It goes without saying the Jacksonville Jaguars need to greatly improve in 2019 because 2018 was beyond lackluster. After nearly going to the Super Bowl in 2017, they let down a lot of fans who thought they were Super Bowl bound, but then again, that’s football for you.
Part of the reason for their lackluster 2018 season was their decline in several major areas, which they previously flourished at. Here are four of them as the team will look to bounce back and establish themselves as the physical unit fans once knew:
Creating turnovers
While the Jags’ offense was clearly the weaker unit (even when healthy), a big part of the team’s overall struggles in 2018 was their drop-off in impact turnovers. After having a turnover margin of 10 in 2017 (good for fifth), they finished 2018 with a margin of -12 (good for 29th), which is a drastic decline.
Simply put, with he Jags’ offense now healthy and a better quarterback on the unit, they could cash in some huge opportunities from the defense and become a better overall team. In fact, they would be awfully reminiscent of the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles team that Nick Foles lead to a Super Bowl victory and complimented the their defense well.
Getting more sacks
Don’t you all miss the days where the nation called the Jags’ defensive unit “Sacksonville”? I know I do.
Unfortunately, the Jags’ sack numbers also declined like their turnover margin, and the unit went from second with 55 sacks during the regular season to 22nd with 37 sacks. That’s a drop off of 18, which is significant.
The Jags’ front office seemed to be well aware of their lack of impact plays on the defensive side and addressed it by taking Kentucky pass rusher Josh Allen in the draft, thanks to the teams before them passing up the young star. That said, if he can be a solid rotational pass rusher, the team can get Yannick Ngakoue into camp with a deal and Taven Bryan can become a force as a interior rusher, the Jags’ sack numbers should increase and make them a top-10 sack unit at the least.
Rushing the ball
Of course, the Jags need to be better in the passing game, too, but that will only come when the rush is improved. A lot of the Jags’ struggles on the ground were a result of running back Leonard Fournette missing half of the 2018 season. Thankfully, he’s now back and new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo has already said he’s the key that will drive the unit.
It goes without saying that the issue with Fournette is whether or not he’ll be healthy enough to be the Jags’ primary weapon throughout the season as he’s missed 13 total games in two years (two were for disciplinary reasons). Even if he isn’t, the front office added ample help at the tailback position from the free-agent additions of Alfred Blue and Benny Cunningham, to the selection of Ryquell Armstead, a Fournette clone, in the fifth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
All that said, Jags fans should feel confident in the run game if the offensive line stays healthy, which brings me to my next point.
Health
As the saying goes, “the best ability is availability.”
Of course, injuries were a big reason the Jags declined in 2018, especially on offense. With health being a key variable into making it to the postseason, they never stood a chance as the injuries hit the unit early and often.
First there was the loss of receiver Marqise Lee, then Fournette’s hamstring injury, then Cam Robinson’s ACL tear, then Andrew Norwell’s ankle injury — and the list could go on. Simply put, there is no team in the league who could withstand that type of blow to their starting offense early in the season, let alone a group without a top-tier signal-caller.
Now the unit is significantly more healthy, although Robinson and Lee won’t begin practicing at the start of training camp. Still, when the regular season rolls around the group should be loaded with veteran talent, and with a little bit of luck, they hopefully can avoid a bunch of major injuries, which should give them a solid shot at the postseason.
