Latest news with #Jacobs'
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Josh Jacobs' 2024 season was spectacular: Is there still room for improvement in 2025?
Josh Jacobs' 2024 season was spectacular: Is there still room for improvement in 2025? Packers running back Josh Jacobs enjoyed an excellent first season in Green Bay, rediscovering his form after a subdued final year in Las Vegas. He went over 1,400 yards for just the second time in his career and had a career high 17 total touchdowns. By looking under the hood at some more advanced statistics, the level of play Jacobs hit in 2024 can be better understood in the context of his wider career, and the strengths and weaknesses of his overall game can be established. Strengths The core of Jacobs' success in his first year as a Packer was his ability to create yards after contact, both as a runner and a receiver. Among qualified running backs, Jacobs ranked in the 86th percentile for yards after contact per attempt (YCO/A), the 84th percentile in PFF's elusiveness rating (ELU) and the 76th percentile for missed tackles forced per attempt (MTF/A). His YCO/A was a career high 3.49 on the season, and his MTF/A of 0.25 was right behind his career best mark of 0.26. Add in his ability in the passing game, and Jacobs ranked in the 86th percentile for missed tackles forced per touch, as well as leading the league in missed tackles forced after the catch. He did a fantastic job all season of getting more than was blocked for him and added real value. Jacobs' impressive elusiveness in 2024 marked a significant improvement on his career average. His 99.4 rating was the highest since his rookie year and exceeded his average career rating of 70 considerably. He has always had a knack of finding the end zone as a runner, arriving in Green Bay with 46 of them in five years, and this continued with the Packers. Jacobs ranked in the 88th percentile for touchdowns per attempt in 2024, scoring on a career high 5.02% of his carries. The biggest area of improvement for Jacobs after joining the Packers was his contribution in the passing game. Utilizing him more as a receiver is something both he and the team mentioned wanting to do more of, and they backed it up. He was one of the NFL's better receiving threats out of the backfield, ranking in the 86th percentile for yards per reception among qualified backs, the 95th for yards after the catch per reception and the 81st for yards per route run, with career high marks in all three categories. Jacobs did not drop a pass in 2024, having dropped at least three in all of his previous seasons, and finally notched his first receiving touchdown as a pro. Weaknesses There are not many weaknesses to Jacobs' game, but of the few, some are fixable and some are not. Stylistically, Jacobs is simply not an explosive runner or a home run hitter, and he never has been. He ran a 4.64 40-yard dash coming out of Alabama, and using the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) system, had just an "okay" overall speed score and a "poor" explosion score. In 2024 he ranked in the 48th percentile for runs of 10+ yards, or "explosive runs" and the 38th for breakaway percentage (BAY%). These are not terrible marks by any means but highlight the fact he is not an electrifying runner. His BAY% of 22.2% is right in line with his previous career average of 22.18%, and his explosive run rate of 10.66% was actually better than his career average of 9.79%. Speaking to the Green Bay media last week, Jacobs expressed a desire to improve on his ability to break off bigger runs. He said: 'I felt like I left a lot on the table', before explaining 'I had some one on ones, where if I made a person miss or broke a tackle, it was the difference between a 20-yard gain and a 60-yard gain. That's what makes people elite." Whether this is something a runner of Jacob's type and athletic profile can truly improve on going into his seventh year remains to be seen, and seems relatively unlikely, but it is clearly a focus for Jacobs. An aspect he can continue to work on though is protecting the football. Jacobs had a career high five fumbles in 2024, ranking in the 28th percentile in fumbles per attempt. His PFF fumble grade has been just 61.4 over the last two years compared to 74.5 in his first four seasons. Fumbles are similar to drops for receivers in that they are somewhat overrated as a means of analyzing a player's overall performance. Jacobs fumbled on just 1.57% of his carries in 2024. It is still an alarming trend though, and something he needs to hone-in on. Pass protection is not a true weakness for Jacobs by any means; he was more than satisfactory in 2024, but it is an area he can still improve. He ranked in the 44th percentile among qualified backs in pressure rate allowed on snaps with an opportunity to allow a pressure, and allowed more QB hits than any other back with four, although he was above average in pass block efficiency, ranking in the 55th percentile. Again these are not disastrous statistics or anything to worry about, and both of them were worse than his prior career averages, which should give some encouragement that Jacobs can become a stronger blocker in 2025. Overall, Jacobs was one of the best all-around backs in the league last year, and the Packers will want him to mostly just keep up what he has been doing, while continuing to work on taking care of the ball better and being consistent in pass protection. His career numbers suggest he is not likely to become more explosive, but if he gets fewer carries in 2025, with second-year back MarShawn Lloyd working into the mix to give Jacobs a breather, he could become an even more efficient runner. Jacobs worked around his blocking at times in 2024, with the group having a 60.25 run block grade on the year, which is just a tick above average. In that sense, Jacobs has absolutely been worth the money so far for Green Bay. Getting more than what is blocked is technically what teams pay a back to do, and he has done exactly that. According to PFF, of the backs with 4.4 yards per carry (YPC) or better, only two ran behind worse run blocking units than than Jacobs: Tank Bigsby in Jacksonville and De'Von Achane in Miami, and they only had 168 and 203 attempts respectively compared to 319 for Jacobs. The Packers placed an emphasis on bolstering the offensive line this offseason, which is important given the type of runner Jacobs is. Expecting Jacobs to make something out of nothing at the rate he did a year ago might be unrealistic, and he needs to be given something to work with, because the explosive runs are not going to be there to pad his numbers. If Green Bay had settled for a mediocre run blocking unit, they could have set him up for a less effective year like his final one in Vegas, when a poor O-line sold him short all year. A YPC of 4.4 is still good, ranking in the 60th percentile last year, but with more rest and better blocking, it could be even better in 2025, with Jacobs firmly in the prime of his career.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
