Week 4 Standouts

Offense

Clay Harbor

The loss of Marcedes Lewis in week two was hard on the Jaguars against the Colts. They had to start Marcel Jensen in his place who did an overall poor job which led to him getting cut. With Harbor coming back from injury, the Jaguars knew the offense would get at least a small boost, but I doubt they felt he would play as well as he did. He caught all 8 passes thrown to him for 69 yards, and even though he had a few plays for no gain, he was able to create big plays and keep the linebackers on their toes in pass coverage. Even though Harbor isn't quite the player that Lewis is, it's nice to know going forward that Blake Bortles will have some sort of security blanket.

Sam Young

The rookie right tackle has been doing a good job the past two games after he took the starting job from Cameron Bradfield in week three. He has been very solid in pass protection and recorded a clean sheet againt the Chargers- no pressures allowed all game. His strength in the pass protection is almost balanced out by weakness in the run game, however. He struggled to push back defenders and didn't look great getting a jump off the ball. At this point no one on the Jaguar's line has been very consistent in the run game so its possible he looks worse because no one is really doing a good job.

Blake Bortles

29 for 37 on pass attempts will really stand out on the stat sheet. While Bortles never took many shots down field, that seems like it's due to Jedd Fisch keeping him on a leash early in the season. A lot of routes were quick plays deigned for efficiency rather than to open up the defense. The most impressive part of Blake's play, in my opinion, has been the way he keeps composed under pressure. Even with defenders in his face he is able to escape the pocket then continue to keep his eyes up to find the open receiver. It is a trait that we haven't seen from a Jaguar's quarterback in a while and it is a very good sign for things to come.

Defense

Sen'Derrick Marks

At the end of last season Marks was the clear standout in the Jaguar's defense and he was rewarded with a new contract. That contract has been paying off well so far as he continues to play at a high level this season. He is a disruptive force and does a good job getting penetration on most plays, Against the Chargers he split a sack with Red Bryant where he blew right past the guard and got to Rivers quickly. He also added two QB hits and a few hurries to keep the pressure on the Charger's line. The Jaguars have been playing some tough quarterbacks the past few weeks (and will again next week against Ben Roethlisberger) and Marks has done a good job in making sure they aren't too comfortable in the pocket.

Geno Hayes

Last week Hayes stood out in pass defense, but this time his strength was in stopping the run. He ended the game with six tackles, five against the run, including a tackle for a loss of three yards in the third quarter. Hayes has been proving to be the best linebacker so far when the rest of the position is in a sort of flux. Posluszny has been struggling all year and Dekoda Watson and LaRoy Reynolds haven't really had a good game yet this year. While there are many working parts to Gus Bradley's defense, I think one of the keys is a linebacking corp that plays fast and hard so it is nice to see at least a little stability so far. Other players will develop into key roles soon, but until that happens we have to hope that Hayes can keep the defense together.