SB Nation - Reggie Hayward

Derrick Harvey's Role on Defense

silencecs — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:31:13 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

Will Harvey be the player we drafted him to be?

Since Reggie Hayward went down with a season ending injury, the team has tried to make a 3-4 defense work in Duval. This has resulted in mixed results as the Jaguars have attempted to make their personnel fit the scheme. Derrick Harvey is one of the catastrophes of this misshapen method. He's been forced to take on a role this year that is altogether unfamiliar territory, the role of a 3-4 LB.

Derrick is regularly on the end of the line, standing with his hand off the ground, prior to the snap. Sometimes he rushes the passer, and others he drops into coverage. He's a very awkward looking coverage LB, and seems best fit only in a zone coverage scheme. I shudder to think of him covering a TE or RB on a regular basis (which I've seen him do before, albeit with some success). His lanky frame does seem to cause some issue for opposing quarterbacks when the team uses a zone-scheme. I've noticed Derrick is steadily becoming better at disguising whether or not he's going to rush the passer or drop into zone on any given play. That's a major improvement, and it is a key component to any rushing LB's repertoire. You must be able to disguise your blitz.

This is clearly a man who is built to be a 4-3 defensive end, and some of his struggles rushing the passer may have to do both with his lack of opportunities, and the position switch. He was improving steadily towards the end of last year, and he seems to be playing well this year (especially against the run). I wouldn't call him a bust, but I don't think he'll be the player we drafted him to be as long as he's in a 3-4 scheme. It's clearly stunted his development as a pass rusher to learn new responsibilities. He may still be a great rush LB, but it may take more time for him to develop and get comfortable in his new role.

I also notice that our Nickel defensive line includes Harvey, Groves, Landri, and Ingram (or Smith). That's not a bad pass rushing line, and I've noticed Harvey seems more comfortable operating out of that front, at least it appears so to me. Pressure is the key to fixing the atrocious pass defense. Our secondary is serviceable, and if we could get some pressure, we'll see even more interceptions.

-Collin Streetman

Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Live Blog/Open Thread

River City Rage — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:18:09 -0000

Arizona Cardinals (0-1)

Week #2

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)

VS.

Date:	September 20th, 2009	Location:	Jacksonville,FL
Time:	1:00 pm EST	Stadium:	"The Jack"
TV:	FOX	Favorite:	Jaguars -3.5
Radio:	Click Here	Over/Under:	43
Weather:	87 w/moderate chance of thunderstorms	Injury Report:	Click Here
SBN Coverage:	Revenge of the Birds	Coverage Map	Click Here

Jaguars Inactives: Brian Witherspoon, Kynan Forney, Jordan Black, Mike Thomas, Zach Miller, Jarett Dillard, Jeremy Navarre, Montavious Stanley. Once again, Thomas and Dillard are out, very very strange.

Welcome to the Home Opener:

The best part about gameday is that you almost forget the previous week's game Here we are, two hours away from kickoff and I'm completely refreshed and pumped for the days action. Indianapolis is behind us, all eyes are forward on the Jaguars/Cardinals matchup. Let's look at some of the burning questions.

1. Is the Jaguars 3-4 defense for real? With Reggie Hayward out for the year, the Jacksonville Jaguars are forced to adopt the 3-4 that they experimented with during the preseason. Reggie, for good reason, was the key player in keeping the Jaguars in a 4-3, with his absence the Jaguars go full time to the new defensive front. Quentin Groves and Derrick Harvey will serve as outside linebackers, John Henderson becomes a defensive end, along with Atiyyah Ellison (HT to Michael Wright at the Times Union for finding that out), and Terrance Knighton holds the point at nose tackle.

Now, what hurts the Jaguars is that their stellar trio of linebackers, Durrant, Ingram, and Smith are restricted to (generally) only having two of them on the field at a time. Will this work? Will the Jaguars develop a new defensive identity? Is there anything stranger than thinking about John Henderson playing defensive end?

2. Can the Jaguars secondary stop Larry and Anquan? Derek Cox had a mixed day against Reggie Wayne, this week he'll probably see the best receiving duo on the league, rough way to open the season. Reggie Nelson and Sean Considine had moments of greatness followed by lapses of judgement, will that unit tighten up?

3. Will the story of the game be a Jaguars win or a blackout? Sadly, I think at the end of this game, the story will be the blackout, not the outcome.

Big Cat Country: The T-Shirt.

Make custom t-shirts at CustomInk.com

If you're interested in a Big Cat Country T-shirt (and really, why wouldn't you want one), I need you to seriously answer the poll question. Depending on the results, we'll work on getting these printed. So if you're really interested in spending 12 bucks (with shipping), let us know in the poll. If you're not interested, that's totally fine, just let us know in the poll.

