The Jacksonville Jaguars

[Traveller]

Worst decision he made was to stay and play if he was concerned with getting hurt.

He couldn't play in the NFL after his sophomore year.  Maurice Clarett challenged the NFL's rule in federal court and lost.  Clowney's options for 2013 were play at USC, or don't play at all.

A little bit of trivia: the Court of Appeals judge that wrote the opinion for the Clarett case is current Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

[mtraininjax]

I still don't think Henne's the answer, nor do I think he's much of an upgrade over Gabbert.  They've both had opportunity to silence the critics, and they both have failed to show much promise.

Gabbert is done in this town. His play against the Rams was atrocious, he has regressed this year compared to last year. He was a Gene Smith gamble, one of many, and it is proving to be a bust, but he'll have plenty of company in NFL busts, Ryan Leaf had to be the worst in recent memory.

No one posting in this thread thought otherwise about Blackmon improving the team. 

Whew! That is a relief!

I still don't think you grasp the concept that he makes everyone better just by being out there to draw coverage.  If Shorts isn't out there as well, Blackmon's production goes in the crapper, too. 

Shorts will never be the playmaker that Blackmon is. Never going to happen. The NFL model is to use bigger stronger receivers. The DBs are getting bigger, look at our DBs, most are now over 6 feet tall and can run fast 40 times. The days of sub 6 foot WRs are over, the game has changed.

That, in turn, will leave either a LB or a SS covering Sanders in the slot and if we ever could get Lewis back, that opens it up even more. 

Sanders is a rookie, he gets a pass for one year, but neither he, nor our Offensive Weapon, Robinson, have really shown me much, and they have the chance on the field, but it is still an early season, so let's see something boys!

Lewis is done after this season, neither he or Jones-Drew have anything left in the tank or to offer this team.

[mtraininjax]

I wouldnt think its fair to sum up his career because of one bad game. Am I missing something?

Uh, yeah, he won't play a decent team until the bowl game. The Big East is a joke of a football conference. The only reason Louisville is where it is ranked was from the thrashing of UF last year in the Sugar Bowl. The 1010XL guys had it right on Friday, once UL joins the ACC, they will be a 7-5 team.

Geno Smith may be the only QB, and a rookie at that, from the Big East starting in the NFL. Not a great track record for Big East QBs. Do you want to bet your next 4-5 years on a player from a conference that was barely tested against the talent from the other conferences he is bound to run into in the NFL?

Thankfully David Caldwell gets to make this decision. Yet many of the players they dumped, have prospered around the league so far in 2013.

[tufsu1]

You do know it isnt the Big East anymore right?  And while competition in the ACC will be a big upgrade from the AAC, I think Louisville is better than 7-5

[copperfiend]

Do you want to bet your next 4-5 years on a player from a conference that was barely tested against the talent from the other conferences he is bound to run into in the NFL?

I am sure the Ravens are kicking themselves for taking Flacco from Delaware. Or the Steelers and Roethlisberger from Miami Ohio. They are probably kicking themselves while they are polishing their Super Bowl rings.

[mtraininjax]

I am sure the Ravens are kicking themselves for taking Flacco from Delaware. Or the Steelers and Roethlisberger from Miami Ohio. They are probably kicking themselves while they are polishing their Super Bowl rings.

There are asterisks for every stat. Of course we could also say that Byron Leftwich would have been a Franchise QB for the Jags, since he too came from Marshall.....er, no.

There are exceptions to every stat, many great players come from small schools and they play above themselves and work to make it in the NFL. Walter Peyton, the greatest running back in the NFL IMO, played ball at Jackson State University.

The larger conferences now get so much more money that the inequality in facilities and systems, makes it hard for smaller schools to compete. Now and then a few get through to the NFL, but look at the roster of the Jags, Broncos, or any NFL team and see the percentage of the top 6-8 conferences on the teams. Back in "Sweetness" days you could have many players from smaller schools, now, I fear not so much.

[KenFSU]

EPIC effort by the Jags this afternoon in Denver.

We were a few stupid penalties from being competitive.

These guys have a lot to be proud of, despite the final score.

Henne's not a long term solution, but I can comfortably say that I never want to see Blaine Gabbert as our starting QB again.

[copperfiend]

I am just glad they kept it interesting and did not get blown out. Yeah, I suspect that Henne is the guy unless he gets injured.

[Rynjny]

JUSTIN BLACKMON is a STUD. If he keep his head on straight, he could be our first Pro bowl WR since Jimmy Smith.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Like some of you, it seems, I actually enjoyed yesterday's game.   

What happened to our pass rush?  In the first few series, we kept pressure on Manning, and then after the dust-up with Branch, it completely went away.  I really enjoyed seeing him get off the ground..... repeatedly.

