Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars, Colts, Let’s get it on!

// October 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // David Garrard, Derek Cox, Marcedes Lewis, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, Pocket Hercules

You can throw out the record books when the Colts and Jaguars get together, which they will do this Sunday afternoon in Jacksonville. Since the whooping Peyton Manning and the Colts put on the Jaguars on Monday night back in 2007, all 5 games have been within 7 points or less. The Colts are 4-1 in those games, but each one could have easily gone the other way. The Jaguars always seem to play their best games when Indianapolis comes to town.

Last season, the Colts won 2 hard fought games: 14-12 in Week 1, and 35-31 on a Thursday night in Week 15. How close was that Week 15 game? An NFL Record 9 lead changes throughout the game. They also won in Jacksonville a week after beating Denver.

Hmmm…

The Jaguars come off a giant let-down of a game last weekend, getting smacked around by the Eagles 28-3. Stud RB Maurice Jones-Drew was held to 88 yards on 22 carries, and only 1 receiving yard on 2 catches. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’s going to have more receiving yards this week. David Garrard also struggled mightily, barely getting in positive numbers in ANPY/A, 0.25 / Attempt, worst in the league last week. It was the 2nd week in a row Garrard was pretty bad, as he got yanked, then put back into duty after an injury to Luke McCown, against the Chargers.

So how do the two teams match-up? Let’s take a look…

Some keys from the stats:

I don’t know about you, but every time the Colts play the Jaguars, I’m infuriated at the fact that the Jaguars convert 3rd down after 3rd down by 2 or less yards.  It’s like death by paper cuts.  Despite being pretty poor at Drive Success Rate (DSR), they are pretty good at the other drive-related stats: Time of Possession / Drive, First Downs / Drive, and Plays / Drive.  The quickest way to get Jacksonville out of the game is to get them off the field on 3rd Down.  Oh, and watch for the 6 yard hitch patterns on the outside on 3rd and 5.  I call it the Tim Jennings Special.

Watch the Red Zone Efficiency again this week.  The Jaguars haven’t been too good so far this young season on either side of the ball, while the Colts have been fantastic.

The best stat for the Jaguars this year?  Net Punting Average.  Their special teams look to be pretty good.  Let’s hope that get a lot more practice covering punts.

These numbers don’t take into account schedule played, which according to the Winning Stats, the Jaguars have played the toughest schedule so far this year (Colts are #17).  When you adjust for opponents, the Jaguars become much better statistically (Non-Adj: 27th Overall, Adj: 13th).

Other things to watch:

Injuries on the Offensive Line.  Jeff Linkenbach didn’t play too bad last week, but that might be slightly skewed because of just how bad both Mike Pollak and Jamie Richard played.  It’d be really nice if Charlie Johnson came back this week healthy.  He practiced fully on Wednesday, so that’s a great sign.

I think Jack Del Rio is coaching for his job on Sunday.  Another blow out loss will mean his team has pretty clearly quit on him, and he’ll need to be replaced immediately.  Maybe the Colts will let them hang around just enough to let Del Rio keep his job, at least until they come to Indianapolis in Week 15.

The Jaguars defense is very familiar with Manning, intercepting at least 1 pass in 6 of the last 7 meetings between the teams.  He’s been extremely careful with the ball so far this season, but there always seems to be a bad bounce that gets intercepted against Jacksonville.  I’m betting we’ll see one this week too.

Both Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis were bottled up pretty well last Sunday against the Broncos.  I haven’t had an opportunity to re-watch the game yet, so I’m not sure whether the Tackles were just really good, or whether they had lots of help.  More on that Friday.  Getting to Garrard on those 3rd down and mediums will be vital to the Colts success.

Prediction:

On paper, this doesn’t look like much of a game, as the Colts have significantly outperformed the Jaguars so far in 2010.  However, familiarity almost always wins out in this series, so I just can’t see a blowout.  Factor in that I think the Jaguars do care about their coach, so they’ll be playing hard to save his job.  I know most teams like to wait until the Bye week if they are going to fire their coach in-season, but that is still 5 weeks away, way too long in a league where every game matters.  I don’t see Del Rio making it much past next Tuesday, as the Colts will win handily, but certainly not easily.

