Jacksonville Jaguars Betting – Jags “D” Still Needs A Lot Of Work To Move Up The AFC South

Jacksonville’s online betting chances for the upcoming season are dependent on a porous defense that is going to have problems in a division with explosive offenses. Moreover, with an offense that isn’t good enough to hold its own in a shootout, the Jaguars will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

• Head Coach:Jack Del Rio
• Offensive Coordinator:Dirk Koetter
• Defensive Coordinator:Mel Tucker 
• Owner:Wayne Weaver
• Stadium:EverBank Field
• Capacity: 67,164
• Super Bowl Wins: 0
• Offense

Jacksonville’s No.1 weapon in their 15th-ranked offense last year was running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who finished fifth in the NFL in rushing, and the Jaguars were third in the league as a team. The Jaguars finished 27th through the air as the pass offense had a horrible season, even though David Garrard didn’t really have a bad season. He needs more weapons in the attack as tight end Marcedes Lewis is dependable and Garrard’s favorite red-zone target, but your tight end shouldn’t be your best receiver. Mike Thomas took over for Mike Sims-Walker as the No.1 guy, but if Sims-Walker (who is an unrestricted free agent) could find his form of 2009, the Jaguars would have had a decent passing attack. The offensive line isn’t as good blocking for Garrard as they are for Jones-Drew, and the Jaguars have to find a way to protect their quarterback. They did draft guard Will Rackley with their third-round pick, and Jacksonville picked up guard Justin Smiley from Miami.

Blaine Gabbert will sit behind Garrard after getting picked with the No.10 selection, but Garrard now has some competition, which should force him to improve. Gabbert was rated as the No.2 quarterback behind Cam Newton, and obviously he’ll be behind the eight-ball because of the lockout, but the Jaguars have high hopes for his future and with Garrard at 33 years old, they had to start looking towards the future.

Grade: C

Defense

The Jaguars’ defense was brutal last year, coming in 28th, and that is a quick way to end your NFL betting chances. They were 22nd against the run and 28th against the pass, so either way the Jaguars were hurting themselves. Linebacker Kirk Morrison was second on the team in tackles, and he is a free agent, along with fellow linebacker Justin Durant. Safety Rashean Mathis and cornerback Courtney Greene anchor the secondary, while Don Carey and Derek Cox could stand to be upgraded. Tackle Tyson Alualu took a lot of heat for being a high draft pick, but he had a decent rookie season and definitely improved as the year wore on.

However, the Jaguars couldn’t generate a pass rush; only Denver had fewer sacks than Jacksonville, and that played a big role in their inability to stop the pass. If a quarterback has time to sit in the pocket and look over the defense, any quarterback in the league, they will pick you apart, and that puts your secondary in a precarious position. The Jaguars have a lot of work to do on this side of the ball, and they didn’t do anything to improve it in the draft.

Grade: D-

Special Teams

The Jaguars were a decent return team, coming in 12th in kickoff returns and 18th in punt returns, but they were in the top 10 in terms of covering both punts and kicks, which makes their defense even worse because their cover teams got them good field position. They’ll need to be good again in 2011.

Josh Scobee hit 78.6% of his field goals, and he struggled in the 40-49-yard range, but he did hit two field goals from 50 yards or longer, including a 59-yarder to beat Indianapolis. Still, he needs to be a bit more consistent. Adam Podlesh doesn’t have a big leg, but he gives the Jaguars a chance to get down the field and as a result, Jacksonville was third in the league net punting.

Grade: C+

Prediction

NFL betting odds have the Jaguars at +6000 to win the Super Bowl, and you’d probably put them below Houston and possibly even Tennessee in the AFC South. Coach Jack Del Rio had the Jaguars in a decent position down the stretch, but they lost their last three games, including two at home to division rivals, and that sealed their fate.

The Jaguars have to improve their defense in order to climb up the division, but you’re not going to go far if you can’t defend the pass in a division with Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub, and it’s not like the Jaguars were even that good against the run, either. Until Jacksonville patches up their defense, stay away from their sports betting odds.

2011 Schedule

• Week 1 – vs. Tennessee (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 2 – at New York Jets (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 4 – vs. New Orleans (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 5 – vs. Cincinnati (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 6 – at Pittsburgh (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 7 – vs. Baltimore (Monday, 8:30 PM ET)
• Week 8 – at Houston (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 10 – at Indianapolis (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 11 – at Cleveland (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 12 – vs. Houston (1:00 PM ET)
  
• Week 13 – vs. San Diego (Monday, 8:30 PM ET)
• Week 14 – vs. Tampa Bay (1:00 PM ET)
• Week 15 – at Atlanta (Thursday, 8:20 PM ET)
• Week 16 – at Tennessee (Saturday, 1:00 PM ET)
• Week 17 – vs. Indianapolis (1:00 PM ET)