The Jacksonville Jaguars

[mtraininjax]

Without Shorts, the passing attack was somewhat limited.

Huh?

From the Times Union:

Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon earned some high praise Sunday after he was finished getting the best of Denver's secondary. The second-year receiver caught 14 passes for 190 yards in Denver's 35-19 win over the Jaguars at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The 14 catches tied the third-highest single-game total in Jaguars history, and the yardage total was the fifth highest. Several of the passes Blackmon caught were against Denver cornerback Champ Bailey, a player likely headed to the Hall of Fame in the next decade. "He's going to be a good receiver for a long time," Bailey said. "I really give him props, because he worked hard. He's on a team that was 0-5, and guys can get down. That shows you how special he is. He kept working, kept grinding and looked good."

Henne goes 27 of 42 for 303 yards, 190 of which went to Blackmon. When was the last time the Jags have had a 300 yard game by a QB? For a team that is averaging 209 yards passing per game, this was a heckuva game by Henne and Blackmon and even Mike Brown.

Blackmon should have a blowout year and will make Henne look better with or without a backup cast of WRs. I have no problem with Henne going over the middle for 10,15 or 20 yards, get the ball to Blackmon and let him do his thing and run over people. He makes the whole O better.

[I-10east]

I'm not gonna buy into any 'moral victories'. I understand that we are in a rebuilding phase, but the NFL is a league of wins and losses, and I'm not gonna 'celebrate' any bittersweet losses. We obviously played the Broncos with some heart, and hopefully we can carry that momentum into next game; I'm not predict us to win any home games (Chargers next), until we atleast look competitive in one; They fooled me like that in the recent past before, no more.

I felt like we could have been even more competitive as plays (both offense and defense) was left on the field. I couldn't understand for the life of me why we were playing cover 2 defense ON THE GOALLINE, like two or three times unsuccessfully!!! I'm sure that Peyton was like, thank you Jags, I'll just CONTINUOUSLY audible to the run, and let Knowshon run in some EASY TD's with no freaking LB's in sight to make a play! You clearly have to switch up in that situation, that's a coaching issue. I don't care who we play, I treat every opponent the same, so I will not throw a ticker-tape parade just because we hung in there with Denver in the first half, while leaving plays all over the field (not to mention the penalties). Just bringing a lil' balance (or light drizzle) to this parade.      

[duvaldude08]

Without Shorts, the passing attack was somewhat limited.

Huh?

From the Times Union:

Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon earned some high praise Sunday after he was finished getting the best of Denver's secondary. The second-year receiver caught 14 passes for 190 yards in Denver's 35-19 win over the Jaguars at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The 14 catches tied the third-highest single-game total in Jaguars history, and the yardage total was the fifth highest. Several of the passes Blackmon caught were against Denver cornerback Champ Bailey, a player likely headed to the Hall of Fame in the next decade. "He's going to be a good receiver for a long time," Bailey said. "I really give him props, because he worked hard. He's on a team that was 0-5, and guys can get down. That shows you how special he is. He kept working, kept grinding and looked good."

Henne goes 27 of 42 for 303 yards, 190 of which went to Blackmon. When was the last time the Jags have had a 300 yard game by a QB? For a team that is averaging 209 yards passing per game, this was a heckuva game by Henne and Blackmon and even Mike Brown.

Blackmon should have a blowout year and will make Henne look better with or without a backup cast of WRs. I have no problem with Henne going over the middle for 10,15 or 20 yards, get the ball to Blackmon and let him do his thing and run over people. He makes the whole O better.

We still need to get in the end zone, which is something that didnt happen. We need to run people over and get into the end zone. Racking up yards is fine, but if were not still not scoring it doesnt mean anything at this point. I know your high on Blackmon, but he's not a Jimmy Smith....yet. So at this point, we need a supporting cast. And plus, who wants just wants on weapon on their offense?? Im not aruging that Blackmon is not a beast, because he is. But we need more than one playmaker to get where we wanna go. And I was referring to our DOWNFIELD passing attack was limited. Blackmon attempted to get  open down field a few times but it didnt work. If him and shorts were both in there, it could have possiably  freed one of them up to get wide up. Thats I was referring to.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

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.

