The Sharks Are Champions; What will it Take For The Jags to Hoist a Trophy?

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The local Arena football team, the Jacksonville Sharks, won their  league championship just days ago. That got us thinking -- What will it take for the Jaguars to hoist a trophy of their own?

By Nick Kramarich

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With the 2017 season rapidly approaching many believe that this could be a big year for the Jaguars. Although thoughts of the Super Bowl are out of sight for many, what are the chances that Duval claims its first Lombardi Trophy? What would the Jaguars need to accomplish to make it to the Super Bowl? There are three main factors (besides quarterback play) that have hurt the team in the recent years -- In order to take the next step as a team the Jaguars need these areas to be greatly improved in 2017.

First, the Defense. The Jaguars defense has struggled to create turnovers in recent years. In the playoffs and down the stretch in the regular season defenses can win games -- if our defense doesn't create more pressure and force more turnovers then we will not win games, it's that simple. To win the Super Bowl this year though we need a somewhat miraculous season on defense -- Think along the lines of the 2013 Seahawks, a bunch of hard-hitting, physical players that dominate the field. I want Jalen Ramsey to be the next Richard Sherman, Barry Church to be the next Cam Chancellor (I know, keep dreaming) -- A tall order indeed. We need all our young players and veterans on that side of the ball to go all out. We have a lot of young talent that needs to show up big time in 2017.

Next is one man that, in my opinion, has this season in the palm of his hands. That man is Leonard Fournette. Coming off the 2016 season with our extremely poor rushing attack that was led by T.J. Yeldon we need for LF27 to set the tempo early on in games. I need Fournette to show up to games with an energy that fuels the whole offense and for him to be the new leader of the team. I want him to truck guys like he did at LSU and humiliate defenses. The Jaguars 2017 success will be determined by the success of their rookie running back. I need this man to be a beast for the Jaguars this season. Fournette needs to rush for at least 1,200 yards to be SB bound. He needs to take this young team and lead it.

The last factor is Allen Robinson. A-Rob had a very, very impressive 2015 season and unfortunately did not follow up the season well with his poor performance last year, but that's how the 2016 season went for most Jaguars on the offensive side of the ball. Allen Robinson is extremely talented and has made some of the most amazing catches I've ever seen. He is a play maker and he needs to embrace that. Robinson needs to lead the receiving core of Hurns, Lee, and Westbrook and help with making this the best year yet for himself and the rest of the team. Bortles needs a man he can fully rely on to catch that ball when it matters the most. For Robinson, I predict that he would need to got for 1,500 yards for us to make it to Super Bowl LII. 

Realistically speaking the Jaguars' chances of winning the Super Bowl this year are extremely low, but that's not saying it can't be done. In addition to the three factors we just went over Blake Bortles will have to cut down greatly on the turnovers and the offensive line will need to clear holes for Fournette. While it might not be realistic to think this is the year of the Jaguar, with a new coaching staff and players hungry for wins I would be looking out for Jacksonville to make it to the Super Bowl in the next 5-10 years.

​Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comment section below.

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