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

Bolts blow up the Jaguars 38-13

// September 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // David Garrard, Tiquan Underwood

Before I list the bad things, I want to first say that San Diego’s excuse that the Jaguars weren’t a big draw is ridiculous. There was teal and a lot of it in San Diego. I don’t know how many tickets the Chargers fans expect their opponents to draw in, but the Jaguars had well over a thousand fans in attendance by my guess. I sat one section over from the surfing group that Alfie wrote about earlier this weekend and eventually moved up and sat with them. They definitely wore their teal loud and proud, never sitting down the entire game. Even when the score was 38-6 they were firing up “We are Jaguars!” chants and “Move those chains” with every increasingly meaningless first down. They took plenty of abuse from Charger fans, but delivered some abuse of their own and were definitely a rowdy group.

And…begin rant. The game plan for the Chargers on offense was very clear to me. Find who the linebackers are covering and throw it to that player. Whether that was Sproles, Gates or even Tolbert, the linebackers were abused in the passing game time and again. Daryl Smith didn’t do too terrible at covering running backs and tight ends, but Kirk Morrison was absolutely abused.

When not a single player on the starting defensive line has more tackles than your starting running back, you probably didn’t have a good game. Enough said.

From my perspective David Garrard looked very comfortable in the pocket this week and did in week 1 as well. Unfortunately he looked so comfortable that he didn’t want to leave. Pressure came and when the escape routes opened that Garrard would make plays with in the past, he stood like the statue he isn’t instead and took the hit.

Finally, special teams was supposed to be the huge factor for the Jaguars and it never was on kickoffs. Tiquan Underwood saw only one seem all game and that return was taken back after a holding penalty. Mike Thomas was never given an opportunity to return a punt, although one of those was after a Rashad Jennings blocked punt.

Oh and one more thing. I had the pleasure of meeting Russell Allen’s mom and uncle as they were setting up their big tailgate. They really seemed like nice, genuine people. End rant.

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

Jacksonville Ranks #19 in Charlie Bernstein’s PreSeason Rankings

// June 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // David Garrard, Playoffs??? Playoffs!!!?

By Charlie Bernstein
Editor-in-Chief
Posted Jun 22, 2010

http://jac.scout.com/2/979493.html

When the NFL calender turns to the all-important month of June, it can only mean two things. NFL stars are looking for more money by sitting out “voluntary” OTA’s and we are doing our semi-meaningless power rankings. Last year at this time we had the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints at the number 12 position, which was a lot higher than most publications rated them.

1. New Orleans Saints- We have to put the champs on top until they’re defeated. For the record, we don’t believe they make it to the postseason this year.

2. Dallas Cowboys- Love the selection of Dez Bryant in the draft to give quarterback Tony Romo yet another weapon. There are obvious question marks on the offensive line and safety positions, but the Cowboys are as solid as anyone and could be the most talented team in the NFL.

3. Green Bay Packers- Aaron Rodgers is proving himself to be an elite quarterback, and Brian Bulaga should greatly help their porous offensive line. This is Year Two of Dom Capers 3-4 defense and they will be past the adjustment period.

4. Minnesota Vikings- If (when) Brett Favre returns, the Vikings will be just as loaded as the team that nearly went to the Super Bowl back in January.

5. Indianapolis Colts- They have Peyton Manning and you don’t. That proves to be absolute money in the regular season. The return of a healthy Bob Sanders makes the reigning AFC champs defense that much better.

6. San Diego Chargers- We’d love to put the Chargers higher, but with the uncertainty of Marcus McNeil and Vincent Jackson’s contract situations, San Diego will remain in the six-hole.

7. Baltimore Ravens- The Ravens had another stellar draft and their defense should return to the form that made them a legitimate title contender. Add in the fact that Joe Flacco is in his third season and Baltimore should have great balance on offense.

8. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan is entering his third year, and the team spent a large portion of their draft on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Smith finally has the weapons he needs to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

9. Houston Texans- Yes the Houston Texans. These guys are as talented as any team in the NFL and if they can keep Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Schaub healthy for 16 games, they will appear in the franchise’s first playoff game.

10. Miami Dolphins- The Dolphins have been in the process of building a contender ever since Bill Parcells arrived in 2007, and they now have the quarterback, offensive line, playmaking linebackers, and possibly the best wide receiver in the game.

