These Jacksonville Jaguars

If there is a team in the AFC more pitiful than The Jaguars, someone point them out to me. Their biggest competition for that #1 draft pick is Kansas City, and what a race it is. Both are 2-12 and have moved on from their starting QB. Jacksonville is probably just a hair better than The Chiefs, but that's not a call to overlook to this team. The Jaguars have played their division games tough, and they even took The Texans to OT. The any given Sunday rule still applies here. No one in The Patriots organization is taking this game lightly, and we'll treat it the same way here at The Elvis.

Did you know Chad Henne has size 15 shoes?

The Jaguars have some good players including WRs Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon, but they are desperately lacking in the QB department. Blaine Gabbert seems to be a draft bust (and is on IR), and Chad Henne is only completing 52% of his passes since replacing Gabbert. Likewise, injuries have hurt The Jaguars. After a contract hold out, Maurice Jones-Drew turned in his worst season as a pro. Last year, Jones-Drew accounted for over 50% of The Jags offense, and that void is not easily filled.

Its always hard to say nice things about a 2-12 team, but Paul Posluszny is having a very well rounded season with 122 total tackles, 3 INTs, 7 passes defended, 5 tackles for a loss, and 2 forced fumbles. These numbers are not super-impressive on a league-wide scale, but he is truly the only impact player on the defense. This was a great free-agent signing for Jacksonville, but he can't do it alone. Derek Cox is doing some nice things on the back end (3 INTs and 8 PDs) but the front-7 is just not competitive, even with waiver-wire acquisition Jason Babin.

The Jacksonville defense is putrid, plain and simple. They are the worst defense against the run in the league, and they are in the bottom third against the pass. The team has combined for 15 total sacks, with the highest individual total being 3 by Tyson Alualu. Compare this to their sacks allowed, 42... yikes! The DL and LBs just don't hold up against power running, and when you can't stop the run, you can't win football games.

The Jacksonville offense is far too reliant on the big play, and neither Gabbert nor Henne have done well on 3rd down. Without Jones-Drew, there is no reason to respect play-action. Really, the only offense they can generate comes from blown coverages and missed tackles on defense. The sustained drive has been rare, and finishing a drive with TD is practically cause for champagne. The Jags have 22 TDs on the season, and 14 of them were red zone TDs. The big targets near the goal line are TE Marcedes Lewis and WR Justin Blackmon, but still 14 TDs in 31 red zone trips is not good. That's a 45% red zone TD%.

Dawan Landry is a big lengthy Safety that can
cover big WRs and fast TEs.

Overall, The Jaguars' weaknesses are glaring. Fundamental football seems to be lost on them, but sometimes they can actually put together a good game (see Houston, Indy, and Tennessee). The impact players are just not there on defense, and the front 7 can't generate runs stops or QB pressure. Offensively, they are missing their best player, and their QB is only completing 52% of his passes. The entire offense is predicated on getting the ball deep, but when that doesn't work, Henne turns into captain checkdown.

The Jags should be dispatched easily, but they deserve a weeks worth of preparation just like any other team. This week of practice needs to be about things that we do as a team though. We need to win this game without any mental errors. We need to crush this team to reaffirm ourselves after a tough loss. Sometimes it can be tough to play against a team that is playing only for pride, and that's why we need to slaughter them without the slightest hint of mercy.