Consider this the first open thread for the game.

-Chris

Poll

Will you buy a Big Cat Country T-shirt

Yes

30 votes

No

44 votes

74 votes | Poll has closed

Game Preview: Week 2: Arizona Cardinals at Jacksonville Jaguars

Jonathan Loesche — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:30:15 -0000

Arizona Cardinals (0-1)

Week #2

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)

VS.

Date:	September 20th, 2009	Location:	Jacksonville,FL
Time:	1:00 pm EST	Stadium:	"The Jack"
TV:	FOX	Favorite:	Jaguars -3.5
Radio:	Click Here	Over/Under:	43
Weather:	87 w/moderate chance of thunderstorms	Injury Report:	Click Here
SBN Coverage:	Revenge of the Birds	Coverage Map	Click Here

Week Two and the home opener are upon us. The Jaguars look to get the bitter taste of their loss in Indy out of their mouths and get a win over the defending NFC Champions. For the second week in a row, the Jaguars will have their hands full with a talent corp of wide receivers. Cardinal's wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald may be the best wide out in football, and Anquan Boldin will have something to prove after spending the entire off season mouthing off about his contract.

The Cardinals are coming off a tough loss to division rival San Francisco where the looked nothing like the team that made a surprising run to the Super Bowl a year ago. Kurt Warner completed less than 60% of his passes, threw two interceptions, and was sacked three times in a 20-16 loss. In addition, the team rushed a grand total of 40 yards. Defensively, the team did pick it up registering four sacks and forcing two fumbles.

Thing to Watch for: Jacksonville Jaguars

1. Defensive Line: The loss of Reggie Hayward and the revised expectations of the eight overall pick in the 2008 draft Derrick Harvey mean that the line is once again in bad shape on the outside. John Henderson and Terrance Knighton played well enough on the interior against Indy, and they may be counted on to get pressure against the Cardinals. Also, Henderson played surprisingly well as a DE when the Jaguars switched to a 3-4 against the Colts. Keep an eye out for that again.

2. Passing Game: Garrard started off well against the Colts and then proceeded to sink faster than the Titanic. Preseason standouts Nate Hughes and Troy Williamson combined for 2 receptions for 17 yards. Torry Holt looked the part against the Colts, though he only had 3 receptions. I'll put it bluntly, if Jones-Drew accounts for almost half the team's receptions for a second straight week, things could go downhill quickly.

3.Derek Cox: The rookie out of William and Mary played about as expected last week against Indy. He struggled at times only to flash the talent that made Emperor Gene trade the 2010 2nd round pick to get him. His baptism by fire continues this week going against the Cardinals wide receivers. The good news for him is that Kurt Warner isn't Peyton Manning.

4.Offensive Tackles: Eugene Monroe was handed his rear on a silver platter by Dwight Freeney last Sunday. This is the only week in the first four that he won't go against a premier pass rushing DE and he needs a good game this week. Eben Britton played well enough against Robert Mathis and will look to keep playing well this week.

5. Maurice Jones-Drew: Jones Drew accounted for 26 of the Jaguars 55 total offensive plays against the Colts. Expect him to get another heavy load against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Thing to Watch for: Arizona Cardinals

1. Kurt Warner: Warner is infamous for turning in lacklusteter seasons following taking a team to the Super Bowl. Warner didn't have a great game last week against the 49ers and he may be reverting back to his mediocre form he had prior to last year.

2. Defense: Despite their Week 1 loss, the Cardinals defense looked impressive, only surrendering 206 yards of offense. They will have to continue to play that way if the offense can't find a way to kick it into gear this week. They sacked Shaun Hill four times and forced two fumbles, a far cry from most of their efforts in 2008.

3. Turnovers: Kurt Warner threw two costly interceptions while the Cardinals defense did not force a turnover last week. Not many teams win games while being -2 in the turnover department, and the Cardinals know that. Look for them to take extra care of protecting the ball this week.

4.Running Game: The Cardinals accounted for a grand total of 40 yards rushing on on 17 attempts. To be fair, it was really 44 yards on 15 attempts not counting Warner's sacks. However, that is still an abysmal amount of rushing yards. If the Cards can't afford to be this one dimensional week in and week out.

Player On The Hot Seat

Derrick Harvey, DE, Jacksonville

Harvey has to show why he was a Top 10 pick, and for a defensive end, that means getting to the quarterback. He's been hounded all week by the media and fans, and it will only get worse if he doesn't perform up to expectations.

Prediction

Jaguars 24

Cardinals 20

PS, I currently know Terry, TheTealDeal, and myself will be at the game Sunday. Who else is going and anyone want to meet up prior/during the game?

-Jonathan Loesche

Poll

The ______ will win by _ points on Sunday

Jaguars 10+

44 votes

Jaguars 4-9

100 votes

Jaguars 1-3

52 votes

Cardinals 1-3

28 votes

Cardinals 4-9

83 votes

Cardinals 10+

74 votes

381 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Injury Report

Hawkwind — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:13:33 -0000

The Arizona Cardinals injury list has grown considerably since last week and as of today it includes nine players including four who didn't participate in yesterday's practice. Reggie Wells, Chike Okeafor, Matt Ware and Kenny Iwebema joined Sean Morey, Brian St. Pierre, Steve Breaston, Anquan Boldin and Early Doucet on the report with Okeafor, Breaston, Ware and Iwebema sitting out of the entire practice. Everyone else at least participated in some portion of practice. As of today, Iwebema is the only player who is expected to miss Sunday's game against Jacksonville. Boldin admitted that he's still not 100% but did say that he feels much better than last week and did more in practice than he has in three weeks. Ken Whisenhunt said that they will be very cautious with Breaston this week in hopes that some time off will allow him to play on Sunday.

For the Jaguars, Zach Miller (TE) and Brian Witherspoon (CB) both missed practice. Miller, and this isn't the tight end from Oakland, is a rookie tight end who's making the transition from college quarterback. He's buried on the depth chart and most likely wouldn't have an impact even if he played. Witherspoon is listed as a corner but he's basically a return specialist, and a pretty good one. He averaged over eleven yards per punt return last year as a rookie and 24 yards per kick return.

Update (hat tip to Jeff): We should also mention that the Jaguars most significant injury in the past week was to defensive end and pass rush specialist, Reggie Hayward. He broke his leg against the Colts has already been placed on IR. The 30 year old has 39.5 sacks over the course of his career but has struggled to stay healthy over the past several seasons. It's unknown who will fill the void although Quentin Groves, James Wyche or rookie Julius Williams are in the mix or the team could decide to run more 3-4 schemes. Groves, a second round pick in 2008, is officially listed as a linebacker on their depth chart and has been a disappointment so far as a pro. Neither Wyche or Williams have appeared in an NFL game before.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Tom Uhlman - AP

3 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer (9) is sacked by Denver Broncos linebacker Mario Haggan (57) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Cincinnati. Denver won the game 12-7. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends. It's a happy week in Broncoland, hopefully one of many to come this season. There was some good, some bad, some lucky, and some spectacular on Sunday. We'll discuss it all, like we always do, and we won't apologize for winning, because a win is a win. Ready.... BEGIN!!!

1. The Broncos on Sunday reminded me of the Patriots of about 2005, only operating at about 60% of potential. The defensive looks were varied, the tackling and coverage were solid, and the whole was generally greater than the sum of its parts. On offense, there was a lot of commitment to running the ball, some screening, and mostly lower-risk stuff when they did go downfield. The team played like they expected a close game, and did the sorts of things you have to do to win close.

Consider the following:

a. The Broncos committed no turnovers, and forced two. (I personally count the bad snap on the FG, which doesn't technically count, and don't count Scheffler's interception, which does.) I now reiterate my belief that turnovers are the number one determinant of winning and losing.

b. The Broncos committed few penalties, and they were minor ones, the obvious exception being the Casey Wiegmann holding call on the successful 4th-quarter Correll Buckhalter screen.

c. Brett Kern had one notable shank, but mostly punted very well, helping the Broncos in field position. (I now reiterate my belief that field position is the number two determinant of winning and losing.) The return work for the Broncos was very shaky all day, and I would say the Broncos lost the field position battle by a bit. It would have been a lot worse without Kern's solid work, and some good coverage on punts.

d. The clock management methodology at the end of the first half was right out of Bill Belichick's book, and we can expect to see it repeatedly over the coming years. I want to talk about this in some detail, because it's going to become a key part of the character of the Broncos football team.

The unsophisticated observer of football tends to think that a "2-minute drill" calls for clock conservation and a sense of urgency. You know, people like Dan Fouts. It's not that simple, though. You have to consider field position and how many timeouts you have, and do a mental calculation of the probability of your offense scoring, and failing that, the probability of pinning the opposing team deep, and giving them no good shot at scoring, should you have to punt.

The Belichick 2-minute ethos is simple. The number-one objective in a 2-minute situation is to prevent the opposition from scoring. The number-two objective is to score yourself. Deep in your own territory, you make the clock run, almost always by handing off from a spread-out shotgun look. The Patriots have been doing this with Kevin Faulk forever, and I knew that's what the Broncos were doing on first down on Sunday.

