Jacksonville Jaguars: Offense needs to be more innovative
By Larry Brake
Allen Hurns might miss the Jacksonville Jaguars Week 11 game in Cleveland and the offense must find innovative ways to replace him while he’s out.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have seen their receiving corps ravaged by injury in 2017. They lost Allen Robinson for the season due to a knee injury. Rookie wide receiver Dede Westbrook has been on the injured reserve list all season, so far. Allen Hurns crawled off the field in the final seconds of the fourth quarter on Sunday in a Week 10 victory over the Chargers.
Backup receiver Arrelious Benn suffered a knee injury early in Sunday’s game. Suddenly, the once deep receiving corps is getting dangerously thin — or even thinner. John Oehser of Jaguars.com offered up head coach Doug Marrone’s statement concerning Hurns’ replacement:
"When the subject on Monday turned to replacing Hurns, Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone prominently mentioned Westbrook.“Dede’s ready to come back, so hopefully he has a good week and he’s ready to go,” Marrone said a day after the Jaguars’ 20-17 victory at EverBank Field."
Marqise Lee has been battling a knee injury as well, and has been on the Jaguars weekly injury list since Week 5. He has been able to play through his injuries, but has seen limited repetitions at practice. Keelan Cole is becoming a deep threat in the Jaguars vertical passing attack. Cole has caught 14 passes for 219 yards. One of his receptions went for 52 yards against Indianapolis.
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Currently, Jacksonville has only three healthy wide receivers. Cole and Jaydon Mickens played in Sunday’s game against Los Angeles. The other, Jaelen Strong, has not played a single down in 2017. Westbrook should be ready to play in Cleveland on Sunday. However, if Hurns is inactive and Westbrook is not re-activated, there are other ways to ignite the passing game. Jacksonville has to be more innovative in the offensive scheme.
The Jaguars have four running backs on their current roster. T. J. Yeldon or Corey Grant would be terrific slot receivers and terrifying for opposing defensive coordinators. Either Yeldon or Grant would create mismatches in coverage, especially in a trips formation. Remember, NFL Hall of Fame wide receivers Charley Taylor and Bobby Mitchell started their careers as running backs.
Jacksonville also has three tight ends that they rotate throughout the game. Marcedes Lewis would have a distinct height advantage over cornerbacks. Jacksonville should split Lewis out wide with Lee or Cole in the slots.
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Lastly, using cornerback Jalen Ramsey as a deep receiver would open the middle of the field. Because of his speed, opposing teams would have to play a man over the top for help covering him deep. Deion Sanders ran some offense back in the day. While this is highly unlikely and the most innovative of any of these ideas, it may also be among the most potentially effective.
The Jaguars should be innovative and creative on offense while the receivers heal. How crazy would it be to see Lewis, Yeldon and Ramsey line up as receivers on the same side of the ball? Come on Jacksonville, get innovative and use all your available assets.