L.A. hitmaker's red hat led accused killers to mistake him for gang rival, police say
Ray Jacobs, a singer who co-wrote hits for Justin Bieber and DJ Khaled, had just left a West Adams bar when a silver Chevrolet Impala and white Mercedes-Benz SUV pulled alongside. Muzzle flashes erupted from the cars' open windows, a Los Angeles Police Department officer testified at a hearing last month. Jacobs, 31, who performed under the name August 08, was killed Aug. 26, 2023, in what prosecutors assert was a case of mistaken identity. Read more: A 'well-orchestrated execution': Mystery surrounds school official's killing at L.A. Live The alleged shooters — members of the Rollin' 30s Harlem Crips — believed Jacobs was associated with the Black P-Stones, a rival Bloods gang, a prosecutor said at the hearing. Jacobs wasn't affiliated with any gang — but prosecutors said he was wearing a baseball cap with a red brim. The prosecution's theory of why Jacobs was targeted is a throwback to a more violent era. Los Angeles — and in particular, the West Adams neighborhood where Jacobs was killed — is a far safer place than it was in the 1990s, when the city saw more than 1,000 homicides a year. With modern gang beefs often starting as spats on social media and spilling over into targeted violence, indiscriminate shootings are less common. Attorneys representing the alleged killers argued there is no evidence, just speculation about the color of a hat, to suggest Jacobs was mistaken for a gang member. But in the prosecution's telling, Jacobs' case shows gentrification and plummeting homicide numbers haven't changed the fact that a young Black man can still be killed for wearing the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood. Jacobs, who grew up in Long Beach and Lynwood, found success in 2015 co-writing the hit "I'm the One" with Bieber and Khaled. An early member of the 88Rising music collective, Jacobs released his debut solo EP, "Father," in 2018, The Times reported. He later signed with Def Jam Recordings, which produced a 2022 LP, "Seasick," that included collaborations with Jhené Aiko, Schoolboy Q and Joji. In a statement after his death, Jacobs' record label called him a "brilliant songwriter, an accomplished musician and a singular artist." Hours after Jacobs was killed, Officer Daniel Ivan of the Los Angeles Police Department went to Cedars Sinai Medical Center to interview the singer's friend, who'd been wounded in the same incident. Read more: 'The street knows who did it': Authorities offer $10,000 reward in South L.A. killing The friend said they'd gone to the Bar at Johnny's, a beer and wine spot attached to Johnny's Pastrami. The longtime sandwich stand, which closed in 2015, reopened five years later as part of a revitalization of the West Adams neighborhood. Just before the bar closed, the friend said, he and Jacobs walked two women they'd met that night to their cars. As they crossed the street, the friend heard gunfire — 15 to 20 shots, Ivan testified. Shot in both legs, he hid behind a trash can. Jacobs stumbled, then collapsed. The friend did not see the shooters, Ivan testified. Using surveillance footage, Ivan determined the killers drove an Impala and Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle. The registered owner of the Impala was Garey Marshall, then 42, the officer testified. The SUV was rented through the Turo car-sharing app to the girlfriend of Grady Montgomery, then 34, according to Ivan. Both Marshall and Montgomery are members of the Rollin' 30s, the officer testified. Ivan said both cars and both men were captured on surveillance video at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, a hangout for the Rollin' 30s, shortly before Jacobs was killed. Marshall and Montgomery were seen at the park wearing white shirts, Ivan said, and the surveillance video, although grainy, showed the shooters wore white shirts. Marshall's phone records showed that he traveled toward West Adams before Jacobs was killed, according to Ivan. Gabriel De Alba, an LAPD officer who monitors the Rollin' 30s, testified that the gang started in the 1970s as a group called The Armed Godfathers. Its territory now stretches from Jefferson to King boulevards and from Normandie Avenue to Crenshaw Boulevard, De Alba said. Read more: L.A.'s Rollin' 60s Crips: The rise of a notorious gang and its reputed boss 'Big U' De Alba testified to support a gang enhancement against Marshall and Montgomery, who have pleaded not guilty to charges of killing Jacobs and attempting to murder his friend. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman has authorized prosecutors to file the enhancements — which increase prison terms if prosecutors prove that the crime benefited a gang — after his predecessor, George Gascon, banned their use. The Rollin' 30s' enemies include the Black P-Stones, who claim the area where Jacobs was killed, De Alba said. The Black P-Stones often wear red, although De Alba said gangs no longer color code as strictly as they once did. Zino Osehobo, an attorney for Marshall, said it was pure speculation that his client was even at Jacobs' killing, much less that he was a shooter. "I can't even call it circumstantial evidence," he said in asking Superior Court Judge Craig Veals to dismiss the murder charges. "It's an assumption-based case." Deion Benjamin, who represents Montgomery, said there was "no evidence" to support a gang enhancement. The mere fact someone was killed in a place that a gang possibly considers its territory doesn't make it a gang crime, Benjamin told the judge. Veals disagreed, ruling he'd seen enough evidence for Montgomery and Marshall to stand trial on charges of murder and attempted murder with the gang enhancement. It was "completely plausible" that the defendants mistook Jacobs and his friend for rivals "given the color of the cap in question," the judge said. "Sure, there are issues here. It's a circumstantial case. It's not a weak one by any stretch." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs to present budget
