Jacksonville Jaguars

Day 3 of our All-Division Teams takes us to the AFC South which is currently in a state of flux. With no Peyton Manning it was anything but the status quo as the Texans managed to dominate a division they justly won, while overcoming a plethora of injuries in the process.

But what about the best players from the AFC South? Were the Texans able to make us much noise with our team as they did in the regular season? Or were the combined efforts of the Titans, Colts, and Jaguars enough to make this more of an AFC South team, and less of a Houston Texans team?

As ever, reading on provides the answers.

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The nightmare is finally over for the Indianapolis Colts. They no longer have to suffer through the 2-14 season that was 2011, and can finally turn their attention toward rebuilding the franchise. Of course all of the talk centers around that quarterback prospect from Stanford, but many of the Colts’ key players will be free agents and they clearly lack depth throughout the roster. They have a lot more work to do to get the organization back on track. Sunday’s game was rather typical for the Colts as they turned the ball over and got gashed on the ground on their way to the 19-13 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville has earned a Top 10 draft pick of its own with a 5-11 record despite a much-improved defense. Their offseason will revolve around revamping a horrible passing game, most likely by finding some playmakers for QB Blaine Gabbert who struggled terribly in his rookie season. Like the Colts, organizational changes are ahead as they break in a new owner and search for the third head coach in franchise history. Read the rest of this entry »

It was just a little more than a year ago that the Jaguars went into Indianapolis with a chance to clinch the division. A loss by Jacksonville put both teams at 8-6–two more wins gave the Colts yet another division title while two more losses by the Jaguars ended their season.

This just shows how much can go wrong in a year without your starting quarterbacks. This is one of the few games without any playoff implications, and is the only Week 17 game that we knew had none weeks ago. If the Colts lose this game, they clinch the first overall pick in the draft … so at least we have that.

Even though other games will be viewed by more, the few of you watching this game still deserve to know what you can keep an eye on to keep it interesting. Here are three matchups to help decide who can enter the 2012 season already on a winning streak.

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Having blown it last week against one of the league’s poorer teams, the Tennessee Titans were in no mood to let it happen again, as they kept their postseason hopes alive by hanging on for a 23-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Matt Hasselbeck passed for 350 yards – mostly in the first half – as the Titans seemed in control more or less throughout, but had to force a red zone turnover in the fourth quarter and run out the last four minutes to make it safe.

Tennessee travels to Houston to face the Texans next week and their reward for a win could be another trip to Houston in the first round of the postseason, though they’ll need help. Jacksonville’s season was over a long time ago, but they have remained competitive for the most part and will look to reward their fans’ patience with a home win over the Colts to end the season on a positive note.

Let’s look at some of the major individual stories from Saturday’s game:

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The Tennessee Titans’ quest for a Wild Card spot in the AFC took a major hit as they gave the Indianapolis Colts their first win of the season last week. The Titans are still in the hunt, but at 7-7, they are a game behind the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. They’ll look to bounce back this week against another struggling division rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars’ biggest strength this season has been placing payers on injured reserve, so they’ll piece together a team to bring to Tennessee. Interim Head Coach Mel Tucker has had mixed results in his three weeks on the job, as a blow out win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been sandwiched around two embarrassing beatings on national television. Tucker hopes to keep his guys motivated as he looks to become full time head coach, while the Titans are in must-win territory to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Another week is underway in the NFL’s post-lockout season and what a completely underwhelming start the Jacksonville Jaguars provided for us. Depending upon your viewpoint the Atlanta Falcons either mauled the Jaguars or Jacksonville simply rolled over and played dead. From the first drive when the Falcons strolled down the field and put seven points on the board, there was an air of inevitability about it. Even after the Jaguars’ explosion for 41 points on Sunday against Tampa Bay, you felt that lightning wouldn’t strike twice in five days, and it didn’t.

It’s difficult to read too much into this game for Atlanta. This was a decisive victory and a welcome confidence boost as they attempt to turn up their intensity and level of play ahead of a playoff run that is tantalizingly within reach now. The Falcons’ offense came to play early, putting the game out of reach and against an anemic Jaguar offense, a Falcons defense short of their best cornerback was never challenged. Read the rest of this entry »

The Atlanta Falcons may be close to being out of the race for the NFC South crown but they are still on course for a playoff berth after a late win against Carolina last week. Led by quarterback Matt Ryan (+22.2) they (along with Detroit), have a one-game lead in the battle for a wild card spot.

Their opponents on Thursday night, the Jacksonville Jaguars, come into this game off the back of their win under interim head coach Mel Tucker over the seemingly tackle-allergic Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The defense has performed well all year but the offense, and in particular rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert (-42.0), has continued to struggle.

In the opening game of the week Atlanta need a win to keep pace in the race for the playoffs, while the Jaguars players will want to continue to win under Tucker and give fans some hope heading into next season. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the three areas to focus on this week.

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At a glance, its hard to believe the Buccaneers and Jaguars combined for 41 points, let alone one of them hitting 41 by themselves. Tampa Bay turned the ball over a whopping seven times and Jacksonville converted those takeaways into 21 points. Compounding their lack of ball security here was the fact the Bucs were flagged 12 times for 97 yards and their return units contributed minus 2 yards on punts and zero yards via kick returns. While the Jaguars only had a pair of turnovers, one was inside the Bucs’ 10; inexcusable in any game.

In this meeting of two underwhelming and injury-depleted franchises, each toting a struggling quarterback, it was the Jaguars who made fewer mistakes. They also hit a couple of big plays to really put the game out of sight and left with the first win for interim Head Coach Mel Tucker while having scored more points than in their previous three games combined. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time to audition for the 2012 season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers come into the game reeling from a six-game losing streak and they’ve fallen to last in the NFC South at 4-8. Rumors are circulating about second-year Head Coach Raheem Morris’ job status for next season, so a strong finish is essential to keep his seat from getting too warm.

In addition to sending players to the injured reserve in droves, the Jacksonville Jaguars have experienced as many changes as an organization can handle as they’ve picked-up a new owner and Head Coach in the past week. Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker got the “interim” label as the top man, and like Morris, he is hoping to show he is future head coach material by instilling some life into the Jaguars’ disappointing 2011 season.

With the playoffs long out of reach for both teams, let’s take a look at some key players who are hoping to be part of the rebuilding process for their respective teams. Read the rest of this entry »

With one team so dead in the water that they lost their coach, and the other team taking on water faster than the Titanic, there wasn’t much promise for intrigue coming into this game. For a brief while in the second quarter the Jaguars looked like they might again spring a somewhat improbable upset in a home Monday Night Football game, but, as they capitulated just before half time, their fate was sealed.

For the Chargers, this was a must win to keep alive their most slender of playoff aspirations in the AFC West now headed by Denver. Mission accomplished on that front and gaining the win while going from the West coast to the East can at least give them some hope that they have turned the corner.

With the Jaguars adrift at this point, San Diego really just needed to show up and put a few drives together to walk away winners, but they showed some of their best offensive football of the season as, behind a makeshift offensive line, their vertical passing game sparked back to life. Philip Rivers and his hoard of receivers were able to capitalize on a Jacksonville secondary gutted by injury to pick up some big plays off of play action that turned the game. This may have been a low-key affair but there were some noteworthy and alarming performances. Let’s take a look at who shone and who faded under the Monday Night lights. Read the rest of this entry »