Jacksonville Jaguars

Jags versus Eagles Preview > From NBC Philadelphia.

// September 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // Aaron Kampman, David Garrard, Mike Sims-Walker, jack del rio

Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Eagles next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Record: 1-1

The Line: Eagles by 3.5. Again, the Eagles are road favorites going up against a supposedly bad team. They failed to cover last week.

Last Game: A 38-13 beatdown courtesy of the Chargers, who breezed through the Jags as if they weren’t even there. Quarterback David Garrard, who looked so good in the team’s 24-17 opening week win over Denver, got picked off four times and was eventually benched for Luke McCown. LUKE MCCOWN! Oh, that’s not good at all.

The Coach: Jack Del Rio, aka Eddie Money. This is Del Rio’s last season in Jacksonville. He doesn’t know that yet, so shhhhhhhh! I’d hate to spoil the surprise.

The Offense: It’s hard to figure out which Garrard will show up on Sunday: the one who looked so good in the opener, or the one who went to pieces last week. In his best season (2007), Garrard was a highly efficient passer who seemed on the verge of breaking out. But it’s three years later and he still has yet to make that leap. Mike Sims-Walker is a dangerous threat downfield, and you know all about Maurice Jones-Drew. Given how the Eagles fared against the Lions offense last week, I think it’s safe to say the Jags can do some damage.

The Defense: Aaron Kampman was stolen away from Green Bay and looks very much like his old pass rushing self. It’ll be the job of the Eagles’ o-line, which hasn’t been very good thus far, to keep him away from Kevin Kolb, lest Kolb be concussed again and give way to Michael Vick. Yes, that would be tragic. I guess. Kind of.

Key Matchup: Sims-Walker vs. Asante Samuel. Shut down Sims-Walker, and you’ve basically shutdown the Jaguars passing game. They’re considerate like that.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/blogs/birds-nest/Out-Of-The-Nest-Eagles-at-Jaguars—103435759.html

Garrard’s three touchdown passes, equates to best passer rating and helped Jacksonville beat the Denver Broncos 24-17

// September 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // Aaron Kampman, Daryl Smith, David Garrard, Derek Cox, Marcedes Lewis, Mike Sims-Walker, Tebow

;JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — David Garrard played last season with “Draft Tebow” bumper stickers floating around town and No. 15 jerseys, the ones in teal and black, scattered in the stands.

They may have been a little threatening then.
They certainly don’t bother him now.

Garrard threw three touchdown passes, finished with his best passer rating and helped Jacksonville beat the Denver Broncos 24-17 on Sunday in a season opener the Jaguars called one of the most important in franchise history.
“This was big for us,” said tight end Marcedes Lewis, who caught two TD passes. “We really got some juice out of our squeeze.”
As for Tim Tebow? Well, the former Florida star made his NFL debut in his hometown and got rousing support. But he was a non-factor in the game.
The Broncos can’t say the same about Garrard, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 170 yards. His QB rating was 138.9, besting his previous high set in 2006.
“Everybody in this room believes in Dave and understands he’s our leader,” Lewis said. “This is big for him. It’s big for his confidence. If Dave is going to be great, then everyone else has to be great around him.”
Garrard got plenty of help.
Mike Thomas caught six passes for 89 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 98 yards. Adam Podlesh dropped two punts inside the 10-yard line. Tiquan Underwood returned a kickoff 53 yards that set up a field goal.
Maybe the most telling stat: Jacksonville, which ranked last in the league with 14 sacks last season, had three in the opener and hit Kyle Orton several other times.
“You get what you emphasize, usually,” said Aaron Kampman, the team’s biggest offseason acquisition who was involved in two sacks. “We have emphasized getting after the passer.”
Kampman kept the outing in perspective, pointing out that Denver played with two rookies (center J.D. Walton and right tackle Zane Beadles) on the offensive line and had All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady starting five months after knee surgery.
“They had some guys who didn’t have a ton of experience in the league,” Kampman said. “But they’re still NFL players out there.”
The Jaguars, coming off a 7-9 season in which they blacked out nine of 10 home games, needed to get off to a good start to keep fans in the seats and eliminate more talk about relocation.
Tebow’s debut made a victory even more imperative, especially since some Jaguars fans clamored for the former University of Florida star.
The Broncos wasted little time getting Tebow on the field. The college football icon who grew up in Jacksonville entered on the third play. He gained a yard on a quarterback keeper. He returned two plays later and lined up at receiver. Tebow picked up another yard on his second carry, this one coming in the second quarter.
“It was a learning opportunity for me, an opportunity to get better,” Tebow said.
Tebow spent the rest of the game on the sideline. Orton was much more effective — at least until the fourth quarter.
Orton was 21 of 33 for 295 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Orton’s fourth-down pass to Brandon Lloyd in the corner of the end zone was ruled incomplete with 4:41 remaining. Lloyd, who caught four passes for 106 yards, didn’t get two feet down.
“Made a lot of plays, but left a few out there,” Orton said. “We didn’t make enough plays and that’s unfortunate.”
The Broncos got the ball back with 1:50 left, but Daryl Smith stepped in front of Eddie Royal and picked off Orton’s pass near midfield.
Orton blamed some of the problems on static he was getting in his helmet, possibly the result of a thunderstorm that moved through Jacksonville and forced a 33-minute delay between the third and fourth quarters.
“Anytime you’re on the road in the NFL, you have to be prepared for that,” he said. “We put ourselves in the situation to win, but didn’t make the plays down the stretch.”
Denver might not have been behind had it not been for defensive end Ryan McBean’s two costly penalties. McBean was flagged twice for grabbing Jones-Drew’s face mask on the winning drive. The Jaguars used the extra 30 yards to move 83 yards in seven plays, capping the drive with Garrard’s 24-yard strike to Kassim Osgood.
It was Osgood’s first TD catch since 2004 — maybe the reason he celebrated so wildly.
Osgood was flagged for celebrating, a penalty that gave the Broncos good field position. Orton got them down to the Jacksonville 14, but his third-and-3 pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and his fourth-down throw was a bit wide.
Garrard didn’t make the same mistakes.
“Those are the types of plays that we got to make all year,” he said.

