A new Jag! (jax hc09)

[Aurabolt127]

(so here's the second option I have w/a franchise - gonna set this one all up and see which I like more (and you like more) and run with it. )

Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio resigns!

It has been confirmed, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio has resigned to take up the head coaching position at his Alma Mater, USC. In the wake of the most recent USC scandal, the AD at Southern Cal reached out to Coach Del Rio to bring not only a very successful NFL coach to his squad, but a part of the USC family as well. Coach Del Rio informed his players just hours before the news broke, and more than one player was upset, as the they felt the team was really on to something last season.

Layne Cleaver, owner of the Jaguars, informed his team that he was bringing in a new coach immediately - and within days had offered the position to former Ohio Northern Head Coach Dave Cotignola. Coach Cotignola is best known for helping develop the pistol offense at the University of Ohio Northern and helping teams like Nevada make it mainstream in the FBS ranks.

Coach Cotignola informed the staff would be kept on this year, and he was going to focus on the offensive side of the ball - specifically attempting to bring the pistol to the NFL full-force. The defensive playbook would remain the same as last year, although some tweaks are expected. This is as much a trail year for Coach Cotignola as it is for the rest of the staff, so there is a sense of urgency in place. Coach Cotignola knows the team is coming off an 11-5 season, but there's still a lot of work to do.

Coach Cotignola refused to get into specifics regarding player personnel at his introductory press conference other than to say that he sees a few big changes ahead to help mold the team - and you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs...

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

So, as February gets rolling and free agency is fast approaching, Coach has a few weeks to look over his roster and see what can be done. The team went 11-5 last year, but was very erratic - either winning big or losing big. And losing against the elite teams of the NFL, especially the division rival Colts both times. They made the playoffs, but were bumped for the second time in a few years by the Patriots. Coach had to find the edge the team needed to beat these elite teams... he hoped it was his pistol offense.

For the pistol to work, Coach knew he had to revamp some of the offense. There were a few promising players on the squad, some holdover draft picks, some questionable trades, and some underachievers... There was also the question of quarterback and running back to resolve. David Garrard had done a fine job as a starter, his competition was gone, namely Byron Leftwich and Quinn Gray; but he was on the last year of his deal and didn't seem especially receptive to entering his last year with a new offense and unknown coach and system. He expressed interest in seeing what his options were.

The other issue was at running back. Fred Taylor is one of the best players the Jags have ever had in their short lifetime, and was coming off a Pro Bowl year. Youngster Maurice Jones-Drew was an amazing young back, but has begun speaking out about taking over as starter and sending Fred out to pasture. He's probably saying a little TOO much to the media. I have to decide if he's a part of the problem or a part of the solution... or merely a part with value to someone else...

Coach knows he won't be too involved in Free Agency. He is going to put a few players on the trade block, and see who's out there - but except maybe at receiver, he doesn't see too many guys worth getting into a bidding war over... of course, if a player like Albert Haynesworth or Terrell Suggs is suddenly available he'd be a food not to give it some though.

After free agency, it'll be time to do a positional analysis to get ready for the draft and the rest of the offseason.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

A quick recap of free agency, and positional analysis pre-draft

Franchise Tag: None. There were players I wanted to keep, but not at the franchise tag price. It's a shame the previous regime couldn't resign a couple of them - but they might pop in in FA.

RFA: SS Gerald Sensabaugh. He's a young safety that might have some potential. I will give him the lowest tender though, 1 year @ $970k vs. a 5th round pick. If no one wants him, I can see what he's all about in camp.

Salary Cap on the eve of FA: $32.62 million dollars. Prob not enough to get into a bidding war over an elite player, but might be enough to toss a few lines out there and see what I catch.