11. New York Jets- The Jets have loaded up their defense with talented stars, and they get defensive tackle Kris Jenkins back from injury. Mark Sanchez has another weapon in Santonio Holmes and their offense should be more balanced in 2010.

12. New England Patriots- Not much separates the Patriots from the rest of the contenders in the AFC East. New York and Miami may have more talented rosters, but they don’t have Tom Brady. Brady will keep the Pats competitive.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers- The Steelers will have to navigate through a tough opening quarter of the season without Ben Roethlisberger, but they have a healthy Troy Polamalu back and he will make the difference once again on a stellar defense.

14. San Francisco 49ers- The Niners are very solid on defense, but Alex Smith is a huge question mark. Still, San Francisco plays in arguably the worst division in the NFL and they should be the best in the NFC West.

15. Cincinnati Bengals- Last year’s AFC North title wasn’t a fluke, but the Bengals were clearly fading down the stretch and it’s not likely that they can out-duel both the Steelers and Ravens two years in a row.

16. Washington Redskins- The Redskins overhauled the roster and coaching staff this offseason and it may lead to a wildcard berth. Donovan McNabb will be ultra-motivated and their defense should be solid, with or without Albert Haynesworth.

17. New York Giants- The Giants need to find a way to rebuild their defense and having a very aggravated Osi Umenyiora and a very raw Jason Pierre-Paul may not be the immediate answer. Eli Manning will have to win some shoot-outs.

18. Chicago Bears- Quarterback Jay Cutler has tons of ability, but his weapons are suspect and the offensive line will be even more of a question mark in Mike Martz’s system. The defense needs to experience a rebirth with pricey free agent acquisition Julius Peppers.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars- The Jaguars are a young team with the right attitude that’s improving. The defense should be considerably better, but their ceiling is very limited with quarterback David Garrard.

20. Philadelphia Eagles- The Eagles are talented, but will be starting a virtual rookie in Kevin Kolb at quarterback. Kolb’s learning curve will keep the Eagles out of the playoffs in a very tough division.

21. Tennessee Titans- If the Titans can solve the contract issue with 2,000 yard running back Chris Johnson, they can compete with most teams offensively. The defense doesn’t appear to have enough playmakers to hang in a pass-happy AFC.

22. Oakland Raiders- The Raiders seem to be loaded on defense and the acquisition of quarterback Jason Campbell should give the team a presence in the huddle, something they haven’t had since Rich Gannon commanded the ship. Still, history tells us not to get too excited about the most dysfunctional franchise in football over the last decade.

23. Denver Broncos- Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels jettisoned wide receiver Brandon Marshall and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, two of the main reasons why Denver won eight games a year ago. Denver has holes all over the field and not even the great Tim Tebow will help that.

24. Arizona Cardinals- The Cardinals experienced a nightmarish offseason as they lost quarterback Kurt Warner, wide receiver Anquan Boldin, linebacker Karlos Dansby and safety Antrel Rolle. It’s impossible to justify the Cards winning their third consecutive NFC West title without all of those key components.

25. Seattle Seahawks- New head coach Pete Carroll has flipped the roster and although their draft was good, it’s tough to believe that rookies will fix their offensive line and defensive problems immediately.

26. Detroit Lions- The Lions appear to be heading in the right direction under head coach Jim Schwartz, who has infused an attitude of toughness and confidence in his young team. Still, they are just two years removed from the worst season in NFL history and you don’t rebuild that bad of a roster immediately.

27. Cleveland Browns- If Jake Delhomme is the temporary answer, then I’m not sure what the question is. Cleveland will have problems moving the ball offensively, but their defense should be improved, especially in the secondary.

28. Buffalo Bills- The Bills are transitioning to a 3-4 defense, and although they have the anchor in rookie Torell Troup, players like Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams will have to adjust to playing new positions. Buffalo will go as far as their quarterback takes them, and a competition between Trent Edwards, Brian Brohm and Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t going to excite many in upstate New York.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- The Bucs are piecing together what appears to be a solid nucleus of young players, but there are simply too many question marks all over the field to imagine them winning even seven games. Josh Freeman must progress considerably to keep the Bucs out of last place in the NFC South.

