Jaguars, Chiefs will have new looks on offense this week

The Jaguars and Chiefs probably had to dig into the archives for game film to prepare this week.

Jacksonville perhaps tried to unearth some film of Philadelphia, circa 2012, when Nick Foles started six games at quarterback for Andy Reid.

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That's because Foles is due to start for Reid again Sunday in place of Alex Smith, who has been ruled out this week with a head injury.

Kansas City might have scrounged up tape of Buffalo, circa 2013-14, when Nathaniel Hackett was the offensive coordinator. He was promoted to the same job in Jacksonville last week when Greg Olson was fired .

"We played him when they were in Buffalo," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of Hackett, "but listen, you don't know - you don't know exactly what they're thinking. You got to take care of yourself."

The Chiefs (5-2) have been doing a fine job of that lately. They've ripped off three consecutive wins, playing their best football of the season, and are tied in the loss column for the AFC West lead.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars (2-5) have lost two in a row - a big reason for the coaching shakeup.

"You know, it's a different dynamic. Nate's out there, how the plays are coming into the quarterback, his coaching style," Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley said, "just waiting to see how it all comes together.

"It has been good without getting too much into what we're doing."

Bradley said early in the week that he was preparing for Smith or Foles to start, but Smith was ruled out Wednesday. He had endured two brutal collisions with the hard turf in Indianapolis last week, and despite being cleared of a concussion, the Chiefs decided to err on the side of caution.

Besides, Foles was stellar in relief against the Colts.

"I feel great in this offense. I always liked playing for Coach Reid," he said. "It's happened so fast, but I feel great about the playbook and where we're at as a team and where I'm at understanding it."

Foles has faced Bradley and the Jaguars before. He was the starter for then-coach Chip Kelly two years ago when the Eagles opened the season against them. Jacksonville led that one 17-0 at halftime, then Foles led his team to 34 unanswered points in the second half to win the game.

"Not surprising that he went to a system like Kansas City after having success with (Reid)," Bradley said. "He just does a very good job. Very efficient, makes good decisions."

Reid insisted the Chiefs do not have to change their offense with Foles under center, while Hackett is likely to unveil some substantial tweaks to a Jacksonville offense that's struggled the past two weeks.

"He's definitely taught me more than any coach that I've ever been around," Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said.

"It was a lot of long hours of us trying to put a plan together and come up with what we were going to do and how we were going to attack different things versus different looks. So, been able to create a really good relationship with him. It will definitely continue."

Hackett wasn’t the only quarterback coach that Bortles worked with this week. Bortles spent Monday and Tuesday working with Adam Dedeaux, a mechanics instructor at 3DQB in Los Angeles. Bortles has worked with Dedeaux and Tom House over the past two summers to clean up his elongated throwing motion.

After struggling with his accuracy over the first seven games of the season, Bradley feels that this mid-season visit was beneficial for Bortles.

“I just think that sometimes things like this, they come in and it’s like a refreshment,” said Bradley. “Just tighten some things up and I think it’s a clearer picture of where you’re at and it’s another perspective of somebody that he trusts. He’s just in a better place and I think there’s a combination of things; scheme, understanding, there’s a lot of things that go into it. Is it something that ‘oh god, look at this, it’s a night and day difference.’ I think he’s just improved. Let’s just put it that way.”


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