Early thoughts - David Garrard is a good quarterback, and the kind that can run the pistol. But at 30 years old and wanting a big contract, it's a big risk to sign him long term if he isn't going to be willing or able to pick up the offense. In addition, the midseason contract distraction might be too much for me.
Evaluation: I want a mobile QB to run my pistol. The ability to move in the backfield, roll-out, and scramble when necessary is important. They don't have to have a cannon arm, but accuracy - or at least the ability to read a defense would be nice.
Possible replacements:
Bruce Gradkowski, Luke McCown, Tyler Thigpen, Troy Smith, Tyler Thigpen, Seneca Wallace, Charlie Frye are all on rosters now. Jared Zabransky, Ingle Martin, Josh McCown, Omar Jacobs, Marques Tuisasospo, Quinn Gray, and Chris Leak are all FAs. Guys like Josh Johnson and Dennis Dixon are options in the draft.
It's possible I may get one from each pool to compete. I'll need a seasoned vet, a 1-3 year guy, and rookie to set the roster I think.

QB Moves:
Acquired Luke McCown from the Buccaneers for a 2009 6th rounder. Traded David Garrard to the Chicago Bears for a 2008 2nd rounder and a 2008 6th rounder. 24 teams had an offer for him. Crazy.


Day before the draft salary cap: $35.77 million ($2.77 penalties as of now.)

Major draft needs:

QB - Right now only Luke McCown is on the roster. That'll change soon, of course. Can the draft help? A player like Josh Johnson or Dennis Dixon is worth looking at here.

RB - Fred Taylor could end up in the Hall of Fame someday, and behind him is Adrian Peterson....no, not THAT Adrian Peterson...the Peterson who set numerous records at George Southern and was a top 3 finalist for the Walter Payton award (to the most outstanding 1AA college player) ALL 4 years of college; winning it in his sophmore year. He's nearing 30, and I am confident I can find a running back in the draft to help - if they can learn the system of course.

WR - I get the feeling that we're not too solid here, despite the players here and their abilities. Just a feeling I get. Reggie Williams is a former first round pick, but he's never really produced like one. Del Rio traded for former Vikes 1st round pick Troy Williamson, he's a burner, but has attitude and stone hands. Converted QB Matt Jones and former Chargers Legedu Naanee have a chance to really grow here. Dennis Northcutt is on the bubble for sure. I'll be looking for a player here - either a high pick on a stud, or a couple picks on guys with potential.

DE - We have a couple guys that are pretty decent, but getting older and haven't really performed as well as I'd hoped. I'll look at cuts throughout the preseason, but I'd like to find one guy in the draft to bring in and start developing.

DT - Henderson is a great DT, it's a shame the last GM sent Stroud to the Bills, they were an awesome duo. Last year's draft pick Derek Landri is a potential playmaker, but much smaller than I'm hoping for - and he's more a rusher than run-stopper, which we desperately need. I might find a guy in the draft here later on and move Landri to a team with a better fit.

LB - We have three starters here I want to evaluate, but you can never have enough linebackers. Might try to find one or two here to come in and compete.

Up next, the draft!!

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

2008 NFL Draft, 1st round
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	Miami	Jake Long	LT
2	St. Louis	Vernon Gholston	ROLB
3	Atlanta	Matt Ryan	QB
4	Oakland	Chris Long	RE
5	Denver	Keith Rivers	ROLB
6	Baltimore	Glen Dorsey	DT
7	New England	Darren McFadden	RB
8	Indianapolis	Sedrick Ellis	DT
9	Cincinnati	Leodis McKelvin	CB
10	Denver	Ryan Clady	LT
11	Buffalo	Joe Flacco	QB
12	New Orleans	Derrick Harvey	LE
13	New York Jets	Brandon Albert	LG
14	Chicago	Jeff Otah	RT
15	Detroit	Jerod Mayo	LOLB
16	Arizona	Domonique Cromartie	CB
17	Kansas City	Chris Williams	LT
18	Houston	Reshard Mendenhall	RB
19	New England (2)	Aqib Talib	CB
20	Tampa Bay	Mike Jenkins	CB
21	Seattle	Dustin Keller	TE
22	Dallas	Kentwan Balmer	DT
23	Pittsburgh	Gosder Cherlius	RT
24	Tennessee	Lawrence Jackson	LE
25	Washington	Chris Johnson	RB
26	Jacksonville	Felix Jones	RB
27	San Diego	Duane Brown	LT
28	Dallas	Sam Baker	LT
29	San Francisco	Philip Merling	RE
30	Baltimore (2)	Antoine Cason	CB
31	St. Louis (2)	Tracy Porter	CB
32	Miami (2)	Brandon Flowers	CB