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is scheduled to present his budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 on Monday. The budget, if approved, will increase by $32 million, just over 3% larger than last year's budget of $1.1 billion. However, there will be no tax increase. Around half of this increase would go to general purpose school funding. School funding represents about 65% of spending. Knoshville festival shares Jewish food and culture General county employees would receive a salary adjustment of around 2% to help with increased cost of living. Around $87 million will go to Engineering and Public Works for infrastructure projects, about the same as last year. The budget presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday May 5 at the City-County Building on Main Street. The event will be live streamed in this story. FY25_Proposed_BudgetDownload 'Like a star up in the sky': Knoxville burger restaurant to close The Knox County Commission will vote to approve or reject the budget. Last year, they passed Jacobs' budget unanimously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Professional Services Stocks Q3 Teardown: Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) Vs The Rest
Let's dig into the relative performance of Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 professional services earnings season. The sector stands to benefit from ongoing digital transformation, increasing corporate demand for cost efficiencies, and the growing complexity of regulatory and cybersecurity landscapes. For those that invest wisely, AI and automation capabilities could emerge as competitive advantages, enhancing process efficiencies for the companies themselves as well as their clients. On the flip side, AI could be a headwind as well as the technology could lower the barrier to entry in the space and give rise to more self-service solutions. Additional challenges in the years ahead could include wage inflation for highly skilled talent and potential regulatory scrutiny on outsourcing practices—especially in industries like finance and healthcare where who has access to certain data matters greatly. The 6 professional services stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues missed analysts' consensus estimates by 0.6% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 2% above. Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 10.7% since the latest earnings results. With a workforce of approximately 45,000 professionals tackling complex challenges from water scarcity to cybersecurity, Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) provides engineering, consulting, and technical services focused on infrastructure, sustainability, and advanced technology solutions. Jacobs Solutions reported revenues of $2.96 billion, up 45.7% year on year. This print fell short of analysts' expectations by 2.6%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts' backlog estimates. Jacobs' Chair and CEO Bob Pragada commented, "Our focus on the transformed portfolio is already having a positive impact on results. We started FY25 with solid performance across our business, led by strong Water and Life Sciences revenue growth within Infrastructure & Advanced Facilities. As we look ahead to the rest of the fiscal year, we continue to see tailwinds from robust bookings over the last several quarters as well as a healthy pipeline across our end markets. We are pleased with our first quarter results and that we've increased our adjusted EPS outlook early in our fiscal year." The stock is down 12.2% since reporting and currently trades at $121.85. Read our full report on Jacobs Solutions here, it's free. With over five decades of experience supporting national security missions, Science Applications International Corporation (NASDAQ:SAIC) provides technical, engineering, and enterprise IT services primarily to U.S. government agencies and military branches. SAIC reported revenues of $1.98 billion, up 4.3% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 2.2%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts' full-year EPS guidance estimates. SAIC pulled off the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 14.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $106. Is now the time to buy SAIC? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Processing approximately 100 million background checks annually across more than 200 countries and territories, First Advantage (NASDAQ:FA) provides employment background screening, identity verification, and compliance solutions to help companies manage hiring risks. First Advantage reported revenues of $307.1 million, up 51.6% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 3.4%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts' full-year EPS guidance estimates. First Advantage delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. As expected, the stock is down 29.4% since the results and currently trades at $13.08. Read our full analysis of First Advantage's results here. Pioneering the concept of "agile aerospace" with hundreds of small but powerful satellites, Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) operates the world's largest fleet of Earth observation satellites, capturing daily images of our planet to provide insights on deforestation, agriculture, and climate change. Planet Labs reported revenues of $61.27 million, up 10.6% year on year. This number missed analysts' expectations by 3.1%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter meeting analysts' expectations. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $4.09. Read our full, actionable report on Planet Labs here, it's free. Operating at the intersection of policy, technology, and implementation for over five decades, ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) provides professional consulting services and technology solutions to government agencies and commercial clients across energy, health, environment, and security sectors. ICF International reported revenues of $496.3 million, up 3.8% year on year. This print met analysts' expectations. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged revenue guidance for the next quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and a narrow beat of analysts' EPS estimates. The stock is down 15.1% since reporting and currently trades at $84.91. Read our full, actionable report on ICF International here, it's free. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. 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Associated Press
