Jaguars' 3 Offensive Keys vs. Tennessee Titans As They Look to Themselves

The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to themselves for this week's game plan against the Tennessee Titans. To make it successful, it will take these 3 offensive guys.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (1-11) will go for round two against the Tennessee Titans (8-4), looking to even the series and find some late success in Week 13 of the season.

The defense will have their hands full with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry but the offense will be searching for answers as well. They’ll look within these three offensive keys.

Focus on Themselves Amidst Changing Titans Defense

Teams evolve as the season evolves. The Jaguars and Titans are no different, even featuring new faces on both sides of the ball. On the Titans defense particularly, guys like Jadeveon Clowney—two tackles, two quarterback hurries in Week 2—will miss this game and the remainder of the season after undergoing a season-ending knee injury. Corner Johnathan Joseph—four tackles, one pass break up in Week 2—is now with the Arizona Cardinals. Those are just a couple of names Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden mentioned specifically. But the gist of what it means remains the same.

“For the most part, it’s a good defense, they do the same stuff,” explained Gruden on Wednesday.

“They have simulated blitzes, blitz four or five different guys. You don’t know where they’re coming from, different fronts. [Jeffery] Simmons is a great player. I mean, inside, obviously, [Jadeveon] Clowney played last time, he’s not playing this time. So, some of their key players aren’t available this week, but they’re still a very good football team. Obviously, they’re in the hunt for the AFC South championship, so they have a lot to play for. As do we, trying to break this losing streak. And it’s a big rivalry game.”

Let Collin Johnson Continue To Grow

Focusing on themselves starts with Collin Johnson. The rookie receiver had 69 yards through the first 10 weeks of the season. The last two weeks? 162 yards and a touchdown with eight catches on 14 targets.

This was 🔥🔥🔥

46-yard @Jaguars TD! @Mike_Glennon @Call_In_Johnson

📺: #CLEvsJAX on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/bEHwkuL043 pic.twitter.com/xk82cEllZF

— NFL (@NFL) November 29, 2020

"I definitely think the more I play, the more comfortable I get,” said Johnson on Wednesday.

“I think what [Marrone] meant by [my improvement] was I do it in practice and finally I’m seizing the moment in the game now. So, I’m just happy it’s finally showing and I’m just excited to keep getting more comfortable and building off of it and pushing myself each and every week.”

Added Gruden, “I think when the plays have presented themselves, Collin has started to take advantage of them. I think earlier in the year, he might’ve been pressing a little bit too much to make a big play. Now, I think he’s letting it happen and letting his size take over, and understanding concepts and where to be. And the quarterbacks are—especially Mike [Glennon] is gaining trust in him and giving him opportunities to make plays. So, a lot of that goes hand-in-hand. The quarterbacks have got to have trust in you as a player. And then when you do get the opportunity, you’ve got to make the plays. And Collin has definitely done that the last few weeks.”

Reconnect with DJ Chark

The growth of Collin Johnson has been nice but it’s come some what at the expense of DJ Chark. Not that Johnson is taking Chark’s snaps, but quarterback Mike Glennon has become noticeably more comfortable with Johnson of late. And subsequently, the connection with DJ Chark has been slightly off. Not just from Glennon, but with all three quarterbacks at various times.

It’s a testament to Chark’s talent and his impact that even having a “down” stretch with the passers, he still leads the team in receiving targets (73), receptions (43) and yards (475) as well as being tied with Keelan Cole with four touchdowns. The last two games, he has six receptions on 15 targets for 82 yards total. His last touchdown was three games again, against the Houston Texans when the former Pro-Bowler pulled in the 75-yard touchdown pass from Jake Luton.

“DJ [Chark Jr.]’s our No. 1 receiver and a big part of our offense, so we will have more success,” said Glennon.

“We had a bunch of targets, not a ton of completions, but some games are like that. I don’t know if it’s especially me and him, it’s just some games that’s how it works out and we’ll continue to build on it and get better.”

It’s the target-catch ratio that stands out to Gruden, a by-product of revolving quarterbacks and some drops on Chark’s part according to Gruden. So what needs to be done to fix the issue? And can it happen soon?

Can Chark bounce back from the performance last week versus the Vikings? Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Said Gruden, “It’s not DJ’s fault, all of DJ’s fault, it’s not all the quarterbacks’ fault. So, it just hasn’t happened like we would like it to happen. That’s part of the reason we’re sitting here on an 11-game losing streak. He’s our number one guy and we’ve got to figure out better ways to get him the ball. He’s got to do a better job of getting open, we’ve got to do a better job of getting him balls when he is open. So, it goes hand-in-hand.

“But DJ is a phenomenal player, he’s a great young player. He works hard, he’s very unselfish. I’m sure there’s been times in the course of some games where he hasn’t gotten targeted or he hasn’t gotten the ball, that he could really blow up like some receivers do. But he stays the course, stays positive, and I think it’s going to make him better in the long run. So, we’re going to keep trying to feed him, keep trying to get him the ball, but we’ve just got to get better around him and protection. Routes have got to get better, throws have got to get better, we’ve all’ve got to get better. Play calls have got to get better. But yeah, we definitely have got to get DJ more the ball.”