Doug Marone: ‘We Expect Brandon [Linder] to Play’ vs. Steelers in Week 11
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be getting one of their best players back from injury this Sunday in center Brandon Linder -- a key return considering the defensive front the Jaguars will play on Sunday.
Jacksonville (1-8) is set to host the 9-0 Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, facing a defensive front that is widely considered to be the best in the entire league. Luckily for Jaguars rookie quarterback Jake Luton, Linder will be on the field in Week 11.
“We expect Brandon to play. He’s actually going to go out there today and do some stuff. Normally it’s his day off so he’ll get some work in today," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said in a media conference on Wednesday. "We expect him to play."
Linder has played in six games this season, missing Weeks 3 & 4 with a knee injury and Week 10 with a back injury, being replaced by backup lineman Tyler Shatley each game. He is the team's best offensive lineman and has been considered one of the top centers in the league by most metrics in 2020.
In the three games without Linder, the Jaguars allowed 10 sacks, including two on their final two offensive plays against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10.
As it stands today, Pittsburgh leads the NFL in sacks with 36. They have a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year Candidate in outside linebacker T.J. Watt (9 sacks), but Watt is far from the only problem the Steelers possess up front.
The Steeler defense has been dominant throughout the entire season, ranking third in points allowed per game (19.0) and second in quarterback rating allowed (79.2). Without Linder, there was a strong chance of Luton walking into a buzz saw in his third NFL start.
"Obviously, you like to be able to control the ball, keep it away from their offense, which is obviously a high scoring offense, but how do you do that? Do you try running the ball against this front seven, which is probably the best front seven that we’ve played this year? They’re good at both levels all around," Marrone said about Pittsburgh's front seven on Wednesday. "If you get yourself into a game where you get behind, then they’re going to eat you up. You talk about guys that can rush the passer at both inside and outside, guys that have been hitting quarterbacks, sacking quarterbacks, doing all that stuff and it can get ugly fast.
"You have to find a way to be able to control the tempo of the game offensively where you’re picking up first downs, you’re keeping this manageable, you’re keeping things where it’s 50/50 run or pass what you’re going to do because there’s no doubt, and it’s been shown for these past nine games that they’ve played, that when teams do get behind, it’s a big advantage for them. They have guys that can disrupt the passer, they have guys that can cover and it’s just difficult."
