The Jacksonville Jaguars

[ProjectMaximus]

Amusing Non-Jags stat of the day:

Last 30 games played:

Cleveland Browns 2-28
Cleveland Indians 28-2

Amusing, but as an Astros fan also concerning. They are the team to beat.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Shocking Jags stat of the Day:

The Jags LEAD The NFL in point differential.

In four years under Bradley and one under Mularkey, the Jaguars won a grand total of one game by a double digit margin, 51-16 over Indianapolis in 2015.

In five games under Marrone, they've won three.

[Tacachale]

It was great walking around the Beaches and my neighborhood yesterday and hearing everybody talking about the win. Nice when the Jags are on everyone's tongues and it's for a positive reason!

[Rynjny]

It was great walking around the Beaches and my neighborhood yesterday and hearing everybody talking about the win. Nice when the Jags are on everyone's tongues and it's for a positive reason!

Wait...I thought everyone is boycotting the Jags?

[pierre]

Shocking Jags stat of the Day:

The Jags LEAD The NFL in point differential.

In four years under Bradley and one under Mularkey, the Jaguars won a grand total of one game by a double digit margin, 51-16 over Indianapolis in 2015.

In five games under Marrone, they've won three.

Marrone has as many wins in 5 games with the Jags as Bradley did in his final 20 games with the team.

[thelakelander]

It was great walking around the Beaches and my neighborhood yesterday and hearing everybody talking about the win. Nice when the Jags are on everyone's tongues and it's for a positive reason!

Wait...I thought everyone is boycotting the Jags?

Lol, only on Fox News. If the Jags put together a winning season, they'll be supported regardless of people's personal opinions about standing or kneeling for the anthem.

[Tacachale]

It was great walking around the Beaches and my neighborhood yesterday and hearing everybody talking about the win. Nice when the Jags are on everyone's tongues and it's for a positive reason!

Wait...I thought everyone is boycotting the Jags?

Lol, only on Fox News. If the Jags put together a winning season, they'll be supported regardless of people's personal opinions about standing or kneeling for the anthem.

To be clear, ratings are down, and viewers give the protests as the single biggest reason. 34% say they're less likely to watch based on that alone.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/sports/september_2017/34_are_less_likely_to_follow_nfl_because_of_protests

But I doubt it affects the Jags specifically. The team's basement status is by far a bigger impact on people tuning out. But even still, attendance is stable if not rising, the valuations are way up, and local TV ratings matter less for us as the revenue is shared. If they keep winning, they'll come out ahead even though some are unhappy with the protests.

[thelakelander]

The other side claims ratings are down because they're boycotting Kaepernick being blackballed. In the meantime, the NFL's still raking in tons of cash. Ultimately, I find it truly interesting the divide is literally as black and white as can be (although it's always been...it's just out in the open now) and now it's so politicized that no one is even talking about the issue for Kaepernick's original reason. Nevertheless, for those offended by the action, Trump certainly isn't helping the matter. I wonder how Jags fans in general feel about Khan's actions and statement yesterday?

[Tacachale]

The other side claims ratings are down because they're boycotting Kaepernick being blackballed. In the meantime, the NFL's still raking in tons of cash. Ultimately, I find it truly interesting the divide is literally as black and white as can be (although it's always been...it's just out in the open now) and now it's so politicized that no one is even talking about the issue for Kaepernick's original reason. Nevertheless, for those offended by the action, Trump certainly isn't helping the matter. I wonder how Jags fans in general feel about Khan's actions and statement yesterday?

Yup, 19% of people in last year's poll said they'd be less likely to watch if Kaepernick wasn't signed. A much smaller number than the people mad at Kaep, but it adds up.

Interestingly, the same poll found little difference in opinion on the protests between blacks, whites, and other minorities. I find that a bit hard to believe based on earlier polls that showed Kaep and the protests as being more popular among African Americans than the general population.

The whole thing is a just another wedge issue that divides people. The folks that care line up on one side or the other along the same fault lines. Trump's playing that up and making more and more people weigh in than they ever did before. I guess it helps distract people from the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.

Either way, it's a minority that's tuning out so far. All together, non-protest reasons are a much bigger factor in people tuning out, so that's probably a long-term worry for the NFL.

[ProjectMaximus]

I wonder how Jags fans in general feel about Khan's actions and statement yesterday?

I'm feeling pretty good. Hesitant to heap too much praise considering past actions, but it was a strong look and a strong statement (literally...the one released officially afterward)

Agreed but as a Sox fan, is there a wager in our future?

Looking like a showdown in the ALDS...somehow I feel like you're angling for something incorporating good dough? Sure I'm up for it. Just know I'm based in Miami now so not in the hood as often.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I found myself tuning out last year because I was finding most games that didn't involve my team boring and predictable.  I would watch the Jaguars game and then barely pay attention the rest of the day, and I've always been someone who avidly watched every game placed in front of me, regardless of whether it involved my team (and well before the Jaguars existed). 

With the league being more passing game-friendly than ever before, there seemed to be a wider gap than ever between teams with marquee QBs and teams without one, and the outcome of the entire season seemed pretty much predicated on who the elite QBs were.  That wasn't always the case; in pre-2000s football, a team with a great passer/receivers but not much else was much less likely to thrive than now.

I also perceive more emphasis on the marquee teams/glamour markets now than 20-30 years ago.  Not that they weren't always emphasized, or shouldn't be, but the night games feature the same teams more than ever before - I think there used to be a limit of three prime time games per team per season, and now Dallas is on Sunday or Monday night football every other weekend.  And certain broadcasts (particularly anything involving Phil Simms at CBS) would just devolve into inane chatter about a handful of star players.  The overwhelming number of commercials made it even more tedious. 

This year I get the sense that the NFL has made a few tangible improvements in broadcast quality.  Just having Romo, who provides actual analysis, replace Simms makes a massive difference to me.  The commercials are less frequent and obtrusive too.  I'm finding myself more enthusiastic over watching non-Jaguar games this year.  Granted, that may be a function of my being in a happy mood after two of the three Jaguar games.

[Tacachale]

^For me, I only care about the Jags and rarely watch any other games. Just don't feel like blowing a whole day or evening watching TV. And I certainly don't need to watch analysis by some talking heads about teams and players I couldn't care less about. When it started becoming clear earlier in the season that the Jags weren't going anywhere, I tuned out more and more. This year, I'm more invested as the Jags are showing some real improvement, so I find myself paying attention more and more.

[thelakelander]

Now that I think about it, I watch TV less, in general. Being in Jax, I live stream the Dolphin games when I can and I really don't care that much about sitting down to watch the other games. When I was younger, I could blow a whole weekend watching professional and college games. Now with the cell phone, I can go about my day and check the score or get play-by-play without sitting on the couch or in a sports bar for Dolphin and Canes games. The other thing is all the games don't come on regular tv anymore. I would have watched the Jags game if it were available in Orlando this weekend. Growing up, they used to get Dolphin, Jags and Bucs games every Sunday. It wasn't, so I ended up getting an earlier start on my day than I originally planned.

[Jim]

Will the real Jaguars please stand up?   They dominate or get dominated.  Sure, just 3 games in but it's either eyeball popping wow or same ol Jags.
But hey, even if they kept this same pace, they'd still end up 8-8 and possibly winning the division.

By the way, we have a top 3 defense and a top 3 scoring offense.  That certainly doesn't happen every year (or ever, for that matter).

[Wacca Pilatka]

^ I expect we'll see a lot of inconsistency this year.

The Jags' formula is predicated on ball control with running and controlled passing, getting ahead early and allowing the defense to tee off and force turnovers.

It'll work probably at least half the time (particularly given that the Jags have a relatively soft schedule).  When it does, it can snowball because it's easier to create turnovers against a team playing from behind (particularly with the speed the Jags have at CB and LB, and with improved pass rush).  Turnovers create the scoring opportunities to break the game open.

When it doesn't - e.g., going against a team with a very strong offensive line like the Titans' that doesn't allow the defense to rampage - it can snowball in the other direction if the Jags can't control the ball.  Giving up turnovers, getting into holes with penalties, allowed the Titans to get a short field consistently in the second half.  The Jag defense tired out, understandably, and the game got out of control.

It's a lot like the 2004-06 editions of the Jags, really.  They have a formula that can work, but they aren't going to be well-equipped for playing in shootouts or coming from behind, and they don't have a lot of margin for offensive error.  Of course, those teams went 9-7, 12-4, and 8-8, respectively, even the least of which would be a huge step forward from the past several years. 

The 2006 team in particular comes to mind; it outscored its opponents by over 100 points, but it had a tendency to either dominate (beating the Colts by 27, the Jets by 41, etc.) or lay an egg (losing badly twice to the then-bad Texans).

If Blake can average out to 2006 David Garrard-level play, this team will go 10-6.