per report
Jacksonville Jaguars HatsThe New York Jets reached out to the Jacksonville Jaguars to gauge interest in a trade for defensive end Dante
Fowler, Jr., according to a report by Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News.
The report comes the day after Fowler returned from his week long suspension of
a violation of team rules following a camp fight with fellow defensive lineman
Yannick Ngakoue.Fowler has only practiced twice this offseason so far after
missing most of the offseason and training camp with a shoulder injury and
starting on the physically unable to perform list. Two days back, Fowler was in
two fights and shortly got suspended. Not only that, but Fowler is suspended for
the first week of the season for an off field issue last offseason.It was
mentioned a week ago that it wouldn’t be all that surprising that Fowler would
be on the trading block, especially if the Jaguars weren’t sure that Folwer and
Ngakoue could co-exist during the season, but it is interesting that the report
is that another team reached out to the Jaguars about it.The Jets are in need of
an edge rusher, which Fowler might be able to give them. Fowler’s time in
Jacksonville is pretty clearly over after his contract expires, as he’s never
going to be able to unseat Ngakoue from the starting role, but it’s all about
what the Jets would be willing to give up.Comparing “Sacksonville” to the
greats: 2000 Baltimore Ravens We keep hearing about how elite the 2018
“Sacksonville” defense is and how they can carry what is by all regards a fairly
average offense deep into the playoffs, so I wanted to travel back into the
annals of history and compare the Jacksonville Jaguars personnel to some of the
legendary NFL defenses of yesteryear. This is the first of a four-part
installment that I will be doing across the month of September, and this episode
mirrors the 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense.Below you’ll find positional
head-to-head match ups where I include a moment-in-time snapshot of each
player’s statistics at the same point in their careers to illustrate how our
young players are tracking against some all-time greats. Let’s get started:LDE |
Calais Campbell vs. Rob BurnettSTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (10 SEASONS): Burnett:
56.5 sacks; 435 tackles; 5 forced fumbles; 9 fumbles recoveredCampbell: 71.0
sacks; 420 tackles; 11 forced fumbles; 9 fumbles recoveredA former fifth round
pick by the Cleveland Browns in 1993, Burnett against Campbell is actually an
eerily similar comparison due to their age. Burnett was 33 years old when the
Ravens won the Super Bowl and his 2000 season was magical from a production
standpoint (10.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles
Jacksonville Jaguars Hoodie , 5 fumbles recovered, 1 interception). Burnett ended up playing 14 seasons in the NFL and compiling 73 sacks in his career but
despite his longevity, was only selected to one Pro Bowl in his career, which
pails in comparison to Campbell’s three Pro Bowls and one First Team All-Pro
selection.Advantage: Calais CampbellLDT | Marcell Dareus vs. Sam AdamsSTAT
SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (7 SEASONS): Dareus: 36.0 sacks; 223 tackles; 2 forced
fumbles; 2 fumbles recoveredAdams: 25.0 sacks; 190 tackles; 4 forced fumbles; 4
fumbles recoveredAn absolute unit, Adams was a plug in the defensive line and
was literally a huge reason why the Ravens impressive linebacking unit was able
to make so many plays in the second level. This will also be Dareus’ role in the
defense this season, functioning to stuff the run and collapse the pocket from
inside on early downs. During the Ravens’ Super Bowl season, Adams only had 23
tackles and 2 sacks, which are pretty low numbers for Dareus to surpass despite
his role as a one-technique taking on double teams. A two-time Pro Bowler and
one-time First Team All-Pro, Dareus edges Sam Adams, who was selected to three
Pro Bowls in his 14-year career.Advantage: Marcell DareusRDT | Malik Jackson vs.
Tony SiragusaSTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (6 SEASONS): Jackson: 29.0 sacks; 167
tackles; 6 forced fumbles; 3 fumbles recoveredSiragusa: 14.5 sacks; 326 tackles;
4 forced fumbles; 4 fumbles recoveredSiragusa was a big personality and is still
top of mind for many football fans due to his broadcast responsibilities, but he
was a limited athlete and served as more of a secondary nose tackle to Sam Adams
than a true three-technique like Malik. One thing that can’t be ignored is that
Siragusa had nearly three times the tackle volume as Jackson after six seasons
with the Colts, so this is sort of an apples and oranges comparison despite
technically playing the same position. I’ll give the edge to Malik, who has one
more Pro Bowl than Goose, but feel free to argue with your house plant or in the
comments below.Advantage: Malik JacksonRDE | Yannick Ngakoue vs. Michael
McCrarySTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (2 SEASONS): Ngakoue: 20.0 sacks; 44 tackles; 10
forced fumbles; 4 fumbles recoveredMcCrary: 5.5 sacks; 17 tackles; 2 forced
fumbles; 0 fumbles recoveredA seventh round pick by the Seahawks in the 1993 NFL
Draft
Youth Customized Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys , McCrary was a late bloomer when it comes to defensive ends, especially when comparing his two
season snapshot to Yannick. Only one career Pro Bowl nomination behind, Ngakoue
will far surpass McCrary as a player (10 forced fumbles in two seasons is just
disgusting), but McCrary absolutely ramped it up in the postseason (two crucial
sacks in the Super Bowl) despite only registering 6.5 sacks in the regular
season. McCrary was good, but Yannick has a chance to be great.Advantage:
Yannick NgakoueSLB | Leon Jacobs vs. Peter BoulwareSTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON
(N/A): A little unfair owing to Jacobs’ rookie status, but he will have to be
quite the player to supplant Peter Boulware regardless. A hybrid defensive
end/linebacker, the 1997 fourth overall pick tallied 11.5 sacks and 43 tackles
as a rookie, and his 7.0 sacks in 2000 were a big catalyst to the Ravens’
success. Call me pessimistic, but I don’t see Jacobs notching double-digit sacks
as a rookie, especially with the heavy emphasis on nickel in today’s game and
such different linebacker responsibilities than Boulware.Advantage: Peter
BoulwareMLB | Ray Lewis vs. Myles JackSTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (2 SEASONS):
Jack: 82 tackles; 2.5 sacks; 0 forced fumbles; 2 fumbles recovered; 0
interceptionsLewis: 251 tackles; 6.5 tackles; 2 interceptionsSorry, Myles. I
love you, but Ray Lewis is Ray Lewis. I really don’t think we need to go into
detail here to validate the winner. Pro Football Reference didn’t have the
fumble numbers for Lewis’ rookie year in 1996, but it doesn’t really
matter.Advantage: Ray LewisWLB | Telvin Smith vs. Jamie SharperSTAT SNAPSHOT
COMPARISON (4 SEASONS): Smith: 345 tackles; 6.5 sacks; 4 forced fumbles; 5
fumbles recovered; 7 interceptionsSharper: 225 tackles; 7.0 sacks; 6 forced
fumbles, 2 fumbles recovered
www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com , 2 interceptionsA second round pick for the Ravens in 1997, Jamie Sharper was a
solid player for the Ravens before moving on to the Texans in 2002. As good of a
player as Sharper was, however, he was no Telvin Smith. Smith not only trumps
Sharper in tackle volume but he also has a Pro Bowl selection on his resume over
Sharper. The one notable statistic for Sharper is his five forced fumbles in the
2000 season, so Smith will have to continue churning out turnovers this season
for the Jaguars to realize their championship dreams. Advantage: Telvin SmithCB
| Jalen Ramsey vs. Chris McAlisterSTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (2 SEASONS): Ramsey:
6 interceptions; 31 pass break ups; 107 tacklesMcAlister: 9 interceptions; N/A
pass break ups; 80 tacklesThe 10th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, McAlister
and Ramsey are in the same phase in their career when McAlister won the Lombardi
trophy. While many Jaguars fans would lean with their king without hesitation,
I’m here to throw in a Lee Corso “not so fast, my friend” and say Ramsey is the
rarer athlete and will likely be a Hall of Fame cornerback at his current career
trajectory, but it’s hard to ignore just how good McAlister was, especially in
his first two years in his career. With pass break ups being an unavailable stat
for McAlister on Pro Football Reference, I’ll give the slight edge to Ramsey for
being a more complete defensive back despite McAlister having three more picks
under his belt.Advantage: Jalen RamseyCB | AJ Bouye vs. Duane StarksSTAT
SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (5 SEASONS): Bouye: 12 interceptions; 50 pass break ups; 169
tacklesStarks: 22 interceptions; N/A pass break ups; 234 tacklesPeople forget
about Duane Starks with McAlister on the roster, and more casual NFL fans
probably do the same to Bouye with Ramsey being the king of Duval. A very
underrated player throughout the tenure of his career, Starks was actually also
a tenth overall pick the year before McAlister. This match up is a little unfair
to Bouye, who was not a full-time starter with the Texans until his third
season
Jacksonville Jaguars Womens T-Shirt , but I think it’s safe to say that Starks has the edge here. The bright side is that despite a slower start out of the
gate, Bouye has a great shot to beat Starks in the longevity department (eight
total seasons) and could potentially be the better player at the end of his
career.Advantage: Duane StarksSS | Barry Church vs. Kim HerringSTAT SNAPSHOT
COMPARISON (7 SEASONS): Church: 5 interceptions; 359 tackles; 0 sacks; 8 forced
fumbles Herring: 8 interceptions; 329 tackles; 2.0 sacks; 5 forced fumblesBarry
Church is the only player on the Jaguars who has outlasted his positional
counterpart on this list, already having played eight seasons in the NFL
(Herring had seven). If you add Church’s four interceptions and 1.5 sacks with
the Jaguars last year, he leap frogs Herring in those categories. Herring was
mainly a role player in the Ravens championship defense and did not have to do
all that much playing next to a future Hall of Famer in Rod Woodson. Herring
contributed three interceptions for the 2000 Ravens, and that’s about what we
can expect from Church this season in his role as a veteran general of the
secondary. I’m giving the nod to Church because he seems to be entering the
prime of his career one year after Herring was out of the league.Advantage:
Barry ChurchFS | Rod Woodson vs. Tashaun GipsonSTAT SNAPSHOT COMPARISON (2
SEASONS): Gipson: 19 interceptions; 243 tackles; 0 sacks; 1 forced
fumbleWoodson: 20 interceptions; 425 tackles; 7.5 sacks; 5 forced fumblesSimilar
to the Ray Lewis debate, Rod Woodson is in the Hall of Fame and is a clear-cut
winner over Tashaun Gipson. A six time First Team All-Pro and eleven time Pro
Bowler, Gipson can’t even hold Woodson’s jock strap from a complete body of work
perspective. With that being said, something that struck me in compiling the
stat snapshot is that Gip has only one less interception than Woodson six
seasons into his career, and Woodson was 35 years old during the Ravens 2000
season. Advantage: Rod WoodsonFinal Score: Jaguars win 7-4As mentioned in the
top of the article, the Jaguars have a special, special defense. A favorable
comparison to one of the all-time greats in the 2000 Ravens should only validate
just how elite this unit is. Even if you give the edge to Chris McAlister over
Jalen Ramsey, the Jaguars are still majority winners with a 6-5 split.So what do
you think? Will the 2018 Jaguars be considered a legendary defense by season’s
end?
