Listening to different “experts” I’ve heard several names of who the Jaguars might draft but mostly that the Jaguars want to trade back.  Rumors are also that most team from the 3rd pick to maybe even as low as the 16th pick would like to trade back so the value might not be there.  I really hope the Jaguars don’t trade back just to say they traded back.

The one player that I look at right now and have heard he could fall because of team needs in front of the Jaguars is Matt Kalil who is an offensive tackle.  Offensive line is not a position that screams need for the Jaguars and it sure doesn’t get the fan base excited, however if he is there the Jags have to grab him.  Most likely he will be gone and should be but there is a chance that he falls.  It’s not too much of a stretch to see it happening.  If Gene Smith is truly a best play available (which I have serious doubts that he is) this would be the guy if he is still on the board.

Other than that I have no idea who they would pick or should pick.  Looking at NFL.com’s mock draft they had four different mock drafts up and two of them have the Jaguars getting Blackmon, one has Melvin Ingram and the other Stephon Gilmore.  Of the four only one of them doesn’t have the Vikings picking Matt Kalil and he has the Rams picking him with the 6th pick.

The thing with the Rams is they need a wide receiver as much as the Jaguars do and if it’s Kalil or Blackmon that would be very interesting to see who they pick.  Even though you could get more excited about Blackmon, I would hope the Jags have a shot at Kalil.  Having him on one side and Monroe on the other would be some nice bookends.  Britton would then move to guard and that offensive line just became really good.

That’s my thought.  I will be the first to admit the draft is not my thing because I don’t watch a lot of college football and don’t spend a ton of time watching tape or the combines.  I’m a fan with a family and it just takes too much time to research all of these guys.  Hopefully we will get a truly great player no matter what the position.

Before I go into why the Jaguars should go after him let’s look first at why Peyton may want to come play in Jacksonville. First even though things look like they ended well with Jim Irsay, you have to believe Peyton would love to stick it to him a couple of time a year, playing in the AFC South gives him that chance. The next would be weather. The Jets seem to be a popular choice to be Peyton’s next team but why would an aging quarterback who has played his whole career in a dome want to go freeze in New York? I know Farve did it but he was coming from Green Bay so he was use to it. The weather in Jacksonville is great. The Jaguars were bad last year but look at this, they have one of the (if not the) best running backs in football and the sixth ranked defense. The Jags would need to add some WR’s also but if they do that then the Jaguars are a team to be dealt with. The last reason Peyton might want to choice Jacksonville is the microscope wouldn’t be as big on him as Miami or New York. Peyton be under a microscope this year but in New York everything he does would be questioned, as in Jacksonville not so much.

Now why should the Jaguars go after Manning, well he’s Peyton Manning. This would do several things for the Jaguars, first if he is healthy and gets close to his old form it dramatically improves their team. That is kind of the no brainer but it does more than that. The Jaguars are working hard on selling out the stadium and growing fan support and you might not ever have a chance to give your franchise a shot in the arm like this. Bringing Peyton in would get fans excited about the season and draw in new fans.

Two questions that would come up with this move are one are you giving up on Blaine Gabbert and two what if Peyton can’t play anymore. The answer to the Gabbert question is no you are not giving up on him. Gabbert struggled badly last season and could of used time to learn the game. Who better to learn from than Peyton Manning. Manning is famous for his work ethic and knowing how to prepare. If Peyton couldn’t play then you hired another quarterback coach to help Blaine Gabbert. Either way it’s a win for the Jaguars.

The next week will be very interesting to see where Peyton ends up. Wherever it is the fans of that team will be thrilled to have him.

I got a letter in the mail this week thanking me for being a Jaguars season ticket holder.  Included in the letter was a poster that included a list of the teams that the Jaguars would play at home during the 2012 season and it was only seven teams.   A note under that said that preseason teams and AFC North team was to be determined.  There was one major problem with that statement, the AFC North team isn’t to be determined.  If you know how the NFL schedule works every team plays the teams in it’s division twice and then one division in the AFC and one in the NFC.  That makes up 14 games of the 16 game season, the other two games are played againist teams from the other two divsions that finished in the same place.  With that being the case the Jaguars would play the Bengals from the AFC North.

Mr Khan has been very out spoken about his desire for the Jaguars to play in London and to expand their international appeal.  Which I’m all in favor of but not if it cost us a home game.  I understand that it’s one less game that the Jaguars have to worry about selling tickets but the season is already so short.  Just in case they do have a game in London though I’ve already started working on my wife for a London trip.

 Several years ago when the Jaguars changed their jerseys the alternative black jersey went away.  Well now it looks like it is coming back and will the Jaguars new primary color starting in 2013.  This would make the black jersesy the Jaguars home jersey with the teal jersey being the alternative jersey.  In 2012 Nike takes over the NFL jersey contract and all teams will have new Nike jerseys, however it will take a couple of years before all the teams get the “full Nike treatment”, the Jaguars will be the first to get this treatment.  

Nobody’s really sure what the new jerseys will look like but hopefully they will be more like the old jerseys than the current ones.  I always thought it was laughable when Mr Weaver said that they wanted a jersey that people would look at right away and would know it was the Jaguars, only to show off one of the most generic jerseys in the NFL.  The old jerseys had Jaguar logos on the sleeves and looked great but the new jerseys didn’t have the first Jaguars logo on it.  Mr. Khan has promised that we will not be disappointed in the new jerseys.  I’m sure hoping that he is right.

