Enemy Confidential: Seahawks Not Overlooking James Robinson, Improving Jaguars

After finishing with a dreadful 1-15 record last season and earning the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, expectations were fairly low for coach Urban Meyer taking over a rebuilding Jaguars squad, at least in the short term.

While it hasn't reflected in the win/loss column just yet and the coach's own mishaps off the field have drawn negative attention, however, Meyer's young team has steadily improved through the first seven weeks of the season and suddenly looks like a force to reckon with. Led by No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and star running back James Robinson, the offense has started to find traction in recent weeks and Jacksonville has been able to put quality teams such as Arizona and Cincinnati on the brink of an upset.

Coming off their first win of the season beating the Dolphins on a late field goal in London, the Jaguars got healthier during the bye week and despite their 1-5 record, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll isn't about to sleep on a team far better than their spot in the standings would indicate.

"This team is a loaded football team," Carroll said. "They were ahead of the Cardinals going into the fourth quarter, 19-17, they had the Bengals going in their game, they played a terrific game in London to get their win, they run the football, they play good defense, they are tough as hell, and the special teams led by Nick Sorensen is really coming and they are really good there too. The first thing that I addressed to these guys when we turned to Wednesday is that you can see why they won a football game and why they were ahead... We are up against them, and I know they are fired up after getting their monkey off of their back. They are ready to go, I’m sure.”

Facing each other for the first time since 2017, both Seattle and Jacksonville sit in last place in their respective divisions and will be seeking wins to turn their seasons around. Here’s a closer look at the Seahawks upcoming Week 7 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, key numbers, and Carroll’s evaluation of the Jaguars.

Series History

9th regular season meeting. The Seahawks hold a 5-3 advantage, including winning four of the past six dating back to 2000.

On the way to an unexpected AFC Championship Game berth, Jacksonville beat Seattle at EverBank Field in the last meeting between the two franchises in 2017. The Seahawks have won all three previous matchups played in Seattle, including the previous two at Lumen Field in 2009 and 2013.

What's New

Departures: Replaced by Meyer, coach Doug Marrone was fired in January after four seasons with the franchise. Continuing their exodus of players from the 2017 AFC South champions, receiver Keelan Cole departed to join the Jets and receiver Dede Westbrook joined the Vikings in free agency. After training camp, they traded former starting cornerback Sidney Jones to the Seahawks and later dealt former first-round pick C.J. Henderson to the Panthers for a third-round pick on September 29.

Additions: Aggressive in free agency as expected in Meyer's first offseason, Jacksonville signed Griffin away from Seattle on a three-year, $40 million contract. The team also invested significant money on former Los Angeles Chargers safety Rayshawn Jenkins and Bears defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris, signing them to four and three-year pacts respectively. Bolstering their receiving core for Lawrence, veteran Marvin Jones was signed on a two-year deal to reunite with Bevell, who was his offensive coordinator in Detroit. Aside from Lawrence in the draft, Jacksonville found a starting corner in Campbell in the second round and a rotational safety in Andre Cisco in the third round.

Injury Report

While Jacksonville did lose starting guard A.J. Cann to injured reserve and first-round running back Travis Etienne isn't expected to play this year, coming off a bye week, the team is looking far healthier overall heading into Sunday's game in Seattle. Linebacker Myles Jack (back) and guard Ben Bartch (concussion) were full participants in Thursday's practice, while cornerback Tyson Campbell, defensive tackle Davon Hamilton, and center Tyler Shatley were limited. Defensive tackle Jay Tufele was out with a hand injury and his status remains uncertain.

Inside The Scheme

Leaving his imprint on the offense, it shouldn't come as a surprise that with Meyer at the helm the Jaguars use 11 personnel with three receivers, one running back, and one tight end 70 percent of the time, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. His offenses at Ohio State primarily ran 11 groupings and both Bevell and Schottenheimer have extensive backgrounds using 11 personnel in prior stops as offensive coordinators with multiple organizations. In a changeup compared to Bevell's prior history, they haven't ran a single play this year with two-back personnel.

Among qualified quarterbacks, per Pro Football Focus, 27.7 percent of Lawrence's drop backs have come off of play action, ranking 16th in the league. In the ground game, Bevell has stuck with his roots by calling zone runs on 62 percent of Jacksonville's run plays compared to just 38 percent gap concepts.

Coming from the Ravens where he served as a defensive line coach, defensive coordinator Joe Cullen hasn't been able to play as much man coverage as his former team typically does, which may be based off of personnel. According to Pro Football Focus, they have deployed man coverage 32.7 percent of the time, which ranks 17th in the league. They have performed well when manned up across the board, allowing a 51.8 percent completion rate and no touchdowns to opposing signal callers through the first six games.

Cullen also hasn't blitzed quite as much as the Ravens do, but the Jaguars still rank 13th in the NFL bringing five or more rushers on 25.7 percent of plays. The aggressiveness hasn't paid off turning up the heat on quarterbacks, however, as the team ranks 27th in the NFL in total pressures (50) and 31st in sack percentage (3.7%).

By The Numbers

8: Interceptions thrown by Lawrence, tied for second-most in the league

21: Missed tackles forced by James Robinson per PFF, fifth-most among NFL backs

10: Sacks allowed by Jaguars offensive line, tied for fourth-fewest among NFL teams

6.2: Yards after the catch per reception by Laviska Shenault, fifth-best among qualified receivers with at least 39 targets.

31: Third down conversion percentage, 31st in the NFL.

-1.7: Turnover margin, last in the NFL

3.8: Yards per carry allowed to opposing running backs, fifth-lowest in the league

31: Receptions of 20-plus yards allowed by Jacksonville's defense, fifth-most in NFL

0: Fumbles recovered by the Jaguars, ranked dead-last in the league

44: Third down conversion percentage against, ranked 24th in the NFL

Carroll's Thoughts

--On his impressions of Lawrence after six starts: “Boy, he’s really talented and he’s improved a good deal over the course of the season already. You can see it. There’s so much for him to gain and so much for him to learn and gain control of, which he will. He’s really talented and it’s obvious why they picked him He moves really well, he has terrific mechanics and throwing motion, he can throw the ball on the move, has a lot of big throws in him already, and has mistakes that a young quarterback would make that he won’t make eventually. He will minimize those.

--On the familiarity of Jacksonville's offensive staff with Bevell and Schottenheimer calling plays: “Those guys know the league and from what I can tell in the breakdowns that I have been going through and evaluating that they have chosen really good stuff to build their offense and they are using their personnel well, in particular, the quarterback. Those guys have great backgrounds, and they know what they are doing. They are a very smart staff and Sanjay (Lal) as well, we expect all of those guys to put together a heck of a game plan this week.”

--On Josh Allen and the Jaguars' pass rush along the defensive line: “They are very aggressive and there’s a style about the way they play up front. It comes right through the coordinator that they are aggressive, and they attack well. Josh has had a couple of sacks, but he has gotten in a lot more rushes than that. They have not had a lot of production sack wise, but they can make it hard on the quarterback.”