Jacksonville Jaguars Week 7 Stock Report
It may be hard to see a whole lot of positives for a team that has lost three straight winnable games, but the 1-5 Jacksonville Jaguars have to find something heading into one of their biggest weekends of the season as they hop across the pond and travel to London for their matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
The matchup may not mean a lot in the grand scheme of the season, but the game overseas has an exceptional atmosphere and buildup.
The Jaguars don't typically get to experience that due to their lack of success.
The Bills will be tough competitors, and their 3-3 record could easily be 4-2 or 5-1. They have a complete squad from top to bottom, and it should be a hard test for both the offense and defense.
The Jaguars aren't likely to win this game, but they have to perform to a certain level. If they can continue the improvements on offense and get back to their defensive identity, the Jaguars will certainly contend and could have a chance late.
Stock Up: Paul Posluszny
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Paul Posluszny's absence from his typical inside linebacker position was extremely noticeable in Week 5's 38-31 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jaguars looked unfocused and unsure in their play, and that allowed big gains in the run and the air.
His return in Week 6 didn't result in a win, but he had no trouble topping the stat sheet with nine solo tackles, two tackles for loss and a hit on Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer.
He was one of only three Jaguars players to register a TFL and was the only one to register more than one. His QB hit was one of five total, with each one of the hits coming from a different player.
"Poz" topping the sheet is nothing new, but it shows how important he is to the team as a player. He's often praised for his leadership, which certainly brings stability and unity, but his high number of tackles and overall presence were missed as well.
Having Posluszny back didn't do much to stop Hoyer from throwing three touchdowns, but it did limit the Texans' running game from breaking out in the second half.
Going forward, Posluszny's tackles and leadership will be critical to defensive success.
Stock Down: Bob Babich
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In consecutive weeks, the Jaguars defense has looked considerably worse than what we saw in Weeks 1, 2 and 4. The 51-17 defeat to the New England Patriots seemed like an outlier against a great offense, but recent weeks have shown that may not be the case.
Against the Texans and Buccaneers, the defense allowed a total of 69 points, an insane amount against teams ranked 21st and 19th, respectively, in points per game.
The defense has seen some injury issues, but nearly all of the most important players have returned and eyes now have to turn to defensive coordinator Bob Babich. Babich had an explosive defense in 2014, but that sharpness seems to be lost on the current squad.
With better depth and more legitimate players like linebacker Dan Skuta and defensive end Jared Odrick, there really shouldn't be an excuse for that many points allowed in the past two weeks.
Whatever the problem is, Babich and the Jaguars have to figure it out fast. What was a strength of last season is now becoming a liability, and that will make the Jaguars' uphill battle over the rest of the season that much harder.
Stock Down: Marcedes Lewis
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Tight end Marcedes Lewis has been a staple of the Jaguars franchise since his first season in 2006, and many thought that would conclude this past offseason—especially with the addition of Julius Thomas.
Instead, the Jaguars restructured Lewis' contract, kept him on roster and hoped that he and Thomas could wreak havoc on opposing defenses with their physicality and red-zone sharpness. While a smart move on paper, it hasn't paid off.
Thomas missed the first four games, and Lewis has only garnered six catches for 48 yards through six games. What makes that stat line even worse is that he's been targeted a total of 20 times.
While Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns and Thomas have all reaped the rewards of Blake Bortles' improved play, Lewis is posting the worst catch percentage of his career, only bringing in 30 percent of all passes thrown to him.
His lack of impact continued against the Texans, with Lewis' only catch on two targets going for a meager eight yards.
Lewis wasn't going to be a star of this offense, but his performance has been far below expectations.
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Stock Up: Bryan Walters
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The Jaguars likely signed second-year wide receiver Bryan Walters this offseason with the hopes that he could be a solid special teams player and marginally contribute on offense, probably in a similar fashion to his time with the Seattle Seahawks.
What he's been doing instead has been not just incredible but nearly unbelievable.
Through five games played, he's registered 18 catches for 223 yards, twice the amount of career catches and nearly three times the amount of career yards that he had totaled coming into the 2015 season.
This includes Sunday's performance, when he led the entire team in catches (eight) and yards (87). The Jaguars have been looking for reliable receivers, and they may have found one for the long term in Walters.
Walters is constantly praised for his incredible hands, but he showed exactly how good his route running and awareness are on Sunday. He is consistent and quick, and he doesn't let tight coverage play a factor in his ability to make a catch.
The Jaguars have WRs Hurns and Robinson, tight end Thomas and now Walters. Bortles has a wide variety of options, and Walters' value to that can't be overstated.
Stock Down: Defensive Line
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The Jaguars' pass rush has been considerably worse than last year's both in overall pressure and in the sack count. Where the Jaguars averaged 2.8 sacks a game last year, they are only averaging two sacks a game in 2015.
The influence a defensive front can have on a game with an efficient and dangerous pass rush is immeasurable. Wearing a QB down with contact and constant pressure is a huge goal of a defense, but the Jaguars have failed to reach that goal this season.
To get back the strength and explosiveness on defense, the Jaguars have to focus on getting to the QB more often in the remaining 10 games.
If the defensive line is underperforming, which it seems to be, the Jaguars have no choice but to bring in more rushers.
That sacrifices a man in coverage, but considering that QBs Matt Hasselbeck, Jameis Winston and Hoyer were able to throw on Jacksonville all the same, it seems pretty clear that it is worth the risk.
However, throwing more at a QB won't necessarily result in more sacks. The defensive line group has to overcome its early struggles and be a force on that line if the Jaguars want to threaten opposing QBs.
All stats provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.
Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter @evanreier.
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