Game notes
Jaguars CB Derek Cox was benched in the third quarter after getting beat several times. “Tough game for me,” he said. “Some days you’re on, and today I wasn’t on like I want to be.” … Jaguars won their season opener for the first time since 2006. … It was the hottest game in franchise history in Jacksonville. Temperatures reached 93 degrees with a heat index of 105. … Broncos CBs Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman held WR Mike Sims-Walker without a catch.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Aaron Kampman is the leader the Jaguars need

// June 14th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Aaron Kampman, Maurice Jones Drew, Pocket Hercules

When the Jaguars signed free agent defensive end Aaron Kampman to a four-year, $26 million contract, the price tag included the expectation that the former Green Bay Packer would become a leader in a locker room that needed a veteran presence.

In just three months, and despite Kampman still recovering from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament injury (the Jaguars will likely limit him to once-a-day practices in training camp), he’s making a significant impression on teammates. Veteran defensive ends Reggie Hayward and Attiyah Ellison vouch for Kampman, saying he encourages teammates in a positive way and isn’t afraid to speak up in a civil tone if he sees something isn’t being done right.

One Jaguar put it this way: “[Kampman] gets on people’s butts the right way.” This young team desperately craves a forceful leader, especially on defense. Kampman, 30, has the career resume and personality to fill that void. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew summed it up well, saying: “He’s had double-digit sacks every year in a 4-3 [defense]. That’s a reason to listen to him, isn’t it?” …

How the National Media Views the Jacksonville Jaguars

// June 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Aaron Kampman, Coaching Staff, David Garrard, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, NFL Draft, Playoffs??? Playoffs!!!?, Rashean Mathis, Thanks Wayne Weaver, jack del rio

Why Your Team Won’t Win the Super Bowl: Jacksonville Jaguars Edition.
Nick Signorelli by
Nick Signorelli
Senior Writer Written on June 13, 2010
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/405022-why-your-team-wont-win-the-super-bowl?search_query=jaguars%20why

No, I am not picking on just the Jacksonville Jaguars! This is a series that I am doing for all 32 of the NFL teams, Why Your Team Won’t Win The Super Bowl.

To me, the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the strangest teams to figure out. During the NFL’s last expansion, instead of putting a team in the second largest market in America, LA, the powers that be decided to put the franchise in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Jaguars have had numerous problems selling out home games, and have had many games blacked out,for lack of ticket sales.

They have even had games where they would section off parts of the stadium so that people would not see the empty seats.

In my opinion, forget about all the talk about the Rams or the Vikings moving to Los Angeles when their leases are up at their current buildings. In my opinion, it is going to be the Jaguars.

This is not to disrespect the fans of Jacksonville in any way. I actually feel sorry for any city that loses their team. But I honestly believe from the top down the Jaguars are looking to make a change.

For starters this offseason we had the verbal spatting between head coach Jack Del Rio and owner Wayne Weaver over Del Rio’s interest in coaching the USC Trojans when Pete Carroll left to coach the Seahawks.

