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Rebuilding the run: How Press Taylor and Jaguars are revising their ground game for 2024
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- Rebuilding the run: How Press Taylor and Jaguars are revising their ground game for 2024
Taking a step back and re-evaluating is one of the key tenets of any NFL offseason, and for the Jacksonville Jaguars , the team has already begun steps to retool the team's offense.
Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor was asked about the direction of the team's offense a couple of weeks ago and stated that while they haven't necessarily torn the old offense apart, they've taken it " to the studs " to rework that .
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Last year, Jacksonville's offense ranked 12th in the league in yards per game at 339.5 and ranked ninth in passing yards per game with 242.7, just ahead of the Buffalo Bills at 238.4. While the passing attack for Jacksonville will be different in 2024 with the additions of Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis at wideout, the team's running game has been a sore spot.
In 2023, Jacksonville ranked 23rd in rushing yards per game with 96.8 YPG. Breaking it down further, the Jaguars were tied ( New Orleans and Tampa Bay) for the league's worst rushing yards per attempt average with 3.6.
There were a variety of factors that contributed to the team's run-game struggles, including injuries to key positions across the offensive line. Still, Taylor admitted Monday that the team needed to adjust some of the terminology, structure and progression of the way the coaches teach players for their rushing attack.
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor looks on during the OTAs.
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"That's something we haven't been as good as we want to be. Moving forward we pared it down to what's really important to us. What have we been good at? How do we rebuild this thing from scratch? That's where our main focus was," Taylor said.
Jaguars run-game coordinator and offensive line coach Phil Rauscher recently spoke on the team's run-game struggles, too, echoing what Taylor said in regards to paring it down, allowing for more successful formations, movement and plays to be run.
"I'm extremely confident it's going to improve," Rauscher said last week, adding that some things were out of the team's control to a degree due to an increased volume of passes that needed to be thrown.
For example, in the first 12 weeks of the season, the Jaguars ranked eighth in rushing attempts per game with 29. By season's end, the team ranked 16th with 26.6 rushing attempts per game.
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"In paring [the run game] down, it's going to expand different things that we can do," Rauscher explained. "In the sense of formations and movements and shifts and different things. So, we may not run as many concepts, but we're going to nail down what we do and you're going to have to stop what we do."
Carolina Panthers defensive end Nick Thurman (91) tackles Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) during a December game. The Jaguars averaged 3.6 yards per rush in 2023.
The players are, of course, buying into the schematic changes.
"I think guys are seeing that, I think the way we've taught it so far through the offseason has really stuck with guys. There's probably a clear understanding of things fitting in certain families where the rules and the techniques are carrying over from play to play," Taylor said.
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Change can be good at times, and the Jaguars hope that all of the work the team has put in this offseason to make the appropriate changes take during the regular season. That's when coaches, players and onlookers will get a sense of how good the team will be at running the football.
"Even into training camp. There's only so much you can do. You'll get a handful of days that are full speed, but there's really not a time. You have to get a hope that your training has taken you to the point that now when the bullets are flying, we know how to respond," said Taylor.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Press Taylor: Jaguars to pare down, improve run-game ahead of 2024
