My NFL Prediction is so Bold it Needs its Own Thread!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Jacksonville Jaguars will surprise and be a contender for a wild card spot.

You heard it here first.


-Anxiety

[Blackadar]

No, you just wanted attention.

[Blackadar]

And "contending" for a Wild Card spot isn't very bold, either. "Contending" could be a 7-9 club.

[korme]

Brunell
Garrard
Leftwich

Damn.

[TroyF]

Anxiety,

Jacksonville had a terrific draft. Mathis is going to be a fixture in that secondary for years. You know what I think of Lord Byron. I think Del Rio is a great coaching prospect.

I just don't see how they can contend with their problems on the O-Line, WR and an injury prone running back.

Still, that's what fearless predictions are all about. :) Good luck with yours.

TroyF

[Darkiller]

I do think indeed that they will be much better than they were the past couple of years.
Reason is : a new coach and the implementation of the West Coast Offense which will fit Brunell very well (remember Steve Young ? Brunel is a clone...so that shoud do fine to him).

The concern, of course, is their Pro Bowl WR Jimmy Smith. He and Brunell have been quite a connection over the years and he'll be out for the first 4 games of the year so J.J Stokes has to step up...
He didn't in 8 years in San Fran so that is hard to imagine he could do it in 1 month in Jacksonville but we'll see...

Anyways, I share you view that the Jaguars could very well be in the AFC Playoff hunt.

[TroyF]

Dark,

I still do not think Brunell will be the opening day QB for Jacksonville. According the the Jax papers the past couple of days, tonight's game against the Bucs is going to be HUGE for all of their QB's. Del Rio was non commital about Brunell's future in an interview on Thursday.

The organization has tried to say all of the right things for their fan base. "We are going to try to win now" "we don't need to do a full rebuilding job" "Mark will be our starter on opening day"

Yet, when you look at all of the factors involved, releasing Brunell makes a lot of sense. If they dump him now, they suffer a cap hit this year and next. If they do it next year, they delay the inevitible by another year. Garrard and Leftwich both need time on the field to hone their skills. Garrard holds a lot of trade value. If he plays well, he'll generate AT LEAST a #2 pick. Maybe more. That means you can get even more players to help your future #1 QB.

Add in the fact Brunell gets hurt a lot and your O-Line is below average, why take a chance on paying the guy 6.5 million dollars to get hurt?

Brunell plays well tonight, it's all a moot point. He'll open up the year as the starting QB for the Jags. He'll last about 5 games before he suffers a "minor" injury which the coaching staff will use as an excuse to get the youngsters playing time anyway.

He struggles tonight, he may well have played his last game in a Jaguar uniform.

TroyF

[sabotai]

The Jaguars contending for a wild card spot is a bold prediction?

There's only three teams for which it would be bold to predict them contending for a wild card spot. The Jags are not one of them.

[tucker342]

The Texans contending for a wild card spot would be bold

[Abe Sargent]

Allow me to define "contend" then. I wanted to say secure a wild card spot, but then I wondered what would happen if the Jags lost out on tiebrreakers or something. Plus, there is one less wild card, making it a more difficult prediction.

So, here ya go. By week 14, the Jags will still be in the playoff hunt.

-Anxiety

[Blackadar]

Originally posted by Anxiety
Allow me to define "contend" then. I wanted to say secure a wild card spot, but then I wondered what would happen if the Jags lost out on tiebrreakers or something. Plus, there is one less wild card, making it a more difficult prediction.

So, here ya go. By week 14, the Jags will still be in the playoff hunt.

-Anxiety

Again, this is not a "bold" prediction. By week 14, very few teams are eliminated from the playoff hunt since there's still 3 games left. If you have 5 wins by week 14, you're still in the playoff hunt. :rolleyes:

[Senator]

So, here ya go. By week 14, the Jags will still be in the playoff hunt.

BOLD!

[TroyF]

I guess I'll be the one to cut Anxiety a little bit of slack. I do think it's a bold prediction. This is a team that won 6 games last year and has lost their best WR for a month. To top it off, they have major problems on the offensive line.

I'd be surprised to see them win more than 7 games WITH Mark Brunell, much less with the kids playing QB. Lets face it gang, even if they keep Mark the kids are going to be playing before long.

Now "contend" for a playoff spot? No, no bold. In the NFL everyone contends for a playoff spot. :) If you tell me the Jags are going to win 9 and earn a WC berth, I would consider that bold. IMO, they have zero chance with that offensive line and WR core.

TroyF

[Chief Rum]

I find it ironic that half the respondents in this thread are telling Anxiety his prediction isn't bold, but the other half are telling him all the reasons why the Jags will be bad this season.

To me, if they are so bad, that makes this a bold prediction does it not?

CR

[korme]

Chief Rum is oh, so wise.

[Chief Rum]

All must bow before me.

CR

[Blackadar]

The Jags aren't really that bad. Jimmy Smith being out 4 weeks is a real loss, but they got Fred Taylor in the backfield. He can generate some offense and Brunell is a decent QB. If Leftwitch overtakes him, then it's either because the Jags are out of it.

The DL is very strong, with Henderson, Marcus Stroud and Hugh Douglass forming an awesome squad to stop the run. Donavan Darius playing at Safety also will make it tough for folks to establish the run. And if you can't establish the run, then anything can happen. The also signed LB Mike Peterson. That's a lot of new folks, but they all have good talent. The defense could be a top-10 squad this year. They may be vunerable to the pass, though. Good thing they play in a run-oriented division (all due respect given to Peyton Manning, but Indy, Tenn and Houston are run-first squads).

They'll miss Smith, but only for 4 games. They do need JJ Stokes or Donald Hayes to step up, though. The OL has little depth, but they're not horrible. At RB is Fred Taylor - a gamebreaker when healthy. Kyle Brady at TE gives them a legitimate threat down the middle.

Overall, the lack of depth, especially at RB and OL is the most troublesome aspect. But they could surprise because they can do the 2 most important things you need to do: run the ball and stop the run. Picking them to challenge for a playoff spot isn't that far fetched. This was a team that last year was 5-5 and then loss each of their next 3 games by less than a FG - to the Cowboys by 2, the Steelers by 2 and the Browns by 1.

[MIJB#19]

I'm glad to be the starter of this discussion.
The Jags will secure the #1 pick in 2004, that's my bold prediction.