Offensive Keys for Jaguars Against the Familiar Defense of the Chargers
In some ways, this weekend’s matchup will be one of the most familiar of the season for the Jacksonville Jaguars offense. The Jags (1-5) will head to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Chargers (1-4) and a defense led by former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley.
The defense implemented by Bradley and his defensive coordinator Todd Wash still lives on with Wash in Duval. As such, it’s a system with which second year-quarterback Gardner Minshew II is familiar.
“It’s very similar, kind of the same system, coming from the same tree, so we have a lot of reps at it,” Minshew explained to reporters on Wednesday.
“But one of the things that’s always tough about these defenses is everybody tries to beat them the same way each week, they’re used to seeing all the looks, so you have to be very good and consistent and execute, and they’re going to be a tough challenge.”
That’s challenge is another aspect Minshew is familiar with when it comes to the Chargers. In one of his worst games of his rookie campaign, Minshew threw for 162 yards, completed 64.9% of his passes and averaged only 4.4 yards a pass during a 45-10 loss to L.A in Week 4 of the 2019 season.
Using Minshew’s tape from that 2019 game along with knowledge of the system as a whole and lessons learned through six weeks thus far this season, the Jaguars offer these three offensive keys to defeat the Chargers.
Block Four
The Chargers defensive front doesn’t do anything super exotic. One could argue it’s actually fairly simplistic. They drop seven and rush four. But as Jags Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden explains, “what they do, they do very well.”
Adds Minshew, if the Chargers are at full strength and doing what they do best, it’s rushing four.
The front four is defensive end Joey Bosa, tackle Jerry Tillery, tackle Linval Joseph and defensive end Melvin Ingram III. The latter has been on injured reserve but was designated for return on Monday.
“[Joey] Bosa, he’s really good, man,” says Minshew.
“There’s reason he’s drafted as high as he was. He’s that talented, he’s produced like that. Melv[in] Ingram, another guy, if he’s healthy, he’s a force and then they also picked up Linval Joseph, fellow [East Carolina University] Pirate. Man, he’s a force in there too, so they’re very talented upfront. When that defense or that side of the defense works, it’s when you can get pressure with four and when they’re at their best that’s what they’re doing.”
The Chargers defense has eight sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss. Bosa has four sacks and Tillery has one. Ingram has nabbed an interception.
So how do you beat it? As Gruden explains, win your battles and give Minshew time.
"They can rush a passer with four guys. They’ll get [Melvin] Ingram [III] back this week, obviously they have [DE Joey] Bosa. They’re very effective with their four-man rush and the zones that they play, and they sprinkle up different nuances to change it up to confuse you. But at the end of the day, in order to beat some of their zone coverages, you have to have time. You don’t have a lot of time and Gardner [Minshew II] was under duress a lot [in that 2019 game] and the Chargers did a great job in that game.”
Hit the Deep Shot
The second verse of that song is hitting the deep shot. It’s the best way to combat the four man rush says Gruden, as it can negate the unblocked player.
“They’re going to give you seven in the box and you’re 11 personnel or give you eight in the box and you’re in your regular in tiger, the two tight ends sets or the three tight end sets. So, we’re going to have to get them blocked. Somebody’s going to be an unblocked player.
"We’re going to have to run away from them, we’re going to have to get a hat on a hat and get some movement. The way to combat that is obviously we’re going to have to hit them with some play actions or some deeper type throws to get him out.”
This was something Minshew excelled at as a rookie, even being rated by Pro Football Focus as the third-best deep passer of 2019. But he’s struggled at times this season, often due to the sheer number of times he’s been asked to make the attempt. However, he hasn't been afraid to look deep, even on third down.
The longest pass on air Minshew has completed this season is 50.6 yards, according to Next Gen Stats, 23rd of all NFL quarterbacks who have thrown a minimum of 53 passes thus far this season. On average, Minshew’s attempts are intended to cover 7.9 yards a pass.
While Gruden wants the offense to hit the deep shot to challenged the coverage against the Chargers, the fact that Minshew has had to attempt so many in recent weeks—like his three of seven for 20 plus yards agains the Lions—is indicative of what went wrong at the beginning of the game. Which leads to our last key.
Stay Ahead of the Chains
“It’s going to be critical for us to try to stay ahead of the sticks, stay in the third-and-mediums, the shorts, then I think we’ll have a great opportunity to have a lot of success,” says Gruden.
After going 63% on third-downs over the first two weeks, the Jaguars have now averaged out 48% conversion rate on third-down through six games. Ironically, it was during a loss—versus the Tennessee Titans in Week 2—that Gruden saw the best example of what this offense can be at its best.
“I think the key is, against the Titans we were 10 for 14 on third down. It keeps you in rhythm as a play caller. That’s the big thing and then we’ve struggled a little bit on third down as of late, even though [it] looked like we were like 50 percent, but it wasn’t quite as good as that. We got a couple late. I think we were two for 10 one week, three for 10 the next week.”
He’s right; the Jaguars were three of 10 in a loss to the Miami Dolphins and two of 10 versus the Cincinnati Bengals, another loss.
“As a player caller, if you’re not in rhythm, if don’t convert those third downs, it’s hard to get in rhythm. Mix in play passes, the boots and all that stuff, now you’re trying to figure out a way to get 10 yards or a chunk play. You get a little bit behind the chains and it’s tough, so I think third downs’ the key.
“Staying on track, staying in third down-and-medium, first-and-10, second-and-3, so the whole playbook’s open. The playbook closes when you’re down 14 late in the third or early in the fourth quarter. You only have a few sets of drop backs that you have to get going and those make it tough.”
The Chargers defense has held opponents to a 10th best 38.81% conversion rate on third downs this season.
Overall, as Gruden explains, it all boils down to one point.
“Some of these defenses, they’re going to play the way they play. They’re coached to play this way. They’ve made their adjustments. We’re going to have to make our adjustments and try to hit some big plays based on where they are and how they’re playing.”