Couple draft notes and thoughts:

*McFadden going to New England? Ouch.
*Never saw Indy trade up like that - guess they really wanted a DT. Guess they are worried about McFadden in New England too!
*Buffalo drafted Trent Edwards to be their savior last year, now spend a high first round pick on Joe Flacco? Smart? Or crazy?
*Felix Jones was a GM suggestion for me, he's the same kind of build as Fred Taylor, decided not to rock the boat. Just glad Washington took Chris Johnson.

My draft

1-26: Felix Jones, RB (gm) - similar build to Taylor, health issues.
2-44: Donnie Avery, WR (gm) - true playmaker we need.
3-65: Dennis Dixon, QB - good runner/passer. needs to get healthy
4-124: Wallace Gilberry, LE (gm) - strong disrupter, adds to pass rush.
4-127: Justin Tryon, CB (gm) - good height and speed. Coverage? hmm
5-153: Jonathan Goff, MLB (gm) - will get a chance to earn a spot
5-154: Kerry Dunn, DT (me) - tall and strong, hope he helps stop run
6-191: Kellen Davis, TE (me) - good blocker and has some speed. Projects as decent #2TE

(all my GM picks had 56-73% dislike, I took Dunn and got 77% fan approval! LOL! If these picks bust, the fans are going to want his head.)

UDFA

Bo Wilson, SS - good chance to be the backup SS
Robert Henderson, LE - could be a steal pass rusher, durability issues
Cory Boyd, RB - runner w/a mean streak, hands are a big question
Warren Adams, RG - seems like a big guy with blocking skills, depth
Erin Henderson, ROLB - good speed and could be a reserve with potential.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Haven't even had our second practice and both starting DEs (Spicer and Hayward) broke a bone and both will miss 4-5 weeks. Guess the rookies are getting a trial by fire early. Going to have to sign a little depth there.

5 days till the first preseason game and Fred Taylor hurts his fibula. 3-4 weeks. Sigh.

Going to be extra careful with Fred and Felix.

Preseason Game 1: vs. Atlanta - lost 18-10
Rookie RB Cory Boyd had one td
4th string CB Mike Hawkins had 2 picks
Rookie OLB Erin Henderson broke his wrist. 4-5 weeks. Not good for him.

Preseason Game 2: vs Miami - win 17-14
QB Marques Tuiasosopo threw 2 touchdowns - both to WR Troy Williamson.

John Henderson banged his knee and will miss one week. Turns out Kerry Dunn has an 85 potential! SWEEET!

Preseason Game 3: @ Tampa Bay - loss 21-6
Tyler Brayton, signed the day before the game to cover an injury had 2 sacks.

Preseason Game 4 @ Washington - Loss 17-14
Final Preseason record 1-3
Luke McCown tossed a TD to Donnie Avery
Adrian Peterson rushed for a TD

Preseason Promise: finish OVER .500
Final Preseason Approval: 51
Opening Day Salary Cap: $35.47 million. ($2.77 penalties this year, $14.92 million next year.)

Paul Spicer and Reggie Heyward are both injured, and may yet get cut, although there is a little cap "pain" if Reggie goes. I'm ok starting Gilberry and Brayton right now if I have to.

Marques Tuiasosopo thoroughly outplayed Luke McCown in the preseason, but I am just not sure I want to make him the season opener, Luke looks superior on paper. Dixon is good, but not ready by a long shot. Luke will be listed as the starter on the sheet, but I need a little bit to decide what I want to do.

Former first round pick WR Reggie Williams is running with rookie Donnie Avery and the 2's right now, Both Naanee and Williamson had great preseasons and they've earned the right to start. Matt Jones is on the trade block.

