THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY : PANTHERS @ JAGUARS

The Jaguars put forth a losing effort in what was a very winnable game, in a 20-9 loss to the Panthers.

BY 
JORDAN DE LUGO

          The Good: The Jaguars’ defense was really, really good. They only gave up 13 points to Cam Newton and the Panthers. There was fairly consistent pressure from the defensive line (2 sacks) despite missing their best interior pass rusher, Sen’Derrick Marks. Playing against a normal quarterback they would have registered several more sacks than they did, but Cam Newton’s incredible athletic ability got him out of several would be sacks. The linebacking group comprised of Dan Skuta, Telvin Smith, and Paul Posluszny is possibly the best unit on the team. They combined for 25 tackles, one interception, one sack, and held Jonathan Stewart to 3.1 yards a carry. They were all over the field and were really fun to watch. Rashad Greene, the rookie receiver from FSU, scored a touchdown, but the rest of his game was a mixed bag — he had several drops and made a mistake returning a punt from inside the 10 yard line. It was still exciting to see him get into the end zone in his first game. Another rookie, T.J. Yeldon, had an impressive game. Only getting 12 carries, he was still able to register over 50 yards rushing. He showed speed, vision and power through out the game. He needs to get more carries going forward.

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          The Bad: The drops are hard to watch. Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Rashad Greene all had drops in the game. If the Jaguars want to put more points on the board, these receivers have got to quit dropping the ball. The Jaguars also gave up 5 sacks, some of which were caused by Bortles holding on to the ball too long. Despite the defense’s impressive performance, there were some mistakes; there were several long runs by Stewart and Newton and a couple of busted coverages that should have led to big plays or even touchdowns. There is a lot more that could go in this category, but the rest is so bad that it has to go in the next category.

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          The Ugly: Blake Bortles has got to get rid of the ball quicker and make better decisions. He threw two interceptions on the day and one was for a backbreaking pick six. He took 5 sacks, and was pedestrian, at best, 22/40 throwing the ball. It was a poor performance against a good defense, but I would be willing to give him a mulligan on everything that happened except the pick six. It was an unforced error, a lapse in judgement, and most importantly a mistake that he has repeatedly made throughout his short career. Bortles has to be better for the Jaguars to have a shot against the Dolphins next week, a team that had two pick sixes against Bortles in 2014. In this weeks game preview we looked for rookie kicker, Jason Myers, to have a better debut for the Jags than his predecessor, Josh Scobee, did for the Steelers. He didn’t. He was one for two, missing a makeable 40+ yard field goal, and missing an extra point! Not a good start for the rookie.

          All in all this was a less than stellar performance in a game that the Jaguars likely should have won. There were some promising moments and plays in this game. The defense is good, but the offense has a long way to go. The Jaguars need to have more offensive production next week or fans may not be so forgiving, as they were this week. The Jaguars play the Dolphins next week at home. It’s a 4:00 pm kick so there will be plenty of pregame festivities. Stay tuned for more.