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The Offense
The Offensive Line
Unfortunately no one on the offensive line performed well this week. The run game again never got going, only gaining 85 yards on 25 carries, which has been a continuing problem throughout the preseason and it might be tough to get it fixed by week one. The pass blocking has been at least at least adequate the first two weeks, but that trend reversed against the Lions. The first two weeks saw a combined 4 sacks and only 6 QB hits but they gave up 6 sacks and 9 hits against Detroit. Half of those came with Ricky Stanzi behind center, but it still wasn't a good performance by anyone last week.
The Runningbacks
As bad as the line has been at run blocking this season, the blame can't be squarely on them. AT this point something should be picking up but no one has been able to get anything going. Gerhart has only carried the ball 16 times so far so hopefully when he gets the ball more the production will pick up and we can see some longer gains. Atlanta has a poor rush defense so this week would be the time to get some momentum for the season.
Ricky Stanzi
The third strong QB battle, if there was going to be one, was essentially Stanzi's if he performed well last week. Stephen Morris played poorly against the Bears and it seemed likely that he would be cut and the Jaguars would try and add him to the practice squad while keeping Stanzi. That would have seemed like a good idea, but Stanzi threw 2 interceptions and was sacked three times against the Lions. It is still possible the Jaguars roll Stanzi out as their third string but it is still to close to go either way.
The Defense
The Pass Rush
Where the Lions put good pressure throughout the game, the Jaguars virtually put out none. For the first time in the preseason they failed to record a single sack and only had 4 QB hits. This is pretty troubling because our starters were in for the majority of the game and their the ones we would expect to see good things from. The Lions have one of the better lines in the league which gives some excuse, but it needs to get better before the season starts.
Reggie Bush's 86-yard Touchdown
There hasn't been too many bad plays for the defense so far, but Bush's long touchdown run was easily the worst and it is due to many players getting beat or over-pursuing. It starts with no one on the line getting a good jump and all but Roy Miller getting pushed back at least three yards. This also allows the Lion's O-line to get to the next level for bush. Next both Paul Posluszny and Telvin Smith over-pursue on what is either a counter or just a good read and cutback by Bush. Johnathan Cyprien, the last line of defense, also overruns the play and then hesitates to go after Bush which lets him get in the clear for the long run. The play was the result of almost everyone doing a poor job and hopefully won't happen often this season, but it's a good example of how horribly things go wrong if no one is in the right place.