Crusader's Return: The Fantasy Jags and Madden 06

[crusaderhoops10]

Crusader attempts franchising comeback,
rolling with Madden 06 again

Jacksonville, Fla. (AP) — It’s just too tough to pass up. The bug gets Crusader itching too much.

After a very long hiatus from the franchise and dynasty reporting world, coach Crusader will again try and make a comeback but this time he’s going back to his roots.

The PS3 football games have not served as reliable in producing long standing franchises as they did on PS2. The games are better now in some ways but franchise mode in Madden is just too broken to be played more than five years or so.

Crusader experienced his most success using Madden 06, completing 12 seasons with the Miami Dolphins during his senior year of high school and reporting every game at Madden Mania.

“Madden 06 was definitely the way to go,” Crusader said. “I still have my old slider set that should work just fine with the new ‘chise so I won’t be winning Super Bowls too soon.”

Gamers have now moved on from Madden Mania and so has Crusader, resurrecting his passion at Operation Sports after four years in college studying journalism.

“I thought I should major in journalism because of how much I loved dynasty reporting,” Crusader said. “It’s just not the same in the real world. You can’t find the same relationships you do when you’re 20 seasons into a College Hoops 2K8 legacy.”

Crusader has still been playing sports games during the hiatus from franchising and passing most of his time on the College Hoops 2K8 circuit.

“If I would have known that I’d be in 2028 and still having as much fun as the first few seasons, then I would have been sharing my legacy online,” said Crusader, who has won eight national championships with UCF in College Hoops 2K8. “You can just never predict the longevity of a dynasty or franchise, that’s why I have failed so many times to capture what I could back with Madden 06 and NCAA 06. That’s why I know now the only way to create another long-lasting ‘chise will be with Madden 06.”

There will be a different twist this time in Crusader’s franchise. Instead of going the realism route and beginning with the default roasters of a team, a fantasy draft will be involved.

“I figure I might as well spice it up some,” Crusader said. “And since I’m going back in time anyway, shuffling up the rosters doesn’t feel too bad.”

The stage is now set. Crusader is back and taking the Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans on a fantasy draft journey of Madden 06.

Franchise Rules

Difficulty level: All-Pro
Quarter length: 6 minutes
Roster: default and then fantasy draft
Vision cone: I play with it on. It makes it more difficult with quarterbacks with low awareness but also gives the user the chance to use precision passing.
Play-calling: Use Ask Madden on offense and defense then choose between the three plays shown. I may call my own play if Madden calls for a long field goal attempt that I know I will miss or late in the game. I will not abuse calling my own plays at all.
Playbook: Starting with Jacksonville. I can only use a playbook for a maximum of two consecutive seasons then I have to move on.
Trades: I can make one trade per season involving only players. I can also make an additional trade that would involve draft picks come offseason.
Draft: Pick the best player (don’t know why I have this here). I will be importing NCAA 06 draft classes for the first four seasons and may continue it if this franchise makes it this long.
Free agency: I can sign two players rated above a 75 OVR each offseason.
Re-signing period: I can re-sign just two players each offseason. The rest are released into the free agency pool.

[crusaderhoops10]

Season Preview

Quarterbacks
This position was not a high priority at the draft for the Jaguars. The team will definitely need to build in this department down the road since the highest rated player on the roster is Rex Grossman (81 OVR). Grossman was a personal pick by Crusader being a former Gator fan and having played many video games with Grossman calling the signals. Not unlike Steve Spurrier bringing in Danny Wuerffel with the Redskins, so too does Crusader bring familiarity to the sticks with Grossman. The positive on Grossman is that he is just in his third season in 2005 and thus has yet to plunge in the ratings department like in real life. He possesses 90 THP and 87 THA which aren’t bad but does have a pretty low awareness rating of 75. His backups are 42-year old Doug Flutie (75 OVR), a potential mentor to the young Grossman, and Ken Dorsey (71 OVR).

Running backs
The Jaguars will have to rely heavily on the ground game to win games in the inaugural season of this ‘chise. Priest Holmes was taken second in the fantasy draft with a stellar 94 OVR rating. Holmes is just two years removed from his 27 touchdown season in 2003 but has been prone to injury ever since now at age 31. Another past his prime running back joins Holmes in Eddie George (80 OVR). The Jaguars did take a wild card in the third back on the team with rookie Maurice Clarett (73 OVR). Clarett and Crusader have crossed paths before in a Madden 2005 franchise in which Clarett backed up Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown. The Jags have too solid fullbacks who will serve the team only to pave the way for Holmes in Ovie Mughelli (78 OVR) and Mike Karney (76 OVR).

Receivers
The Jaguars have three very talented young pass catchers on the roster. Second year man Larry Fitzgerald (87 OVR) leads the way with USC rookie Mike Williams (83 OVR) starting opposite. Jason Witten (92 OVR) will also serve value to a young and erratic quarterback in Grossman. The other receivers are nothing too special. Jabar Gaffney (81 OVR), 38-year old Tim Brown (80 OVR) and Chris Doering (72 OVR) are the other three wide outs. Ben Troupe (83 OVR) and Visanthe Shiancoe (69 OVR) are the backup tight ends.

Offensive line
The line has a lot of potential to create holes right away in this franchise, especially on the left side. Bryant McKinnie (92 OVR) will be starting at left tackle with Brian Waters (93 OVR) at left guard. Center Jeff Saturday (91 OVR) should provide a lot of stability as well. Right guard Cooper Carlisle (84 OVR) and right tackle Ryan Young (82 OVR) are the two other starters. Injuries to the offensive line are very rare in played Madden games so the backups shouldn’t need to see much action this season.

Defensive line
The defensive ends may be the weakest aspect of this team other than the quarterback position. The Jaguars start Aaron Kampman (82 OVR) and Igor Olshansky (79 OVR). The defensive tackles, however, should make up for any ground lost with the ends, especially against the ground game. Albert Haynesworth (89 OVR) and Tommie Harris (86 OVR) are the starters with a solid number three man in rookie Mike Patterson (80 OVR).

Linebackers
Here you will find the first selection by the Jaguars in the fantasy draft: 99 OVR Ray Lewis. In Crusader’s previous Madden 06 franchise with Miami, he user-dominated with Channing Crowder, winning back-to-back MVP’s with him in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Lewis is better than Crowder was (or will be) and is certain to start racking up huge numbers right away. The only difference from Lewis’ real game is that he will be called upon to blitz and rush the passer more than he’s used to in real life. Lewis is flanked by some young talent in rookies Shawne Merriman (82 OVR) and David Pollack (80 OVR). Merriman matches Lewis as the fastest of the bunch with 85 SPD.

Defensive backs
The corner back position is the youngest and most inexperienced on the team. Second-year corner DeAngelo Hall (85 OVR) is the veteran of the group as he is joined by three rookies: Adam Jones (81 OVR), Fabian Washington (77 OVR) and Bryant McFadden (73 OVR). Jones will also be serving as the punt returner and has as much potential to progress into a star as Hall. Washington will also be very valuable with his 98 SPD that Hall also has. The safeties are a bit safer picks with 99 OVR Ed Reed and 91 OVR Sean Taylor. The U always produces the crème of the crop and their product is featured on this Jaguars defense with the three highest rated players reigning from Miami.

Special teams
The Jaguars did not get one of the better kickers, having to settle for Martin Gramatica (74 OVR) but they did land the top punter in Todd Sauerbrun (96 OVR), who will also be kicking off. Adam Jones will return punts and Ed Reed is slated as the kick returner with backup fullback Mike Karney leading the way blocking.

Team Salary: $65.2 million
Cap Room: $20.2 million

2005 Schedule

Sept. 11 — vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sept. 18 — at Indianapolis Colts
Sept. 25 — at New York Jets
Oct. 2 — vs. Denver Broncos
Oct. 9 — vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Oct. 16 — at Pittsburgh Steelers
Oct. 30 — at St. Louis Rams
Nov. 6 — vs. Houston Texans
Nov. 13 — vs. Baltimore Ravens
Nov. 20 — at Tennessee Titans
Nov. 27 — at Arizona Cardinals
Dec. 4 — at Cleveland Browns
Dec. 11 — vs. Indianapolis Colts
Dec. 18 — vs. San Francisco 49ers
Dec. 24 — at Houston Texans
Jan. 1 — vs. Tennessee Titans

[crusaderhoops10]

Week 1 — Sept. 11, 2005

(0-0) AT (0-0)

Four picks from Favre propel
Jags to win in franchise opener

Jacksonville, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville head coach Crusader said you could never know what to expect coming into a fantasy drafted franchise, especially with an already established set of legit sliders.

Things went well for the Jaguars in their 2005 home-opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

“You love to start out a franchise with a nice convincing win,” Jaguars head coach Crusader said. “We’re not going to be able to tell a whole lot from this game though. The weather affected a lot of what went on. I’m just glad to see our guys fight the way they did today.”

The Jaguars forced Seattle quarterback Brett Favre to throw four interceptions en route to a 24-6 victory.

There was a steady downpour of rain from start to finish in this one and it looked like Jacksonville quarterback Rex Grossman may have a rocky first game wearing the Jaguar uniform.

Grossman was intercepted on his first pass of the season trying to hit rookie wideout Mike Williams on a fade on the Jaguars' first play from scrimmage.

Grossman was able to shrug off the early miscue and went on to play a pretty solid game leading the Jaguars to the win. Grossman completed 16-of-30 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and just one pick.

“If we can get games like that from Rex [Grossman] all year long, we’ll be in good shape,” Crusader said. “All he needs to do is put the ball in places for our playmakers to make plays. Priest will do his thing and right now it’s Rex’s job to bring along the youngsters like Fitz and Mike [Williams].”

Favre was feeling the effects from the weather all game long.

The tandem of safeties representing “The U” for Jacksonville were jumping Favre's passes over the middle all game long. Both Ed Reed and Sean Taylor would intercept Favre twice in the game.

After a scoreless first quarter, Jacksonville trailed 3-0. Then with 5:08 left in the second quarter, Grossman found Larry Fitzgerald over the middle on a slant pattern which Fitzgerald turned into a 31-yard touchdown.

Jacksonville never trailed again for the rest of the game.

Priest Holmes carried the load and made sure Jacksonville stayed ahead accumulating 113 rushing yards on 26 carries for the game. Holmes also caught five passes for 64 yards.

The Jaguars led 7-6 at the half and would add to their lead when Grossman found his old college teammate, Jabar Gaffney, on an out pattern for a 6-yard touchdown four minutes into the third quarter.

Eddie George tacked on Jacksonville's third touchdown of the game, getting into the endzone from four yards out while spelling a gassed Holmes.

The most telling stat of the game was the third down conversion rates for each team.

Seattle managed just one third down conversion in 11 attempts while the Jaguars were a cool 50 percent on their 14 tries.

Ray Lewis spearheaded the strong defensive effort for Jacksonville racking up 11 tackles, two for a loss and a sack in the game. The Jaguars held Warrick Dunn to just 46 yards on 19 carries in the game.

“We have a good defense, that I know for sure,” Crusader said. “When you have two 99 OVR players you know you’re going to be able to step up and make stops when you need to. We were able to hide our inexperience today because of the conditions. We’re going to be relying even heavier on the veterans like Ray [Lewis] and Ed [Reed] to make sure we give a solid effort each and every week.”

Jacksonville will travel to play division foe Indianapolis next week.

Seattle 6, Jacksonville 24
1st Quarter
SEA: 36 FG by Brown, 4:26
2nd Quarter
JAX: 31 pass from Grossman to Fitzgerald, 5:08
SEA: 51 FG by Brown, 4:08
3rd Quarter
JAX: 6 pass from Grossman to Gaffney, 2:01
JAX: 4 run by George, 0:33
4th Quarter
JAX: 24 FG by Gramatica, 4:04
PASSING LEADERS: Seattle: Brett Favre 12-22-150, 4 int. Jacksonville: Rex Grossman 16-30-203, 2 TD, 1 int.
RUSHING LEADERS: Seattle: Warrick Dunn 19-46 Jacksonville: Priest Holmes 26-113
RECEIVING LEADERS: Seattle: Kelly Campbell 4-47 Jacksonville: Larry Fitzgerald 3-70, 1 TD

