Herding Cats: Analyzing the Jacksonville Jaguars Offense vs the New England Patriots
Marqise Lee, Wide Receiver
Dec 18, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Marqise Lee (11) and Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan (91) and cornerback Coty Sensabaugh (24) and safety George Wilson (21) and linebacker Avery Williamson (54) react after a pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter at EverBank Field. The Jaguars defeated the Titans 21-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Fine, it seems odd to go on and on about a player that’s caught two receptions for a balling 27 yards this season like he’s a threat. That’s exactly what Bill Belichick did on his conference call this week, though, and the attention he pays to the former USC Trojan isn’t by accident.
“We did a lot of work on those players coming out,” Belichick said. “Lee has the ability, as does Robinson and Hurns for that matter, to affect all three areas of the field. They can go deep and are good intermediate players. They’re dangerous on catch-and-run plays. They’re hard to tackle.”
“Lee is particularly elusive. He had some explosive plays in college and is a hard guy to get on the ground. I really like Lee. He’s got a dynamic skill set and a great personality. Loves football, loves to practice and play.”
With all the (relatively) smaller, speedy receivers that the Patriots have deployed over the years (think Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, yada yada), New England has to be thinking that they can’t afford to have one of their favorite tactics used against them: a shifty little guy that can line up outside or in the slot, giving linebackers and corners alike headaches.
Yes, Lee is 6’0’’, but being deployed in a similar fashion to the guys above by a savvy coordinator could wreak some havoc if done correctly.
Who Can Stop Him?
Really, it’s tough to say, since Marqise Lee hasn’t exactly hit his stride in the NFL yet. Catching 37 passes for 422 yards and one touchdown all year last year, one could view that as poor production, or a result of the Jaguars allowing enough quarterback pressure to get their signal-caller sacked 55 times. Whichever point of view you hold, when Belichick warns about explosive plays and a guy being hard to tackle, it’s on the secondary, especially if Lee is making catches over the middle, to keep his yards after the catch to a minimum, or, ideally, force a fumble. With Kyle Arrington gone from his slot-corner role that he held for the last few years before being benched for Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl, whoever lines up opposite Marqise Lee had better avoid looking like they’re on roller skates if Lee pulls in a catch in their zone.
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