Khan laid out what the Jaguars wanted in a head coach, two of those things included being able to work with Gene Smith and not having a big ego. It appears that Jeff Fischer met none of those requirements. Fischer played the Rams vs the Dolphins to see how much control he could get. The Rams who didn’t have a GM in place ultimately won out. Mr Khan said the Jaguars were not willing to join that “derby”. Even at the press conference to announce Mike Malarkey as the head coach Mr. Khan made a comment about the coaching search not having any drama.

Like other fans I like the idea that Jeff Fischer may come to coach in Jacksonville. However after seeing everything play out I don’t blame the Jaguars for staying out of this one, plus while I think Fischer is a good coach his numbers aren’t that great. In 17 years as head coach of the Titans they made the playoffs just six times. I think in this case the Jaguars were right to look to someone else to be their man.

Mularkey has grown on me partly after hearing his press conference and mostly after hearing that Mel Tucker would stay as defensive coordinator. I think it puts Mularkey in a potential weird spot having Tucker, who was the interim head coach, still on the staff and what about Mel Tucker who was passed over for Mularkey. Now not only did he not get the job but he has to step down and go back to his old position as defensive coordinator. I say all of this to say hats off to those two guys for putting what could be uncomfortable situation aside and doing what’s best for the team.

Time will tell if this was the right move by the Jaguars. One thing is sure, Mr. Khan has the future of Blaine Gabbert, Mike Mularkey, and Gene Smith all tied up together. Mularkey’s contract expires the same time as Gene Smith’s. If Gabbert does well both of those guys will probably be around, however if he continues to struggle then in three years it could be time to clean house again.

Not that this is fair to Blaine but look at the Jaguars past. In the Jack Del Rio era this team has been average. Also in that time we have had two quarterbacks both who were average. Not since Mark Brunell and Jimmy Smith has this team had a legit quarterback and wide receiver. Because of this fans aren’t willing to give a new QB the benefit of the doubt and I’m not sure Gabbert would deserve it either.

This season our passing game is worst in the NFL and looks terrible. Supporters of Gabbert will point to the lack of receivers or the fact that Blaine didn’t have an offseason. However these are the same receivers we had last year with Garrard and they played much better. As far as the no offseason goes people treat it like Gabbert is the only person that missed the offseason, when the truth is everyone did. Cam Newton, Andy Daulton, Christian Ponder all missed the offseason and all have shown more that Gabbert.

While I may not be willing to label Gabbert a bust like some, I do think this team needs some insurance. The bottom line is the Jaguars will end up with a top five pick with some really good quarterbacks coming out. I believe the Jaguars should draft one with the idea if Gabbert doesn’t pan out in year two you have someone else. However if he does work then trade the other guy. If the Jaguars don’t and Gabbert has another year like this one we could loss three years and that could be devastating to a team trying to gain support in Jacksonville.

For what it’s worth I like Gabbert and hope he works out but I’m not willing to go down the Byron Leftwich road again. If you feel this isn’t the guy then it’s time to move on no matter if he’s a top 10 pick or not. How the Jaguars draft this year will show a lot about how they feel about Blaine Gabbert and the future of Gene Smith.

They will be very comfortable next week. Hopefully, if the vote goes the way we are expecting, I will be happy to elaborate on it. They will not be disappointed.

The “they” he is talking about is Jacksonville fans, so the question that all of us are asking is what does that mean? What would it take for us to be “comfortable” that the Jaguars are not leaving Jacksonville any time soon. I thought about this awhile and anything Mr. Khan says would not put me at ease. Not that I think that he would be lying necessarily but it’s what he would have to say until the team did move. So after much thought the only thing I could come up with was building a new stadium.

If he spent the money to build a new stadium, I wouldn’t be worried at all about the team moving. I’ve been to several stadiums and Everbank is one of the worst designs. The stadium itself isn’t in bad shape but it’s just not designed very well for a NFL stadium. Do I think this will happen, well in a word no.

If I was him there would be no way that I would build a new stadium plus there are all kinds of problems that go along with trying to do so. So what is he going to do? If he’s not going to build a stadium then maybe spend money fixing up the one we have now. Better audio, a video board, and WiFi throughout the stadium would be nice. Everbank is terrible for using your cell phone, forget about Tweeting anything from the game. There are also some small things that could be done like making the club section of the stadium smaller. These seats are the hardest to sell because of the price but on the bright side they don’t count for a blackout.

These are things that I could see happening. However would it make fans comfortable that the team wouldn’t leave? Well it would help. Then fellow Jaguars fan Casey Ayers made a guess that makes a lot of sense. Here’s what he said via Twitter,

Yup. Wouldn’t be surprised to see a Flex-N-Gate plant announcement with 400-500 jobs, either. Given Toyota’s proximity could be cost-saving or at worst a wash, & being 100% company owner makes it easy.

This would change one of the biggest worries most fans have about Mr. Khan and that’s he does not have any ties to Jacksonville. This would put his company and him in the community and stir good will by creating jobs as well.

I guess we will have to wait until Mr Khan tells us what he had in mind. I for one am very excited about the future of the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars here don’t get much love and the organization doesn’t seem to care. Games haven’t been on the radio for several years and this Monday Night Football game showed up on the last page of the sports section with a small column. If a game doesn’t sell out though Savannah gets blacked out but why is that? According to a NFL.com article on the Bucs problems it says

According to NFL rules, home games must be sold out 72 hours before kickoff to avoid a TV blackout within a 75-mile radius of the local market. Teams can ask the league for a 24-hour extension if the game is close to selling out.

Savannah is 139 miles from Jacksonville. Almost double the distance that would be included in their local market.

Back to the radio for a moment, how hard is it to find a radio station that would carry the game? That is something that has stunned me for years. They are on the radio in Jesup and I believe Hinesville but you can not pick those up in Savannah. Of course you can listen to them over the internet. This usually isn’t a deal for me cause I have season tickets and go to the game. I have friends that had season tickets for several years and then canceled them. You know how many calls they have gotten to come back? Zero, none nada. I bought Atlanta Thrashers tickets once about six years ago and I got called at least once a year every year.

I know Jacksonville is a small market and the fan relations department of the team is pretty small. So the Jaguars need to work smarter. I tip my hat to them for the Champions Club and using fans that want to help the team. I did that one year and it was a lot of work but I enjoyed it. However even with that our “Champions Team” was made up of people from Georgia and we got basically no support. Teams from Jacksonville would get Jaxon or members of the Roar to show up at their events to sell tickets, we got a signed helmet by a third string linebacker that nobody knew.

I love the Jaguars and want not only to see them stay in Jacksonville but for it to be hard to get tickets to a game. I want to see them do extremely well. Nobody talks about Green Bay being a small market and hopefully that’s what we will end up with here. It’s going to take time, a whole lot of work and some changes in how the team markets to the Savannah’s and Orlando’s outside of the city limits of Jacksonville.

Link to quote about blackouts

I have heard from several people who know Mr. Khan and I’ve only heard really good things. Mainly that he is a huge football fan and that the fans will love to have him as an owner. I know Everbank Field will be rocking Monday Night and it’s a shame that he will not be there to see it. There is suddenly excitement all around about the Jaguars, with some many new things happening. Mel Tucker will get his first chance to show if he should be the man here in Jacksonville and we start to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weaver. Owners that I have had the privilege to meet a couple of times and who I have a lot of respect. Here are Mr. Khan’s comments on not being able to at Monday Night Football.

“I sincerely appreciate Wayne Weaver’s invitation to me and my family to join him for Monday night’s game against San Diego. I was ready for some football.

“However, the best thing that evening is for me to be in New York to focus on the NFL Finance Committee’s meeting scheduled on Tuesday. And, above all, I feel that Monday night should be about three important people in the Jaguars family – Mel Tucker and, of course, Wayne and Delores Weaver. Mel and Wayne and Delores each fully deserve our love, attention and enthusiastic support on Monday night. This moment is for them.

“The Jacksonville community has been simply terrific since our announcement on Tuesday, and my entire family is extremely appreciative. I am aware of the supportive letters, calls, emails, Tweets and even T-shirts, and your kindness is truly appreciated. It’s exactly what Wayne promised us when we expressed our commitment to Jacksonville and the Jaguars, and I can’t wait to finally meet everyone in person later this month. In the meantime … Go Jaguars!”

UPDATE: I think that you should be able to down load it now in iTunes. Please let me know if you can.

UPDATE #2: I think I have it all fixed now. If you are still having any issues please let me know. Thanks

Even though the Jaguars lost, the game was still fun. I did get a little worried near the end that if the Jaguars won the game, that I might have trouble getting out of there. The fans were getting a little annoyed that the Jags were driving the ball down the field. All in all though it was a blast and hopefully I get to it again.

Rasheen Mathis was placed on IR this week and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Unless the Jaguars put the franchise tag on him could walk and go find a new team. So why wouldn’t he leave? After all it seems that the majority of fans have turned on him. To most fans they see him getting burned a lot. What they don’t see is that it’s not always his fault and in fact a large amount of that time it’s the safety’s fault. The fans however don’t see this so they put all the blame on Mathis and want to start the next guy, who in this case would be William Middleton. Make no mistake this is a huge loss to a team with the fourth best defense in the league.

Mathis was drafted in the second round of the 2003 draft by the Jaguars and has been here ever since. In his career he has 30 interceptions, the most in Jaguars history and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006. Hopefully Mathis, who is 30, will return to the Jaguars next season but it doesn’t look too good. If it is the end of his time here he will be missed, even more so when the Jags play the Steelers.

This may not be shocking news but the fact remains that the Gabbert era has now begun. Gabbert now takes his place in the short line of Jaguars starting quarterbacks. The question is will be successful and beloved like Brunell or will he be so-so and have the fans ready to run him out of town like Leftwich.

This also builds up what I’m sure will be called the rookie bowl, with Gabbert and number 1 overall pick Cam Newton, starting against each other this weekend. It will be fun to watch and see how these two young and promising quarterbacks play this weekend. It will also be interesting to see how Gabbert plays the rest of the year and how the Jags fans take this news. Will they look it as a lost season or will most fans see it as an exciting time to be a Jaguars fan? I guess we will get some of our answers this Sunday.

The offense killed the defense, not the Jets offense but the Jaguars’. McCowns four interceptions made the defense’s life very difficult. Three of the interceptions were on the Jets side of the field and one was taken to the one yard line. So not only is the defense on the field all day but the Jets had great field position.

Going forward if the Jaguars can get the offense worked out then the defense has been looking really good. After the first week they were leading the league against the run and I wouldn’t be surprised if they still were after week two.

I for one think that it should be for good. McCown is your starter only because the Jaguars think he gives them the best chance to win. However if he plays like he did this week then Gabbert should be the starter. You can stomach Gabbert struggling because he’s a rookie and has great upside but McCown doesn’t have upside. Also look at the next three games, on the road against the Panthers and then at home verses the Saints and Bengals. None of these three teams have great defenses and two of these games you should win no matter who starts. It would be a nice way to get Gabbert starting before the Ravens and Steeler games.

We will have to see if JDR goes back to McCown or starts the rookie. As of now he is only saying that they will talk about it as a staff. My guess would be we will have an answer by Tuesday and if it’s Gabbert there’s no going back.

The Jets are one of the best defenses in the league but they made the Jaguars offense look like a high school team. McCown couldn’t get anything started and threw 4 interceptions on the day. The worse part is they left the defense out on the field in bad situations. Garrard who was watching the game with Patrick Ramsey in North Carolina had to be smiling.

For the day McCown ended up going 6/19 for 59 yards no touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a saftey. With that performance McCown posted a whopping 1.8 quarterback rating (158 is perfect). His best play was a tackle to save a touchdown. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by rookie Blaine Gabbert and one has to wonder if that was the last we will see of Mr. McCown.

Then there is also the fact that last season some thought McCown outplayed Garrard. This preseason it is hard to say that only because McCown has played with the second and third string. However the Jaguars have three touchdowns this preseason and McCown has two of them. Then there is the fact that McCown came into this game as the second quarterback. Why would Jack Del Rio do that? It seems like you would want Gabbert to get all the playing time he could unless you were giving McCown a chance to make you comfortable with getting rid of Garrard. Of course JDR would never say this but nothing else makes sense. Gabbert should be your number two because he’s guy you are working to get ready to get into the lineup.

It may seem like a crazy thought and maybe it is however remember Byron Leftwich? The talks that Garrard could start and Leftwich could be out sounded crazy until it happened. It makes to much sense not to even think about it. I guess we will find out for sure early next week or over the weekend.

That was one of the reasons I thought Garrard would start and have a good year. Other move obvious reasons for Garrard to start would be he knows the system and has experience. Gabbert needs time to learn the playbook and get use to life in the NFL. Like or dislike Garrard he’s a decent quarterback and good enough to lead the Jags one more year.

Like I said this was my thought process going into training camp. Now fast forward to today and the Jaguars have played two of the four preseason games. The first one Garrard missed because of back problems and Gabbert looked pretty good for a rookie. He made some bad throws and the timing was off with some of his passes but that’s what you would expect.

The second game of the preseason Garrard looked terrible. He over threw Lewis a couple of times and threw two ball up for grabs, one of which was way overthrown and intercepted. Not that Gabbert looked a lot better in the game however if Garrard is going to struggle why not start Gabbert.

They are going to make the move soon or later so why not now? If you are Jack Del Rio then you may not want to make the move unless Gabbert out plays Garrard. Like Garrard, Del Rio is fighting for his coaching future. However I don’t see him getting fired for starting a rookie quarterback and struggling at the beginning of the year. I would however see him getting fired if he started Garrard and faded at the end of the year like years past.

If Gabbert starts or not I think is up to him more so than it is Garrard. In these last two games if Gabbert plays well he very well could be the opening day starter. Also I guess if Garrard plays like garbage in the last two games that could also push Del Rio to start Gabbert. Either way Garrard’s future as the starter of the Jaguars maybe shorter than most of us originally thought.

Now must of you reading this I’m sure already know this and I’m no expert with inside information but I was excited about having some real football talk. Also looking forward and wonder what the Jaguars would do in free agency. They said they would be active but I don’t look for them to make a big splash. Gene Smith believes in drafting players and not spending big money on free agents. For the most part I agree with his thinking.

It will be interesting to see how the Jaguars are going to target. They need to address safety and defensive end maybe more than any other spot. Linebacker also seems to be a place of concern and of course most fans want a wide receiver.

I haven’t been keeping up with too much of the NFL talks because I was burned out on the lockout. It’s an exciting time to be a Jaguars fan. Who would you like to see the Jaguars go after in free agency?

Going into this draft I figured the Jaguars would take a DE in the first round (which they need) and maybe try to come back in the second round with a quarterback if Locker, Ponder or Dalton was still there. Never and I mean never did I even consider them drafting Blaine Gabbert, mainly because I thought he’d be long gone. Somehow though both the Cardinals and 49ers skipped out on taking a quarterback and the wheels started to turn. I started to think about the possibilities of the Jaguars trading up to get him.

When the Titans got on the clock I knew that was the end of that thought. Everyone knew that Vince Young is on the way out and the Titans needed a quarterback. Gabbert, who many experts said was the best qb in the draft, would surly be a Titans but no, they shocked everyone by picking Jake Locker. When it finally came around to the Redskins and I saw the Jaguars had traded for that pick I was as happy as a fat kid in a chocolate factory. I yelled so loud my wife came running upstairs to see what the problem was. That was the most excited I remember being about a draft pick since the Falcons selected Vick.

With all that aside this was a great pick. Now Gabbert could turn out to be a bust or so so player however you got the guy that most people thought was the best quarterback in the draft with the 10th pick and only had to give up a second round pick. True the Jags have many holes and could of used that second rounder but the chance to take a guy that could be a franchise quarterback is too good to pass up.

It also works nicely in that Garrard should be the starter this season, which will give Gabbert time to learn the NFL. I know since he was picked so highly many fans would like to see him in there right away and that could happen but it doesn’t have to. If the Jags are comfortable with him, then let him start but if not you still have a very solid quarterback in Garrard. That is unless the 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks or another team gives you a great offer for Garrard. In which case Gabbert could be starting right away or would be sitting behind McCown until he’s ready.

However it works out the quarterback position will be very interesting this year, as long as there’s football. It will also be interesting to see how the Jags address other areas of need in the draft and free agency. They really need help at linebacker, defensive end, safety, and wide receiver. It should be an exciting couple of weeks.

Wayne Weaver after the meeting held his own press conference to let everyone know that Del Rio would be back next season however anything short of a playoff birth and the coach would be gone. My only problem with that is it was almost the same thing that was said last season. At the end of last season many fans, including myself, thought that Del Rio should be gone. Weaver however kept him around but with strong warning that this better be a better season and he would not settle for mediocrity. I’m not sure about you but I consider 8-8 to be the definition of mediocrity and losing the last three games was another season in which the Jags folded near the end.