Team          1  2  3  4  OT  Total
Seahawks      3  3  0  0  --    6
Jaguars       0  7 14  3  --   24

Teams             SEA         JAX
Score               6          24
Total Offense     193         326
Rushing Yards      48         144
Passing Yards     145         182
First Downs         7          17
Turnovers           4           2
Time of Poss.    9:12       14:48

[crusaderhoops10]

Week 2 — Sept. 18, 2005

(1-0) AT (0-1)

Reality check as Jags can’t
keep up on Colts’ turf

Indianapolis, Ind. (AP) — Carson Palmer looked and played like Peyton Manning wearing a Colts uniform as Indianapolis ran past Jacksonville 42-22.

The Jaguars dropped their first divisional game of the season because of an inability to defend against the long ball, a common weapon of choice for talented, CPU-controlled teams in Madden 06.

“One of the biggest worries for any coach coaching in Madden 06 is how to defend against the deep ball,” Jacksonville head coach Crusader said. “The CPU just has a knack of getting behind your defensive backs and breaking long pass plays. We have to do a better job of limiting their opportunities, it doesn’t matter how much speed we have once their quarterback gets locked in.”

One way to limit the opportunity for a quarterback to drop back and go deep is by getting to the quarterback. Jacksonville started to do that after giving up a few long plays early.

Rookie outside linebacker Shawne Merriman and defensive end Aaron Kampman each got to the quarterback twice in the game to make sacks.

The damage was already done early with Palmer hooking up with the veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason for two touchdowns in the second quarter.

Palmer first hit Mason for an 81-yard score less than a minute into the second period and then he found him again with 1:04 left in the first half to put Indy ahead 17-13.

Jacksonville quarterback Rex Grossman was in a hole with his team and he doesn’t have enough in him yet to lead the kind of comeback the Jaguars needed.

“Rex [Grossman] is still very young,” Crusader said. “We have confidence that he can grow into a star role on this team in the future. He’s not quite there yet with his awareness but his raw skills in throwing power and accuracy are still good enough for him to win us some ball games.”

Grossman turned in a worse game than last week’s, throwing three interceptions but still managed to rack up 225 yards through the air and one touchdown.

The touchdown Grossman threw was a pretty one and one that will make Jacksonville fans smile at for years to come. Grossman found rookie Mike Williams on a go route with one-on-one coverage. The 6-foot-5 receiver made it look easy hauling in his first score of the season.

Williams was Jacksonville’s most effective wideout on the day making four grabs for 51 yards and a trip to the endzone.

The Jags played decent offensively in the first half but could not make any noise in the second while the Colts just kept on going.

Palmer threw another long touchdown, this time finding the FSU product Peter Warrick for a 41-yard strike. Warrick finished with nine catches for 121 yards and two scores in the game as he worked rookie Adam Jones all day long.

The game also featured a matchup of former teammates in Jacksonville’s Priest Holmes and Indy’s Larry Johnson.

Both had strong games with Holmes reaching 128 yards on 22 carries and also making six grabs for 88 yards while Johnson ran 19 times for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Third down efficiency made it hard for the Jaguars to come back as they converted on just 3-of-12 attempts.

“There was a clear difference playing this game on the road against a division rival as opposed to in our own backyard,” Crusader said. “Right now we’re so young and that’s going to make it hard to grind out road wins. We just need to make sure we stay true at home and play our best then.”

Nate Clements, Chris Draft and Madieu Williams all made interceptions for Indianapolis in the game.

Ed Reed forced the only turnover for Jacksonville in the game picking off Palmer in the second quarter.

Jacksonville will be on the road again next week against the New York Jets.

