Sonstiges » ick Marks to handle the position the rest

In the beginning, man created defense. For more than 100 years, man was pretty happy with itself.More recently, there has been something of a revolution. Baseball teams have always understood that defense matters, but were well into what you might call the Defensive Enlightenment. The first stage would have simply been an improved appreciation of defensive skills. This was fueled in part by the development of advanced defensive statistics such as Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Numbers put value on what had been merely perception to that point.The second stage brought about the proliferation of shifts. There have long been some version of shifts, and shifts dont always work, but the idea makes perfect sense, in theory, and this stage isnt over. Hitters dont distribute their batted balls randomly. Teams that can anticipate can turn more of those batted balls into outs. For a while, shifts were doubling in frequency league-wide literally every year.Now, it appears that we could be entering the beginning of a third stage. Teams know defense matters. Every team these days is shifting at least some of the time. The third stage could be one of increased versatility. To see how well it can work, look no further than the best team in Major League Baseball.The Chicago Cubs mightve just had the best defensive season in history. Even if not historically, they were easily the best defensive team in 2016, and that was due to any number of factors. Among them, though, was the flexibility granted by the roster to manager Joe Maddon. The Cubs are extremely versatile, and this isnt some happy accident.Keith Tkachuk Jets Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Kyle Connor Jersey . 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The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans have been so bad in recent years that each sees the other as an opportunity for a rare win.In the woeful AFC South, Thursday night not only offers the lone prime-time opportunity this season for both teams, but the chance for a huge step up in the division.This is important ... Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. Weve got to win a division game and stay in the pack, and hopefully come out of it at some point.The Jaguars (2-4) may have just gotten a visit from worried owner Shad Khan , but they at least have an AFC South win. The Titans (3-4) still are looking for such a victory, yet are only a game in back of Houston for the division lead.A popular pick to win this division before the season started, the Jaguars were routed 33-16 by Oakland on Sunday to end a two-game winning streak. They are trying to remain undefeated inside the division, though is just Jacksonvilles second AFC South game.That is the biggest goal right now, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said. You treat every week like a one-game season, and it is the most important game we ever played.Jacksonville is the only team the Titans beat in Nashville each of the past two seasons, and they want to wrap up a three-game home stand by adding the Jaguars to a list of home wins that includes only winless Cleveland after losing 34-26 to Indianapolis on Sunday.Here are some things to watch Thursday night:MARIOTAS TOUCHDOWNS: Tennessees Marcus Mariota finds himself in good company as he prepares to celebrate his 23rd birthday Sunday. He currently ranks fifth all-time for most TD passes before a quarterbacks 23rd birthday behind Drew Bledsoe of New England and Minnesotas Fran Tarkenton (40), followed by Josh Freeman (35) with Tampa Bay and Jameis Winston (34), who turns 23 in January. Mariota has 31 TD passes in 19 career games -- eight over the past three games, tying New Englands Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford of Detroit for most in the NFL in that stretch.MARIOTAS TURNOVERS: But the Titans quarterback is 2-8 at home with 19 turnovers in his career. Seven of those have come this season, with at least one in each home game. His latest turnover cost the Titans a chance at a comebaack against Indianapolis, and he had an interception wiped out by a penalty away from the play.ddddddddddddSTILL SEARCHING: Bortles raised eyebrows Tuesday by saying the Jaguars are still trying to find an identity. Its Bortles third year in the league and second in the same system. Bortles said the offense is still searching to find out what it does well. This much is certain: The Jaguars have to cut down on penalties and turnovers to have any chance of being successful, Bortles said.The Jaguars will be facing a Titans secondary missing two starters with cornerback Perrish Cox (concussion) and safety Rashad Johnson (neck) both declared out.STOPPING THE RUN: Titans running back DeMarco Murray leads the AFC and ranks third in the NFL with 633 yards rushing, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Murray also has run for at least 100 yards in three of his past five games.The Jaguars will try to slow down Murray without their best run stopper. Defensive tackle Roy Miller was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a torn right Achilles tendon, leaving Abry Jones and SenDerrick Marks to handle the position the rest of the season. Jones has two career starts, and Marks is trying to get back to his 2014 form after missing time with a torn knee ligament and an elbow injury.LOSING CONTROL?: Although it sure seemed like the Jags were spiraling out of control against Oakland, players and coach Gus Bradley insist it did little to affect them moving forward. Receiver Marqise Lee was penalized for using a racial slur. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson was ejected after picking up two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for using abusive language toward an official. And cornerback Jalen Ramsey was ejected for fighting.Throw in the teams inability to run the ball and Bortles penchant for poor passes, and the Jaguars looked like a team on the verge of a complete meltdown.---AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFLFollow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '