Jacksonville Jaguars 2010 Preseason: 13 Quick Observations Against Miami
For the Jacksonville Jaguars, this past Saturday was more than just another week and another one-point exhibition loss.
Aside from the ferocious thunderstorm that pushed their scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff back nearly two hours, the Jaguars' first televised contest in newly-christened EverBank Field was also the first start for 2010 first-rounder Tyson Alualu.
In no particular order, that's where we'll start this week's list of quick takeaways from Jacksonville's game.
1. Jaguars' Rookie DT Tyson Alualu Passes the Eye Test
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This one's hard to explain, especially when Getty Images' only pictures of Alualu are from his college playing days at Cal-Berkeley. But even at the NFL level there are guys who look more at-home on a football field, playing a contact sport, than their peers.
From his menacing, toothy pre-game sideline smile to his stout build and frenzied hands, Tyson Alualu is one of those guys.
He crashed and burned on a few attempts at a spin move against Dolphins guard Richie Incognito—shades of teammate Derrick Harvey's so-so footwork—but Alualu also ripped through blocks for half of a sack on the game's first play and pressured Miami quarterback Chad Henne on several snaps thereafter.
2. Jacksonville's Star RB Maurice Jones-Drew Looks Even Thicker in 2009
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Another aesthetic observation: if it's possible, Maurice Jones-Drew seems to have slapped even more muscle on his 5'7" frame. Take the picture in this slide (from the Jaguars' 2009 contest against Miami) and imagine bigger forearms.
Clearly, he's caught wind of the "curse of 370 [carries]" said to afflict workhorse backs—and he intends to crush it.
That extra bit of bulk didn't do Jones-Drew much good behind his ineffective interior offensive linemen on Saturday, though. He flashed the same ability to slip past defenders on mid-range routes as a receiver, but was rerouted to the sideline on two of his four carries.
3. Jack Del Rio's Ill-Advised Challenges Still Burning Jaguars' Timeouts
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Rookie Scotty McGee's fumbled kickoff in the game's first quarter was beyond reasonable doubt. Dolphins cornerback Jason Allen put his hat on the football, popping it out three feet into the air before it landed in a mixed-up pile.
Nevertheless, Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio chucked his red challenge flag onto the field to contend that McGee had been contacted down.
Del Rio used Jacksonville's timeouts frivolously on several occasions in 2009, most notably in challenging another clear fumble at Mike Sims-Walker's request against the Houston Texans. Standing up for your players is one thing, but in the long term it's sometimes better to just give the officials a good cussing.
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4. Anything Backup QB Luke McCown Can Do, David Garrard Can Do Better
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Preseason chatter about Jacksonville's depth chart at quarterback went wild last week after Luke McCown threw three long touchdowns against Phildelphia's backups.
NBC-backed fantasy news site Rotoworld was particularly awful with the hyperbole, claiming that starter David Garrard's "in-season leash [was] getting shorter."
This past weekend, Garrard calmly took the field and one-upped McCown (as though he needed to) with several impressive strikes against Miami's first-teamers. With two quick, timing-based completions, one to Mike Sims-Walker on the Jaguars' first play and one to Mike Thomas for the team's first touchdown, he demonstrated a level of quarterbacking beyond McCown's deep floaters in Philadelphia.
He hit Sims-Walker for a 35-yard gain on a deep route inside Dolphins corner Vontae Davis, too—but when the starter does that, it's just the preseason, right?
5. RB Rashad Jennings' Punt Block: Jacksonville's Most Versatile Player?
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Last week, I nominated tight end Zach Miller as the Jaguars' most versatile player for a slideshow assembled by NFL Featured Columnist Daniel Wolf.
In picking an H-back, hybrid-receiver type who can also play as an in-line tight end—and who's taken practice reps at quarterback—I felt sure of my selection.
Then Rashad Jennings, Jacksonville's punishing 6'1", 230-pound second-string running back who's been catching passes left and right this summer, bull-rushed his way to a blocked punt against Miami.
Coming in off the edge, Jennings hit the Dolphins' last blocker in front of punter Brandon Fields at full speed, knocking him backward. Throwing his hands up at the last second, Jennings got enough of the ball to send it out of the end zone for a safety.
There's an argument for keeping him focused on playing running back in case Jones-Drew goes down, but Jennings might as well become a special teams terror while he's waiting.
6. Training Camp Injuries Limit DE Aaron Kampman, DT Tyson Alualu
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It was nice to see offseason acquisition Aaron Kampman and 2010 first-rounder Tyson Alualu in their first preseason action for the Jaguars, and nicer still to watch them team up for a sack on the defense's first play.
But the first-half presence of defensive end Aaron Morgan and defensive tackle Leger Douzable, two of Jacksonville's post-draft free agent signees, was a reminder that the Jaguars' projected starters aren't at 100% just yet.
Douzable played well in rotation with the first-teamers, helping nose tackle Terrance Knighton to submarine two of Miami's runs out of the Wildcat formation. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say he's third on the depth chart behind Knighton and Alualu.
7. Big Night: Jaguars' Ace WR Mike Sims-Walker Torches Dolphins' CBs
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On the heels of an underwhelming showing in Jacksonville's preseason opener at Philadelphia, Mike Sims-Walker set out to make a statement against the Dolphins.