Jacksonville 22, Indianapolis 42
1st Quarter
JAX: 19 FG by Gramatica, 3:56
IND: 6 run by Johnson, 1:20
2nd Quarter
IND: 81 pass from Palmer to Mason, 5:11
JAX: 46 FG by Gramatica, 3:40
JAX: 21 pass from Grossman to Williams, 2:33
IND: 14 pass from Palmer to Mason, 1:04
JAX: 20 FG by Gramatica, 0:03
3rd Quarter
IND: 41 pass from Palmer to Warrick, 5:19
IND: 3 run by Gary, 3:42
4th Quarter
JAX: 1 run by George (missed XP), 5:31
IND: 6 pass from Palmer to Warrick, 3:04
PASSING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Rex Grossman 19-37-225, 1 TD, 3 int. Indianapolis: Carson Palmer 18-29-310, 4 TD, 1 int.
RUSHING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Priest Holmes 22-128 Indianapolis: Larry Johnson 19-100, 1 TD
RECEIVING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Mike Williams 4-51, 1 TD Indianapolis: Peter Warrick 9-121, 2 TD

Team          1  2  3  4  OT  Total
Jaguars       3 13  0  6  --   22
Colts         7 14 14  7  --   42

Teams             JAX         IND
Score              22          42
Total Offense     388         392
Rushing Yards     163         105
Passing Yards     225         287
First Downs        21          16
Turnovers           4           1
Time of Poss.   11:42       12:18

[crusaderhoops10]

Week 3 — Sept. 25, 2005

(1-1) AT (1-1)

Horrendous offensive performance
ends ugly for Jags on road vs. Jets

NEW YORK (AP) — The stage was set up nicely for the Jacksonville Jaguars to rebound from their week two loss at Indianapolis when they visited the Jets.

New York was without their starting tailback, 95 OVR Curtis Martin, and forced to go with backup Lamar Gordon (78 OVR).

Jacksonville was going to have an easy time stopping New York and just needed to put some points on the board, which they had done the first two games of the season.

Unfortunately it was raining, so the Jaguars could not get ahead with the pass and had almost no success moving the rock against a very strong New York defense on their way to an embarrassing 27-3 defeat.

“Rex [Grossman] is a passable quarterback when the conditions are right,” Jacksonville head coach Crusader said. “But when more than just the defense is against him it makes it really hard for him to complete passes. And he wasn’t getting any help in the rushing department either.”

After going over 100 yards on the ground in each of the first two games this season, Priest Holmes managed just 52 yards on 15 carries in this one. He gained four yards on three carries in the second half.

Grossman was not on point at all in the game completing just 15-of-35 passes for 129 yards and a pick.

Late in the game, Doug Flutie came in to give his arm a shot and had a perfect zero QB rating missing on all four of his attempts and throwing one interception.

The Jets would score 27 points in the game but Jacksonville’s defense wasn’t that bad. Their offense simply could not keep them off the field.

“It was a combination of New York’s defense and our play-calling,” Crusader said. “You don’t have total control when you’re asking Madden and I think that hurt us a little today. There were a lot of situations where we had to go with a running play on third-and-five or so because the passing options weren’t good.”

Gordon ran for a workman-like 96 yards on 29 carries while quarterback Marc Bulger made it look like it wasn’t raining at all.

Bulger threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, taking advantage of the young corners on Jacksonville by baiting them with lob passes to the sidelines.

One bright spot for the Jags was the punting game. Todd Sauerbrun punted seven times for an average of 44.7 yards and all of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Jacksonville was 3-for-15 on third down and never ventured inside the redzone for the entire game.

The Jaguars will host Denver next week.


Jacksonville 3, N.Y. Jets 27
1st Quarter
NYJ: 40 FG by Scobee, 0:11
2nd Quarter
NYJ: 18 pass from Bulger to Caldwell, 1:22
NYJ: 38 pass from Bulger to Henderson, 0:43
JAX: 45 FG by Gramatica, 0:00
3rd Quarter
NYJ: 8 pass from Bulger to Miller, 4:11
4th Quarter
NYJ: 27 FG by Scobee, 1:04
PASSING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Rex Grossman 15-35-129, 1 int. New York: Marc Bulger 19-28-266, 3 TD
RUSHING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Priest Holmes 15-52 New York: Lamar Gordon 29-96
RECEIVING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Mike Williams 4-32 New York: Reche Caldwell 7-92, 1 TD