Eddie Royal returns the ball to the Denver 17, with 1:48 to go, and 2 timeouts.

DEN 1-10 own 17 yard line 1:48 Handoff to Correll Buckhalter for 7 yards

DEN 2-3 own 24 yard line 1:17 Handoff to Buckhalter for 6 yards

DEN 1-10 own 30 yard line 1:01 Screen pass to Buckhalter for 7 yards

DEN 2-3 own 37 yard line :40 Incomplete deep out to Jabar Gaffney

DEN 3-3 own 37 yard line :34 WR screen to Eddie Royal for 11 yards

Timeout Denver

DEN 1-10 own 48 yard line :26 Deep out to Jabar Gaffney for 21 yards, out-of bounds

DEN 1-10 CIN 31 yard line :20 Incomplete downfield pass to Tony Scheffler (near fumble)

DEN 2-10 CIN 31 yard line :14 Inside handoff to Buckhalter for no gain

Timeout Denver

DEN 3-10 CIN 31 yard line :05 Matt Prater makes 48 yard field goal, Denver leads 3-0 at halftime.

This is very good clock management. The likelihood of driving 83 yards in 1:48 with 2 timeouts, and getting a Touchdown is pretty low, particularly when the offense has struggled all half. The likelihood of getting close enough to try a field goal is much higher.

If you go 3-and-out really quickly on 3 incomplete passes, there is suddenly about 1:35 left, and it's 4th and 10 on your own 17. In 2008, over 2,293 punts in the NFL, the average net outcome was a change in field position of 39.53 yards. Add that to 17, and you just gave the ball to the other team at their own 43, with 1:20 or so to go. They only have to go 20-25 yards to get into field-goal range, which is really manageable. That is why your starting field position matters to your strategy in a compressed-time situation (I don't like the term 2-minute drill. This is the real thing, not a damn drill. It's the old Boatswain's Mate in me). When the Broncos have the ball inside their own 30 or so, expect them to always follow this strategy at the end of the first half.

2. Information from my eyes, from a second pass of the Broncos-Bengals game:

a. The Broncos have a terrific set of CBs. Champ Bailey showed his worth, and Andre' Goodman made one outstanding downfield play, deflecting a ball, and generally had good coverage, even when balls were completed near him. The guy who continued to flash star ability, though, was Alphonso Smith. The Broncos are never going to regret taking this guy.

b. Brett Kern really punted well Sunday, except for one shank. The pass rush bailed him out of that, which I will get into a bit later. For awhile, Kern was the best weapon the Broncos had.

c. Knowshon Moreno ran sideways way too much Sunday. Bobby Turner will certainly be on his back about that, and let's hope the lesson sinks in very quickly.

d. I am not the first person to say this, but I wanted to see more of Peyton Hillis carrying the ball. I wonder if Spencer Larsen's injury caused the staff to shy away from it, since Peyton is really now the only available FB for awhile.

e. Andra Davis had a fantastic game, with 9 tackles, 3 for losses, and 1 sack. He played downhill all day, and thumped some Bengals. That's exactly what we need from him.

f. We need Wesley Woodyard to come in for Davis in coverage situations too, and we got some return on that, with his interception.

g. Wrapping up in the tackling game needs to definitely be better.

3. Information from my eyes, other games' version:

a. The Cardinals really struggled to protect Kurt Warner on Sunday, and it was the main reason they lost to the 49ers. The Niners sacked him 3 times, but hit him a lot of times more than that, 8 according to ESPN.com's box score. The 49ers also struggled in protection, but in key moments, they kept Shaun Hill upright.

b. Warner hasn't looked quite right to me, through the preseason, and into today's game. I haven't figured out what it is yet, but there's something wrong. It's almost like his personal sense of timing isn't there, like it is when he is going well. It will bear watching in the coming weeks, but if he falls off really sharply, the Cardinals will have something to worry about.

c. I really don't like Shaun Hill's skills, but he finds a way to win games. I can see why Mike Singletary likes him, because he is sort of similar to Jim McMahon from a skill-set perspective. I kind of feel bad for Mike, actually, because at no point in his career, as either a player or a coach, has he ever had a big-time QB to work with.

d. Cullen Jenkins is a beast, and he dominated against the Bears on Sunday night. Nobody on the Chicago line could handle him. I've said it before, but his injury almost single-handedly sunk the Packers season last year. When you have a guy like him, you have a really good chance to be stout against the run with 7 in the box, which is what their old Jim Bates-inspired (Bob Sanders-coached) defensive scheme is predicated upon. When they had to stack the box, they couldn't cover well enough anymore, and all of a sudden, they're a 6-10 team.

