[2022] Jags W3 Post Game

[Weeze]

Jaguars Dominate!

Falcons Grounded on Monday Night Football

 

DT Brian Simmons 2Tkls, 0.5TFL, 0.5 Scks(shown left) DT Jeffery Amend 4 Tkl, 1 TFL, 1.5 Scks(Shown Right)

Sunday night under the lights, one of the smallest markets in the the NFL got a chance to showcase its talents before a national audience. The Jacksonville Jaguars hoisted the Atlanta Falcons. This is the second time in three weeks that the Jaguars have gotten national attention, and they did not waste the opportunity to show why they deserved it. Atlanta coming in to Sunday's game were 2-0 and needed to make a statement. They opened the season with back to back conference games against Tampa and Carolina. Against Tampa they saw an abysmal 7-6 win in which neither team saw their offense do much of anything. The Falcons did see a much stronger showing against the panthers, however the panthers are considered to be one of the worst teams in the league at the moment. They needed a statement against a Jacksonville team that seems hot on offense, however has started to earn some criticism on defense.

 

They unfortunately would not make the statement they wanted to.

 

The Jaguars on the other hand, came out with with a mission. Thursday Night Week 1, you could say the Jaguars were lucky to win. A last second touchdown pass by Connolly saved the game. The following week against KC, they looked ok, the offense was great but again the defense looked sluggish and poor for a team considered to be a favorite for a deep playoff run. According to the headcoach, this was a conversation he and his staff, as well as the front office had long talks about.

"We were not happy with how our Defense has been performing. The coaching staff and I spent a lot of time going over game film and discussing changes to line up, changes to the game plan and how we attack opponents, how we call plays all that stuff. With the front office, we discussed other options. Did we want to shake things up and make a trade. Bring someone else in. For a team that was 2-0, you would think we were 0-2. That is how heavy our conversations were. That is how high our expectations are for this season." Coach said following the game with Atlanta. He would go on to say

"we did change up a few schematic things that I think went a long way to helping us on defense, a few things that helped us on offense. A couple things I am still not happy about, but as a coach I don't think you are ever happy."

 

CB Randy Espino 4 Tkl

 

The Jaguars staff might not be happy, but the players sure are. Following the air raid that the Jacksonville offense unleashed, the Defense held the Falcons to 12 points ending the game 51-12, pushing the Jaguars in the latest NFL Power rankings into the number 1 spot. While the rest of the league will want to focus on the offensive clinic that the Jaguars show cased, the defensive performance can not be undervalued. Aside from holding Chris Frazier to under 100 yards passing, (9 for 29, 95 yards) this was the first time this season that the run defensive kept opponents under not only 100 yards rushing, but 200 yards rushing. Atlanta leading rusher was FB Fredy Olivarez, who ran for 30 yards on the first play of the game, which help set up Atlanta's opening drive Field goal, and only lead of the game. Other than that, Wayne Ricketts was 11 for 23 yards and a touchdown(missed XP).

 

While the defense played an excellent game, this isn't even the biggest news for the defense to come out this week for the Jaguars. While it happened to late for them to make an appearance, the Jaguars will be getting two new players, and saying goodbye to a few former ones as they made a trade this week with Baltimore. CB Charles Kling and DT Manuel Harris will be joining the club as the Jags sendoff WR Clarence Napier, OT Michael Boyd, as well as a 2023 4th round pick, and a 2024 5th round pick in exchange. DT Manuel Harris is the corner stone of the trade. The vital piece that the team needed above everything else. A strong run defender who is expected to help the struggling defense firm up the middle alongside Jeffery Amend, despite the recent success Rookie DT Brian Simmons has had pass rushing since being put in the lineup at the start of week 2. Kling, who is expected to fill in at the Slot corner position, has already become a fan favorite given a series of tweets that have gone viral when news of the trade broke. He has already embraced being a Jaguar and #Duuuvallll. Adding the experienced corner to the slot position however really should give the Jaguars one of the deepest secondaries in the league, and hopefully make the defense far more dangerous.

 

 

This game was very important. For the fans, it gave them something crazy to cheer for and get wild about. For the players, it gave them a new set of confidence going into another important game next week against a conference rival in Indianapolis, who have been struggling. For the coaching staff, it helped reaffirm choices, and show a way to help move the team forward. This game also showed the rest of the league that the Jaguars are just as forreal as the LA rams, Miami, and some of the other fan favorites taking the league by storm. This season is setting itself up to be an exciting one and we can't wait to see where it takes us.