In leaving starting cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith crispy in his wake on two of his three catches, I reckon he got the point across.
At a well-built (if injury-prone) 6'2" and 214 pounds, Sims-Walker made a double move that had Davis tripping over himself to keep up. When healthy, that combination of speed, agility, and size puts Sims-Walker maybe a notch below the NFL's best at his position.
8. WR Mike Thomas's TD Catch: Do Jaguars Have Two Fantasy Starters
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As Mike Thomas has distanced himself from the rest of Jacksonville's receiving corps this summer, fantasy analysts have filed him away as a deep sleeper for 2010.
The Jaguars don't pass much, after all, and a 5'8" target wouldn't get many looks near the end zone in most offenses.
Saturday, quarterback David Garrard stroked a few short passes that challenged that assumption, including a two-yard score to Thomas that opened the scoring for Jacksonville's offense. Without 2005 first round bust Matt Jones to try fade route after unsuccessful fade route, the Jaguars have emphasized quick separation in their new passing offense.
Going forward, that means Thomas is a good bet to grab a few six-pointers, though big-bodied Mike Sims-Walker will still be in for the lion's share.
9. Fading Fast: Jaguars WR Troy Williamson Unimpressive on Middle Routes
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The flip side of Mike Thomas's noteworthy touchdown is that there's no place in a quick-paced passing attack for receivers who flinch in traffic.
As such, the preseason projections touting Troy Williamson as Jacksonville's probable starter opposite Mike Sims-Walker seemed pretty misguided Saturday night. Second-year challenger Jarett Dillard caught three passes for 43 yards in his first action back from injury, but Williamson's only catch was a seven-yarder that displayed his hesitancy as a runner.
More tellingly, he short-armed a mid-range pass that Garrard had stuck between a Miami linebacker and safety. Compared to Thomas' shiftiness and Dillard's fearlessness, Williamson isn't stacking up well.
10. Rookie RB Deji Karim Nipping at Blockers' Heels in Jags' Return Game
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As sixth-rounder Deji Karim gashed the Dolphins' kickoff coverage unit on returns of 41, 47, and 48 yards Saturday, even his own blockers couldn't get out of his way fast enough.
On the 48-yarder, Karim shot down the sideline behind Jacksonville's well-coordinated blocking and found himself with tight end Marcedes Lewis as his lead blocker and only a pair of Miami defenders to beat.
Lewis, staying close, didn't anticipate Karim's quick change of direction and got his feet tangled up with the speedy rookie return man. Luckily for the Dolphins' overmatched special teams, the contact slowed Karim enough that more players caught up to bring him down.
Even though the 47-yarder was called back due to an illegal wedge, the utter lack of hesitation Karim displayed in running back kicks bodes well for Jacksonville's starting field position in 2010.
11. Jaguars' Line Underwhelming Between OTs Eugene Monroe, Eben Britton
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As quick and fierce as offensive tackle Eugene Monroe has been at his new, slimmer weight of 300 pounds, it might not be enough to make up for the mess of a starting lineup between him and projected right tackle Eben Britton.
Maurice Jones-Drew was forced backward for lost yardage on his first two carries. Left guard Kynan Forney, in particular, seemed unsure in pass protection as Jacksonville failed to match the physical Dolphins punch for punch.
The Jaguars gave right guard Uche Nwaneri a few snaps at center, though veteran Brad Meester seems to have the position locked down for another year. As Meester's eventual successor, it's good to see that Nwaneri is still getting to snap the ball and call the shots in exhibition games.
12. Draft CB Derek Cox: Second-Year Corner an IDP Stud in Weak Secondary
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Between the huge cushions he was giving to run-of-the-mill receivers like Miami's Brian Hartline and Jacksonville's generally-inept pass defense, starting cornerback Derek Cox will be getting plenty of tackles in 2010.
On the bright side, he flashed impressive physicality in throwing 6'4", 230-pound Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall to the ground and shedding a few other blocks while pursuing ball-carriers.
But Cox's reluctance to stay step-for-step with his man and continued misjudgments by the Jaguars' starting safeties are just two of the reasons opposing offenses will be picking on Jacksonville through the air this year.
Notably, Philadelphia's Michael Vick tossed up several interceptions to the Cincinnati Bengals this past week—the same Michael Vick who looked competent in connecting on 11 of his 17 passes for 119 yards last week against the Jaguars.
13. Jacksonville's Superfan Gets Face Time: The Argument Against Leaving
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This guy.
He's a season ticket holder who sits near the front of the north end zone, which houses the Jaguars' rowdiest fans. (Generally, any fan who's not looking to sit on his duff for three hours will fit in. No "Black Hole" crazies in The Jack.)
See that tattoo? It's the Jaguars' old shirt-sleeve logo. The face paint? He sports it every game. That hat? You betcha.
Whatever the bookkeepers' facts may be—and, having fallen short of selling out EverBank Field's general bowl again, they aren't pretty—don't be conned into believing that there's no passion for the Jaguars in Jacksonville.
Anyone who saw this superfan, face paint and all, cheering them on in the rain should know better.
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