Losman, defense, special teams make plays but missed way too many.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:J.P. Losman was dinking and dunking with a short passing game early. He then threw a terrible interception on the Bills third series. Losman engineered a nice touchdown drive in the 2nd quarter but the team lost momentum when he fumbled the ball away on a third and short dive. He was his usual inconsistent self. He started moving the team in the 2nd half but threw an interception to Durant in the fourth quarter that sealed the team's fate and his fate as the QB of this team. He finished 27 of 40 for 211 yards. Grade F: The Losman era is over.
Running Backs:Anthony Thomas was a good workhorse but couldn't make any big gainers. He made a nice move on his touchdown reception and did a better job in the passing game then the running game. Finished with 46 yards rushing on 15 carries and 45 yards receiving on a career high eight catches. Fred Jackson injected life into the offense on the first TD drive. He had a nice 13 yard reception for a first down. His playing time increased in the 2nd half and was pretty effective. He had a few garbage time catches and finished with five catches of his own for 47 yards and 18 yards on five carries. Dwayne Wright didn't see the field on offense. Grade B-: Did their best but averaged less then four yards a carry.
Receivers:Lee Evans was effectively taken out of the game by the Jags defensive scheme as he didn't catch a pass until the last drive of the game. He did have a big block to help spring Roscoe Parrish on his 24 yard touchdown run. He also had four catches for 26 yards. Josh Reed had six catches for a team high 50 yards. Robert Royal had one catch for five yards. Michael Gaines had one catch for 19 yards. Grade F: Didn't do much against a low ranked pass defense.
Offensive Line:Jason Peters had a key block on Roscoe Parrish's touchdown run. He was also called for a holding penalty. Langston Walker left late in the game with an elbow injury. They averaged 3.9 yards running the ball but a good portion was on Parrish's score. Losman had time to throw he was sacked only once and pressured only a few times. Grade C: Again better in pass protection then run blocking.
Defensive Line:Aaron Schobel did a really nice job against the run in this game especially against Maurice Jones-Drew. He tackled him for a loss on his first carry then got him again for a big loss on a fourth and one carry late in the first half. He also forced him inside for a two yard loss in the 3rd quarter. Chris Kelsay was injured late in the first half and didn't finish the game. Ryan Denney replaced him and had a nice tackle for no gain on Taylor among his four tackles. Jon McCargo had a big stop for no gain in the 1st half. Kyle Williams stopped Jones-Drew for a one yard loss on third and 3 on the opening drive of the third quarter. The play held the Jags to another field goal. Larry Tripplett was heard from for the first time in weeks, it was from the official when he was called for a false start. He did get pressure on Garrard a few plays later. Anthony Hargrove had a very quiet day. Grade C+: Big stops were offset by big yardage at the wrong times .
Linebackers:Angelo Crowell was caught out of position on the 50 yard touchdown run by Taylor but led the way with 10 tackles. John DiGiorgio had nice coverage on a long pass on the opening drive for the Jags and finished with three tackles. Keith Ellison was barely heard from and had three tackles. Grade C: Gave up some big cutback lanes and big holes in the short passing game.
Secondary:Terrence McGee was hurt in the 1st quarter and replaced by Ashton Youboty for a series. He came back and had nine tackles and good coverage most of the game. Jabari Greer played very well for most of the game. He had a nice pass breakup on a deep pass near the goal line. He also had a nice breakup early in the third quarter. He held his ground against the 6'6" Jones on a third and goal to force another field goal and stopped Taylor for a loss late in the game. He gave up a 59 yard touchdown pass to Williams to clinch it for the Jaguars. George Wilson gave up a completion on a third and 10 pass to Wilfork on the Jaguars opening drive of the 2nd half. Donte Whitner played in the box most of the game to stop the run. He did have good coverage on a bomb to the TE Wrighster on the Jags 2nd drive. Bryan Scott got in on defense and stopped Jones-Drew for a nine yard loss on a third and one play forcing the Jags to settle for their 2nd field goal. Grade D: Too many yards to be had through the air.
Special Teams:A sloppy day for this unit. They got off to a bad start with an inexcusable 12 men on the field penalty wiping out a Jaguars punt that gave them a first down and they scored on the next play on Fred Taylor's 50 yard TD run. Had to burn a timeout on a punt because they had 10 men on the field. Luckily they recovered a muffed punt after the timeout. They were also called for offsides on a kickoff by Dwayne Wright. That turned out to be 31 yard penalty after Rian Lindell kicked it out of bounds. It changed the momentum as the Jaguars drove for a score. Brian Moorman had a 37.8 yard average on four punts with a 34.8 yard net. Terrence McGee averaged just 18.6 yards on five returns while Roscoe Parrish had one 12 yard return. Grade D: The takeway saves the unit from a failing grade.
Coaching:The offensive game plan lacked imagination and didn't lend itself to the strengths of Losman. Why not take advantage of Losman's strengths by moving him around out of the pocket more? They had no answer for the Jaguars no huddle offense early on. You can't have a stupid 12 men on the field penalty as someone didn't get off the field quick enough. That got the game going right for Jacksonville. They also had to burn a timeout on a punt because there wasn't enough players on the field. The hurry up offense on the Bills first TD drive helped stop the Jaguars from challenging a sideline catch by Reed. Jauron challenged a pass reception on the advice of his players and was successful. They were worried so much about the running game that they did nothing in pass defense. Perry Fewell's unit had no answers as they made the Jaguars offense look like world beaters. Grade F: Almost more disappointing then last week.
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