Jaguars Mailbag: Figuring Out the Defense

The Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) will have a chance to finish the first quarter of the season with a .500 record as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals (0-2-1) in Week 4, making this a pivotal road trip for the young team.

Jacksonville badly needs a rebound from a poor Week 3, and a loss to a winless Bengals team would put the Jaguars at 1-3 with three consecutive losses. With this matchup looming and the early portion of the Jaguars season hanging in the balance, we take questions on the game and a number of other tops in this week's Jaguars mailbag.

Q: It felt like the only bright spots against Miami were Laviska Shenault and James Robinson, can we expect any more than that against the Bengals?

A: James Robinson was easily the best player on Jacksonville's team against the Dolphins, and I wouldn't think this stops against the Bengals on Sunday. They have struggled to stop the run this season, and there seems to be some feeling the Jaguars could lean on the ground game more than they previously have this season. I do think Jacksonville's offense as a whole has a good matchup this weekend ... but I said the same last week, so I can't really say with confidence it happens this week.

Q: If Doug Costin outplays Taven Bryan at 3T should they consider moving the former 1st round pick down on the depth chart? What do you expect out of the UDFA rookie tomorrow?

A: Eventually, the Jaguars have to get some production from the defensive tackle position. At this point, it shouldn't matter whether it comes from a former first-rounder like Taven Bryan or an undrafted rookie like Doug Costin. If Costin is able to get on the field and provide more of a boost to the defensive line than Bryan has this year -- which isn't exactly a high bar to clear -- then he deserves to get as my chances as possible. Costin had a good training camp but it is hard to project how he does on Sunday since we have yet to see him in any real action.

Q: True or False: Justin Fields or Trey Lance aren’t bad consolation prizes.

A: It would be hard to say today that this is completely true. Trey Lance is only set to play one game overall before the draft and Justin Fields has started for just one season. With that said, each are immensely talented players from a tools standpoint, and teams could certainly do much worse than taking either of them in the first round, even if they don't have much of a case to be taken over Trevor Lawrence.

Q: Why doesn't Todd Wash blitz?

A: A lot of it likely has to do with situational strategy, but it just appears as if Todd Wash isn't an advocate for blitzing. He prefers to rush four and keep seven defenders back to keep everything in front of the defense and prevent big plays over the top. It is likely this year that Wash just doesn't feel comfortable enough with his young secondary to blitz too often, though the defensive coordinator has said the opposite publically. But even when Wash had an elite secondary in 2017, he still didn't blitz much. It just isn't who he is as a coach.

Q: What’s up with Rock Armstead?

A: He is still on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and there have been no indications that he is coming off of it soon.

Q: Does any team have more former starting quarterbacks currently serving as backup quarterbacks than the Jaguars? I count 4: Bortles, Gabbert, Henne, and Foles (I'm counting him since he started the season as the backup)

A: The Jaguars entered into this year with just three since Blake Bortles was a free agent until the end of September. Tampa Bay has a few in Jameis Winston and Mike Glennon. The Bengals have Andy Dalton and, to a degree, Jeff Driskel. Most teams don't have as many as the Jaguars have today, but they are far from alone.

Q: If you had to pick one food item from the press box to be your only food for 6 months, can’t eat anything else, what would it be?

A: Churros, easy.

Q: What has the team thought of Shaq Quarterman? I realize he’s behind Joe Schobert, but I’m holding out hope that he’s developing nicely.

A: He has been a really effective special teams player, but as you alluded to, there is no real path for him to the field due to the presence of Joe Schobert. We would have seen a lot more if there had been a preseason of any form for Shaquille Quarterman to take reps in.

Q: How has Herndon performed? I haven't heard his name much before, during, or after the games.

A: He has yet to beat for a giant gain, but he also hasn't gotten his hands on the football as often as he did in 2019 when he led the team in interceptions and pass deflections. He keeps things in front of him, but he still needs to show he can take that next step as the No. 2 corner across from CJ Henderson.

Q: While we are at it, think we see more carries for James Robinson this weekend and moving forward?

A: I think the Jaguars absolutely want this to happen, but the game scripts just haven't let it happen. The Jaguars have been down 7-0 or 14-0 at the start of every single game this year, which has in turn forced Jay Gruden to use the running game as more of a compliment to the pass than as a true centerpiece of the offense. If the Jaguars can ever get out to an early lead, I think they would give Robinson a big workload.

Q: Will we see either Luq Barcoo or Joshiah Scott at CB this season? Heard so much about them in preseason, how did they get jumped by Chris Claybrooks?

A: I can't imagine the Jaguars go through this entire season without seeing what those two rookies have. They have players in front of them, but Herndon and Claybrooks need to improve and DJ Hayden has struggled. There will be chances to play ... the Jaguars just have to give it to them. Claybrooks has been helped out a lot by his ability to provide depth on the outside, which Scott can't do, as well as return kicks and punts, which Barcoo can't do.

Q: At this point in the season, would you have rather drafted one of the top OL with our first pick or CJ Henderson?

Jacksonville's offensive line has been incredibly solid this season and the secondary has been up-and-down, so you have to go with CJ Henderson here. The first round tackles are all talented, but the Jaguars' line is doing just fine without the major investment. Could you image the secondary without Henderson, though?

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