Got linked to this one from your most recent post and had to give it a read as a fellow Jaguars fan. That Steelers game is probably my favorite regular season game ever (not that there are a ton of good regular season moments to choose from). It was surreal throughout the season to be more excited when the Jaguars were on defense than offense because even though they weren't going to score, (a) they were more likely to do something spectacular and (b) they might just score, too.
I was out on Bortles pretty early on and was desperately hoping that they took Lamar Jackson with the #29 pick in 2018. The city was already called Jacksonville. Instead we got Taven Bryan, the wheels came off, and Nick Foles got rich.
There's NO WAY you're also a Jags fan. How did I not know this before? Are we the only two Jacksonville fans on this entire platform?
That Pittsburgh game is also one of my favourite things ever to happen in the NFL. Both Pittsburgh games actually, because nobody thought anything about the Jaguars, and we humiliated them twice in the same season. It's also true that the defence was more exciting than the offence, even though the offence was actually pretty good, which is a part that's not remembered enough, and likely the reason why this team is so underrated.
I think the lesson to be learned is that elite offence is not the draw. Elite play is the draw. Elite play is what's exciting. That can happen on either defence or offence. It's just that the NFL legislates to ensure offence is always ahead of the curve, and so we've seen just seven truly memorable defences in the entire new millennium by my count, this one included. 2000 Ravens, 2002 Bucs, 2003 Ravens, 2009 Jets, 2013 Seahawks, these Jaguars, and the 2019 Patriots. That's all. I challenge you to remember any other NFL defence for any reason.
As far as Blake Bortles, it's not his fault. It's true that he was quite bad, even in a 2017 where his talented offensive skill group carried him to some pretty good numbers, but this talented offence all fell apart at once. Every above average receiver on the 2017 Jaguars was gone for 2018, and that was the real cause of this great team never really materialising beyond this one season.
The team's best receiver, Allen Hurns, was cut for contract reasons, so was Marcedes Lewis. Marqise Lee messed his knee up in a 2018 preseason game and was never the same. Keelan Cole stayed, but was awful and could never recapture how well he'd played. Jaydon Mickens broke his ankle and never came back right. Those are not five big names, but five above average receivers is a lot of above average receivers to have. This was a very talented offence, but by 2018 it was all gone.
The teams worst receiver in 2017, Dede Westbrook, became it's best in 2018, but he did so without improving at all. The team just got so much worse around him. Would it have helped for the QB to not be Blake Bortles? Of course, but this ship was sunk independent of him. We're seeing what even Patrick Mahomes can do with a poor offence, which is not very much compared to what he'd been doing, and the 2023 and 2024 Chiefs are of a dramatically better calibre at the skill positions than the 2018 Jaguars. I don't think any QB could've fixed this.
True point, those really were lightning in a bottle years for each of Cole and Mickens (and Lee if you modify what the term means substantially). Even a guy like Chris Ivory (who I mostly remember as one in a long line of busted skill player free agents) contributed meaningfully in 2017 and was gone by 2018, and Fournette either peaked sometime during his rookie season or at LSU.
I thought up some 2023 nominees for "memorable defenses of this millennium" but the fact that I came up with multiple probably means it's more recency bias than anything actually enduring. I think there's a chance that the 2023 Chiefs stand the test of time based on the Super Bowl win, but in more of a "begrudging acknowledgement" way than an iconic "Legion of Boom" or Sacksonville.
Got linked to this one from your most recent post and had to give it a read as a fellow Jaguars fan. That Steelers game is probably my favorite regular season game ever (not that there are a ton of good regular season moments to choose from). It was surreal throughout the season to be more excited when the Jaguars were on defense than offense because even though they weren't going to score, (a) they were more likely to do something spectacular and (b) they might just score, too.
I was out on Bortles pretty early on and was desperately hoping that they took Lamar Jackson with the #29 pick in 2018. The city was already called Jacksonville. Instead we got Taven Bryan, the wheels came off, and Nick Foles got rich.
There's NO WAY you're also a Jags fan. How did I not know this before? Are we the only two Jacksonville fans on this entire platform?
That Pittsburgh game is also one of my favourite things ever to happen in the NFL. Both Pittsburgh games actually, because nobody thought anything about the Jaguars, and we humiliated them twice in the same season. It's also true that the defence was more exciting than the offence, even though the offence was actually pretty good, which is a part that's not remembered enough, and likely the reason why this team is so underrated.
I think the lesson to be learned is that elite offence is not the draw. Elite play is the draw. Elite play is what's exciting. That can happen on either defence or offence. It's just that the NFL legislates to ensure offence is always ahead of the curve, and so we've seen just seven truly memorable defences in the entire new millennium by my count, this one included. 2000 Ravens, 2002 Bucs, 2003 Ravens, 2009 Jets, 2013 Seahawks, these Jaguars, and the 2019 Patriots. That's all. I challenge you to remember any other NFL defence for any reason.
As far as Blake Bortles, it's not his fault. It's true that he was quite bad, even in a 2017 where his talented offensive skill group carried him to some pretty good numbers, but this talented offence all fell apart at once. Every above average receiver on the 2017 Jaguars was gone for 2018, and that was the real cause of this great team never really materialising beyond this one season.
The team's best receiver, Allen Hurns, was cut for contract reasons, so was Marcedes Lewis. Marqise Lee messed his knee up in a 2018 preseason game and was never the same. Keelan Cole stayed, but was awful and could never recapture how well he'd played. Jaydon Mickens broke his ankle and never came back right. Those are not five big names, but five above average receivers is a lot of above average receivers to have. This was a very talented offence, but by 2018 it was all gone.
The teams worst receiver in 2017, Dede Westbrook, became it's best in 2018, but he did so without improving at all. The team just got so much worse around him. Would it have helped for the QB to not be Blake Bortles? Of course, but this ship was sunk independent of him. We're seeing what even Patrick Mahomes can do with a poor offence, which is not very much compared to what he'd been doing, and the 2023 and 2024 Chiefs are of a dramatically better calibre at the skill positions than the 2018 Jaguars. I don't think any QB could've fixed this.
True point, those really were lightning in a bottle years for each of Cole and Mickens (and Lee if you modify what the term means substantially). Even a guy like Chris Ivory (who I mostly remember as one in a long line of busted skill player free agents) contributed meaningfully in 2017 and was gone by 2018, and Fournette either peaked sometime during his rookie season or at LSU.
I thought up some 2023 nominees for "memorable defenses of this millennium" but the fact that I came up with multiple probably means it's more recency bias than anything actually enduring. I think there's a chance that the 2023 Chiefs stand the test of time based on the Super Bowl win, but in more of a "begrudging acknowledgement" way than an iconic "Legion of Boom" or Sacksonville.