Jaguars Mailbag: What is the Level of Concern After Week 1?
Each week during this year's season, Jaguar Report will take Jacksonville Jaguars-related questions from our readers across social media and answer them in a question-and-answer format, giving readers a chance to have their voices heard.
You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the Jaguar Report Twitter handle or by submitting them here.
This week we take questions on the Jaguars' poor showing in the season-opening 37-21 loss to the Houston Texans. What can the Jaguars change moving forward, and how much of a challenge will the Denver Broncos be? We answer all of this and more below.
Q: Are there any realistic trades you feel the Jaguars should make following their week 1 performance?
A: Not really. I think Chandler Jones would change the complexion of the defense but I don't see any scenario where the Cardinals trade him to Jacksonville. I also think the Jaguars have kind of made their own bed at this point with the offensive line and skill players, though not changing anything would be a bit of a sunk cost. There just aren't many players out there that I think could both make a big impact and could be a realistic trade target.
Q: At what point will it be time to panic about this regime? I’m considerably worried about discipline, talent evaluation, and inability to adjust to opposing schemes in-game.
A: Not after one game. I am of the opinion that it is foolish to draw long-term conclusions based on small sample sizes, but it is even more foolish to not take stock in all data points and evidence. The Jaguars' regime has gotten off to a bad start on the field and in terms of personnel moves, but the good thing about the NFL is there is still 16 games to go either fix things or dig a deeper hole. I would give the regime more of a chance, even after a bad week.
Q: Why doesn't the coaching staff seem to like James Robinson? And how long until Jawaan Taylor is replaced?
A: I honestly don't think Jawaan Taylor is the biggest concern along the offensive line after Week 1. He had a decent day in protection but a rough day run-blocking, but that is typically the opposite of how his days go. The one penalty called on him was a bad call, too, so I don't think he should be dinged much. I think the player to the left of him had a much, much worse outing.
As for James Robinson, I truly don't know why none of the Jaguars' moves have said they have confidence in the second-year back. He is a good player, even if he is a different type of running back than Urban Meyer is used to leaning on. Robinson had a bad showing catching the ball Sunday, but he still forced more missed tackles and ran for more yards after contact than Carlos Hyde did.
Q: Am I the only one that’s zero percent concerned about Trevor Lawrence after Game 1? 1 pick was a bad throw, 1 was him trying to do too much, and the other game after the game was in hand on a miscommunication. If anything I was encouraged by what I saw out of Trevor on Sunday.
A: No, you are not. Lawrence likely had a worse game than the other two rookie quarterbacks who started on Sunday, but I would say he also displayed a lot more high-level talent than either Mac Jones or Zach Wilson. He is going to have some bad throws and decisions, and he has to get more accurate from a clean pocket, but overall I thought his work navigating the pocket and his high-level throws to the hashes and in the middle of the field were extremely impressive. Lawrence is going to be just fine, he is just a rookie quarterback on a team that went 1-15 last year.
Q: Tyson Campbell? That’s the question.
A: Lol, I understand. Ultimately, I don't think there should be any long-term conclusions about Campbell himself drawn from his NFL debut. It is one game into Campbell's career, so naturally, some context is needed. Campbell genuinely had a terrific training camp and even a strong start against the Browns in the preseason, too, but things began to snowball after he allowed a touchdown against the Browns as the half closed. He hasn't made many positive plays since, but I would assume that trend changes once he gets his hands on a football again during a game.
With that said, he did have some issue with Danny Amendola's short-area quickness in the slot, which is why his fit inside instead of on the outside has always been a bit of a question. He didn't play a single snap on the outside, so how he fares against smaller, quicker receivers from the slot will be key to monitor moving forward.
Q: Was there any official word on why Walker Little was a healthy scratch?
A: Urban Meyer said on Monday that he thinks Will Richardson Jr. has been more consistent than Walker Little, and you won't see many teams carry four offensive tackles onto a game day roster. It is odd, definitely, but it is the official explanation.
Q: Aside from the drops, was it bad play calling or receivers not getting separation?
A: A bit of both. The Jaguars didn't call a lot of great route combinations against the Texans' scheme, but the timing of the offense also just seemed off completely. This could be chalked up to a few different things, but injuries at receiver and along the offensive line during the preaseason certainly didn't help. The Jaguars looked like an offense that was still working out the kinks and their growing pains phase as opposed to an offense that would provide easy answers for the quarterback.
Q: Do you think some of the drop/timing problems it seemed like Lawrence and the receivers were having can be traced back to not getting all the first-team reps?
A: I think it more so has to do with DJ Chark and Marvin Jones being injured for a good bulk of the preseason, specifically Chark. The timing of the entire offense looked off from the start, but especially the short passing game. Not getting all of the first-team reps certainly didn't help, but it is hard to think the injuries in the preseason weren't just as much of an issue.