Blackmon is a beast and showed that yesterday.  I really would have liked CSIII in the game to open it up downfield a bit more, but JB has shown that he can operate just fine over the middle without anyone clearing the safeties.  I even noticed the 'veteran' things he does to avoid unnecessary hits - if he can just stay out of the bottle....

Where did our O-line come from?  For the most part, it appeared that Henne had plenty of pockets to throw from.  Our run blocking still isn't where I think it should be, but keeping our QB upright was a huge plus. 

[Dapperdan]

Why won't Gus just commit to Henne already? He was very wishy washy in the conference after the game. Everyone but the Jags apparently can tell what a huge improvement in play there is when he is in. Yes, I know he is not the answer, but he gives us the best shot to have fun the remained of the year. Its almost maddening how they hang on to Gabbert so much. Just admit he is a bust and move on. The sooner, the better.

[mtraininjax]

Blackmon is a beast and showed that yesterday.

Blackmon is the OW (Offensive Weapon), he is the only weapon on the offense. To all the naysayers who think we have other receivers, we have none, compared to Blackmon, he makes the offense better to bet there.

I really would have liked CSIII in the game to open it up down field a bit more

(Shorts) Small WRs, got hurt on 2nd play, did not return. Maybe gone for a few weeks too. He's a nice WR, but he's no Blackmon. On field, Blackmon is a monster, leave the off field stuff to the trolls, he was awesome yesterday and is coming into why we picked him as our playmaker.

Where are the rookie WRs? Sanders? Robinson?

MJD and Lewis are gone next year. Nice to see MJD running well, maybe we can trade him before end of the season. Nice to see production from TE position, people actually catching the ball.

[thelakelander]

Good game. I fully expected Denver to hang +50 yesterday. Show up like that each week and the Jags will win a couple of games before the season is over.

[duvaldude08]

Like some of you, it seems, I actually enjoyed yesterday's game.   

What happened to our pass rush?  In the first few series, we kept pressure on Manning, and then after the dust-up with Branch, it completely went away.  I really enjoyed seeing him get off the ground..... repeatedly.

Blackmon is a beast and showed that yesterday.  I really would have liked CSIII in the game to open it up downfield a bit more, but JB has shown that he can operate just fine over the middle without anyone clearing the safeties.  I even noticed the 'veteran' things he does to avoid unnecessary hits - if he can just stay out of the bottle....

Where did our O-line come from?  For the most part, it appeared that Henne had plenty of pockets to throw from.  Our run blocking still isn't where I think it should be, but keeping our QB upright was a huge plus.

Totally agree buddy. Without Shorts, the passing attack was somewhat limited. Blackmon caught everything thrown his way and has the hands of God, but I wish we could have went deep a little more often. With both Shorts and Blackmon in there, that would have atleast allowed a chance for one of them to break loose. I have no complaints about the game except for Branch and his foolishness. That penality really costed us. That and the busted punt fake. That game was really much closer than what the score looked. The defense seemed to be well prepared for Manning and I credit the coaching staff for that. It was good to sock it to our old enemy. Did anyone notice he looked like an old man when he attempted to bend down and get the ball when they botched the snap?  I also noticed he went to the locker room for a moment too. I think his body isnt holding up to well and hes fighting through it.

[duvaldude08]

 

The Denver Broncos didn't destroy the Jacksonville Jaguars, as many predicted they would, winning Sunday by "just" 16 points, 35-19. On two separate occasions, the Jaguars got within two points of the 6-0 Broncos, leading some fans to boo.

Peyton Manning was a little testy after the game about how people, perhaps even some within the Broncos' facility, dismissed the Jaguars' defense.

 

"Sometimes, you score a lot of points and people take it for granted," Manning said, per The Associated Press. "Even people in your own building can take it for granted. It's not easy to win football games. I learned a long time ago, don't take winning for granted."

Manning was particularly "snappy," as KCNC-TV's Vic Lombardi put it, when asked why he didn't dive after two fumbled snaps (we're assuming the reporter who asked the question was trying to insinuate that Manning didn't go all out, either).

"Don't generalize about that based on one game," Manning said.

Despite some offensive miscues, the Denver defense was the true concern. It got lit up by Justin Blackmon and allowed Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne to throw for 303 yards. Getting Von Miller back next week from his six-game suspension will be a big boost, but the 32nd-ranked pass defense needs to improve on the back end as well.



We've come to expect perfection from Manning-led teams, and the sloppy game from the Broncos was a surprise. But players are human, and they no doubt heard all week about how big they were going to win.

Manning, for his part, will take the perfect record, despite the imperfect game.

"I learned long ago never to take winning for granted, and sometimes you have to remind your own players that it's tough to win in the NFL," Manning said.