After yet another anguishing defeat, the Jaguars fall to 0-3 on the season. Lets take a quick look at the production of the rookies against the Baltimore Ravens this weekend.
Jalen Ramsey
Jalen Ramsey made headlines for more than his play after this weekends game. As many Jaguars fans are now aware, altercations between Ramsey and Steve Smith Sr. spilled over to after the game and have become a national media feud. This may seem like a big deal to some but this behavior, assuming it never actually results in violence on the field, is exactly the same fire and confidence the Jaguars organization was so excited about before the season.
Ramsey had one of his best games against Baltimore. His tipped pass that led to a Tashaun Gipson interception should’ve been the play of the game if the Jaguars could’ve come away with some points on offense. The most impressive part about the tipped pass play isn’t the athleticism that was displayed to reach out and get a hand on Flacco’s pass, it was the awareness to break off his coverage of the underneath route. He was reading Joe Flaccos’ eyes, relying on his instincts, and ultimately reacted in time to make a play on the deep route. Through three games, I’d say the Jaguars are more than pleased with this years’ first round pick. Yannick Ngakoue
Ngakoue seems to get better every game. He bulled his way to his second consecutive game with a strip sack and provided consistent pressure on Joe Flacco. It hurts to say this but, compared to Dante Fowler Jr., Ngakoue is acting as a more consistent pass rusher and carrying himself with more professionalism than the 2015 first-round pick. This isn’t to say that Fowler Jr. isn’t being effective, but his personal foul calls almost outweighed his production as a pass-rusher against the Ravens.
Sheldon Day
Sheldon Day has primarily been serving the role of the rotational player on the Jaguars defense helping us keep Malik Jackson and Sen’Derrick Marks fresh. He recorded one solo tackle in Sunday’s game.
Myles Jack
The mystery man himself. Gus Bradley has publicly said that they are still trying to find a role for Myles Jack. When we drafted Jack, the idea was that he would eventually replace Pozsluzny but he was barely, if at all, part of the defense this weekend. Poz had a much better game in response to an incredible amount of criticism in weeks past, of which I took part in. Even if we keep Poz on the field on third down, I’m still confused as to how Jack isn’t a better decision in pass-coverage than some of the other players seen. I saw Dan Skuta and even Arthur Brown playing and failing in coverage all throughout the game and it’s very difficult for me to believe that Myles Jack, with his proven coverage abilities, isn’t a better option than either of those two linebackers in passing situations. It seems to me that our biggest issue on defense isn’t talent, but is actually that we are constantly out of position and struggling with identifying mismatches between linebackers and receivers. Bottom line, we need to get Myles Jack on the field.
The display of our rookies during Sunday’s game was somewhat comforting in comparison to the performance of the rest of our team. I am confident they will continue to improve. Above all, Go Jags. More From Generation JaguarJaguars vs Ravens Recap: 5 ThingsJaguars Superlatives: Week 3 EditionFixing the Gus Bradley problem
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