Team          1  2  3  4  OT  Total
Jaguars       0  3  0  0  --    3
Jets          3 14  7  3  --   27

Teams             JAX         NYJ
Score               3          27
Total Offense     185         378
Rushing Yards      73         112
Passing Yards     112         266
First Downs        13          13
Turnovers           3           0
Time of Poss.    9:59       14:01

[crusaderhoops10]

Week 4 — Oct. 2, 2005

(1-2) AT (1-2)

Fourth quarter touchdown
lifts Jags back to .500 on year

Jacksonville, Fla. (AP) — Rex Grossman looked like a totally different quarterback at home against the Denver Broncos compared to the previous two weeks.

Coming off a 15-for-35 passing performance against the Jets, Grossman improved to 24-for-34 for 293 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

Grossman found Larry Fitzgerald for a 12-yard strike with 5:07 left in the game to give the Jaguars a 24-20 lead which they held on to for the rest of the game.

“Getting the ball to Larry [Fitzgerald] is going to be a huge point of emphasis the rest of this season,” head coach Crusader said. “He’s definitely our best playmaker at the receiver position and we want to make sure we get him a lot of opportunities so he can progress this season.”

Jake Delhomme completed less than 50 percent of his passes for Denver in the loss and totaled just 181 yards while throwing two picks.

Ed Reed made one of those picks for Jacksonville, his fourth of the season, while rookie corner Adam Jones intercepted his first pass of the season to go along with six tackles.

Jacksonville led 17-10 at halftime but was outscored 10-0 in the quarter to fall behind.

Fitzgerald finished with 106 yards on seven catches in the game. Jason Witten also had a nice game with six catches for 58 yards.

The Jaguars will host Cincinnati next week.

Denver 20, Jacksonville 24
1st Quarter
DEN: 40 FG by Cundiff, 2:35
JAX: 7 run by Grossman, 0:14
2nd Quarter
DEN: 27 pass from Delhomme to Dunn, 3:12
JAX: 1 run by Holmes, 1:28
JAX: 25 FG by Gramatica, 0:04
3rd Quarter
DEN: 3 run by James, 2:25
DEN: 43 FG by Cundiff, 0:59
4th Quarter
JAX: 12 pass from Grossman to Fitzgerald, 5:07
PASSING LEADERS: Denver: Jake Delhomme 15-31-181, 1 TD, 2 int. Jacksonville: Rex Grossman 24-34-293, 1 TD, 1 int.
RUSHING LEADERS: Denver: Edgerrin James 23-56, 1 TD Jacksonville: Priest Holmes 23-79, 1 TD
RECEIVING LEADERS: Denver: Andre Davis 6-89 Jacksonville: Larry Fitzgerald 7-106, 1 TD

Team          1  2  3  4  OT  Total
Broncos       3  7 10  0  --   20
Jaguars       7 10  0  7  --   24

Teams             DEN         JAX
Score              20          24
Total Offense     237         380
Rushing Yards      64          91
Passing Yards     173         289
First Downs        11          21
Turnovers           2           2
Time of Poss.   10:08       13:52

[crusaderhoops10]

Week 5 — Oct. 9, 2005

(3-1) AT (2-2)

Jags suffer another big loss
as ground game stalls

Jacksonville, Fla. (AP) — Priest Holmes started the year off as one of the lone bright spots on this Jacksonville Jaguars team but he has since come down from his 100-yard performances.

Holmes managed just 35 yards on 15 carries when the Jaguars hosted the Cincinnati Bengals, losing 41-13.

The Jaguars had to rely more on Rex Grossman and while his numbers weren’t bad, he didn’t have enough in him to keep Jacksonville in it himself.

On the other hand, Cincinnati dominated offensively led by quarterback Brian Griese. Griese threw for 190 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the game.

The turnover differential was huge in this one mainly because of Ed Reed’s putrid performance returning kickoffs.

Reed lost three fumbles on kick returns, leading to his being replaced by rookie Adam Jones.