I must have missed this earlier. 

I would enjoy nothing more than being able to ignore his off-field antics, but fact of the matter is that if he gets busted on another substance issue, then he's gone for an entire year. 

That's something that can not be ignored.

[JRuscitti]

I'm not gonna buy into any 'moral victories'.

Leave that to Jerry Jones.

[I-10east]

^^^+100

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The more I read about Khan, the more belief I have that he is going to do great things for our little city. 

He brings an energy, a sense of direction, a sense of style and, more importantly, loads of disposable income.  He truly seems to be at the forefront of taking us global!  Now if we could get a few politicians on board.....

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/sports/owner-of-jaguars-and-fulham-seeks-a-football-fusion.html

LONDON — The mile-long walk from the Putney Bridge tube stop to Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham Football Club, is among the most scenic in English soccer. On game days, fathers and sons, young couples and hardened fans amble together through Bishop's Park past rose bushes, stone sculptures and the Thames.

The pastoral parade is a world away from Jacksonville, Fla., where most Jaguars fans arrive at their team's games by car or truck in search of parking spots for their card tables, barbecues and coolers. The scenes had little in common until July, when Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jaguars, bought Fulham for an estimated 200 million pounds (about $319 million), creating an unlikely sports tandem. Less than two decades old, the Jaguars are one of the N.F.L.'s youngest franchises and play in one of the league's smallest markets, with only occasional success.

Fulham, by contrast, dates to 1879, and while it lacks the winning tradition of, say, Manchester United, it has produced great players like Johnny Haynes and Bobby Robson. Archibald Leitch, a renowned architect, designed part of its stadium, a landmark in an upscale section of London.

Khan, an auto-parts magnate, wants to fuse the teams in ways no owner of American and English teams has done. He committed the Jaguars to playing home games in London the next four seasons — including on Oct. 27 against the 49ers — fueling talk that they may move there. Fulham will play friendlies in Florida. Khan has hired marketers to win sponsors on both sides of the Atlantic and has told his teams to share tips on everything from catering to ticketing.

"They are two separate entities, but there is common ground where two plus two equals five," he said. "It's kind of saturated in the U.S., so the growth will be internationally."

To date, most owners of American and English teams have viewed their clubs as too distinct to integrate. While the N.F.L. has a salary cap, Premier League clubs can spend without limit for players. American stadiums are like theme parks, dominated by luxury boxes and food courts; British stadiums are frequently minimalist, with fans doing most of their eating and drinking in nearby pubs. While American teams seek stadium naming partners, shirt deals in England are often more visible, and more lucrative.

The most prominent combinations of teams have little to do with one another, including Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which are owned by the Glazer family; and Arsenal, the St. Louis Rams and the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, which are owned by Stan Kroenke. Randy Lerner, who owns Aston Villa and sold the Cleveland Browns, did little to fuse his teams.

The owners of Manchester City are likely to collaborate with the M.L.S. team they bought this year, which expects to begin play in New York in 2015. The Fenway Sports Group has created cross-border links between Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox, though baseball is barely played in Britain.

Khan seeks to go further. Because the Jaguars will play in London regularly, the N.F.L. gave them extra marketing rights that are starting to generate more income for a team that is last in the league in revenue per ticket sold. Khan is promoting Jacksonville to British fans in the hope they will visit to see a Jaguars game. To whet their appetites, he sent the Jaguars' cheerleaders to perform at a Fulham match, and a British lingerie company created a calendar for them. The newly formed Union Jax Jaguars fan club in Britain has about 17,000 members.

"Mr. Khan said we're not the Fulham Jaguars," said Laura Oakes, who was hired to find sponsorships for the Jaguars in Britain. "But in terms of raising our profile, Fulham is a wonderful icebreaker."