30. Carolina Panthers- The Panthers are a team with a lame-duck head coach in John Fox and no proven answer at quarterback. Sure, they can run the football, but for Carolina to experience any kind of success, the quarterbacks will have to beat the cover-one consistently.

31. Kansas City Chiefs- Charlie Weiss should get the most out of Matt Cassel, but we don’t believe that will be much considering the lack of weapons around him. The Chiefs are too young on defense and have a real lack of depth at most positions.

32. St. Louis Rams- The Rams will find a win or two on their schedule this season, but don’t ask me where. St. Louis has lost 34 of their last 36 games and their roster doesn’t appear to be considerably better right now than it was even a year ago when they went 1-15.

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.

Competition and Versatility key for Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Line

// June 1st, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Coaching Staff, David Garrard, jack del rio

By Charlie Bernstein
Editor-in-Chief
Posted May 31, 2010

The biggest statistic which stands out is the 44 times quarterback David Garrard was sacked a year ago.

“We gave up 44 sacks last year which was in the bottom third of the league,” Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said.

Those numbers are staggering in comparison to the low number of sacks that the Jacksonville defense produced, which was 14, good for dead-last in the NFL.

Still, don’t just blame the O-line.

“There’s a percentage of them that are Dave (Garrard’s) fault. There’s a percentage that’s the O-line’s fault. There’s some that are the wideouts faults. There are some that are the running backs fault,” Koetter explained.

After a nightmarish 2008 campaign which saw the Jaguars virtually put their line together with duct tape due to early and often injuries, the team decided to take a proactive approach in fixing the life blood of their offense.

Second-year player Uche Nwaneri stepped up last season, the tackles of the present and future in Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton were drafted, and that unit despite giving up all the sacks, produced a Pro Bowl running back.

Much greater things are expected from the line in 2010, as Monroe and Britton are getting comfortable with the NFL game, and Nwaneri continues to progress.

“Last year those two rookie tackles, they were hanging on just to learn the vocabulary, just to learn what they’re doing,” Koetter said as he addressed the media last week. “Now, we have two of the most athletic tackles in the league so in the offseason we studied different ways that we could use the tackles in space, tackle pulling plays, tackle screen plays.”

Not satisfied with just another year of maturity, the team pulled the trigger on a deal to acquire former 49ers and Dolphins left guard, Justin Smiley. Add in a recovering Vince Manuwai, veteran Kynan Forney and tackle Jordan Black, and you have several players competing for just a few select spots, who can play all over the line.

“Kynan Forney has been a guy that’s worked his way into the rotation with the first group because Uche (Nwaneri) has the flexibility to play guard or center and when he’s at center, Brad (Meester’s) out of the game,” Koetter said.

With Brad Meester not finishing three of the last five seasons and his play regressing last year, all signs would point to the current longest-tenured Jaguar being possibly on the outs.

Dirk Koetter refuted that.

“Everyone’s in a hurry to replace Brad Meester because he’s the oldest guy but from where I sit, Brad Meester has had as good eight practices as any O-lineman would have right now. So I wouldn’t bury Brad quite yet.”

Just a few days after making that statement, the team traded for Justin Smiley.

Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio dove a little deeper into the offensive line situation.

“Kynan (Forney’s) had a good spring…He’s working very hard in the weight room. He’s more comfortable in our system and I think he’ll fight for some time. I think Uche (Nwaneri’s) been a little inconsistent but he has been a good player for us at both guard and center. I think Vinny (Manuwai) still has a ways to go.”

The Jaguars now have several players on the line who can start for many teams, and most are interchangeable, especially along the interior of the line. The expectation is that the line takes a giant step up in 2010 and anchors the offense.

“We came out of last year saying look, we’ve got to have better play from our line, period, and our two young tackles we know are going to grow and get better, but our interior line needs to pick it up as well and they are working at it and they are challenging and competing and we expect them to play at a much higher level for us,” the Jaguars head coach emphatically stated.

It starts on the line with competition and versatility, but results are the only thing that will be accepted.