Jacksonville Jaguars Depth Chart - 2008
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Troy Williamson	Reggie Williams
TE	Marcedes Lewis	Kemba Osby (r)	Kellen Davis (r)
LT	Khalif Barnes	Nat Dorsey
LG	Vince Manuwai	Uche Nwaneri
C	Drew Mormino	Warren Adams (r)
RG	George Foster	Champ Warren (r)	Warren Adams (r)
RT	Tony Pashos	Richard Collier
WR	Legedu Naanee	Donnie Avery	Matt Jones
QB	Luke McCown	Marques Tuiasosopo	Dennis Dixon (r)
FB	Greg Jones
HB	Fred Taylor	Felix Jones (r)	Adrian Peterson	Cory Boyd (r)
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Paul Spicer	Wallace Gilberry (r)	Roderick Green
LDT	John Henderson	Anthony Bryant
RDT	Kerry Dunn (r)	Derek Landri
RDE	Tyler Brayton	Robert Henderson (r)
WLB	Justin Durant	Dan Cody
MLB	Daryl Smith	Mike Peterson	Jonathan Goff (r)
SLB	Clint Ingram	Tyreese Kent (r)
CB	Rashean Mathis	Justin Tryon (r)
SS	Brandon McGowan	Bo Wilson (r)
FS	Reggie Nelson	Pat Watkins
CB	DeMario Minter	Cletis Gordon
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Josh Scobee
P	Adam Podlesh
PR	Justin Tryon	Cletis Gordon
KR	Justin Tyron	Cletis Gordon

Coming up - week one vs the Tennessee Titans!

QB Vince Young
RB LenDale White
WR Isaac Bruce, Justin Gage
DE (r) Lawrence Jackson and Kyle VanDen Bosch
DT Albert Haynesworth and (r) Dre Moore (reserve is (r) Jason Shirley)
LB's Thornton, Thurmann, and Bullock
CB's Finnegan, (r) Pat Lee
S's Griffin and Hope
K 48 years young - Morten Anderson!

The Defense is stacked, like every Titans team. Haynesworth and Moore will be a tough (both 90+) tandem to beat.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Just noticed rookie DE Lawrence Jackson picked up a gameday injury - pending. Atiyyah Ellison will start at LE. They have no one else behind them so if Vanden Bosch or Ellison gets hurt, it will be interesting...

game later today I hope!

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Week One - Jaguars @ Titans
(pouring rain)

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
Sep 1, 2008	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Jacksonville Jaguars (0-0)	0	0	3	6	9
Tennessee Titans (0-0)	3	9	0	7	19

Team Stats Comparison
	JAC	TEN
Total Offense	181	297
Rushing Yards	37	136
Passing Yards	144	161
First Downs	10	15
Punt Return Yards	25	15
Kick Return Yards	115	41
Total Yards	321	353
Turnovers	3	0
3rd Down Converstion	4-12	5-14
4th Down Conversion	1-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	0-0	1-5
Posession Time	23:24	36:33

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		JAC	TEN
08:00	(TEN) M Anderson 25 yard FG	0	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		JAC	TEN
06:43	(TEN) M Anderson 36 yard FG	0	6
03:35	(TEN) M Anderson 33 yard FG	0	9
00:08	(TEN) M Anderson 18 yard FG	0	12
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		JAC	TEN
09:47	(JAC) J Scobee 41 yard FG	3	12
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		JAC	TEN
06:27	(TEN) V Young 5 yd TD pass to J Olsen (M Anderson PAT)	3	19
00:30	(JAC) J McCown 12 yd TD pass to T Williamson (2 pt fail)	9	19