Despite the focus on the N.F.L. in London, the bigger opportunity could be in selling Fulham to American fans: on a per-capita basis, English soccer is more popular in the United States than American football is in Britain, said Steven Gans, a principal at Professional Soccer Advisors. The latest deal to carry Premier League games in the United States was three times as large as the previous contract, one sign of the sport's growing prominence.

"It's validated our theory, which is, Americans want high-quality soccer," said Gans, who helped Fulham seek business ties in the United States several years ago. "The growth here has been consistent for people who love high-quality soccer."

Having Fulham tour the United States in its off-season could bring in millions of dollars. While the club does not have the stature of Real Madrid or Chelsea, it has a following in the United States because national team stars like Clint Dempsey and Brian McBride once played for the team, earning it the nickname Fulhamerica.

"I love any time I see someone with a Fulham jersey or scarf," said McBride, who was captain during his nearly four years at Fulham and is now an analyst for Fox Sports. "When an American fan goes over there to go to some games, there are some special stadiums, but Fulham has character."

Getting executives five time zones apart to work together is easier in theory than in practice. And some things, like selling tickets more efficiently, will do only so much to offset a terrible player contract, missing the playoffs or being relegated. Some owners, including the Glazers, have also taken heavy criticism from fans who suspect them of using profits from United to subsidize the Buccaneers.

For now, Khan is getting high marks from fans in Jacksonville, where he is treated like a rock star, and in London, where he removed a deeply unpopular statue of Michael Jackson installed by the previous owner. But losing breeds discontent, and the winless Jaguars may need a financial boost if they are to turn around their fortunes on the field. Khan also agreed to pay about one-third of a $63 million upgrade to EverBank Field in Jacksonville and will spend even more to upgrade Craven Cottage. Fulham, which is one spot above relegation before this weekend's matches, must compete with free-spending clubs across Europe for top players.

Because of the N.F.L.'s healthy revenue-sharing program, the Jaguars earned an operating profit of $15.5 million last year, even though they were the second-least valuable franchise in the league, according to Forbes. English soccer clubs share less of their revenue, but Fulham can tap into the wealthy London market for new sources of revenue.

Indeed, Fulham plans to spend about 30 million pounds (nearly $50 million) to expand its stadium, which has only 25,000 seats and is hemmed in by a park, the Thames and its landmark grandstand. The team wants to add new lounges, 4,300 club seats, and a cafe and restaurant that will be open on nongame days.

"It's a very important part of our business plan," said Alistair MacIntosh, Fulham's chief executive. "There is a trend towards being self-sustaining."

With its small stadium and modest ambitions, Fulham is unlikely to challenge for the Premier League title or regularly qualify for the European tournaments that might bring in more revenue, even though the team's previous owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, once vowed to turn the club into the "Manchester United of the South."

Yet the Cottagers, as the team is known, have been good enough to avoid relegation the past dozen years. Last year, Fulham had nearly $130 million in revenue, a total that was 10th in the 20-team Premier League but only one-quarter of what Manchester United earned. The team still lost $30 million before taxes.

"Balancing the books is the goal," said Alexander Thorpe, who works in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, which produces an annual financial review of the Premier League. "If everyone is getting a big chunk of television money, the difference is how much commercial revenue teams earn."

Like all teams, Fulham has a devoted following. But many fans, including transplants to London, consider the club their second team. Craven Cottage is a rarity in that it has neutral zone seats for fans of any affiliation. It is also considered family friendly, at least by British standards. Fulham's former cheerleaders, the Cravenettes, were replaced by a mascot, Billy the Badger, who once received a yellow card for his sideline antics.

Fulham's best asset might be its tradition. It is one of England's oldest clubs, and its cozy stadium evokes Fenway Park along the Thames. The famed Johnny Haynes Stand includes wooden seats installed more than a century ago, and a two-story brick cottage doubles as a dressing room. Unlike rowdy crowds elsewhere, Fulham's fans, who include the actor Hugh Grant, appear content simply to be playing in England's top division.

