The Jacksonville Jaguars may not have won their game against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, but they somehow managed to move up a spot in USA TODAY’s most recent power rankings. Now at the No. 30 spot, our comrade Nate Davis seemingly felt that …
The Jacksonville Jaguars may not have won their game against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, but they somehow managed to move up a spot in USA TODAY’s most recent power rankings. Now at the No. 30 spot, our comrade Nate Davis seemingly felt that there are two teams who are worse than the Jags (at least for now) and one of them, of course, were the winless New York Jets (No. 32).
The other team was the Dallas Cowboys, who have been dealing with quarterback issues as Andy Dalton had to be cleared from concussion and COVID-19 protocols recently. Nonetheless, they still have two more wins than the Jags and could very well climb the rankings as soon as next week with the veteran quarterback back.
30. Jaguars (31): They gave a good account of themselves at Green Bay against the NFC’s current No. 1 seed. Next up for the Jags? Pittsburgh, the AFC’s current No. 1 seed.
While a loss is a loss in the NFL, the Jags did put up a better fight than expected Sunday, and while that doesn’t mean staff changes aren’t needed, it does show that the roster is talented and aren’t quitting.
As for the rest of the AFC South, the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans came in at the No. 10 and No. 11 spots, respectively, after their Thursday Night Football battle that Indy won by a score of 34-17. Lastly, the Houston Texans found themselves at the No. 28 spot after losing to the Cleveland Browns Sunday.
The Jags got solid contributions from their special teams, but their struggles to stop explosive plays still surfaced against the Packers.
For the third-straight game the Jacksonville Jaguars have stayed competitive late into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, against the Green Bay Packers this squad wasn’t able to put together a game-winning drive. Despite another loss this was arguably their strongest performance since opening weekend.
Looking back on this game the team will understand they need to improve across all three phases of play, but it seems the coaches will enjoy watching the game tape a little more as we get deeper into the season.
In the wake of yet another loss, here are the good, bad and the ugly from the latest Jaguars defeat:
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The good: Special teams love
There could be a whole host of shoutouts here as James Robinson was spectacular again, and rookie Davon Hamilton is quickly out-performing his overall selection figure. When taking the help both rookies provided into account, it’s easy to overlook the impact that special teams had so I’ll show them some love here.
The tribulations at the kicking position have been well documented, but Chase McLaughlin came out and kicked 100% on a pair of field goals and extra points. His special teams comrade, Logan Cooke, also came out and ripped the ball through the windy Wisconsin air. In fact, three of Cooke’s punts from Sunday afternoon finished inside the 10-yard line, one of which was even inside the Packers’ 3-yard line.
Special teams highlights weren’t just limited to the kicking/punting this week, though. Receiver Keelan Cole peeled off for a franchise record 91-yard punt return touchdown, which kept the Jaguars in the game in the first half. All in all Sunday was a phenomenal day for the special teams unit and plenty to make Joe DeCamillis happy.
Mandatory credit: Dan Powers/USA TODAY
The bad: Big play defense
For the second-straight week, the Jaguars have given up a touchdown of 70 yards or more. This week it was Sidney Jones IV, who got beaten by Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the start of the second quarter.
The Jaguars’ defense came to play this week, limiting the Packers to just 51 yards and 0 points in the first quarter. However, their momentum began to slip away as the team gave up the huge touchdown strike in the opening play of the second period. If the team is to win any of the tough slate of games toward the end of 2020, they need to keep the ball in front of them much better than they have been.
Mandatory Credit: Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK
The ugly: That two-minute drill
Lets not say too much about it, but whoosh. Rookie quarterback Jake Luton had a wobbly start to the game, but still managed to find his feet and lead three scoring drives as the Jaguars hung around far longer than anyone expected them to. In fact, the sixth-round rookie had the opportunity to lead his team downfield and win in Green Bay in only his second career start.
Unfortunately, the drive stalled out in ugly fashion. Luton went 1-of-4 for eight yards and two disappointing sacks. Still, the game was largely enjoyable for Jacksonville fans, especially those who want the team to draft Justin Fields.
There are two coaches who may stand a chance to survive a coaching change for the Jags in our books. One of them is Joe DeCamillis.
With a 4-9 record currently and five straight losses by at least 17 points, the Jacksonville Jaguars are unquestionably going to have a coaching change at the end of the year. Of course, the reason for their record and pending changes is somewhat due to the Jags’ current staff being out-coached at times and fans have been very vocal about getting Doug Marrone and his staff out of the facility.
That said, our question of the day is whether or you all at home feel there is a member of the current staff who should survive what will likely be a coaching staff change in a few weeks? Here are two candidates who we feel at least deserve another year:
Special teams coach – Joe DeCamillis
Joe DeCamillis is one of the league’s most respected special teams coaches and it’s easy to see why when looking at his body of work before joining the Jags and after. Prior to coming to Jacksonville, he was so highly regarded at his last stop that he served as the interim head coach for the Denver Broncos Week 6 of the 2016 season with Gary Kubiak dealing with and illness.
First and foremost, he deserves praise for what he’s gotten out of Josh Lambo, who is kicking at a Pro Bowl level this season. The veteran, who the Jags signed off the free-agent market during the 2017 regular season, has converted 96.3% of his field-goal attempts (26-of-27), good for the best in the league.
DeCamillis has also turned Logan Cooke into a stud punter. With the offense not offering much production, Cooke has been a weapon for the Jags averaging just under 44 yards per punt and constantly pinning the opposition behind the 20-yard line. The crazy part about it is that he’s only 24 and keeping DeCamillis by his side could make him an All-Pro down the road.
Receivers coach – Keenan McCardell
The other assistant who comes to mind when discussing the staff’s ability to teach is receivers coach and Jags great Keenan McCardell, who pretty much has done a well as you can with the young receivers he’s inherited.
During his first season on the Jags’ coaching staff, McCardell immediately showed his skills as a communicator. One series into the regular season, he lost his top receiver, Allen Robinson, for the year with an ACL tear but it didn’t stop him from getting the best out of what was left for Blake Bortles to utilize. He got some quality moments and play out of undrafted rookie Keelan Cole that season, who totaled a career-high in statistics with 42 catches, 748 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
McCardell’s other noteworthy achievement was coaching up second-year receiver DJ Chark Jr., who struggled mightily in 2018 but looks like one of the league’s most improved players now. Chark is currently just 44 yards shy of the 1000-yard mark this season and has impressed on all levels of the field despite the frequent changes at quarterback.
If there is a new staff, they almost certainly will recognize the coaching Chark and the other receivers have responded to and possibly consider keeping McCardell. It also may help his case that he was formerly a receiver in the league who was largely successful.
That said, we’d like to know if you all at home believe McCardell and DeCamillis deserve to remain assistants past 2019. Is there someone we missed on the staff that deserves to stay? Let us know in our Jags Wire forum.
