The Bills got a huge game across the pond in London against Jacksonville. Joining me to dish the dirt on the Jags are the boys over at Big Cat Country. Enjoy and tell a friend.
1) If you were the opposing team, how would you attack the Jags on offense and defense?
Going against the Jaguars is easy as their weaknesses on either side of the ball are pretty easy to spot. In terms of the Jaguars offense, all you have to do is stop the run. Force Blake Bortles to make 50 passes in a game and he’ll have one or two very (very) bad mistakes. Make no mistake, Bortles is a good quarterback, but he has trouble with certain coverages. He’s getting better at pre-snap reads, but if you can disguise the defensive assignments, you have a good chance at forcing a bad pass from Bortles. As far as their defense, pass the ball over the middle 50 times a game. If you see Paul Posluszny stepping back into coverage, throw to whomever he’s covering.
2) How has Blake Bortles progressed thus far this year in comparison to last year?
I like Bortles. He scared me his rookie year, but he had an incredibly strong preseason and while he’s still making mistakes this year, they’re limited. But above all that, he’s making great throws. Yes, a lot of his yardage is coming at the expense of defensive backs losing out on jump balls to Allen Robinson. However, you look at his pocket presence, his poise, his willingness to make a second or third read before just tucking and running — he’s greatly improved and is showing himself to be worth the No. 3 overall pick.
3) How has the OL been for you guys with the addition of Doug Marrone?
Not good, but not bad either. I expected more out of the line, to be honest. Our former No. 2 overall pick Luke Joeckel is the definition of “not that bad”. The guy next to him — Zane Beadles — is absolute trash. Stefen Wisniewski has underperformed. Brandon Linder (honestly, our best lineman) went on injured reserve and his replacement, rookie guard A.J. Cann has been good but I want Cann replacing Beadles. Jermey Parnell is a bully at right tackle and I love it.
So, in short, not awful. But not very good at run blocking. Pass protection has been fine.
4) How has former Buffalo Bill Paul Posluszny looked for you guys?
He’s a two-down linebacker. Third down? Especially passing third downs? No. He’s a typical mid-1990’s linebacker — big, tough, strong, good against the run, but vulnerable against the pass. That doesn’t work in this day and age. I’m looking forward to finding his replacement.
5) What under the radar players should Bills fans look out for in regards to the Jags and why?
I’d have said Allen Hurns at the beginning of the season, but he’s making quite the name for himself. Perhaps Dan Skuta then. I think he’s actually been a decent free agent pickup this year. He’s played a variety of positions at linebacker and defensive line. We’ve asked him to do a lot more than he was brought here to do and he’s doing a capable job of it. He’s not the long-term answer at the OTTO linebacker spot, but he’s a better stop-gap solution than I thought he’d be when he was signed.
6) Anything else you’d like to mention?
Fire Gus Bradley. No
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