Fournette returned to action in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets
Ronnie Harrison Jerseys Stitched , but he barely made it to halftime before his hamstring injury knocked him out of the game again. In Week 1 against the New
York Giants Fournette tried to make a cut upfield and got up gingerly holding
the back of his leg. He missed the rest of the game and the following two weeks
with a hamstring injury.In his post game press conference head coach Doug
Marrone admitted he was concerned about the injury, which is understandable
since a hamstring is usually something that’s going to linger for a while.
Fournette will almost certainly miss this upcoming week’s game against the red
hot Kansas City Chiefs (who play on Monday Night Football) and I’d be surprised
if he returns before the bye week. With him coming back and getting hurt
immediately, I’d imagine the Jaguars want to take it slow with him so he’s at
least available later in the season as they’re making a playoff push and he’s
not constantly re-aggravating it.That being said, I think the Jaguars should
place Leonard Fournette on injured reserve, acquire another running back and
plan to bring Fournette back after the bye week. NFL teams can return up to two
players from injured reserve, however they must be on IR for at least eight
weeks. That means if Fournette was placed on IR this week, he’d be eligible to
come back for the Week 13 game against the Indianapolis Colts (if my math is
right). This would allow Fournette plenty of time to be fully healthy and be
ready to go for the late season push and the likely playoff run, where he’d be
needed the most. The Jaguars should also acquire another running back while he’s
out, be it via trade or just signing a free agent that’s out there. No
disrespect to Brandon Wilds, but they’ll need four backs on the roster for now
so they’re not stuck in another situation like against the Tennessee Titans
where one guy is knicked up, the other guy isn’t a full time back and then you
have a guy just called up.Who they’d go out and get, I have no idea, but it
won’t be Le’veon Bell.Big Cat Country Q&A: Should the Jacksonville Jaguars
bench Leonard Fournette? Let’s answer some questions ahead of the Jacksonville
Jaguars’ matchup against the New England Patriots!Nick from
Jacksonville
Youth Justin Blackmon Jerseys , FLQ: Should we bench Leonard Fournette for a couple of weeks so he doesn’t have a nagging hamstring all year?A: No. No, no,
no, no, and no. Any game where Leonard Fournette is not playing will be one
where the offense will be absolutely ineffective. This team runs (no pun
intended) through Fournette. Everything and everyone else literally depends on
him — T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant are not at their best without him, Blake
Bortles will see more defenders in coverage, the receivers will see less
separation... the defense would be our only hope in winning games.Jim from
Kingsland, GAQ: Is Donte Moncrief our biggest disappointment from our offseason
signings? A: No, but only because it’s just Week 1. It’s not his fault the most
important piece of the offense was injured in the second quarter of the only
game he’s ever played. Let’s let the season play out until at least Week 8 or
Week 9 until we start drawing those sorts of conclusions.Cmass from Ormond
Beach, FLQ: Why do they not give Corey Grant more touches? He’s the fastest
player on the field and hardly ever turns the ball over unlike T.J. Yeldon who
has a habit of dropping the ball. He barely played Sunday.A: We wrote a piece
talking specifically about this issue, but the long and short of it is Grant is
a special player that you have to manufacture touches for. If the defense
doesn’t give you the right look, then the play is dead. You’ve got to constantly
be evolving the looks or having looks you can also use with other plays so it’s
not a dead give away to the defense that Grant is getting the ball and going a
certain way.Johnny from Philadelphia, PAQ: What is the real reason the Jaguars
aren’t calling Dez Bryant?A: He’s not that good.Luke from Carbondale
Justin Blackmon Jerseys Stitched , ILQ: Is Yannick Ngakoue lowkey the best player on the team?A: Jalen Ramsey.Vasya from Svetlogorsk, RussiaQ: Do you expect a lot
Ronnie Harrison on Rob Gronkowski this Sunday?A: I expect Ronnie to be part of
it, yes, but like the AFC Championship Game you should expect to see a number of
different defenders — including Jalen Ramsey — to be defending him. Mike from
Jacksonville, FLQ: Will they bench Blake Bortles in favor of Cody Kessler by
Week 5 if he continues to play like he usually does?A: Not if they’re 3-1.David
from Aguadilla, Puerto RicoQ: Being that Leon Jacobs is a seventh rounder
starting on a top-five defense — is Jacobs that talented or are the Jaguars just
that thin at linebacking talent?A: Probably a little from Column A and a little
from Column B. But Jacobs has been good so far and he fits what the Jaguars are
trying to do on defense. He’s not a plug and play guy for every defense in the
league, but he’s good enough that he can learn while he plays.Joey from
Jacksonville, FLQ: Do you think a comparison of Yannick Ngakoue and Myles Jack
to that of Kevin Hardy and Tony Brackens is a fair one or do you think they will
be better?A: I don’t think they’ll be better players, but I think they’ll have
more productive careers. Brackens’ career was cut short by injury but he’s
probably one of the most dominant athletes the Jaguars have ever had. He was so,
so good in real time. Hardy was such a good linebacker, especially in blitzes,
but his time in Jacksonville was cut short because of injury too or else he’d
have probably stayed another three or four years. In all, Brackens played about
seven seasons worth of games and Hardy played eight. I think Yannick and Myles
both surpass them in how long they’re here in Jacksonville.Mark from Santa
Maria
Youth Logan Cooke Jerseys , CAQ: Help me to understand why the offense is so reliant on Leonard Fournette in order to function effectively and why Doug Marrone goes
into an ultra-conservative mode when the team has a second half lead? It sounds
like a great strategy when everyone is healthy and breaks fall in your favor but
disastrous when the opposite happens. Is there some truth to this?A: An offense
can either rely on its run game or passing game, Leonard Fournette or Blake
Bortles. Look at what the Jaguars have spent in beefing up the run game (an
All-Pro left guard, highest paid center, a first round draft pick, a second
round draft pick, and an undrafted free agent who got a second round tender)
compared to the passing game. As far as getting ultra-conservative, Marrone is a
big believer in turnovers being the number one indicator of whether a team is
going to win or not,Bostonjagsfan from Boston, MAQ: Home opener coming up, with
a lot of out-of-town Jaguars fans flocking to The Bank. What are the top three
places to go or things to do before the game?A: Hmmm... well, you’re gonna get
more than three. Breakfast at Maple Street Biscuit or Metro Diner (or both).
Lunch at Nacho Taco. Dinner and beers at Intuition Ale Works. Make sure you’re
at the tailgate early, the traffic gets horrendous.
