E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. – As the Jaguars disembarked the plane in New Jersey, the Manhattan skyline glimmered in the distance. For some players, it was their first trip to Metropolis. For others it was routine. And while "New York" is the city name on both of the teams playing out of here in the NFL, New Jersey is where they play their games.
Jaguars president Mark Lamping's last job was to oversee the completion of the new Meadowlands/Giants Stadium for both clubs, so it's a homecoming of sorts for him. Shad Khan's daughter was married in Manhattan in April, and with his business interests, New York is old hat to him. Safety Josh Evan is from New Jersey, about 10 minutes from the stadium, so he's literally back home.
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"My family are all Giants fans," he said at the team hotel. "But I told them this week there's no split allegiance. They're all Jaguars fans at the game tomorrow night."
Evans is getting an opportunity, along with Craig Loston, to play at the strong safety position for the remainder of the preseason due to Jonathan Cyprien's injury. He's trying to take advantage of that. "It's a different position (from free safety) but you're the last line of defense. You don't want to miss or make a mistake because it can cost you."
If there's one thing head coach Gus Bradley would like to see this week, it's a fast start from his defense. "Nobody wants to give up a long touchdown on the first drive of the game," Bradley said this week. "I want them to run and hit at this point and be productive early." The Jaguars defense has solid statistics from 2014, yet combined, they were only 26th in the league on that side of the ball.
"Explosive plays," is how linebacker Paul Posluszny explained it. "We gave up too many explosive plays (more than 20 yards) and that keeps you on the field and leads to giving up touchdowns. That's what we have to stop."
On offense, the Jaguars are "farther along than we thought we'd be," according to Bradley. But they're looking for the consistency they need to be competitive this week in New York. Last week, QB Blake Bortles was sharp and effective and building on that is what they're looking for.
"I hope the Giants throw all kinds of things at us," Bortles said this week. "We practice against formations and get the looks but it's nothing like what it's like to see it in a game." It would be hard to see Bortles top last week's first half performance but that spark, that understanding of the offense and that leadership is what Offensive Coordinator Greg Olsen and Bradley are looking for again this week.
Bortles will have Stefen Wisniewski at center this week along with Joeckel, Beadles, Linder and Parnell on the offensive line. It's a unit that earned praise last week from Bradley and they played well into the second quarter. Look for the same thing tomorrow night.
Game time decisions will be made on T.J. Yeldon and Roy Miller and Marqise Lee, Julius Thomas, Chris Clemons, James Sample and Cyprien won't play.
Despite their reputation and expectations, the Giants are one of the teams the Jaguars beat last year. It's the first of two trips to New York for the Jaguars in 2015. They'll play the Jets the first weekend of November at the Meadowlands.
The pregame show starts at 7 pm on Channel 4 and game time for the Jaguars and Giants is 7:30, exclusively on WJXT-TV.