Ngakoue has no sacks, no lack of confidence
JACKSONVILLE — On a significant number of snaps during the first three games, Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has had to face multiple blockers.
Tight ends are chipping him at the line of scrimmage before going downfield on their routes.
He has engaged offensive tackles with stifling pass rush pressure only to face another wall of protection with a guard sliding over to provide more blocking help.
Ngakoue has registered an astounding 20 sacks since 2016, including 12 last season to finish second on the team behind Calais Campbell’s franchise-record 14.5.
Going into this Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, Ngakoue has yet to register his first sack.
But he leads the team with six quarterbacks hurries, which ranks ninth in the NFL.
“You can’t get frustrated,” Ngakoue said. “Some of the greats like Michael Strahan didn’t get his first sack until four weeks in and still broke the single-season sack record. So you have to look at the history behind it. Pass rushers have to keep rushing the same way. It’s respect. Guys are keying on me, but you can’t change the way you are rushing. At the end of the day, the sack part is going to come. Every rush I get, I’ve got to keep dominating.”
Through he was able to get good pass-rush pressure on quarterbacks, the Giants’ Eli Manning and the Patriots’ Tom Brady made quick throws to avoid being sacked.
To create more sack opportunities, the Jaguars have moved Ngakoue around on the line. In last Sunday’s 9-6 loss to Tennessee, Ngakoue came through the middle to apply effective pass-rush pressure.
“I think teams are respecting him,” linebacker Telvin Smith said. “I think he’s getting a lot of looks and I think as a great player, the great ones learn to adjust. The great ones learn to adjust. But he’s getting a lot of action his way. And when I say action, I mean a lot of slides his way, a lot of chipping his way. But in order to be a great pass rusher in this league, you know what I mean, they take on those roles and those challenges and they attack them.”
The Jaguars’ 55 sacks last season were second only to Pittsburgh’s 56.
After three games, the Jaguars are ranked 17th in the league with seven sacks.
Unlike their previous three games, though, the Jaguars will face a rookie quarterback on Sunday -Sam Darnold -- who has been sacked seven times.
From what he’s seen on game tapes, Jets coach Todd Bowles said not much has changed with Ngakoue since last season. The Jets were one of the four teams last season against whom Ngakoue had a multiplesack game against.
“He’s coming around the corner and he’s making it hard for all quarterbacks,” Bowles said on Wednesday’s conference call. “You’ve got to know where he is. Just because he doesn’t get sacks doesn’t mean he’s not affecting the quarterback. He’s causing a lot of incompletions as well. I think he’s a good all-around player.”
Beyond his pass-rush pressure, one of the Ngakoue’s biggest improvements since has been his ability to set the edge to stop the run better.
During the second quarter against Tennessee, Ngakoue made one of the top defensive plays of the game when he tackled running back Derrick Henry for a 1-yard loss after he got around Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan on a third-and-1 play at midfield.
“I feel physical and it’s different swagger and confidence about it,” Ngakoue said about his improvement stopping the run. “It’s all about awareness. And when you have proper hand placement against the guy in front of you, then nine times out of 10 you can make a big play.”
Coach Doug Marrone said Ngakoue is improving in all areas and he continues to be hard on himself to meet objectives.
“He really studies everything about his game between his footwork, to his hands,” Marrone said. “Some guys play with pure talent; there are some guys that have talent like Yann and play technically strong as far as meaning that you always look at the game. If you look at it, he was lined up perfectly, he had good get-off, he had great hands, he had great leverage. When he does all of that, he’s a tough person to defend against. Both run and pass.”