Honestly I have no problems with Del Rio being back next season, in fact I think it’s the right choice. Weaver still owes him a ton of money and the upcoming lockout I’m sure played a big role in Del Rio’s return. Also what did we really expect from this team? It is in the second year of a rebuilding year. Most of the games were exciting and even in the losses the Jags were in most of them until the end.

My biggest problem with him returning was Mr. Weaver’s big speech at the end of last season. I feel if you give that speech and the team does the same thing as the year before than the coach has to go. Also in this meeting Mr. Weaver took the defensive play calling duties away from Del Rio and put Mel Tucker in charge. If Del Rio is a defensive coach and you don’t think he’s doing a good job calling defensive plays then why let him stay?

Bottom line is as fans we have at least one more year with Jack on the sidelines. That may or may not be a bad thing but in eight years he’s barely over .500 and 1-2 in the playoffs. Hopefully next year things will continue to come together and the Del Rio haters will either be disappointed or converted. The only reason I wish for this is because if Del Rio gets fired next season it means the Jags had a bad year.

At the half way point I said that the Jaguars would need to go 6-2 in the second half to win their division and that still looks like the case. Since the Jaguars have gone 2-1 since the break they now need to go 3-1 in the last four games. That is something that is that should happen. Next week the Jaguars play the Raiders, then have their biggest test at Lucas Oil against the Colts, then the Redskins and finally the Texans.

The Jaguars have already beaten the Colts and Texans this year but both were at home and close games. Since then both teams seem to be struggling. The Redskins and Raiders are also dangerous but struggling. If the Jags win the next two games they could win the division at home the day after Christmas. It would be nice if they won out and got at least the third seed because right now the Jaguars would play the Patriots in the first round. Why do we always get the Patriots in the playoffs? Either way it is a great time to be a Jags fan and we are still getting better.

For the second week in a row the Jaguars dominated the first half. The Jags had the ball four times in the first half and scored three times. They also held the ball for over twenty minutes. It looked like in the second half that the Titans might get back into the game but the Jags did a nice job of closing the game out. They were also lucky with tons of dropped passes by the Titans and caused two turnovers. The turnovers are something that the Jags haven’t been able to get much of this season.

The Giants are a more talented team than the Jaguars and still the Jags went to their place and was in the game until the end. I believe going into that game that the Giants defense was second in the league and the Jags ran and scored on them. Also going against a good pass rushing team the line held up and David Garrard played well.

Overall it was disappointing to see the Jaguars lose that game but after watching it I really believe that the Jaguars can play with anyone. They aren’t the most talented team but when they play their game they are effective. They did however give up one of their two losses they could afford there, so they need to go on a winning streak starting in Tennessee.

This is why people go crazy calling for a coaching change and the sad thing is that the Jaguars played a good game until the end. Losing to the Giants in New York isn’t that bad and they played a really close game. However that last drive leaves you scratching your head. You are going against one of the best defensive line as far as rushing the passer so why stop running the ball? By not running the ball you give that great defensive line a chance to pin their ears back and go after the quarterback. Not the smart thing to do.

So if he isn’t returning kickoffs then he has to earn his spot as a wide receiver. Well he got a shot at starting in the Browns game and showed nothing. He dropped a couple of passes including a touchdown pass that he should of caught. At this point I’ve seen nothing in Underwood except speed to justify him being on the roster. I personally would like to see John Matthews get a shot. In the preseason he showed flashes of being a good over the middle receiver. If not Matthews then how about the guy the Jaguars just picked up Jason Hill. Either way I think letting Underwood suit up much more this year is a mistake.

Since the Colts are coming back down to earth somewhat the Jaguars find themselves a little more than half way through the season and one game out of first place. Also with the Colts having a very tough game this weekend versus the Patriots, with a win against the Browns the Jaguars hold an excellent chance of being in first place after this weekend.

With all of this said and some excitement building for the team it is important to remember that we are in a rebuilding year. Enjoy the victories the Jaguars are getting but don’t get to down on them for the losses. This team in the next two years will only getting better and become on the top rated teams in the league.

So enjoy this season and just keep in mind we are rebuilding. Who would of really thought that at this point in the season the Jags would be a game out of first and David Garrard would be the highest rated quarterback in the AFC.

Garrard is 5-3 this season and in those five wins he has been great but in those three losses…well yeah. However in the past two games Garrard has been beyond hot, he is on fire. So much so that after week 10 in the NFL David Garrard is the second rated quarterback in the league. Yes you read that right David Garrard is only behind Mick Vick as the highest rated quarterback in the NFL. If you took out Garrard’s three bad games he would be the highest rated quarterback by a large margin.

So we are asking will the real David Garrard please stand up. I know the last two games that he has been great the defenses he was playing against weren’t so great. In Houston’s case they were the worst defense in the league. Hopefully Garrard can take these games and use them as a springboard for the rest of the year.

This week he has the Browns which their defense is 24th in the league in total yards. He will need to have another good week because the two weeks after that get rough with the Giants and Titans. If Garrard continues to play well then the Jaguars have a chance but if he struggles then so do the Jaguars chances of making the playoffs.

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With him out the defense will really need to step it up a couple of levels. The only good thing about him being out is that Austen Lane and Larry Hart will get plenty of playing time. With the extra playing time hopefully they will continue to get get better and make us a strong team next season when Kampman comes back.