“Ed [Reed] has a really low carry rating so I guess it’s understanding that he has trouble holding on to the football,” head coach Crusader said. “Three fumbles is still inexcusable and Jones will do fine back there anyway.”

Jacksonville could not overcome the turnovers despite outgaining Cincinnati and having more first downs.

The Jaguars will try to bounce back next week when they play Pittsburgh on the road.

Cincinnati 41, Jacksonville 13
1st Quarter
CIN: 1 pass from Griese to Crockett, 2:03
2nd Quarter
CIN: 38 pass from Griese to Stallworth, 3:30
CIN: 8 pass from Griese to Stallworth, 1:24
JAX: 41 FG by Gramatica, 0:00
3rd Quarter
JAX: 34 FG by Gramatica, 4:25
CIN: 45 run by Turner, 1:32
CIN: 42 FG by Rackers, 1:09
CIN: 1 pass from Griese to Stallworth, 0:08
4th Quarter
JAX: 12 pass from Grossman to Witten, 4:17
CIN: 51 FG by Rackers, 2:11
PASSING LEADERS: Cincinnati: Brian Griese 13-23-190, 4 TD Jacksonville: Rex Grossman 27-42-295, 1 TD, 1 int.
RUSHING LEADERS: Cincinnati: Aaron Stecker 26-70 Jacksonville: Priest Holmes 15-35
RECEIVING LEADERS: Cincinnati: Donte Stallworth 7-114, 3 TD Jacksonville: Larry Fitzgerald 10-134

Team          1  2  3  4  OT  Total
Bengals       7 14 17  3  --   41
Jaguars       0  3  3  7  --   13

Teams             CIN         JAX
Score              41          13
Total Offense     316         327
Rushing Yards     131          38
Passing Yards     185         289
First Downs        12          19
Turnovers           0           4
Time of Poss.   13:23       10:37

[crusaderhoops10]

Week 6 — Oct. 16, 2005

(2-3) AT (1-3)

Jags rebound from loss with impressive
shutout win on road vs. Steelers

Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP) — There’s a big difference between veteran quarterbacks and young quarterbacks in this league.

Today, Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Manning just did not have the awareness necessary to give his team a chance to win against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Steelers were held scoreless by the Jaguars while Manning completed just 7-of-18 passes for 79 yards in the game.

They didn’t get any help from their running game either as Deuce McAllister managed only 64 yards on 22 carries.

The Jaguars didn’t play a great game and struggled to run the ball as well. They just weren’t bad enough to not be able to put up any points.

On their first drive of the game, Rex Grossman hit Larry Fitzgerald over the top for a 45-yard score.

Jacksonville scored a second touchdown later in the second quarter when Priest Holmes found paydirt from a yard out.

The Jaguars led 17-0 at the half and neither team would score for the remainder of the game.

“I like these kinds of games,” head coach Crusader said. “Nothing’s really going to surprise you so you know what you have to do to win. Pittsburgh wasn’t going to do anything to us on offense so we knew we just had to control the ball and not turn it over.”

The Jaguars will look to continue their winning ways next week at St. Louis.

Jacksonville 17, Pittsburgh 0
1st Quarter
JAX: 45 pass from Grossman to Fitzgerald, 4:29
2nd Quarter
JAX: 42 FG by Gramatica, 5:43
JAX: 1 run by Holmes, 0:25
3rd Quarter
No scoring
4th Quarter
No scoring
PASSING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Rex Grossman 22-32-287, 1 TD, 1 int. Pittsburgh: Eli Manning 7-18-79
RUSHING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Priest Holmes 23-51, 1 TD Pittsburgh: Deuce McAllister 22-64
RECEIVING LEADERS: Jacksonville: Larry Fitzgerald 5-95, 1 TD Pittsburgh: Plaxico Burress 3-17

Team          1  2  3  4  OT  Total
Jaguars       7 10  0  0  --   17
Steelers      0  0  0  0  --    0

Teams             JAX         PIT
Score              17           0
Total Offense     274         111
Rushing Yards      42          64
Passing Yards     232          47
First Downs        19           6
Turnovers           1           0
Time of Poss.   13:22       10:38