The Jacksonville Jaguars

[pierre]

This schedule shows you what the NFL thinks of this franchise. And the answer is not much.

And they really have no reason to expect the Jaguars to be anything but awful.

[Steve]

This schedule shows you what the NFL thinks of this franchise. And the answer is not much.

And they really have no reason to expect the Jaguars to be anything but awful.

I mean, a small market team that went 3-13 isn't going to get much. The NFL dumped the requirement that every team get a national game.

Clearly they think Oakland is going to be the team to watch. They have 6 national audience games, and another 3-4 where they will be shown to about 80% of the country or more.

I think even if they Jags went 7-9 they'd get one or two national games, plus with the ratings dive last year the NFL will be looking hard at Thursday night games.

Putting aside the TV impact, it's not a bad schedule.
- They leave for London from Jacksonville
- The Jets and Steelers will be tough, back to back. Not that I expect the Jets to be great, but a road game after London won't be easy. I realize that's sort of the way it has to be  (Home Week 2, "Home" Week 3, so it would be three in a row at home). Then the Steelers are always good at home.
- Week 6 through the end is about as easy of a lineup as can be expected given the teams they have to play. You can't pick the teams, but the arrangement is very much in their favor.

From a ticket sales perspective, it's REALLY in their favor in my opinion:
- Only one brutal hot game (Week 2 1PM)
- The October game is a 4PM
- Away on Thanksgiving and Christmas - always a tough weekend to get people to come out.

[Keith-N-Jax]

^^^ IMO works in favor for the Jags. 3-13 doesn't scream prime time

[spuwho]

I already have Seahawk fans emailing me for good hotels near the stadium.

Tickets are hard to come by there and expensive, so they are looking to come here.

The game isn't until December for crying out loud.

[spuwho]

Ouch. Michael Bennett of the Seahawks calls the Jaguars a "lose by 50 team".  Asked what that meant, they lose by 21 because the opposing starters are pulled early and the Jag's throw TD's in garbage.  So if the teams didn't pull their starters early, they would always lose by 50, not 14 or 21.

Well the Seahawks show up here on Dec 10th and usually don't do well on the east coast.  Bulletin board material perhaps, but even ESPN agreed with Bennett's sentiments.

A lot of work to be done.

[Keith-N-Jax]

The Bennett comment is old news, and he was part of the Tampa team that got beat 41-14 by the Jags

[ProjectMaximus]

Any road games of interest to anyone here? Or know which ones the fan clubs are considering?
I'm thinking Indy or Cleveland.

[Rynjny]

Any road games of interest to anyone here? Or know which ones the fan clubs are considering?
I'm thinking Indy or Cleveland.

Pittsburgh would be a nice road trip.

[ProjectMaximus]

I totally agree with you, but I cannot make it to that one. 

[Dapperdan]

Here is a question I have always had. With Coughlin in the helm and  can apparently approve or deny player acquisitions, is Caldwell's job redundant ? What does he even do now? Be the main scout for Coughlin? I am just curious of the dynamic now as he is not top dog. Very strange situation to me.

[KenFSU]

Here is a question I have always had. With Coughlin in the helm and  can apparently approve or deny player acquisitions, is Caldwell's job redundant ? What does he even do now? Be the main scout for Coughlin? I am just curious of the dynamic now as he is not top dog. Very strange situation to me.

Pretty good breakdown here, Dan:

http://www.espn.com/blog/jacksonville-jaguars/post/_/id/20996/coughlin-caldwell-marrone-say-new-power-structure-has-worked-well

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

If not defensive lineman and they end up looking at a position that makes little sense value-wise at #4, give me Howard.

The QB whispers are interesting but I would be shocked if they went in that direction.

I'd have to say we agree here and we're in the minority. 

I'm not a huge draftnik because that requires watching college football, which I don't, but I'm not sold on either Cook or Fournette and especially not at 4.  With Marcedes at the end of his career, one would only hope that Howard could be a better pick than Lewis was. 

I wouldn't be completely surprised with a QB at 4 either.  But again, I'll go against the grain and say that if we draft one, I would love for it to be the fire under Blake's ass that gets him back to 2015 numbers or better since from what I read, none of the QBs are quite ready to jump in and start.

Is it a bad thing if we take Watson, Blake starts putting up Pro-Bowl numbers for consecutive seasons and then we have a legit backup on the team after a year or two?  Someone that we could trade for a 1st or second round pick in 4,5 years?

[RattlerGator]

My understanding is that we already have a backup QB who is solid enough as a backup in Brandon Allen. The Watson talk is an attempt to entice a team to trade up to take Watson.

Because I believe in Blake and our WRs, I am more and more intrigued by Fournette.

[JaxAvondale]

For a lot of reasons, Fournette should be the pick if the Jags don't trade down.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The biggest knock on him that I keep reading is, "But when his blocking and reads were murkier this past season, he was at times indecisive and quick to abandon the intended point of attack, and not nearly as effective at making defenders miss. Teammate Derrius Guice was considerably more productive running behind the same offensive line."

So then there's this:  Teams are ranked according to Adjusted Line Yards. Based on regression analysis, the Adjusted Line Yards formula takes all running back carries and assigns responsibility to the offensive line based on the following percentages:
Losses: 120% value
0-4 Yards: 100% value
5-10 Yards: 50% value
11+ Yards: 0% value
These numbers are then adjusted based on down, distance, situation, opponent, and the difference in rushing average between shotgun compared to standard formations. Finally, we normalize the numbers so that the league average for Adjusted Line Yards per carry is the same as the league average for RB yards per carry. These stats are explained further here.
The following stats are not adjusted for opponent:
RB Yards: Yards per carry by that team's running backs, according to standard NFL numbers.
Power Success: Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown. Also includes runs on first-and-goal or second-and-goal from the two-yard line or closer. This is the only statistic on this page that includes quarterbacks.
Stuffed: Percentage of runs where the running back is tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage. Since being stuffed is bad, teams are ranked from stuffed least often (#1) to most often (#32).
Second Level Yards: Yards which this team's running backs earn between 5-10 yards past the line of scrimmage, divided by total running back carries.
Open Field Yards: Yards which this team's running backs earn more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, divided by total running back carries.

We ranked 27/32 last season.