I really think the Jaguars had a tough road to get to the playoffs anyway and without Kampman that road just got harder.

I thought coming into the year that the Jaguars would struggle early and finish strong. My main reason for thinking that was the defense was so young that it would take them awhile to start playing well. The front four is already there, as they are playing at a high level. The only question is that one defensive line spot that Derrick Harvey use to hold. It will be interesting to see when Mincey can comeback and if Hart or Lane will step up and take more playing time.

The linebackers have seemed to play well for the most part even through injuries. It is the secondary that is the big question. Coming into this season we knew the safeties would be a problem but the corner play also caused some concern. Mathis didn’t seem to be his old self and Derek Cox was sent to the bench for several games. This will be the area of the defense that really will tell how good this team will be. If the backfield continues to grow and get better then this team could make a playoff push. However if they play like they did in the first few games then it might be a long season.

There is reason to think that the defensive backfield will continue to play better. In the last game Derek Cox had one of his best games grabbing two interceptions and Mathis grabbed one on a beautiful play. Also there are talks that Courtney Green could be the starter of the future and not just someone holding a spot until someone better gets here. His play in the last couple of weeks has gotten better and better. Don Carey still need to make improvements but in his defense he started the year at cornerback. With time he might also prove to be a safety for the future.

On the offensive side of the ball there are flashes of greatness and then flashes of not so great. David Garrard is going to have to play better. It has been well documented that when the Jaguars win he has something like a 140 quarterback rating but in their loses a 40 quarterback rating. We know that he can play at a pro bowl level.

The wide receivers are partly at Garrards mercy but Mike Sims Walker did step up his game in the last several games. With him and Mike Thomas continually getting better the wide receiver core should be a bright spot. In the backfield we all know what we have with MJD but it would be nice to see either Jennings or Karim step up to be that solid number two back. Both have shown flashes but need to take their game to the next level.

If Garrard is going to play better than the offensive line really needs to step it up. As a fan watching it’s hard to always tell what’s going on in the line but if they can continue to give Garrard time to throw then this team will be there at the end looking for a playoff spot.

The Jaguars are only one game out of first place entering the second half of the season which is exciting. It will be fun watching how this team grows and plays the second half of the year.

The defense is Del Rio’s baby and that’s been a huge problem. Ever since Mike Smith left for Atlanta the Jaguars defense seems to be on a downward slide. It’s because of the defense that Del Rio may be near the end.

Now if you listen to the podcast you know that I’m not a big fan of firing a coach in the middle of the year however if you were going to do this would be the week. After the Dallas game the Jaguars have a bye week, which would be the time to make a change, giving the new coach two weeks to take charge. Rumor is that Dirk Koetter would take over as head coach for the rest of the year.

Garrard also should be sweating bullets because Del Rio has his back but a new coach may send him to the bench. Especially after Todd Bouman last week looked good and showed some of what this offense could do. I’m not saying Bouman would be the starter but he or Edwards would probably get the nod.

Last week it was interesting because of our quarterbacks and now this week it’s the head coach. I guess we will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to see if Del Rio is to be fired mid season.

Now the Jaguars will have to go to Kansas City with Trent Edwards and two guys signed off the street this week, Todd Bouman and Patrick Ramsey. It gets even more interesting because Edwards hurt his thumb on his throwing hand in Monday nights loss, so the Jaguars may have to start Tod Bouman. Bouman started the last three games of the 2005 season for the New Orleans Saints and I don’t think he’s thrown and NFL pass since then.

The Jaguars have won before with a quarterback who was far less the average. When Garrard went down a couple of years ago Quinn Gray beat Tampa Bay in Tampa. After that game a report asked Jack Del Rio about why the offense wasn’t more balanced to which Del Rio replied with something like, We were balanced 20 runs to the left 20 runs to the right.

This will be a tough weekend but if the Jaguars want to have a chance to make a push for the postseason then this is a game that they probably are going to need to win. Hopefully Edwards will be able to get out there and play well and he doesn’t and the other two don’t either, well Quinn Gray is available.

In Jacksonville we have been lucky to have so many prime time games in the last several years. It seems like we have one home prime time game every year, not usually Monday night football but Thursday and Sunday night games. The Steelers or Colts usually seem to be the teams of choice for prime time games but this year we get our much hated rivals the Tennessee Titans.

So if you are going out to the game, try not to talk too much during the day. Save it all for the field. Come out loud and proud to let the whole world know that We Are Jaguars! It should be a great game with lots of energy, so as fans we really need to set our game up also. So let me ask you, are you ready for some football?

Most everyone knows I’m not a fan of Josh Scobee. I mean he seems like a nice guy but in years past it’s seemed like he let the pressure get to him. He could nail meaningless field goals all day but put him in there when the Jags needed it and he couldn’t come through. At least that’s the way I saw things however not this year.

This season Scobee has been money. Not only nailing the third longest field goal to win a game in NFL history but every time he has a kick. So far on the season he is perfect and the Jaguars aren’t making it easy on him. Scobee has only tried one field goal less than 40 yards. Meanwhile he is 7 for 7 between 40-49 yards and 2-2 from 50 plus yards.

If Scobee keeps up at this rate I see a Pro Bowl in his future. He’s alway had a strong leg but now he’s putting it all together. It’s taken seven years but I’m finally starting to warm up to Scobee.

Now I like Tiquan Underwood as much as the next guy but come on, he has only four catches in his career! Why would you trade one of your best two receivers. I know he has struggled some and hasn’t been beating the bump and run very well. Also two games this year he hasn’t had a catch. Even with his struggles there is no way you give up on him that quickly. Now I’m not saying I wouldn’t trade him. I mean if someone call me up and offered a great deal than I would say see you later but I’m not trading him for a late round pick or even a midround pick for that matter.

