Jaguars Vs. Saints: 3 Things To Watch in Week 2 of the Preseason
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a big game on Monday night, even by preseason standards.
With three weeks to go before the Jaguars kick off Week 1 against the Houston Texans, there are more questions than answers. About Urban Meyer and his plan at quarterback, about the offensive scheme, and about how quickly the Jaguars' staff can get the team to look less and less like the 2020 version of the Jaguars.
Jacksonville will take the next step of the 2021 season tonight at 8 p.m. against the New Orleans Saints. With so many questions surrounding the Jaguars' roster and the upcoming season, games like Monday's can tell us more and more about what the team could look like in a month.
So, what are the key things to watch in tonight's game against the Saints? We break down a few storylines here.
What Urban Meyer's plan at quarterback is
To say Urban Meyer's handling of the Jaguars' starting quarterback position has been odd up to this point would be an understatement. Meyer has stated numerous times in the past that Trevor Lawrence is a big part of the entire reason he took the Jaguars job this offseason, while going as far as telling Peter King that Lawrence's "skill set’s as good as anyone I’ve ever seen." But to this point, Meyer has still yet to treat Lawrence like the starting quarterback, instead pitting him in a competition against Gardner Minshew.
One way or another, it is surprising to see the No. 1 overall pick share first-team reps throughout the entirety of training camp with Minshew, quarterback who Meyer admitted he didn't know much about previously -- the same quarterback who was benched for Mike Glennon less than a year ago. The expectation is that Lawrence will start against the Saints and play more than he did a week ago in his preseason debut against the Browns. Lawrence played just two drives then, so he could potentially play up to a quarter or more this evening.
But how many time on the field in a game situation does Lawrence get compared to Minshew? How much different does the offense look when the change at quarterback happens? Does Minshew get any time with the first-team offense's skill players?
Meyer's strategy at quarterback has been unknown to this point, unless there is some true merit to the Jaguars having Lawrence and Minshew honestly compete for the starting job. Tonight will determine if that strategy becomes any more clear through four quarters of preseason football.
How the Jaguars' starters fare vs. the Saints in what may be a rehearsal game
Teams throughout the NFL have approached the new three-game preseason differently. It isn't yet clear what the Jaguars' plan for Week 3 will be, but what is clear is what Week 2 will look like when they look at the opposing sideline. Unlike in the preseason opener when the Browns sat most of their starters on each side of the ball, the Saints are reportedly expected to play many of their starters tonight in what more or less is the Saints' rehearsal game for the 2021 season, according to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com
The final results of preseason games don't matter much, but how the Jaguars' starters look in tonight's game when pitted against the Saints' starters will tell us a lot. Yes, it is "just the preseason" but preseason games can often give us a glimpse into what each team may look like entering the upcoming season. Considering the Jaguars will see a good bit of the Saints' starters tonight, Monday's game will serve as the best piece of evidence yet of just how good of a team the Jaguars may be in 2021.
The Jaguars didn't execute particularly well against the Browns' backups in a home debut. Whether they look any better against a Saints team that went to the playoffs last year could tell us a lot about what to expect over the next few months.
Does the offense pick up the pace?
The Jaguars weren't exactly exciting on offense against the Browns. The playbook was vanilla, enough so that Meyer openly griped at the Jaguars' lack of pace throughout all last week. Meyer has more or less publicly pushed for the Jaguars to pick up up the pace in this week's contest and essentially show their hand more. This wasn't a problem on defense last week, with Joe Cullen showing off a full array of schematical calls. Whether the offense follows his lead in Week 2 is among the most fascinating pieces of Monday's game.
The issue of course is the offensive line. The Jaguars won't have left guard Andrew Norwell or center Brandon Linder tonight, meaning they will be trying to open up the playbook with two backups along the offensive front. Whether Ben Bartch and Tyler Shatley can fill in for Norwell and Linder and keep the offense from plummeting will be a significant factor in just what the offense shows tonight.
Meyer was clearly unhappy with the offense game plan a week ago. One way or another, it is obvious the Jaguars will approach the Saints with a different perspective than they approached the Browns with. If the Jaguars do show more of their offense tonight but struggle to move the ball, it could be back to the drawing board.