e. I believed it, and said it on Draft Day, and I believe it even more strongly now. The Packers messed up drafting B.J. Raji, despite the strong likelihood that he'll be a good player. They badly, badly needed help at Offensive Tackle, and they should have either traded up for Eugene Monroe or traded down a bit and taken Michael Oher. Chad Clifton is horrible on the left side, and Allen Barbre, the new RT, looks quite a bit worse than Mark Tauscher, the out-of-work, washed-up guy he replaced. This is a big enough problem to potentially make them struggle to make the playoffs, and it's otherwise a Super Bowl-caliber team.

f. Jay Cutler flat-out choked with that 4th pick. And like on the first three, Cris Collinsworth blamed the receiver. Guys, Cutler doesn't need enabling. That's the lesson from Denver that nobody seems to learn. (He needs to be coached with a foot in his hind parts, actually.) While it is true that the guy (Johnny Knox) needed to shield Al Harris from getting inside him, it was a terrible decision to go there anyway. KC Joyner's bad-decision metric would kill Cutler's game Sunday, because he threw the ball straight to the other team 6 times, with them only catching 4 of them.

g. There were a lot of dropped passes across the NFL this weekend, it wasn't just the Broncos and Bengals. I don't know if receivers were just rusty or what, but it was pretty bad.

h. I loved the call on third-and-one with 1:18 to go in the Packers-Bears game. Aaron Rodgers threw a great ball and hit Greg Jennings for a 51-yard TD pass. Jennings ran a textbook go-route on the play, widening out on Nathan Vasher, and then taking a great line to the catch spot. They exploited the hell out of the whole Bears secondary on that play, and it was an easy pitch and catch.

i. NBC criticism time. Bob Costas doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. (The Colts lost their outstanding receiver Anthony Gonzalez today! Really? Outstanding?) Rodney Harrison can barely get a clean sentence out, and reminds me of Emmitt Smith already, as a TV guy. Tony Dungy is going to get old quick, and the holdovers from the NBC studio still aren't that good either, though I'm glad to be rid of Jerome Bettis. Collinsworth is really hit or miss, but mostly missed Sunday night, and Al Michaels just seems like he doesn't care anymore. Twenty years ago, he was pretty good, but now, he's the worst play-by-play guy in the business. He blows more calls, and misspeaks more often than anybody. It's like a George W. Bush speech with him, every game. It makes me wish Madden 10 was real life, and Tom Hammond was in there instead. Michaels' toupee is atrocious too, but that isn't exactly new news.

j. I got beat up for this a couple weeks ago, but I still think Joe Flacco is better than Matt Ryan, and I want to reiterate it. He can do everything Ryan can do, but he has much more zip on his fastball, and he's significantly more mobile, too. It's kind of reminiscent of the Chris Paul/Deron Williams debate (now, non-debate) in the NBA. Both are really good, but the one who was drafted lower is a bit better.

Flacco was hurt by a lot of drops on Sunday, but he personally looked really good, and was the primary reason Baltimore beat Kansas City. The Chiefs tied the game at 24 with 5:21 to go, and Flacco went and won the game, beating a blitz with a great deep ball to Mark Clayton (who I should have started in the official MHR fantasy league).

k. Tamba Hali continues to look pretty good as a LB in the 3-4 for Kansas City, but Mike Vrabel alternately looked lazy and washed-up on the other side. Big things are allegedly expected from Vrabel this year, but I sure can't tell.

l. My brother Chris (a fellow Broncos fan, and sometimes MHR lurker) was stuck with the Jets-Texans game at home in Los Angeles on Sunday, but he said it was worth watching, so I took in the Short Cut. The Jets defensive front did a job on the Texans O-line, and I asked Chris if it was primarily schematic, or primarily a man beating a man. He said it was some of both, and I agree wholeheartedly, after watching the game. Rex Ryan is definitely still at it, sometimes lining up a three-man line as a 1-technique, 3-technique, and 5-technique, all to one side of the Center, having nothing but LBs on the other side. Nice evaluation, Chris, if you get around to reading this.

Vernon Gholston actually showed some flashes of being able to play, which was surprising, and the Jets clearly have a plan to overload blitz from a lot of fronts. Darrelle Revis did a great job on Andre Johnson, too, really taking Houston's best player out of the game.

m. The second-best defensive rookie I saw this weekend (behind Alphonso Smith) was Brian Cushing of the Texans. He was constantly around the ball, and looked like a better, more downhill-playing Chad Greenway.

n. I continue to be very impressed with Mark Sanchez. He looked poised and talented, which I expected. What I didn't necessarily expect was how well he would bounce back from throwing a TD pass to the other team (for Houston's only points of the game.)

o. So, you remember that thing about your objectives when getting the ball inside 2 minutes of the first half? Here's an example of the wrong way to do it. Tampa Bay started with 2 minutes to play, at their own 14-yard line. They led the game 7-6 at that point.