Here’s what Del Rio had to say about it,

“I actually called out one of the people that was involved in some of that being spread because that’s garbage. False, not credible and it’s disappointing to see stuff like that just go out be thrown out there haphazardly without anybody checking any sources.

“I’m disappointed that something like that would be out there for us to discuss. He’s done a great job of continuing to play. … We like the way he’s working. There are no issues here. There are some being manufactured outside the building.”

Rumors like this make you wonder where reporters get their information. I know Vic Ketchman likes to blame bloggers for starting this stuff but it seems like professional reporters are just as bad. Maybe Mortensen has it right but I can’t see it.

Due to an injury to backup Rashad Jennings Deji got some time at running back as well and made the most of it carrying the ball 15 times for 70 yards. He showed explosiveness and looked like he could turn into a serious threat at running back. Not only does this kid have speed but he showed some power and the willingness to run over people.

I know they were going against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league but it will be interesting to see what Deji’s role is going forward. Rashad Jennings has also played well this season but for me Deji showed more pop and explosiveness. If Deji and Rashad both continue to play well then that’s a good problem for the Jaguars to have. In this league you can never have too many backs.

It’s only been one game so I don’t want to get to excited but I like what I saw yesterday. Hopefully going forward Deji will continue to play well and be a big part of the Jaguars team, not only as a kickoff returner but also out of the backfield. Either way welcome to the NFL Deji Karim.

A few things that stood out in this game to me was the defensive line continuing to improve and put pressure on the quarterback. We have had some bad free agent moves but Aaron Kampman looks like he is worth every dollar the Jaguars gave him. He had two sacks today and put pressure on the quarterback several other times. Also Mike Sims Walker had a nice game. However the big thing I noticed was David Garrard.

If you’ve listened to this podcast for any length of time you know one of biggest problems I have with David Garrard is when things start going bad for him it snowballs and it seems he can’t turn it around. That wasn’t the case today as the team turned the ball over three times and Garrard continued to play well.

With this win the Jaguars are now tied for first place going into a Monday Night game against the Titans. It should be a fun week and next Monday we should hear more talk about the Jaguars on national radio than we have all year.

Meanwhile Mike Thomas is looking more and more like the number one guy. Thomas doesn’t have a hundred yard day yet but has more catches and more yards. The Jaguars need someone to setup and be that clear number one target. That guy that David Garrard can depend on catching anything around him. That guy last year was MSW, and now we would love to see him get back to that form today versus the Bills.

The Jaguars seem to be an easy target for people who are looking for a team to move to LA because of the struggles last season. However most people aren’t pointing out the fact that across the NFL there have been several teams already have blackouts but not the Jaguars. I guess this is one of those things that as fans we have to put up with until we have a season without any blackouts.

If the Jaguars keep winning I don’t think that will be a problem. The games that cause concern are the Browns and Raiders games. I could be wrong but I don’t see any problem selling out the general bowl in the Monday night game against the Titans, the Texans or Redskins game.

If the Jaguars are not blacked out for the rest of the season I wonder if the national media will leave Jacksonville alone. There are teams that are struggling worse than the Jags, for example the Raiders who’s game against the Texans only drew 32,218. That’s less than the Jaguars lowest total of any game last year by nearly 10,000 people.

The bottom line is because Jacksonville is a small market it makes the Jags an easy target. Hopefully the stadium will be full the rest of the year and let the national media start ragging on the likes of Oakland, Buffalo, or the Vikings.

If the Jaguars win this game then they will come home 3-2 and quite possibly tied for first in their division. All of the excitement from the Colts game will be carried over to a very exciting Monday night game against the much hated Tennessee Titans.

If they lose it will raise serious questions about this team. Losing to a team that is near the bottom in the league at stopping the run, when that is your strength, isn’t going to built excitement or interest in fans. Also will make the talk about Jack Del Rio needing to be fired even louder.

This team seemed like it was headed in a downward spiral until last week, now they need to built on that big win against the Colts. Last week might of saved the season but this game is pivotal in keeping the Jaguars on the right track.

Just for fun lets see what the Jaguars drafts could of been like during those years. I am going to pick players that were picked after the Jaguars drafted but still in the first round, to show you what this team could have been. How about these guys as draft picks Troy Polamalu, Will Smith, Aaron Rodgers, Marcedes Lewis, Brandon Meriweather and either Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or Chris Johnson in 2008.

One year Harris got it right with Lewis and followed that up by picking MJD in the second round. However could you image if the Jaguars would of drafted these guys instead. To be fair it’s always easier to look back and make better picks but you have to have your first round picks be guys that are starters on your team. Not only are these guys not starters , except Lewis, but most of them aren’t even on the team anymore.

The reason I did this was to make a point of how bad Shack Harris or whoever really had command during those years really screwed this team up. This team is hurting for talent and it’s going to take a couple of drafts to regroup after all of those misses. With that said it does look like the team is heading in the right direction now and that is something to be excited about as a Jaguars fan.

The Jaguars also signed C.J. Mosley a defensive lineman in his sixth year. I wonder with the Jags picking up Mosley is you will see them trade former first round pick Derrick Harvey. They don’t seem to be pleased with his play and he has been benched for Jeremy Mincey, who there were questions if he’d even make the 53 man roster.

Maybe it’s because I’m paying more attention this year but it seems like the Jaguars are making more moves than usual. It’s becoming fun to watch the waver wire and start wondering who the Jags will show interest in next. Could it be Michael Lewis?