"Fulham will never compete with Chelsea," its more powerful neighbor, said Steve Nutley, a lifelong Fulham supporter whose London taxicab is adorned with team paraphernalia. "There's no animosity between the teams. That's how we grew up."

Fans ultimately want to watch a winner, and the lack of a salary cap in the Premier League means Khan can spend heavily on players if he wants. But he is more likely to take advantage of new financial fair play rules in European soccer that will tie the amount a club spends to what it earns. The rules could help rein in owners who have bankrolled losses in their search of the best talent, and give Khan some time to figure out ways to generate more money from his teams.

The goal for Fulham, just as it is for the Jaguars, is that it "should not depend on the benevolence of its chairman," Khan said.

"It should become a sustaining business," he added, "a virtuous cycle where you are bringing money in and spending on players."

[mtraininjax]

I must have missed this earlier. 

I would enjoy nothing more than being able to ignore his off-field antics, but fact of the matter is that if he gets busted on another substance issue, then he's gone for an entire year. 

That's something that can not be ignored.

There you go again, dwelling on the negative.

While Blackmon was on the sidelines for his suspension, Bradley and the coaches had him on a workout regimen and were working with him to make sure he did not slide down or fall into bad habits. Think positive, Blackmon is going to be great this year and he will be a role model for other players in the future in Jax. I believe it, time for others to get off the Blackmon Beating Bus of bad news!

[I-10east]

but Henne had over 300 yards passing though!!! Woohoo, Henne is the man, oh yeah!!!! We definitively have a keeper for next year....

[I-10east]

I'm now convinced that the Jags should get the Oregon QB, 'Super' Marcus Mariota in the draft next year. He pretty much can do it all, elude pressure in the pocket with good awareness, running with a good nose for the endzone, throw accurately, and he has good size too. IMO Mariota would have more upside, and less risk than any of the other QB prospects (Manziel, Bridgewater, Boyd etc). This kid lookin' like Kaepernick 2.0, make it happen Jags!

[BridgeTroll]

The Packers sure do like Jaguar cast offs...  First DuJuan Harris... now Jarrett Boykin... 

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jarrett-Boykin-set-the-bar-high-on-his-big-day/a462dd0a-887e-41f9-8d49-ef6bc817de3b

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The Packers sure do like Jaguar cast offs...  First DuJuan Harris... now Jarrett Boykin... 

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jarrett-Boykin-set-the-bar-high-on-his-big-day/a462dd0a-887e-41f9-8d49-ef6bc817de3b

I know, right!

It's amazing how well supporting players look when the lead guy is a superstar*.
*(See NE Patriots)
*(See NO Saints)
*(Take a peek at ATL Falcons)

[KenFSU]

On the bright side, Florida State is #2 in the BCS rankings

[BridgeTroll]

The Packers sure do like Jaguar cast offs...  First DuJuan Harris... now Jarrett Boykin... 

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jarrett-Boykin-set-the-bar-high-on-his-big-day/a462dd0a-887e-41f9-8d49-ef6bc817de3b

I know, right!

It's amazing how well supporting players look when the lead guy is a superstar*.
*(See NE Patriots)
*(See NO Saints)
*(Take a peek at ATL Falcons)

I'm sure evaluation of talent is important too... but the Jags have proven they are on top of that!

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The Packers sure do like Jaguar cast offs...  First DuJuan Harris... now Jarrett Boykin... 

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jarrett-Boykin-set-the-bar-high-on-his-big-day/a462dd0a-887e-41f9-8d49-ef6bc817de3b

I know, right!

It's amazing how well supporting players look when the lead guy is a superstar*.
*(See NE Patriots)
*(See NO Saints)
*(Take a peek at ATL Falcons)

I'm sure evaluation of talent is important too... but the Jags have proven they are on top of that!

LOL, we signed 'em first, so I guess we are.