TB 1-10 own 14 yard line 2:00 WR screen to Michael Clayton, loss of 1 yard

TB 2-11 own 13 yard line 1:21 Byron Leftwich runs out of bounds for a gain of 1 yard, rather than staying in the field of play and gaining a couple additional yards.

TB 3-10 own 14 yard line 1:14 Handoff to Clifton Smith for 4 yards, burning 6 seconds

Dallas Timeout

TB 4-6 own 18 yard line 1:08 Punt out of bounds, Dallas ball, own 44 yard line

DAL 1-10 own 44 yard line 1:01 Tony Romo passes to Jason Witten, 9 yard gain, out-of-bounds at TB 47

DAL 2-1 TB 47 Offsides by (disappointing) Gaines Adams, 5 yard penalty, first down Dallas

DAL 1-10 TB 42 :55 Romo passes to Miles Austin for a 42 yard TD

This is the exact scenario which I described above, that you're trying to avoid.

After Tampa hit on a long pass to Michael Clayton, and Mike Nugent missed his second field goal, Dallas led 13-7 at the half, and went in with all the momentum. In a compressed-time situation, (especially when you lead 7-6), the status quo is okay. Write that down, the status quo is okay. THE STATUS QUO IS OKAY. The dumb play was Leftwich running out of bounds, and it cost the Bucs bigtime.

p. You know who might be the comeback player of the year this year, if he can stay healthy, is Cadillac Williams. He ran with suddenness and violence on Saturday, and looked better than he has since his rookie season.

q. The Patriots offensive line probably makes them not a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Of course, I thought the same thing of the Steelers last year, so take that for what it's worth. It is very, very difficult to be a championship team with a bad offensive line, though, and both of those teams have bad offensive lines.

r. I still think Tennessee is the best all-around team in the AFC. They're really strong on both lines, and their rookie WR, Kenny Britt, is going to open up their running game even further as the season progresses. I picked them at the last minute against Pittsburgh, and though the Steelers won, I feel like I had the game right. The Steelers couldn't block Tennessee, and Tennessee mostly could block Pittsburgh.

s. A rookie CB who was impressive was Derek Cox from the Jaguars. He had a fantastic interception of Peyton Manning in the end zone, on a fade route, and recovered a fumble too. He was hurt by getting beat deep twice by Reggie Wayne, but all in all, I think he's a find at CB, as a 3rd-rounder from William & Mary.

t. The Patriots definitely deserved to lose on Monday night, and there are serious issues with their team. Their offensive line is bad, they lack much talent at RB, and their defense can be thrown on, if they don't get pressure on the QB. They're brilliantly coached, but talent-deficient in some key places. They don't need to apologize for winning, but they do need to remember that they got dominated all game.

u. How about the effort and discipline showed by the Raiders? They came to play football Monday night, and the Chargers mostly looked like they want to sleepwalk through the early part of the season again.

v. Speaking of the Raiders, they must be really happy with the acquisitions of Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour. Those two players really improved their defense, and both got sacks Monday night.

w. Marcus McNeill looked awful against Seymour, and don't underestimate the importance of a long-term Nick Hardwick injury (an assumption, since he left by cart). The Chargers have no quality offensive line depth, not even anybody as good as Russ Hochstein or Seth Olsen.

x. Great coverage by the Raiders, especially Tyvon Branch and Chris Johnson. Branch, especially, did a nice job on Antonio Gates for most of the game. Nnamdi Asomugha was his normal self, even if Vincent Jackson did get a TD on him in the 4th quarter.

y. The Chargers defense is not very good, and the Raiders' suddenly seems like it is. I am positive that the Broncos' defense is better than San Diego's, as I have been saying for a couple weeks now. Shawne Merriman is staying blocked, and they're less talented at DE and ILB than they've been in recent years.

z. You may recall that Louis Murphy was one of my Draft favorites. And, incidentally, he caught a great throw by JaMarcus Russell too, after he struggled for a lot of the game. He is coming along as a player, as I said a couple weeks ago. Russell did struggle with accuracy a lot of the night, but I can see a lot of improvement in his process and decisiveness over this time last year.

aa. Hopefully, Darren Sproles is still having trouble fielding kicks in about 5 weeks. He flubbed three of them Monday night.

