The Jacksonville Jaguars will go down in history as the NFL’s top rushing team in 2017.
They haven’t looked like it lately.
The Jaguars failed run the ball with much consistency during the second half of the season http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/kevin-king-jersey , including a wild-card victory against Buffalo. Jacksonville found few holes against the Bills until quarterback Blake Bortles started scrambling in the second half. Still, the lack of a reliable ground attack is a major concern for the third-seeded Jaguars (11-6) heading into Sunday’s playoff game at No. 2 seed Pittsburgh (13-3).
”It starts with us up front,” rookie left tackle Cam Robinson said.
Coach Doug Marrone agreed, saying ”if they’re not doing their job up front, it’s going to be very difficult.”
”We have to figure it out and get it done in a quick fashion,” Marrone added.
Little, if anything, changed down the stretch while Jacksonville continued to struggle.
The Jaguars averaged 3.58 yards a carry over the final seven weeks of the regular season, ranking 30th in the NFL. They ran for 155 yards in a 10-3 victory against the Bills, but more than half of those came from Bortles. His 88 yards rushing were the most by a Jaguars player in nearly a month.
Rookie Leonard Fournette hasn’t looked the same since spraining his right ankle against the Los Angeles Rams in mid-October. He ran for 181 and 130 yards in consecutive weeks against the Steelers and the Rams, respectively, and broke off long touchdown runs in both games.
He’s topped the century mark twice – both barely – since.
Bortles has picked up the slack at times, but he’s not a guy the Jaguars rely on week in and week out to carry the offense.
They are built to run the ball and play stout defense.
”It’s who we are,” Bortles said. ”We want to be able to run the football and do it different ways, so we have to figure it out, whether it’s a during-the-week practice thing or execution thing on Sundays. … It’s a big part of our offense and who we are and who we want to be, so it’s important that we figure it out.”
There doesn’t seem to be an easy fix since the problem appears to stem from several factors:
-Fournette is facing more stacked lines of scrimmage than any running back in the league. Of his 268 carries in 2017 http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/montravius-adams-jersey , 31 percent of them (82) came against eight- and nine-man boxes, according to ESPN Stats & Info. That’s nine more than second-place
-Fournette is missing holes and assignments. He’s running with authority, but not waiting for holes or looking for cutback lanes.
-Opponents are loading up against the run because they have little respect for Bortles and a banged-up receiving corps that features two rookies. Allen Robinson (knee) was lost for the season on Jacksonville’s third offensive play, and Allen Hurns (ankle) and Marqise Lee (ankle) have been slowed lately. Although newcomers Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook have been better than expected, they looked like rookies in recent weeks.
-Jacksonville’s offensive line has been average at best, and every starter has missed games with injuries. Brandon Linder, one of the league’s highest-paid centers, has been solid. But guards A.J. Cann and Patrick Omameh have struggled at times in a rushing attack that averaged 1.9 yards before contract (also 30th in the league) over the final seven weeks of the regular season.
”Right now, we have to do a better job,” Marrone said. ”Your performance on Sunday, that’s going to be who you are for that week until you change it or you sustain what you’re doing well.”
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Ozzie Albies watched the ball sail into the right-field seats and savored the moment.
”It feels great,” he said. ”I just see the ball going and I just enjoyed it.”
Albies hit a grand slam and Freddie Freeman homered during a six-run sixth inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat the reeling New York Mets 8-2 on Tuesday night.
Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, but left the game after batting in the fifth with triceps tightness. He told reporters that ”it’s nothing to worry about” and that he’ll make his next scheduled start.
Ender Inciarte added a pair of RBI singles to help Atlanta shake a rough West Coast trip, when it lost four of six. The Braves moved ahead of Washington for first in the NL East by beating a Mets team that has lost nine of 10 and 16 of 20
The Braves led 1-0 in the fourth on Inciarte’s RBI single. New York went up 2-1 in the sixth on Jay Bruce’s two-run ground-rule double, but that was it for the Mets Anders Bjork Jersey , who have scored 10 runs in their last 78 innings.
Freeman’s 13th homer in the bottom half of the inning tied it, and Inciarte’s single put the Braves ahead for good. A walk to pinch-hitter Preston Tucker loaded the bases and chased starter Zack Wheeler (2-5), and Albies cleared the bases with his 16th homer, coming off Paul Sewald, for a 7-2 lead.
Albies is the first player 21 or younger to hit multiple grand slams in a season since Adrian Beltre hit two for the Dodgers in 2000. He’s the second Braves second baseman with two grand slams in a season, joining Davey Johnson in 1973.
Albies, the NL leader in extra-base hits and runs, had been scuffling with a .125 average since June 1.
”The last two games he’s had some really good at-bats,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. ”You know what he’s capable of. He’s a dynamic young man.”
Shane Carle (4-1) faced just one batter to get the win. Devin Mesoraco grounded sharply to third baseman Johan Camargo, who lunged to his right to tag Asdrubal Cabrera and made a low throw from his knees that Freeman dug out at first for a double play.
Wheeler allowed eight hits, six runs, four walks and struck out two in 5 2/3 innings.
Foltynewicz, who pitched his first career complete game in his last home start, hit the first batter Tuesday before retiring 13 straight. Mesoraco and Dominic Smith each singled with one out in the top of the fifth, but Foltynewicz escaped trouble with a pair of popups.
Braves pitching coach Chuck Hernandez noticed Foltynewicz was uncomfortable, shaking his right arm after making a pitch. After Foltynewicz acknowledged the triceps were tight, Snitker decided to take him out.
TAKE A SEAT
Mickey Callaway was ejected for the first time as Mets manager after arguing with home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater in the top of the sixth. Brandon Nimmo was hit by Jesse Biddle’s pitch on his elbow Andrew Shaw Jersey , but Scheurwater ruled he did not attempt to get out of the way and declined to award Nimmo first base. Callaway was thrown out while standing near the right-hand side of the batter’s box. ”Obviously they thought Nim put his elbow out in front of the plate to get hit on purpose, but the ball was in the batter’s box, kind of at our player,” Callaway said.
ADDING ON
Nick Markakis went 3 for 4 and added an RBI double in the seventh to make it 8-2. … Freeman improved to 8 for 16 with 10 walks against Wheeler. … New York’s bullpen has a 6.68 ERA in its last 17 games. … Smith, in his first major league game this season, went 1 for 3 with two strikeouts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: Cabrera was back in the lineup, going 0 for 4 after leaving Sunday’s win over the Yankees in the third inning with left hamstring tightness. Callaway said he will likely give Cabrera an off day with a 12:10 p.m. start on Wednesday.
Braves: LF Ronald Acuna Jr. is hitting off a tee, swinging in the batting cage and running, but has yet to resume what manager vigorous baseball activities. It will be Thursday, at the earliest, before the 20-year-old begins a rehab assignment. Acuna, sidelined 14 games with a left ACL sprain and bruises to his left knee and lower back, said through a translator that he feels no pain when he runs, swings and throws.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (4-1, 1.57 ERA) leads the majors since April 21 with a 0.81 ERA – a span of nine starts and 55 1/3 innings – but New York has lost his past four outings. He is 5-3 with a 1.84 ERA in 14 career starts against Atlanta.
Braves: Snitker said RHP Mike Soroka will be on a 90-pitch limit while returning from a shoulder strain that’s sidelined him since May 12. Soroka made his first career start May 1, allowing six hits and one run in six innings to beat the Mets in New York.
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