The Biggest Unknown Jaguars Face in Week 1 Matchup

The Miami Dolphins have a new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver, making game planning a little more difficult. The Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson has exhausted all resources to prepare his team.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson on the sidelines during first half action. The Jaguars led 20 to 10 at the end of the first half. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in the Jaguars first preseason game of the season Saturday, August10, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars are preparing to face one of the most high-powered offenses in the National Football League, the Miami Dolphins. Miami’s defense has many notable pieces as well, giving the Jaguars plenty to concern themselves with heading into the matchup.

Along with a talented roster, the Dolphins also have a well-respected coaching staff.

The Dolphins have one of the best wide-receiving units in the league, including wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who was voted by players around the league as the best player in the NFL heading into this season.

The Dolphins also have Tua Tagovailoa, who led the league in passing last season, and a defense that includes Jalen Ramsey.  

The combination of a roster filled and an experienced coaching staff gives the Dolphins what is expected to be again one of the best overall teams in the league this upcoming season. However, like the Jaguars, the Dolphins enter the season with a new defensive coordinator.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson notes it is a challenge to game plan against a team with a new coordinator, especially early in the season. He made the best use of his time by studying old film on games the Dolphins' new defensive coordinator has previously coached.

“Yeah, I would say time if you knew the defensive coordinator or offensive coordinator because you have familiarity with them,” Pederson said.  “In this case, you're sort of speculating with what you could see. You’ve got a good chance of what Coach Weaver [Dolphins Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver] has done in Baltimore. 

“That's obviously something that teams are trying to, I think, duplicate a little bit is that style of defense. We’ve got tape. Obviously, we've played Baltimore the last couple of seasons, so there's some familiarity there. But you’ve just got to trust your game plan. You’ve got to trust your rules. You’ve got to trust the things that you've been doing all spring and summer and just make the adjustments during the game.”

The Jaguars will soon kick off what they hope will be a productive season. Jacksonville has invested heavily on both sides of the ball this season.

Time will tell if the hard work the Jaguars front office, coaching staff, and players have put in this offseason will pay off, as they hope to return to the playoffs.

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