4. Between The Lines, Week 1: (Big up bchiper for suggesting the name about a month ago, when I solicited input from the community.)

a. Denver at Cincinnati

Denver Offense vs. Cincinnati Defense:

i. The Broncos offensive tackles were both outstanding, in both pass protection and the running game. Ryan Harris technically gave up a sack, although after 5 seconds and a trip on a shoestring tackle as Ryan rode the player deep and outside; it was totally on Kyle Orton. Antwan Odom got that sack, and another on Russ Hochstein later, and Robert Geathers was a total non-factor in the passing game, mostly against Ryan Clady.

ii. The interior of the Broncos offensive line was much more of a mixed bag. Ben Hamilton was called for holding and a false start, on the key 4th-quarter drive where the Broncos didn't score. He mostly carried out his assignments beyond that, but those lapses are very troubling. Hochstein gave up two sacks, and didn't look good. He really made me miss Chris Kuper. Casey Wiegmann had maybe his worst game as a Bronco, and got pushed backward a few times in the running game. The holding call on the successful Correll Buckhalter screen pass in the 4th quarter was really not much of a hold, but you can't be taking that penalty in that spot.

iii. The interior line for Cincinnati did a much better job than I thought they would, and mostly maintained their gaps in the running game. Hochstein and Wiegmann struggled some with Pat Sims and Domata Peko. I was impressed with their play for the Bengals, and they played a key part in the Broncos running game never really getting going.

iv. Among 20 running plays, I counted 11 zone-blocked plays and 9 man-blocked plays. Buckhalter had good success both ways, and LaMont Jordan had a nice run on a zone play. Peyton Hillis had his only carry behind man-blocking, which I think suits him best, and Knowshon Moreno ran both ways, having more success in man-blocking, which didn't have him running sideways, which was largely his downfall in his underwhelming debut.

v. I would call this battle pretty much a draw, which means the Broncos underachieved. Both sides had some success at times, in a battle that most would have expected the Broncos to win going away. The Broncos have some work to do on the offensive line. Statistically, the Broncos rushed 20 times for 75 yards, 3.8 yard per carry average. Orton was sacked 3 times, and hit 5 more, but really never faced significant pressure from a 4-man rush. Cincinnati really only got there by blitzing.

Cincinnati Offense vs. Denver Defense:

i. The good for Cincinnati: Andrew Whitworth did a pretty nice job at Left Tackle. He showed the ability to be fine there this season. The bad: Anthony Collins had a pretty rough time on the Right side, and looked like a guy who needs to be a backup. Collins never handled Elvis Dumervil well when he rushed from that side, and he got pushed backward a lot in the running game.

ii. As a general statement, the Broncos defensive line did an outstanding job of maintaining the line of scrimmage, and often resetting it a yard behind the blue line on the screen. It was a very encouraging sign against a big offensive line. I was very pleased with the interior performance of both Ronald Fields and Marcus Thomas. They didn't get their names called much, but both played with excellent leverage and physicality.

iii. I felt like the Denver DE/OLBs could have done a much better job in setting the edge in the running game. That is their number-one job, and several times, the interior successfully strung running plays out to the sideline, only to see Cedric Benson get some room out there. They're going to have to get better there.

iv. Of the Broncos' 3 sacks, all came from players who are classified as linebackers. Andra Davis and Mario Haggan both just barely beat Dumervil to the QB. Darrell Reid rushed with his hand down from a DE position on 3rd down, right after Haggan's sack, and beat Collins like he stole something on the play. Those two sacks were really important, incidentally, because both came right after Brett Kern shanked a punt and gave Cincinnati outstanding field position.

v. The Broncos won this battle, no question about it. They wore down a little at the end, but the defensive line was terrific in this game. They allowed 86 yards rushing on 27 carries, with 1 TD. That's a 3.2 yard average, which is very good, especially against a really talented guy like Benson. The pass rush was okay, but can get better. They hit Carson Palmer 4 times, in addition to the 3 sacks, and hurried him several other times.

b. Jacksonville at Indianapolis

Jacksonville Offense vs. Indianapolis Defense:

i. The key matchup featured Dwight Freeney against Eugene Monroe, who was making his NFL debut. Freeney dominated Monroe early in the game, notching a sack, and barely missing another, when David Garrard pulled out of his tackle. Monroe did better as the game went on, and the Jaguars took advantage of Freeney's constant proclivity to rush upfield by running several successful draws to his vacated spot. Monroe did have the key block on Jacksonville's only TD play, impressively hitting Antoine Bethea in space, a la Ryan Clady. On the negative side, Freeney had a neutral-zone infraction in the game, giving Jacksonville a first down.

ii. The Jaguars' other rookie Tackle, second-rounder Eben Britton, also was a mixed bag, mostly against Robert Mathis. He stoned Mathis a few times, got pantsed by him a couple more, but mostly they played close to even. Mathis did have a few impressive plays in the running game as the backside DE, crashing down the line.

