Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota Vikings preseason primer:

Key matchups Authentic Cam Robinson Jersey , storylines, predictions, and more for Week 2 The Jacksonville Jaguars take their talents on the road for the first time this Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm EST following a few days of joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings. By all accounts, the two padded sessions have been relatively anti-climactic, and it will be interesting to see if any subdued frustrations froth to the surface on Saturday. OpponentThe Vikings defense is the only other unit that really holds a candle to the Jaguars’ starting eleven, and the reported offensive struggles over the last few days validates that notion. With no better litmus test than the Vikings, don’t be surprised if Doug Marrone and Nathaniel Hackett leave Blake Bortles and the starters in for at least the entire first quarter, if not more, to get a good pulse on where the offense stands. The Vikings may perhaps have the deepest secondary unit in the NFL (their third-team depth chart includes Holton Hill/Jayron Kearse/Jack Tocho/Mackensie Alexander) so this could pose a problem in the fourth quarter.The Vikings have had some injuries to what was already a shaky offensive line, especially along the interior. Second-year center Pat Elflein has been sidelined thus far in camp and Nick Easton landed on injured reserve due to an issue with his neck, so the defensive line needs to show up early and demonstrate that they can stop the run. One player that Jaguars fans need to keep an eye on is Vikings third-string quarterback Kyle Sloter, who had some “wow” throws against the Broncos last week. If the Vikings choose to go with just Kirk Cousins and Trevor Siemian, Sloter would be an intriguing option as a potential developmental quarterback for the Jaguars.For more information on the Vikings, check out our guy Ryan O’Bleness’ crossover piece with The Daily Norsemen.StorylinesAll eyes will be on cornerback Tyler Patmon this week as he gets the start for suspended superstar Jalen Ramsey. Jaguars fans should get a dose of reality of just how important Ramsey is to this defense if Adam Thielen and/or Stefon Diggs have their way with Patmon early on. If Patmon gets picked on but shows up and plays well, that can go a long way for the confidence of Jaguars fans and front office alike in the event Ramsey or Bouye have to miss time in the event of injury.Taven Bryan is also tracking to make his NFL debut, so it will be interesting to see where he lines up. Bryan has been working mostly at strong side defensive end behind Calais Campbell, who recently had some very kind words about the rookie, but pay attention to see if they move Bryan inside to the three-technique in various sub packages. Speaking of three-techniques, one player that I’m jacked up to see this week is Michael Bennett, who was disruptive in collapsing the pocket and suffocating the run against the Saints last week. Bennett can be a valuable rotational player on the defensive line if he can make it to week one with a clean bill of health.New tight end addition Austin Seferian-Jenkins wasn’t the only one holding his breath Wednesday when he got the wind knocked out of him and left practice early. Thin at the position beyond ASJ, the Jaguars need to balance the dilemma of keeping the prized free agent healthy and starting to feature him more in the offense after not having any targets last week. Seeing Seferian-Jenkins stretch the seam, preferably for a touchdown, would be a welcome sight to most Jaguars fans who have seen pedestrian production from the position for the last several years.5 key matchupsLeon Jacobs vs. Roc Thomas It’s still 50-50 whether or not former Florida State running back Dalvin Cook suits up on Saturday, but it may not even matter, as undrafted rookie Roc Thomas may have been the hottest running back in the first week of preseason. Thomas may only have had 29 yards off of eight carries against the Broncos last week, but his three catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns will be a performance that Leon Jacobs will have to limit to being a one-hit wonder. Jacobs was exceptional at the point of attack last week, and if he could continue to hold contain on the outside and funnel Thomas back into the teeth of the defense Authentic Blake Bortles Jersey , it could go a long way to assuage the doubts of inserting a seventh-round rookie into an otherwise elite defensive starting unit.Danielle Hunter/Tashawn Bower vs. Will RichardsonI profiled Richardson last week against Marcus Davenport, and neither dressed for the game. Here’s to hoping that Richardson actually plays this time around, as he is quickly becoming the biggest enigma of the rookie class. Outside of a few positive notes from Tony Boselli, things have been relatively quiet on the fourth round pick from North Carolina State. Vikings second-year edge rusher Tashawn Bower was very impressive last week and should be a handful for the rookie if he ends up playing after missing Thursday’s practice. Don’t be surprised if Richardson plays an extended amount of time to make up for the missed reps last week.Korey Robertson vs. Quenton MeeksTre Herndon against Tre’Quan Smith ended up being a very busy battle as Herndon registered seven tackles. This week, the focus will be on a different rookie free agent cornerback in Quenton Meeks. Meeks has also done nice things in camp, but evidently is buried behind Herndon in the early depth chart. If he can make a splash play, he will make a huge case for himself and gain some ground on Herndon. A receiver I rated very highly in the draft process, Southern Mississippi rookie free agent Korey Robertson could prove to be a nice challenge for Meeks on the perimeter.Logan Cooke vs. Mike Hughes/Mike PrieferVikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer is one of the best in the business, and after a promising debut last week from rookie punter Logan Cooke, this game could be a great opportunity to show off his directional punting. With high odds of the offense getting stymied due to the strength of the Vikings defense, Cooke should be much busier than he was last week. If so, the team will get a better gauge of how good he really is at pinning the ball inside the twenty. Fielding the punts will be familiar face Mike Hughes, a rookie first rounder from University of Central Florida who has been impressive in camp.Tanner Lee vs. HimselfI was very down on Tanner Lee in last week’s primer against the Saints, and boy do I hate being right sometimes. We all know by now that Lee took more sacks than completions, and he will likely have an even tougher time this week with his confidence rattled against a deeper, more talented defense. Not only did Lee exhibit wanderlust behavior with his pocket presence, he was also erratic with his ball placement and missed wide-open receivers. Final predictionThe offense struggles early because they’re trying some different things, it doesn’t work, and Jaguars fans start panicking on Twitter. If Bortles does struggle, relax. I do expect the Vikings offense to likewise struggle with a relatively low score until the backups take over. I hate to say it again, but it could get out of hand when Lee enters the game. Don’t be surprised if Vikings rookie free agent cornerback Holton Hill picks Lee off in the fourth quarter and the game and the lead becomes insurmountable.Vikings win 27-17, but who cares?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, 5 fumbles recovered Womens Marcell Dareus Jersey , 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, 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 Womens A. J. Cann Jersey , 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, 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?