Now I’m not saying the Jaguars are shopping him or that they should be in a hurry to unload him however if they could get the right kind of deal then goodbye David hello Trent. The problem with this is that unless you get a backup quarterback in the trade then you weaken yourself at the position. With Garrard gone you would have Trent Edwards as your starter and Todd Bowman as the backup, that is unless the Jaguars went out and signed another quarterback to be the backup.

Why would the Jaguars even think of trading Garrard now? Well to me that’s simple, one he isn’t the future and two I’m not so sure the Jaguars wouldn’t be better off with Trent Edwards as a starter anyway. David’s biggest problem as a quarterback is that he doesn’t throw the deep ball well. He doesn’t seem to anticipate where his receivers will be and throws the ball late. Even in the playoff game against the Steelers a few years ago, when he hit Dennis Northcutt on that deep ball, Northcutt had to wait for it to get there. It was only because he was so wide open that it was completed.

It would be a move that would turn some heads in the NFL but in the long term if the deal was right, it would be the best move. In the short term I don’t think it would hurt the team either. Not saying it has to happen but if I was Gene Smith I would be making some phone calls starting with the teams that put a claim in for Edwards. I know I would be shopping Garrard.

I know ESPN really doesn’t care for Jacksonville, in fact it seems like if you’re not in the NFC East they really don’t care, but at least get your facts right.

So looking at Sunday’s game I wanted to believe but the facts were that in the last two games the Jaguars couldn’t move the ball and couldn’t stop anybody and now Peyton Manning and the Colts were coming to town, bad news.

So what changed? How were the Jaguars able to win this game? They did three things that they had talked about. First the offensive game plan was good. You know the Colts have trouble stopping the run so MJD was going to get plenty of chances for a big day however more important than that was the way they used David Garrard. I loved the fact that they eased Garrard into the game. Most of his early passes were short high percentage passes. They set him up to get on a roll early. Also Garrard was moving around and using his feet to pick up first downs.

The second thing the Jaguars did was not give up the big play. The Colts did score 28 points but they had to work for them. They didn’t get the quick strike like the Eagles, Chargers and even Broncos got against them.

Last things was they won the turnover battle. The Jaguars did not turn the ball in this game and caused two turnovers of their own.

Overall the Jaguars had a solid gameplan and did something they hadn’t be able to do in the past two games, execute the gameplan. There is still plenty of room to grow but if they play like this the rest of the year, all of the games should be close and man is it nice to beat those Colts.

This is obviously a joke but if David Garrard continues to play poorly more and more Jaguar fans will start to feel this way.  In a town with a struggling quarterback nobody is more loved than the backup.  It’s like that pretty girl you see walking down the road.  She’s hot and has none of the problems that your current girlfriend has, at least until you get to know her.

As crazy as some of these things sound if David struggles again then some fans will start to think and talk about these things.  So let’s start the crazy talk now, if the Jaguars start Trent Edwards they will make it to the Super Bowl.

Derek had a strong season last year so hopes for him were high but when camp started he didn’t look nearly as sharp.  Then in the preseaon he still didn’t look sharp.  Word came out that he had been playing through some foot injury and that had hampered him.  After getting pulled in the Denver game, he was inactivated for the Chargers game.  A game that the Jaguars would need as many defensive backs as they could get.  He was active for the last game but I don’t think he played at all.  Not since Shawn Collins have I seen a guy have a great rookie season and then disappear.

It doesn’t appear that Derek is hurt but that his confidence is fading.  David Jones has stepped into Derek’s spot and played alright but make no mistake about if the Jaguars want to stand a chance against the Colts Derek needs to be in the lineup and playing again like he did last year.

Going into Sunday’s game versus the Colts it’s still possible that the Jaguars do just that, so why is everyone in a “the sky is falling” mode?  Well all you have to do to figure that out is look at the last two games, in which the Jaguars loss by 25.  Two games in a row losing by 25 points right after trading Reggie Nelson who wore number 25, interesting.

The Jaguars don’t have to win this game, though that would be nice, but they do need to play much better.  David Garrard really needs to step up his game or the heat may become unbearable for him.  The more David struggles the more newly acquired quarterback Trent Edwards will become the most loved quarterback since Mark Brunell.  Not that Edwards is any better but fans always love the backup when the starter is struggling.

If the Jaguars play well and win or even if they play a really good game and lose, the team should still continue to build momentum and sell tickets.  However if they get blown out again it could get ugly.  If they get blown out again fans will be streaming for David Garrard and Del Rio to both be ushered out.  Is that fair?  Does it really matter, that what most of the fans are going to want and make it known.

The other downside of getting blown out for a third straight week is ticket sales.  So far the Jaguars have played three home games and none of the them have been blacked out but with another blow out selling tickets would become more difficult.    The Monday night game versus the Titans you wouldn’t think would be a problem but games versus the Browns and Raiders would be.

The bottom line is that the Jaguars really need to play well this game.  If they have a similar game to last year when the Colts came here it would be fine.  For right now we need to take that old Raider motto of  ”just win baby” and change it to “just play well baby”.

If the Jaguars keep Bouman until Edwards learns the system that could be interesting.  When Edwards is then ready, do the Jaguars cut Bouman or shop David Garrard to see if anyone would be willing to give us something for him.  I know that sounds unlikely but Gene Smith got something for Reggie Nelson.

If I were the Jaguars I would try to turn Garrard around and pray he has several good games and then I would start shopping him.  After all he was a Pro Bowl quarterback last year (look good on paper anyway.)

The next couple of day to weeks will be very interesting.  I am also interested in seeing how Trent Edwards will play.  If nothing else the Jaguars strengthen themselves by picking up a solid backup.