Unconventional Preview: Jaguars are freshmen about to face New England varsity
COMMENTARY
Welcome to Season 4, Episode 3 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious-but-lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup that runs right here every weekend.
When the Patriots’ 2015 schedule was released, the Week 3 matchup against the Jaguars looked like a bye week before the official bye week — the rare double-bye week! After all, the Jags were 3-13 a season ago, finished 32nd – or dead last — in the league in scoring (15.6 ppg) and 26th in defense (25.8 ppg). Rookie quarterback Blake Bortles threw 11 touchdown passes to 17 interceptions in 2014. No running back reached 600 yards, and no receiver reached 700. The outlook for this season was perceived to be bleak.
So far … the reality actually hasn’t been. The offense remains spotty, scoring just 32 total points through two games. But the defense is ranked ninth in the league at 20 ppg, and it looked downright impressive in last week’s 23-20 upset of the Dolphins. The Jaguars probably aren’t ready to test the Patriots yet, but they are coming in to Foxborough with something that has been scarce in recent seasons: the confidence that comes after a victory. I doubt they will leave in a similar condition.
Kick it off, Gostkowski, and let’s get this one started …
THREE PLAYERS I’LL BE WATCHING OTHER THAN TOM BRADY
Blake Bortles: Well, he’s a better quarterback than Blaine Gabbert, anyway. The surprise No. 3 overall pick last year had an expectedly uneven rookie season, and it probably doesn’t help the perception of his prospects for the future that he looks old enough to have backed up Byron Leftwich on the 2003 Jags. But Jaguars coach Gus Bradley has praised him for his increased confidence and poise in Year 2, and Bill Belichick said he sees some similarities to Tyrod Taylor, which is somewhere between a straight compliment and a backhanded one. I suppose Sunday will offer all the clarity we need on that. Bortles is still a work in progress as a passer, but he’s surprisingly effective when he decides to run (he gained 419 yards on the ground last season). Given that he was sacked 55 times a year ago and the Patriots got to Taylor eight times last week, he’ll probably be on the run, by choice or as a survival instinct, rather often on Sunday.
Aaron Dobson: The enigmatic third-year receiver is coming off what was probably the second-best game of his career last week, catching seven passes for 87 yards in the win over the Bills. Sure, he had another pass doink off his facemask for no apparent reason, but all in all, it was an encouraging performance, one that probably trails only his 130-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Steelers in 2013 on his personal highlight reel. Dobson has size and speed, but health and consistency have been recurring issues. Belichick was quick to praise him this week, noting that he also blocked very well and “really came through for us.’’ Now comes the next step: Becoming someone the Patriots can consistently count on to come through week to week rather than just once in a while.
Gronk:Because he belongs here every week, that’s why. I can’t recall a player who was more fun to watch – maybe Barry Sanders in his heyday — but he didn’t play in our neighborhood. (He merely embarrassed our defensive backs.) Gronk has scored at least one touchdown in his last eight games (including the postseason), and presuming he stays healthy, I completely believe he has a shot at breaking Randy Moss’s record for receiving touchdowns (23), set during the last Patriots’ Vengeance Tour in 2007.
I mean, I’m not going to pretend I give a whoop-de-damn-doo about NFL player of the week awards, and I suspect Tom Brady, whose tastes are limited to awards that look like this, probably cares less about them than we do. So this isn’t so much a grievance as it is head-shaking bemusement at the pathetic depths of the NFL’s pettiness. I don’t see how Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s performance at home against the Niners (21 of 27, 369 yards, three TDs, no interceptions) trumps Brady’s performance in a road divisional game against the frothing-and-yapping-at-the-mouth Bills (38 of 59, 466 yards, three TDs, one fumble). Maybe there’s a rule that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell just had Troy Vincent make up that states that anyone who commits a turnover is immediately ineligible for a player of the week award. Otherwise, there seems to be only one explanation: the NFL, like so many Patriots opponents through the years, can’t win the big one against Brady, so it is taking its miniscule victories anywhere it can find them.
RUNNER-UP, GRIEVANCE OF THE WEEK
Julian Edelman is a relentless dynamo of a player, and the work that has gone into his evolution from seventh-round pick/Wes Welker stunt double/punt returner/spare defensive back into a virtually uncoverable slot receiver is a story worthy of being told and retold. But Slottie Pippen? Slottie Pippen? Man, the fans love you. Brady loves you. You don’t have to try so hard.
PREDICTION, OR WILL MARK BRUNELL CRY AFTER THIS ONE? I BET HE WILL CRY
Could the Jaguars turn out to be a speed bump on the Patriots’ Vengeance Tour 2015, which has been at full-throttle through the first two victories? Well, I suppose it’s possible. In Week 3 last year, the Patriots had to scramble to hold off the Raiders, 16-9, and few among us thought that particular matchup would be a challenge. The Jaguars do have a decent collection of young talent, and they’re coming off an encouraging win. But playing the defending Super Bowl champs – the angry and determined Super Bowl champs – is a whole different matter, the equivalent of a talented freshman team taking on the high school varsity. The Jags might have a few moments. The Patriots will have another victory, and without much suspense.
Patriots 42, Jaguars 13. And then comes the official bye.
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