Jacksonville Jaguars PASSING C/A YDS TD INT M Tuiasosopo 6/16 63 0 1 J McCown 6/16 90 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD F Jones 6 13 M Tuaisosopo 6 14 A Peterson 5 3 G Jones 2 8 F Taylor 1 -1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D Avery 3 44 0 T Williamson 3 52 1 L Naanee 2 13 0 R Williams 2 26 0 G Jones 1 6 0 M Lewis 1 12 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD D Smith 9-1 0 0 J Henderson 5-4 2 0 K Dunn 3-1 1 0 W Gilberry 5-3 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J Scobee 1/2 0/0 3 41 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 A Podlesh 4 150 37.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C Gordon 4 69 17.2 J Tryon 2 46 23.0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J Tryon 1 25 25.0 0

Tennessee Titans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT V Young 13/19 175 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD L White 31 132 0 V Young 7 1 0 K Jones 1 3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B Jones 3 34 0 I Bruce 2 32 0 J Gage 2 37 0 K Olsen 2 14 1 K Jones 2 32 0 B Fletcher 1 10 0 L White 1 16 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD K Bullock 11-1 0 0 A Haynesworth 4-2 1 0 A Ellison 3-2 1 0 P Lee 2-0 0 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG M Anderson 4/4 1/1 13 36 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 C Hentrich 5 160 32.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD P Lee 1 19 19.0 0 C Stephens 1 1 1.0 0 C Finnegan 1 21 21.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD P Lee 2 15 7.5 0

Other stats:
Titans Haynesworth and Thurman each forced a fumble inside my 20. (one was on Adrian Peterson, one on Tuiasosopo)

This was a closer game than it seems. If Scobee doesn't miss one kick, the score would have been 12-6, wouldn't have went for 2 later.

Injuries were SICK - the following players of mine got knocked out of the game.

DE Tyler Brayton
DE Paul Spicer
DT John Henderson
RB Felix Jones
RB Fred Taylor
TE Kemba Osby
DE Robert Henderson (returned after the half)

Fred's injury had me furious. Said he was going to miss 4 plays. It gets to one play, and he never comes back. That was a few minutes into the FIRST quarter - never came back - just kept saying 1 play.

We couldn't wait to get out of there before anyone else got crippled. Starting the game with 2 early fumbles inside our 20 was nuts, but we kept stopping them. Tuiasosopo got the start based on his great preseason, but in the 4th quarter after his pick I let McCown in. He got us a TD. Their passing stats were almost the same, and Tui ran for some yardage, so I'm not really sure who I'll start. Between the injuries and rain a lot of guys would have had a hard time.

Time to see how our approval gets hit - we got some "defining moments", but this was a goal game: rivalry.

Approval: 68

Injuries: (* = new injury)

*DE Paul Spicer - torn triceps - IR
*DE Gilberry - high ankle sprain: 2-3 weeks
*TE K Osby - leg cramp: 1 play *WTF! We're back home already!
*DT Henderson - bruised knee: 5-6 days
*DE Tyler Brayton - bruised kidney: 5-6 days
RG W Adams - high ankle sprain: 2 days

Up next, the Buffalo Bills come to town!

The Bills lost a close game to the Seahawks, 24-21. QB Trent Edwards starts (w/Harrington and Flacco as the 2 and 3) Starting WR Lee Evans is out, but Jerry Porter, Roscoe Parrish and Jeff Reed are skilled receivers in their own right. Ben Troupe is the TE, and LT Jason Peters is among the best at the position.

On defense, Kelsey and Schobel (a 2007 pro bowler) are the ends and rookie Barry Booker gets the start at DT due to an injury to the usual starter. The rest of the defense is solid, esp the linebacking corps - which features a mix of established pros like Jeremiah Trotter and Angelo Crowell, as well as young stars in the making Paul Posluszny, Ricky Manning, Keith Ellison and Shawn Crable (all 80s +)

As for my injury situation, Gilberry still needs a week, and Brayton needs a day. I've still got some depth, so I hope it's enough. Time for everyone to step it up!!

[lastlastlast]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

I mostly see the colts trade up to get Jerod Mayo as LOLB is usually their only major need

[jshrolltide]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

As always, you've got some fun ideas aurabolt!

And yeah, I think the first career I evervplayed I had Kerry Dunn. In the right philosophy, he's a very solid player. Not very athletic, but very strong, which makes him a great run stopper.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Thanks! I'm hoping he develops, he looks good so far.

