The Bucs had a total of 240 yards in the first half. Obviously, this is not winning football. There were several individual bright spots on defense. Paul Posluszny had four tackles in the first half and Tashawn Gipson had five solo tackles. Sadly, these were not defensive linemen. Dante Fowler had a sack and a forced fumble.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS
Allen Robinson was unable to separate from the Buc defenders at times in the first half. Additionally, he dropped a touchdown pass. Keelan Cole also dropped a sure touchdown pass. In his favor, he had an excellent punt return. In fairness, they had some very poor passes thrown to them but as a strength of the Jaguars team, they didn’t step it up.

THE RUNNING GAME
The running game managed seven rushes for three yards in the first half. This is the important half because the starters from both teams are playing. T J Yeldon ran for two yards on two carries. Corey Grant managed one yard on one carry and Chris Ivory had four carries for minus two yards. There is really nothing else to say.

THE KICKING GAME
Jason Myers, our kicker, missed a field goal and an extra point in the first half. This just can’t happen during the regular season.

WRAP UP
It was a difficult night for Jaguar fans. There is something very wrong with a team that plays flat in their first home game. Fans wondered when the REAL Jaguars were going to show up. Doug Marrone and Tom Coughlin need to have a serious meeting. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and the 2017 season is just around the corner.