Q: Do you think we should sign DeCastro or Schwartz? I mean even with injury concerns they’ve gotta be better than our current o-line, and we have the cap space for one year deals for them
A: I think they need to let Walker Little develop. DeCastro would be interesting at right guard, but the Jaguars should at least give Ben Bartch a chance. Ultimately I think the Jaguars are more likely to add interior help than on the outside, mostly because of the major investment they made in Little during the draft.
Q: With how poorly the Jags defended the deep pass against the Texans, should we expect this kind of vulnerability all year, or was this just Tyrod Taylor playing out of his mind?
A: It was a bit of both. The Jaguars have been bad against deep passes dating back to the first game of the preseason, but Cooks' two giant completions were simply so improbable that it is hard for me to say that will be a consistent theme. On the other hand, the Saints made those same kind of wildly lucky big grabs, so where there is smoke, there is some fire.
Q: I just don’t understand how unprepared we looked on an entire team level. Is Urban going to be that bad or do you think he adjusts? The entire team looked lost from start to finish. Both sides of the ball.
A: I am most surprised by the Jaguars lack of preparation because Meyer just isn't that kind of coach. His teams have always come out ready to play because he is so obsessive about details. I would think that would change just based on Meyer's past, but it will be interesting to watch how the team improves or remains the same.
Q: So now that the 4th preseason game is out of the way, do you think the Jags can clean up the mess for the home opener against the Broncos?
A: Lol, the funny thing is the Jaguars are not the only team who looked like they were playing a fourth preseason game and weren't prepared for the season. After watching the rest of the games from the opening weekend, the same can be said for more than a handful.
I think the Jaguars have a chance to beat Denver due to their big-play ability and the fact that the Denver offense may be hit or miss until proven otherwise, but the Broncos are big road favorites for a reason. Vic Fangio against a rookie quarterback isn't exactly a great scenario for the Jaguars.
Q: How do you explain having so many penalties even though most of our offensive staff are experienced NFL guys?
A: I honestly don't know. One of the penalties (Jawaan Taylor's holding) was honestly a bad call, but Brandon Linder's hold and the misalignment of the offensive line that led to an illegal formation penalty are two things you shouldn't see from an offensive line that has played next to each other week in and week out for two years.
Q: Is there any hope that we’ll be better than a 4 win team? I really thought we’d win against Houston, and to lose in such spectacular fashion has really put a damper on any early optimism..
A: I do think there should be hope. There are 16 more games to go and the Jaguars have a quarterback with genuinely special talents. That same quarterback is bound to make rookie mistakes, but his raw talent should keep them in some games throughout the year, even if Week 1 snowballed and got far away from the Jaguars.
Q: Why does our soft start to the season look so much more difficult after losing to the Texans?
A: Because of expectations. The Texans were supposed to be the worst team in football but instead more or less steamrolled the Jaguars. But if you ask Colts' fans what their expectations were after losing to the Jaguars in Week 1 last year, then chances are you get similar answers. It also doesn't help, though, that the Broncos, Cardinals, and Bengals all had good Week 1s, making the next few weeks look even tougher for the Jaguars.
Q: Realistically going into Week 1, I thought this was a 5-7 win football team, but now I think we're lucky to get 3. What say you Ship? Trying to take my emotions out of it but what we saw Sunday was bad and I don't know how much of it can be and will be corrected. Love your thoughts!
A: My prediction before the season was 7-10 and one week won't move me off of that, but ask me again in a few weeks. I think the Jaguars have the chance to win games and even come back in them because Lawrence has special talent and they have a few receivers who can make game-changing plays, but the Jaguars have a flawed roster that isn't yet being coached well. Until that changes, it will be hard to pick them as a winner most weeks,
Q: Denver had good production in Week 1 from their 3 TEs and have good 3-down backs. We struggled in the flats in Week 1 and will likely have a rookie starting SS this week. Are we in trouble?
A: In short? Yes. The Jaguars struggled with the Texans' play-action and rub routes and, well, they shouldn't expect to see anything different against Denver. Teddy Bridgewater is an accurate quarterback who rarely makes a mistake, so he will likely have a fairly easy time with Jacksonville's loose pass defense unless they tighten up the coverage.
Q: What's your biggest concern right now about the Jaguars?
A: The pass defense. The Jaguars' starting defense has now been torched by the likes of Case Keenum, Jameis Winston and Tyrod Taylor. Those are three serviceable NFL quarterbacks, but none of the three were really forced into any mistakes by the Jaguars' defense, and each made some high-level throws that otherwise shouldn't have been completed. The Jaguars can't stop the passing game until they prove they can, essentially.
Q: John, aside from injury replacements, how likely is it that we will see significant roster additions at this point?
A: Unlikely. The Jaguars have been stocking up on late-round draft picks but I just can't see a scenario where that helps them make a major move around the trade deadline. They are rebuilding -- whether they like that fact or not -- and it is more important to stock up on homegrown talent than to go looking for a quick-fix in Year 1. If there was an obvious move to be made, then there could be an argument made since Urban Meyer seemingly wants to win quickly. But the Jaguars just aren't built to make a trade right now.
