Wednesday, August 19, 2015

2015-16 NFL Preview: Jacksonville Jaguars


The Ultimate Sports Blog's

2015-16 NFL Preview





2014-15 Record: 3-13

Last Playoff Win: 2007 Wildcard vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Last Playoff Appearance: 2007 Divisional vs. New England Patriots

Last Super Bowl Win: None

Last Super Bowl Appearance: None



Head Coach:


Gus Bradley (7-25 all-time in Jacksonville, 0-0 in playoffs)


Assistant Head Coach: Doug Marrone

Offensive Coordinator: Greg Olson

Defensive Coordinator: Bob Babich


2014-15 Team Leaders:


Passing Yards: Blake Bortles (2,908 yards, 58.9% completions, 11 TD's, 17 INT's, 69.5 QB rating)

Rushing Yards: Denard Robinson (135 attempts, 582 yards, 4 TD's)

Receiving Yards: Allen Hurns (51 receptions, 677 yards, 6 TD's)

Tackles: Johnathan Cyprien (114 tackles)

Interceptions: J.T. Thomas (2 interceptions)



2014-15 Team Rankings:

Passing Offense: 31st in NFL

Rushing Offense: 21st in NFL

Points Per Game: 32nd in NFL

Least Points Allowed Per Game: 26th in NFL




2014-15 Potential Starters:

Player Guide:

Purpe - Elite Starter
Blue - Above Average Starter
Green - Average Starter
Orange - Below Average Starter
Grey - Rookie
Red - Disgusting, Awful, Horrible, E.J. Manuel


Offense:

QB: Blake Bortles

RB: Toby Gerhart

WR: Allen Hurns

WR: Allen Robinson

TE: Marcedes Lewis

TE: Julius Thomas

C: Luke Bowanko

OG: Zane Beadles

OG: Brandon Linder

OT: Luke Joeckel

OT: Jermey Parnell


Defense:

DE: Chris Clemons

DE: Jared Odrick

DT: Roy Miller

DT: Sen'Derrick Marks

LB: Paul Posluszny

LB: Dan Skuta

LB: Telvin Smith

CB: Demetrius McCray

CB: Davon House

FS: Sergio Brown

SS: Johnathan Cyprien




2014-15 Schedule:

(September 13) vs. Carolina Panthers

(September 20) vs. Miami Dolphins

(September 27) vs. @ New England Patriots

(October 4) vs. @ Indianapolis Colts

(October 11) vs. @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(October 18) vs. Houston Texans

(October 25) vs. Buffalo Bills

(November 1) BYE WEEK

(November 8) vs. @ New York Jets

(November 15) vs. @ Baltimore Ravens

(November 19) vs. Tennessee Titans

(November 29) vs. San Diego Chargers

(December 6) vs. @ Tennessee Titans

(December 13) vs. Indianapolis Colts

(December 20) vs. Atlanta Falcons

(December 27) vs. @ New Orleans Saints

(January 3) vs. @ Houston Texans


Final Prediction: 2-14 (1-5)


Overlook: Are the Jacksonville Jaguars ever going to be a good football team again? I don't know. For the last 5 seasons, they've been one of the worst teams in the NFL and this season doesn't look any better. There isn't one elite player on this roster. There are maybe two guys who I would consider to be "above average" players. The rest of the team is a bunch of guys who are either OK, extreme question marks, or just poor players. Does that sound like something you want to bank your future on? Not exactly. Gus Bradley seems like he could be a fine NFL head coach one day, but I don't think it's going to happen in Jacksonville as I expect this season to be his last. The team didn't really show any signs of improvement under his wing last season and if it doesn't get any better this year (and it probably won't), I don't expect the Jaguars front office to have much more patience, especially if he can't muster up more than 3-4 wins.

There is a little bit of hope for Jags fans though. There were times last season (few and far between though) where Blake Bortles looked like a legit NFL QB. The jury is still out on him. The rest of the Jags offense is so bad that it's hard to tell whether or not Bortles can be successful in this league. An extra off-season working with his personnel should help with his growth, but the Jaguars are lacking weapons for him to work with. Toby Gerhart is awful. Denard Robinson is good in small spurts. The wide receivers are all either average or disgusting. The tight ends are OK, but I'm not that high on free agent pick-up Julius Thomas like some people are (there's a reason Denver let him walk) and I expect his play to fall off. The offensive line is probably the best unit on the offense and that's not saying much. This team really needs former overall #2 pick Luke Joeckel to start playing better because he's been a huge bust since arriving in the league. This Jaguars offense doesn't look that good on paper and I would avoid it like the plague if you're a fantasy football player. STAY AWAY! STAY FAR AWAY!

Defensively they don't look that much better, but I like their defense more than their offense. They showed little signs of improvement in year two under Gus Bradley and I think that will continue this year. Still though, it's not hard to improve a defense that was ranked 26th in the league last season.

So, as you can tell, I don't expect much from the Jags this season. I think four wins is their ceiling and I wouldn't expect much more than that if I was a Jags fan. I think the one thing you should be looking for this season is improvement on the defensive side of the ball and from Blake Bortles himself. If those two things don't happen, I would seriously worry about the future in Jacksonville. It's already bleak. If those two things don't happen, it could be lights out for everyone involved. 

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