17-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Jacobs Announced as Program Manager and Owners Engineer for Xcel Energy
Leading execution of major program of critical transmission, distribution and generation projects in North and Central US DALLAS, Feb. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE: J) was selected as Program Manager and Owners Engineer to support Xcel Energy in providing customers with safe and reliable energy services at a competitive price, while meeting the specifications needed for a low-carbon future. Xcel Energy is a critical energy provider to millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. In the coming years, Xcel Energy is looking to implement a step-change in its capital program and is working with Jacobs to establish a Central Program Office and Major Projects Group in support of delivery of a multi-billion-dollar program of projects. Jacobs will execute a portfolio of Xcel Energy's projects, develop recommendations for project selection and standardize, deploy and transfer knowledge to Xcel Energy employees. Creating and maintaining core capital delivery standards will enable consistent execution for Xcel Energy's portfolio of transmission, distribution and generation projects. 'This program continues Jacobs' relationship with Xcel Energy in delivering capital projects, upgrading utility infrastructure and supporting future load demand requirements,' said Jacobs Executive Vice President Fiachra Ó Cléirigh. 'Our transmission and distribution, generation and program management experience across the U.S., U.K., and Asia-Pacific will support Xcel Energy as they provide reliable energy services for their consumers.' 'In October 2024, Xcel Energy announced a $45 billion investment plan to make our grid cleaner, stronger and more efficient, ensuring we can meet unprecedented growth in our customers' demand for electricity while keeping their bills as low as possible,' said Xcel Energy Senior Vice President of Customer Delivery Michael Lamb. 'Our country's energy grid faces the biggest transition in a century. We will meet this historic moment by powering new technologies, U.S. manufacturing expansion, and the electrification of vehicles, homes and businesses.' Xcel Energy's investment plan focuses on strengthening the resiliency of its transmission and distribution systems while adding carbon-free and always-available energy generation resources. By doing so, the company will continue to deliver energy to customers when and where they need it. This program adds to other recent program management and owners engineer wins across Jacobs' energy market, such as serving as program manager for California hydrogen hub, Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) and delivering engineering services for MTerra Solar in the Philippines, which is poised to become one of the world's largest solar farms when complete. Jacobs was named No.1 for the fourth consecutive year by Engineering News-Record's global Top 50 Program Management Firms and is ranked No. 2 in Power, Solar Power and Wind Power by Engineering News-Record in 2024. At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow – delivering outcomes and solutions for the world's most complex challenges. With approximately $12 billion in annual revenue and a team of almost 45,000, we provide end-to-end services in advanced manufacturing, cities & places, energy, environmental, life sciences, transportation and water. From advisory and consulting, feasibility, planning, design, program and lifecycle management, we're creating a more connected and sustainable world. See how at and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Facebook. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not directly relate to any historical or current fact. When used herein, words such as 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' 'plans,' 'intends,' 'future,' 'will,' 'would,' 'could,' 'can,' 'may,' and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations, as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, uncertainties as to the impact of the recently completed separation transaction pursuant to which we spun off and merged our Critical Missions Solutions and Cyber & Intelligence government services businesses with Amentum (together, 'new Amentum') on Jacobs' and new Amentum's businesses, the timing of the award of projects and funding and potential changes to the amounts provided for under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other legislation and executive orders related to governmental spending, and changes in U.S. or foreign tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances, including the impact of, and changes to tariffs or trade policies, that may adversely impact our future financial positions or results of operations, as well as general economic conditions, including inflation and the actions taken by monetary authorities in response to inflation, changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, changes in capital markets, the possibility of a recession or economic downturn, and increased uncertainty and risks, including policy risks and potential civil unrest, relating to the outcome of elections across our key markets and elevated geopolitical tension and conflicts, among others. For a description of these and additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law.
