Myles Jack can finally exhale. The Jacksonville Jaguars middle linebacker has a defined role in this year’s defense, which will see the team use him in the middle, with Paul Posluszny moving over to the strong side.
Per a story by Michael DiRocco on ESPN.com, the news of knowing what is expected of him is the kind of news he is happy to receive.
“Once they were like, ‘This is what you’re doing,’ I was like, ‘All right, now I can focus on my energy and attention on one spot and I know what I’m doing,’” Jack said Thursday after the Jaguars’ second organized team activity at EverBank Field. “It’s definitely been great because now I know exactly what I’m doing and I can focus these next couple months exactly on what I’m doing.
“It’s actually been a relief for me to know what I’m doing and know what my job is. That’s a good feeling.”
The defense last year, designed by former head coach Gus Bradley and run by defensive coordinator Todd Wash, made it hard for Jack to get on the field. Pozluszny has been the leader of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense since he arrived here in 2011. Having the two on the field at the same time can only make the linebacking unit stronger. With Telvin Smith on the weak side, this might be one of the fastest trios in the NFL.
While Pozluszny said he would do whatever the team needed to help the organization win, it was uneasy to watch him talk about the move last month. DiRocco wrote that Posluszny clearly wasn’t happy with the news of the switch and Jack was worried how it would impact their relationship and was dreading their first conversation after the move was announced. Posluszny had helped Jack as a confused rookie and Jack needs even more help now.
With the changes in the middle of defense, added to free agent additions, will the Jacksonville Jaguars have a top 10 defense? It could be one of the reasons this team makes a push toward the playoffs. The offense, while it should be better next year, was a step behind the other side of the ball last season.
The fact that Posluszny has acted like a professional in this move and has supported Jack in taking over his spot in the middle, the transition for both players should be a huge help to Wash’s defense.
Now that he’s cleared the two biggest hurdles — moving to middle linebacker and receiving Posluszny’s blessing — Jack is finally able to work toward making the kind of impact the Jaguars envisioned when they drafted him 36th overall in 2016.
There could be as many as four new starters on defense – including Jack. But those changes should make the unit stronger of the course of the 2017 season. The Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping Jack is the leader of these changes and a major focus of improvement. All he needs is to get on the field for a considerable amount of time.