Del Rio is a former player and coach at USC, and I would be willing to bet the mortgage that the powers that be at USC would have taken Del Rio over Lane Kiffin in a second.

Del Rio has been the Jaguars second coach, only to Tom Coughlin, since the inception of the Jaguars in 1995.

He has made some curious decisions, such as allowing Byron Leftwich to walk out the door and to hand the reigns of the franchise to David Garrard.

Garrard is a decent player, but has yet to prove that he is any where near good enough to lead the Jaguars into the future successfully. And Jacksonville has done nothing to bring in competition for him, or address the situation in the draft.

The defensive line has struggled, even though Aaron Kampman was brought in to help the younger players.

Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Sims-Walker are two potential superstars, but without a quality offensive line or quarterback, neither one’s skills will reach full potential as long as they are in Jacksonville.

Though there are some bright spots for the Jaguars, there are just too many holes for this team to make a serious run at the Lombardi this year.

My prediction: 5-11, last place in the AFC South.

Jacksonville Jaguars get a done deal on Dolphins OT Justin Smiley

// May 26th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Aaron Kampman, David Garrard, Organized Team Activity OTA, Player News, Rashean Mathis, jack del rio

by vito.stellino@jacksonville.com

Justin Smiley was healthy enough Tuesday to pass his physical with the Jaguars.

Now the question is whether he will stay healthy enough to help shore up the interior of their offensive line.

Smiley, who was traded to the Jaguars for a conditional seventh-round pick after passing his physical, has been a durable performer in the NFL. He’s started 73 of 83 games in six years since he was drafted in the second round in the 2004 draft out of Alabama by San Francisco.

But after starting 16 games in 2005 and 2006, he missed eight games in 2007 with a right shoulder injury and went on injured reserve.

After Smiley signed a five-year, $25 million deal with the Dolphins in 2008, he missed the final four games with an ankle injury and went on IR.

Last year, Smiley missed one game and four starts last year with a shoulder injury.

But the Jaguars aren’t taking a huge risk because Smiley restructured his contract, and he’s rated a top guard when he’s healthy. If Smiley stays healthy, he would appear to have a good chance to be a starter.

Coach Jack Del Rio was candid Tuesday in saying the Jaguars have to upgrade the play of the offensive line.

“We’ve got to have better play with our line, period, and our two young tackles [Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton] we know are going to grow and get better, but our interior line has to pick it up as well,” he said.

Patrick let go

To make room for Smiley on the roster, the Jaguars cut first-year running back Allen Patrick because they already have 86 players on their roster. A team is allowed 80 players on its roster, plus unsigned draft picks, so when the Jaguars bring in a player or sign a draft pick, they have to cut a player.

New policy

For his first seven years as a head coach, Del Rio decided not to practice with other teams during training camp. He changed his policy this year and will practice for two days with the Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 9-10. The Jaguars will have their traditional Friday night intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 6.

Explaining why he changed his policy, Del Rio said, “It’s not that I haven’t considered it in the past. We just never settled on a team or an exchange that we thought would be best for us.”

Going opposite directions

Former first-round draft pick Troy Williamson, who’s noted for his speed but often has problems catching the ball, hasn’t had a lot of impact in drills and had a sideline a pass bounce off his shoulders Tuesday.

“That got my attention,” Del Rio said of the play. “I want him to catch the ball.”

By contrast, undrafted Jacksonville native Clarence Denmark has been catching everything thrown his way.

“He’s put himself in a position to legitimately contend for a roster spot, so I think he’s done a nice job,” Del Rio said.

Seeing some progress

Counting the five minicamp practices, the Jaguars are at about the halfway mark of their offseason drills. They’ve had 10 practices with nine to go.

“I think the biggest thing is you start to see some of the things that you’re stressing and teaching beginning to show up,” Del Rio said.

It wasn’t ‘Turnover Tuesday’

The defense was calling Tuesday’s drills “Turnover Tuesday” because last Tuesday the defense intercepted four passes, three by David Garrard. But neither Garrard nor Luke McCown threw a pick Tuesday, although Courtney Green forced a fumble. Garrard threw three touchdown passes in the red zone.

Etc.

Del Rio said he’s had no contact with CB Rashean Mathis, who is skipping the OTAs because he’s unhappy with his contract. … Del Rio said free agent DE Aaron Kampman, coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament, will miss all of the OTAs. But Del Rio added that Kampman is ahead of schedule and will practice in training camp, although probably just once a day. … The Jaguars wrap up their second week of OTAs on Thursday, have next week off and will have their final eight OTAs in June.

vito.stellino@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4279