Jacksonville Jaguars Week 1 Power Rankings: Starting Low
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars are near the bottom of the power rankings yet again for the start of another season, deservedly so.
My mantra for the Jacksonville Jaguars is a simple one – the Jaguars are bad until they aren’t.
It appears most national analysts agree.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars have surprisingly generated buzz nationally over the last two seasons thanks to some big moves in the offseason, but nobody appears to be falling for it this year.
Here’s a brief collection of some rankings around the web as the Jaguars gear up for another season:
"27. Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 27)I get why the Jaguars considered starting Chad Henne. I also know why they ultimately didn’t: Henne isn’t very good. Blake Bortles gets yet another chance, but I assume he better play well right away. Coach Doug Marrone probably has the hook very close by. And his first game is at Houston and the Texans’ tough defense."
"28. JaguarsThe defense will be solid, but it might not matter if they don’t get anything from their offense. It’s all on Blake Bortles."
"31. Jacksonville JaguarsIncredible. Incredible that Doug Marrone would hand the reins back over to Blake Bortles, citing the mobility factor while saying Bortles’ good plays versus the Panthers were essentially non-factors. Huh? While Bortles isn’t bad on the move, he’s no Randall Cunningham, much less a 1996-esque Mark Brunell. Not to mention (but we’ll mention), what message does this send to the rest of the offense? That Bortles’ “benching” — and the brief transition to Chad Henne — was merely a stern directive to the young quarterback to get into gear? Maybe Leonard Fournette will go off versus the Texans on Sunday, rendering this whole point moot. Against that stout Texans front. Yeah, and maybe the Browns could have gotten a first-round pick for Osweiler via trade …"
"28. Jacksonville Jaguars2016 record: 3-13Post-draft ranking: No. 27New acquisition Calais Campbell thinks if the Jaguars “can start fast, anything is possible.” Campbell can help that fast start by making an impact on defense, where the Jaguars have ranked 25th or worse in points allowed for five straight seasons."
My take:
I was expecting the Jaguars to be somewhere around 28 or 29 for most of these rankings, but holy cow Elliot Harrison. At least he thinks the Jets are worse than the Jaguars.
While I am quite sour this season on the Jaguars (perhaps it’s a reverse jinx), I don’t think they are the second worst team in the league. Blake Bortles would have to be a monumental, abject disaster for that to happen. That is possible, but I think the leash is short for him and he’d be yanked if it got to that point.
I’ll go ahead and side with most of the other guys and put the Jaguars at 29 for now, ahead of the Jets, Browns, and 49ers.