Jaguars @ Washington
JT: Jags News & Washington
There are a few things about the Jacksonville Jaguars we need to go over. Doug Pederson announced the team captains for the season, the Jaguars held an event at TIAA Bank Field, and the artist formerly known as the Washington Redskins are looming over Jaguars nation. Don’t fret JaguarsTalk readers, we’ve got you covered.
Yesterday evening the Jaguars held an event at TIAA Bank. They opened the indoor practice field to everyone, which was very nice if only for the air-conditioned aspect. What made it even nicer was that newly minted team captain, stud linebacker, Josh Allen, and number one wide receiver, Christian Kirk, were inside taking pictures with fans. The opening game of the season is 5 days away and these guys spent an evening appreciating those who pay to see them play. I realize it’s in their contracts to participate in such events but these two did it with a smile on their faces and went the extra mile to interact with the fans. Plus, Christian Kirk just got engaged, so my man has a lot going on right now. Congratulations to the happy couple.
To more important Jacksonville news. The team has chosen their permanent five captains for the 2022 NFL season. Two were chosen for the offense, quarterback Trevor Lawrence and guard Brandon Scherff. Two were chosen for the defense, linebacker Josh Allen and linebacker Foye Oluokun. For special teams, punter Logan Cooke was voted in. Head Coach Doug Pederson made the announcement by saying, “It’s a special honor to become a captain. There’s obviously a lot of responsibility that comes with that.” These five were voted on by the entire team with no coaching input. They’re the players the guys respect the most and look to for leadership. Doug Pederson will select a sixth captain each week. He has said that it could be based on how they practiced that week, how they handled themselves in the community, or simply because Jacksonville is playing in their hometown. Being a team captain in a career where you are up against the absolute best of the best in the world, is an extreme honor. It’s like being on the Top Gun plaque at Miramar. Congratulations to these five Jags captains.
On to the Washington Comma….team. Team Washington welcomes Jacksonville to FedEx Field this Sunday September 11 for the season opener. Like the Jaguars, Washington has added some high quality players to important skill positions since they last took the field. Washington got a brand new quarterback in Carson Wentz. This may play well for Jacksonville as they have a tree of history with Wentz containing many branches. Coach Doug Pederson coached Wentz in Philly during his Super Bowl winning 2017 season. I know Wentz’s stock has dropped like Nvidia (chip makers are currently killing my portfolio) over the past few years but I bet Pederson knows his capabilities better than even Washington at this point. Don’t think for a second that he isn’t preparing the JAX defense for what Wentz can do. Add to that the fact the Redski…Washington went out and got WR, Jahan Dotson from Penn State with their first round pick, and another tight end, Cole Turner (since star Logan Thomas is usually more injured than anyone else in the history of the league) and Wentz has some good skill men to compliment super star WR, Terry McLaurin, and finally 100% healthy WR, Curtis Samuel. The Washington wide receivers are the best weapons on the entire team.
Another branch in the Washington/Jaguars relationship tree relates to all-pro right guard Brandon Scherff. Scherff spent his entire career in Washington, playing four seasons with the Redskins and the past three with the Washington non-Redskins. He now protects Trevor Lawrence for a living. Scherff knows everything offensive about Washington. He knows their schemes, how the coaches think and call plays. He knows how their defense plays, as he practiced against them for seven years. Scherff is a wealth of Washington knowledge that will surely help Jacksonville come game time this Sunday. Lastly, Jacksonville played Wentz twice last year when he was the Indianapolis Colts quarterback. In fact, Jacksonville, as we all know, beat the Colts in their last game of the season to keep them from the playoffs. The Jaguars were able to get to Carson and affect his game when Jacksonville's defense was more like a pop warner squad compared to the professional monsters they have swarming the ball now. This incredible wealth of firsthand knowledge that the Jacksonville coaching staff and players have about their first opponent is a tremendous plus. The question is can JAX execute on it and take full advantage. There is one tremendous loss for Washington that should help Jacksonville immeasurably. Super star edge rusher Chase Young is injured and won't be playing Sunday. I realize his replacement is also a professional NFL player but the difference between Chase Young and James Smith-Williams is vast. While disappointing, because you never want to see anyone injured and you always want to play a team at their best, this is a huge plus for the Jaguars offense.
Also, helping out the Jaguars offense is something we wrote extensively about in our Washington game outlook back in May (we will repost that column before this game). Washington’s Achilles heel last year was their linebacking corps and they did absolutely nothing to address that issue in the off-season. They were often injured but when they weren’t they were in disarray. Jamin Davis, the strong side backer (then the “mike” backer) was always a step behind in understanding offensive schemes and thus running the defense was never his strong suit. Washington is starting the same three backers in their 4-3 defense, David Mayo (weak side), Cole Holcomb (middle), and Jamin Davis (strong side). This presents an opportunity for Press Taylor to create so much offensive motion and confusion that the Washington linebackers remain a step behind. This can benefit our running game and open up passes over the middle. Let’s hope Davis hasn’t matured enough this offseason to be able to decipher the Jags offense.
There are just too many facets to this Sunday’s game that give Jacksonville the upper hand for me to believe that Washington will win. Jacksonville’s coaches have more than enough first hand knowledge and time to game plan the hell out of Washington. Brandon Scherff has years of playing in their system. He has invaluable knowledge to impart to the rest of the team, which should definitely give the black and teal the upper hand. Finally, Shad Khan opened his checkbook this off season to provide Jacksonville with literally everything they need to succeed in 2022. Sure, Washington still has a great defensive line even without Chase Young. Sure, they beefed up their offense, but Jacksonville beefed up every single aspect of their game.
A lot of Washington columnists were looking past the Jags, writing them off as a win already. I’m not so sure it will be such a cake walk. In May, when the schedule was released, and we wrote our column on the matchup with Washington, we predicted the score to be 17-10 Jacksonville. We here at JaguarsTalk stand by that.
Look for our repost of the Washington article before Sunday and let us know what you think in the comment section below.