So…Do We Respect The Jags Or What?
The Jags are one of those teams that it’s really hard to get a bead on. They might be good! They might also be a paper tiger! It’s really impossible to tell. I think one this is clear: this is a higher functioning team than a previous seasons. How much better the team is remains a mystery. I’m sure Jags fans want it to be truth, but it’s tough. The NFL is pretty much still in complete parity mode and there are still a lot of teams tucked ambiguously in the middle. But hey, that’s better than the Jags have been recently.
One thing is clear, it’s hard for anybody to trust them after so long in the dumps. Every victory so far (all 3 of them fairly dominant too) have basically turned into narratives of how the other team failed. The Texans failed at QB in week 1, the Ravens fell apart because of London and a bad offense, and the Steelers just decided to crap the bed, no real respect given to the Jags in any scenario, outside maybe a little love for Fournette. They lost to the good pre-injured version of the Titans and they also lost to…the Jets. The Jets are 3-2 as well, and nobody can figure out how that’s happened either.
From what I can see the Jags are a very legit defense, especially in the secondary, and have a good run game. Bortles has been reduced to as minimum impact as possible. Seems good enough. We’ll have to see if it’s good enough to carry the Jags to the top of a suddenly captivating division. Unlike years past, the AFC South is a little bit better now, and each team has potential and major flaws.
Jags – Good defense, good run game, terrible QB, retread questionable coach.
Titans – Good offense, good run game, injured at QB, questionable Defense and still questionable coach
Texans – Good defense, stubborn coach, everything seems to be riding entirely on DeSean Watson, a rookie
Colts – Good offense, bad defense, currently handicapped by star QB injury, a pile of garbage at coach
This is anyone’s division, especially when Luck and Mariota come back. Unlike previous seasons, the winner might even be slightly respectable.
WHO YA GOT?
Edit: just wanna point out my Alt-Text was spot on
Before the season started I had the Titans winning the division, with the Texans’ finally showing their limit that good defense can’t keep winning without at least a competent QB and falling short, Colts continuing a depressing regress, and the Jags still being dumpster-fire garbage.
Now I’m really not sure. This really does look like a close, entertaining division.
The losses(plus potential ones) the Titans suffer due to Mariota being sidelined will likely turn out to be critical at season’s end.
Jags actually look quite legit, and their shift in strategy means that Bort has less impact, even though he’s still managed to show a few decent games instead of unequivocally sucking every time he takes the field.
It’s a small sample size, but Deshaun Watson is quickly looking more and more legit with each game, and even if it wouldn’t be viable for long-term(well, depends) at least it seems to be somewhat working at the moment.
Still don’t trust the Colts though. No ill will meant, but somehow I get the feeling that even if Luck comes back, he’ll be a shadow of what he used to be at least for the time being, and will not be leading the Colts to any playoffs this year.
Who
Coughlin the Red-nosed reindeer get revenge on Jack Del Rio in the wild card, as long as J’ville doesn’t turn into the 2013 Jets (7-9; started the first 12 games on a “win odd-numbered week, lose even-numbered week” pattern). Also, Tom Coughlin for coach of the year, because Marrone is just his puppet.
Leftwich would have 2 rings if Coughlin stayed in J’ville, not Elisha.
Imagine if they won the Super Bowl.
The Texans went from having a great defense and a putrid offense to having a great, exciting offense and a defense that can’t help but fall back to earth with losing BOTH J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus to non-contact injuries on the same series.
Watson is putting up almost unprecedented rookie numbers, and he’s doing it behind an offensive line charitably described as “patchwork” before he arrived. And he’s taking advantage of all the speed the Texans loaded up on last year that Osweiler couldn’t do anything with.
If Watt and Merc both come back at full strength, the Texans could be serious SuperBowl contenders next year. But this year is going to be a real dogfight to get to the postseason.
Still nothing about the Dolphins o-line coach?
he could be simply a lines coach
Assuming Watson keeps things up the Texans will be competitive, but without Watt or Mercilus I can’t see their defense being much good. Titans so far have been a letdown and are now missing Mariota. The Colts have been lucky to have an easy start to their season. If they can stay hovering around .500 when Luck gets back, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the AFC South. Jags are probably the best team in the division with an amazing defense, but Bortles is such a ridiculously dangerous achilles heel that you’re just waiting for the bottom to drop out and him to throw five picks or something.
At the start of the year I was convinced it was going to be Titans-Texans jockeying for the division, but now that injuries have set in, I think it’ll be the reverse. The Jags are the better team, but you can never trust a Bortles-led team. The Colts slow start is going to hamper them, but because they’ve stayed afloat instead of bombing to 0-5, they have a chance once Luck comes back.
Texans should take the division imo
But I understand the hesitation on the rest of the division
The Colts might not be that good even when Luck comes back. Jacoby is looking pretty damn decent right now and clearly they have a lot more than just Luck’s injury keeping them back from being a serious contender
Titans will get back Mariota shortly but they also got handily beaten by the Raiders & Texans, while beating the Jags and Seahawks. Lots of inconsistency to show they’re going to be a real deal kind of team so far
Jags defence is fantastic, I don’t think anyone will doubt that. But if they play other high powered offences in the AFC like the Pats, Chiefs or Raiders I think they’re going to have to rely on Bortles which won’t be pretty
Texans struggled with Savage at QB but have improved a lot every game with Watson, despite a 2-3 record right now I wouldn’t be surprised for this team to end up 11-5 or 10-6 and be one of the best AFC teams
Took me a minute to figure out why he had a massive, discolored tongue.
Yeah, it turns out he wanted to be like his idol Kurt Cobain.
What did Kurt Cobain say before he pulled the trigger?
“Hole’s gonna be big.”
Surprised you didn’t do a comic this week about that Dolphins coach with the cocaine video.
I actually have some hope for this team. Not this season. Even if Luck comes back by week 10 or so, he’s going to be all kinds of rusty. But the defense actually hasn’t been quite as bad as they appear on the surface. The Rush defense has been thoroughly middle of the pack (allowing 3.9 yards per rush and 103.4 yards per game — good for 14th and 16th respectively). Many teams may consider that a failure but the colts’ rushing defense has been bottom of the barrel for as long as I can remember. Middle of the pack is a massive improvement. The pass defense is horrific, but being horrific in one area of defense instead of both is a massive improvement for this team. I’ll take it.
And though the stats don’t show it, the o-line is significantly better than last year. Brissett is an admirable backup, but he holds onto the all way too long. Even more so than Luck (which is Luck’s biggest weakness, but Brissett is worse about it). I actually think most of this team has potential, just that it will take a season or so to gel together. We finally have a GM who knows what he’s doing. Too bad it comes six years and two major injuries into our franchise QB’s career.
Texans will win the division. Jags will be real as soon as Bortles is gone, but he will find ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as long as he’s playing.
Life as a Bills fan haha
JPP just lit a firecracker on the Broncos.
I want to go ahead and state it here the Ryan Fitzpatrick cycle is unbroken. Dude is a curse. http://www.thedrawplay.com/tag/ryan-fitzpatrick/
Jags lose to Rams. How bad are the Jags?
Jags obliterate Colts. Are the Colts one of the worst teams of all time?
Truth.