Jacksonville’s vaunted defense suddenly seems vulnerable to big plays.
The Jaguars (10-6) have allowed nine scoring plays of 25 or more yards – and several more that led to points – in the last six games. It’s a negligible but
noticeable nuance for a unit that is among the NFL leaders in nearly every
defensive category.
”We’re really good in the red zone
Byron Maxwell Jersey Seahawks , so we try to give up the long ones,” defensive coordinator Todd Wash joked Thursday. ”We’re excelling at that.”
Wash actually sounded more concerned than his players, pointing the finger at himself for trying to get the defense in the ”perfect call” and giving his
players too much to think about before and after the snap.
”There are some things we’ve got to get cleaned up,” Wash said. ”We’ve got to just let them play. I think the other team gets paid, too. I know we’re not the
only team in the league that gets paid. You’ve got to give credit to them also,
but we need to eliminate the long plays and just get them down.
”If there’s a blade of grass, we have to do a good job of defending it.”
Jacksonville’s recent defensive trend has been problematic. The Jags limp into Sunday’s wild-card game against Buffalo (9-7) having dropped consecutive
games for the first time all season and three of their last six.
In all three losses, explosive plays against Jacksonville’s defense proved costly:
– Tennessee’s lone touchdown in a 15-10 victory last week came on a 66-yard screen pass from Marcus Mariota to Derrick Henry in the second quarter.
– San Francisco scored on a 30-yard run in a 44-33 victory the previous week.
– Arizona connected on TD passes of 29 and 52 yards in a 27-24 victory in late November.
”When we do it right
Sam Hubbard Jersey , when we have everybody doing the right thing, nobody gets big plays,” defensive end Calais Campbell said. ”When we make mistakes, a big
play happens here of there. We just know we have to be more disciplined and
everybody has to be accountable for their assignment. If we do that, we’ll be
successful.”
Even in Jacksonville’s last three victories, the defense has been lax at times:
– Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins had catches of 45 and 25 yards in a span of four plays against Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey in mid-December, the second one
going for a touchdown .
– Seattle’s Russell Wilson torched the Jaguars with TD passes to Doug Baldwin (26 yards), Paul Richardson (61) and Tyler Lockett (74) in the second half the
previous week.
– And Indianapolis’ lone touchdown in two games against Jacksonville this season came on a fourth-and-2 play in the third quarter in early December when
T.Y. Hilton got behind the defense for a 40-yard score.
”Luckily we not letting them bite us in the (butt) too hard
Authentic Richard Rodgers Jersey ,” defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. ”But from a defensive standpoint, if that’s the only thing that’s keeping us from
being in that No. 1 spot, then it matters. Then again, if we’re not losing, then
we can live with that. But it’s not a good thing.”
It’s definitely a concern for a team built to play stout defense and take some pressure off an inconsistent offense.
It might even be nitpicking considering the Jaguars rank second in the NFL in points allowed (16.8 a game), yards allowed (286.1 a game), sacks (55),
takeaways (33) and interceptions (21).
Regardless
Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , it’s a tendency the Jaguars hope to end to open the postseason.
”We want to somehow get to the perfect game,” Wash said. ”I don’t think it’s ever happened in the 24 years I’ve been coaching. But that’s what our
expectations are, so when we do give up some chunk plays and we don’t play well,
not only is the staff upset, the players are upset. We want to play the perfect
game, and that’s the expectations that we have each time that we go out.”
—
The New York Giants will probably look to improve their lines in the second day of the NFL draft after taking running back Saquon Barkley of Penn State with
the second pick overall.
The offensive line struggled last season and could use a couple of guards. The defensive line will need a pass rusher following the recent trade of end
Jason Pierre-Paul to Tampa Bay.
New York has the second pick in both the second and third rounds.
Guard Will Hernandez of Texas El-Paso was still on the board after the opening round, while there are a couple of good defensive ends in Harold Landy
of Boston College, Arden Key of LSU and Sam Hubbard of Ohio State.
The Giants also need help at wide receiver
Andrei Svechnikov Jersey , linebacker and cornerback.
Veteran receiver Brandon Marshall had his contract terminated after failing his physical last week. Courtland Sutton, a 6-foot-3 receiver from SMU, is
available.
Among other players who might interest the Giants at cornerback are Josh Jackson of Iowa and Isaiah Oliver of Colorado.
.