As for the Colts, guess we'll see when I play them... not like Freeney and Mathis need any more help.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Jaguars crush Bills, 37-13

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Buffalo Bills (0-1)	0	6	7	0	13
Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)	7	7	3	20	37

Team Stats Comparison
	BUF	JAC
Total Offense	257	339
Rushing Yards	138	210
Passing Yards	119	129
First Downs	6	17
Punt Return Yards	15	24
Kick Return Yards	199	56
Total Yards	471	419
Turnovers	6	0
3rd Down Converstion	4-12	4-7
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/2	4/3
Penalties	0-0	5-47
Posession Time	21:44	38:11

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		BUF	JAC
01:49	(JAC) F Taylor 1 yd td run (Scobee PAT)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		BUF	JAC
12:14	(BUF) R Lindell 18 yd FG	3	7
04:55	(BUF) R Lindell 36 yd FG	6	7
00:39	(JAC) M Tuiasosopo 3yd TD pass to M Lewis (Scobee PAT)	6	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		BUF	JAC
12:06	(JAC) J Scobee 24 yd FG	6	17
04:08	(BUF) M Lynch 89 yd TD run (Lindell PAT)	13	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		BUF	JAC
11:52	(JAC) F Jones 8 yard TD run (Scobee PAT)	13	24
07:10	(JAC) J Scobee 34 yard FG	13	27
02:49	(JAC) F Taylor 1 yd TD run (Scobee PAT)	13	34
00:53	(JAC) J Scobee 28 yd FG	13	37

Buffalo Bills PASSING C/A YDS TD INT M Tuiasosopo 12/20 135 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD F Taylor 21 92 2 M Tuiasosopo 8 20 0 C Boyd 7 46 0 F Jones 7 14 1 G Jones 2 34 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M Lewis 8 85 1 F Taylor 1 13 0 K Davis 1 10 0 G Jones 1 7 0 T Williamson 1 20 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD D Smith 7-3 0 1 0 R Green 4-1 1 0 0 B McGowan 1-0 0 1 0 R Nelson 5-0 0 1 0 J Tyron 1-0 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J Scobee 3/3 4/4 13 35 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 A Podlesh 4 155 38.7 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J Tryon 1 30 30.0 0 C Gordon 1 26 26.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J Tryon 2 24 12.0 0

Jacksonville Jaguars PASSING C/A YDS TD INT T Edwards 8/27 124 0 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD M Lynch 19 145 0 1 T Edwards 1 -7 0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J Porter 3 40 0 0 R Parrish 2 29 0 0 M Gaines 1 43 0 0 J Reed 1 12 0 0 B Troupe 1 0 0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J Trotter 14-1 0 0 0 K Williamd 10-2 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG R Lindell 2/2 1/1 7 36 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 B Moorman 2 86 43.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C Jackson 5 125 25.0 0 R Parrish 3 74 24.6 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R Parrish 1 15 15.0 0

Coach Cotignola is a much happier man this Sunday evening than he was last week. His Jaguars played a much better game than their previous outing, but he admits they still have a long way to go.

"The defense really set the tempo for the game, especially with the turnovers. It was like a boxing match; we'd hit 'em, they'd swing but BAM! we'd counter with a shot before they knew what hit them. I'm really proud of the guys. In regards to the Marshawn Lynch TD run, that was on me. My bad. We had them pinned and I went all in on it. Marshawn's a great, powerful runner and he got us on that one."

Offensively, Fred Taylor's hard running helped lead the offense; while Tuiasosopo played efficient, error free football. Coach was quick to give a little praise to rookie running back Cory Boyd, suiting up this week in place of Adrian Peterson. The run game was pretty average till Cory came in for two series. (7 carries for 46 yards.)