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

Jacksonville Jaguars Roster Rankings

// May 5th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // David Garrard, Derek Cox, ESPN, Gene Smith, Josh Scobee, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, Scouting

By Charlie Bernstein
Editor-In-Chief of JagNation.com
Posted May 5, 2010

http://buzztap.com/link.jsp?id=1478979&cid=26&source=feed

The first weekend of mini-camp is over and virtually no roster decisions will or have been made. That said, we will add to the baseless speculation upon what the final roster will look like as we rank the Jaguars current roster, 1-67 (we’ve omitted undrafted rookies).

We credit this story idea to ESPN Chicago columnist Michael Wright, who ran a similar column breaking down the Chicago Bears roster

1. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB
2. Daryl Smith, LB
3. Mike Sims-Walker, WR
4. Terrance Knighton, DT
5. Rashean Mathis, CB
6. Marcedes Lewis, TE
7. Eugene Monroe, OT
8. Aaron Kampman, DE
9. Tyson Alualu, DT
10. Derrick Harvey, DE

11. Derek Cox, CB
12. Justin Durant, LB
13. David Garrard, QB
14. Eben Britton, OT
15. Kirk Morrison, LB
16. Vince Manuwai, OG
17. Greg Jones, FB
18. Uche Nwaneri, OG
19. D’Anthony Smith, DT
20. Josh Scobee, K

21. Mike Thomas, WR
22. Kassim Osgood, WR
23. Reggie Hayward, DE
24. Luke McCown, QB
25. Tyron Brackenridge, CB
26. Gerald Alexander, S
27. Zach Miller, TE
28. Brad Meester, C
29. Larry Hart, OLB
30. Atiyyah Ellison, DT

31. Russell Allen, LB
32. Adam Podlesh, P
33. Jordan Black, OT
34. Rashad Jennings, RB
35. Freddy Keiaho, LB
36. Austin Lane, DE
37. Kynan Forney, OG
38. Montell Owens, FB
39. Ernest Wilford, TE
40. Reggie Nelson, S

41. Jarett Dillard, WR
42. Scott Starks, CB
43. Anthony Smith, S
44. Jeremy Mincey, DE
45. Cameron Stephenson, OL
46. Jeremy Cain, LS
47. Sean Considine, S
48. Nate Hughes, WR
49. Deji Karim, RB
50. Don Carey, CB

51. William Middleton, CB
52. Brock Bolen, FB
53. Scotty McGee, RS
54. Julius Williams, DE
55. Jeremy Navarre, DE
56. Cecil Newton, C
57. Courtney Greene, S
58. Walter Curry, DL
59. Zach Potter, TE
60. Tiquan Underwood, WR

61. Michael Coe, CB
62. Chris Harrington, DE
63. Paul McQuistan, OL
64. Andrew Crummey, OL
65. Allen Patrick, RB
66. Bryan Smith, LB*

Garrard hearing footsteps? Smooth, confident and accurate McCown on the case.

// May 3rd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // David Garrard, ESPN, Paul Kuharsky

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/post/_/id/11540/could-mccown-press-garrard

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — I talked on and off the record with high-ranking people here, and none of them were trying to get any message about Luke McCown out to me.

Jack Del Rio said while there is competition everywhere, it’s safe to presume certain guys will be in the lineup, that Maurice Jones-Drew will be the tailback, that David Garrard will be the quarterback.

Nevertheless, the sideline buzz through five minicamp practices has been very much about how smooth, confident and accurate McCown looked, and how it contrasts with the still spotty David Garrard.

Working with his back to his own goal line, Garrard had a terrible throw batted down at the line and grabbed out of the air by Scott Starks who scored with it. Soon after, the quarterback led his intended receiver too much, overcompensating for the earlier mistake, I thought.

Can the hard-working McCown press Garrard?

I don’t know. I do know that Garrard’s thought about it, because earlier this offseason he discussed a scenario where McCown could be to him what he was to Byron Leftwich in 2007 — a guy who makes the team’s officials change course at quarterback.

This is going to be a run-driven, defense driven team.

Gene Smith is building from the inside out and will have a solid framework in place for 2011, when the draft — held with or without a lockout — is expected to be loaded with quarterback talent.

Garrard or McCown could have a phenomenal year and I still expect Jacksonville to be getting itself a quarterback in a year.

I have trouble imagining Garrard is not the starter in the opener against Denver. But I could see McCown getting a shot if things go poorly along the way.

All the while, Gene Smith’s scouts will be watching the college crop of QBs more closely than ever.