Coach Cotignola did express his frustration with some of his receiver's lack of focus on several dropped passes though. "I might have to take a look at the guys I have and shake things up a bit, where they line up, which routes they run, that kind of thing. They're all really talented players, I just have to get them in the right places at the right times. Whether that's the X, the Z, the unemployment line... (laughs)"

One HUGE factor in the game was the difference in the number and severity of injuries compared to last week. RG George Foster was knocked from the game, and is expected to miss 4 or 5 weeks with a stress factor. TE Kemba Osby will miss one day to deal with a laceration on his hand, and RE Robert Henderson will take a day off to deal with a sore chest. Otherwise, the team got off pretty healthy and it showed. Much nicer than the 8 guys or whatever that got knocked out last week.

Fred Taylor won AFC Player of the Week!

Up next is a divisional battle with the Indianapolis Colts. Led by Peyton Manning, the Colts are one of the Super Bowl favorites. Last year the Colts swept the Jaguars, and they look even more formidable this year with the additions of rookies Sedrick Ellis (starting DT), Clifford Avril (starting ROLB), and Zach Bowman (nickel corner)

Due to injuries to Gilberry (1 wk) and Reggie Hayward (1 week) we're suddenly thin at DE. We've got the rookie Henderson there to back up Brayton; and Roderick Green picked up a sack last week and can start on the other side till Gilberry is back. DT Derek Landri and OLB Dan Cody will also provide depth at DE, as we think they can do a great job - and there's no rush to sign a guy off the street for one week.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Stupid table flipped my stats and the Bills. Oh well.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

So, while he hasn't been Dan Marino or anything, Tuiasosopo is going to stay the starter - of course, this week we play the Colts. What are the odds he'll have a 300 yard passing, 200 yard rushing game like he did in college once (still the only player to ever do it, and he did it against Stanford too, not some FCS scrub team the "big schools" like to pad their schedule with. Too bad he never got a good shot when he was with my Raiders.) LOL! Yeah, I know - He'll be lucky to get half that yardage... I can dream, right?

The only thing I saw from two games that bugs me a little is that he doesn't have a real strong arm, so it's kind of limiting the chances to really take advantage of Williamson and Avery's awesome speed. In theory, Dixon is the future, so by mid-season if Tui is still set at starter, I might dress Dixon for a few games and let McCown sit inactive, and see if I can give Dixon a few series. His arm is pretty good, def better than Tui's. (just a few though, his injury is LOW.)

The thing with Cory Boyd was true, we really couldn't run much at all, then he comes in and has some huge inside runs -and then suddenly Taylor's hitting yards at a good clip, Felix and my fullback had long runs too. It's like the Bills defense finally just broke. It was cool. I'm going to give him a few more carries and sit Adrian Peterson as an inactive. I'm not ready to cut AP yet, because I'm sure Taylor or Jones is going to get banged up eventually, and he's been learning the playbook.

Going to flop my starters at receiver this week - Going to let Naanee and Matt Jones start, put Reggie Williams as the 3, Williamson as the 4 and Avery as the 5. So far the receivers have under-performed (understatement.) I'm going make it an early mission to try to pass early this game too, although I'm sure against the Colts I'll have to - as we'll be playing catch-up no doubt. Ideally I'd like Naanee and Williamson to start, with Avery in the slot. I just want to get a better look at Jones and Williams, because I'm probably going to try to trade one of them and then pick up a developmental guy to sit as my #5. Most of the time I'm only seeing 3 WRs on the field, (or 2), so 4 is rare and a 5th guy is more of a luxury than a necessity - might as well get a guy who can take part in the return game or something if he's going to be mostly depth.

Defensively, the 6 turnovers last week was awesome. 4 Trent Edwards picks had me standing and cheering and yelling. Crazy too because he's an accurate passer. Forced two fumbles too- one on Lynch, one on Edwards. Guess the Bills might be thinking about moving Flacco up the depth chart a little!

Can't wait to get the next game in...

[Runyourownworld]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

I like this one a lot so far. Jaguars are interesting to play with since they can actually run the ball pretty well.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: A new Jag! (jax hc09)

Thanks! Was hoping to get a game in before work, but not likely now.


HA! I did get a game in! But...it was against the Colts.