iii. I was impressed by the job done by the inside guys for the Jags, including Maurice Williams, Brad Meester, and Vince Manuwai. They opened a lot of holes for Maurice Jones-Drew and anchored very well in the passing game. I only saw one very impressive defensive play by a Colts interior player, and that was a pursuit play by Ed Johnson. I was more impressed with his effort in hustling for 25 yards than anything, really.

iv. The Colts D-line looked the same as ever, with speed from the edges, not much anchoring power, and averageness inside. The Jaguars are much better up front than last season, and I would venture to speculate that they'll be a good offensive line 8-10 weeks from now, when Monroe and Britton have a bit more experience.

v. Statistically, the Jaguars rushed 26 times for 114 yards and 1 TD, a 4.4 yard average. David Garrard was sacked once and hit 6 more times. The numbers tend to support my conclusion that Jacksonville had a slight overall edge in this area.

Indianapolis Offense vs. Jacksonville Defense:

i. Indianapolis' Left Tackle, Charlie Johnson struggled somewhat, mostly against Derrick Harvey. Harvey didn't do a lot in the pass-rushing game, but he made his presence felt in stopping the run. Some were surprised that Johnson ended up as the starter, with Tony Ugoh on the bench, but I was a charter member of the Ugoh-Is-Soft-And-Lousy club a year ago, when the BMIA's of the world were still loving on him. Harvey is improved from his rookie year, but is still a better run player than pass rusher, and probably always will be. He's just not a fast-twitch guy, and smartly tries to play with power rather than quickness.

ii. I've never been the biggest Jeff Saturday fan, and Sunday's game was a good example of the reasons why. He really, really struggles when you ask him to anchor against a power player in pass protection or move a defensive lineman vertically in the running game. This has always been the case to some degree, but he's declined somewhat since his best years, from the looks of things. Saturday's strength is getting out to the second level and hitting pursuers. His quickness is an asset there, and his lack of power is minimized as a liability. He did look good several times in that tasking. I don't think he's a good Center anymore, overall, though - he's more like an average one.

iii. John Henderson had kind of an underwhelming game for the Jags from a playmaking perspective, but he generally was stout inside in the running game. He spent a good amount of time pushing Mike Pollak and Saturday backwards in the running game. Really, the Colts' whole O-line spent a lot of their day a step into their own backfield.

iv. Jacksonville's pass rush was marginal, and they got only one sack, from Reggie Hayward, who subsequently broke his shin and went down for the season. Ryan Lilja got beat for the sack, but the blocking scheme put him in a tough spot, coming from the inside to block an outside rusher.

v. The numbers tell two stories. The Jags were stout against the run, allowing 71 yards on 31 carries, a 2.3 yard average, with 1 TD. Peyton Manning had his way in the passing game though, taking one sack, and only getting hit two additional times. Give the slight edge to the Colts for volume, and if you're the Jaguars, you know you've now gone two offseasons needing pass rush help, and not satisfied the need.

5. The following is the schedule for the regular season for the Between The Lines feature.

Week
1	Jacksonville at Indianapolis
1	Denver at Cincinnati
2	Houston at Tennessee
2	Cleveland at Denver
3	Green Bay at St. Louis
3	Denver at Oakland
4	New York Jets at New Orleans
4	Dallas at Denver
5	Atlanta at San Francisco
5	New England at Denver
6	Baltimore at Minnesota
6	Denver at San Diego
7	Arizona at New York Giants
8	Denver at Baltimore
8	Cleveland at Chicago
9	Green Bay at Tampa Bay
9	Pittsburgh at Denver
10	Chicago at San Francisco
10	Denver at Washington
11	Miami at Carolina
11	San Diego at Denver
12	New York Giants at Denver
12	Pittsburgh at Baltimore
13	Houston at Jacksonville
13	Denver at Kansas City
14	Green Bay at Chicago
14	Denver at Indianapolis
14	Philadelphia at New York Giants
15	New England at Buffalo
15	Oakland at Denver
16	Seattle at Green Bay
16	Denver at Philadelphia
17	Chicago at Detroit
17	Kansas City at Denver

All 32 teams will be evaluated at least once. I'll evaluate the Broncos 17 times, obviously, and the next most frequent subjects will be Chicago and Green Bay with 4 appearances, Baltimore and the Giants with 3, and Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, New England, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego and San Francisco twice each. All other teams will appear once.

6. My apologies for the lack of Lighting Up The Scoreboard Friday. I was having software problems on the recording from the Madden end, and I don't even know if it will work this week, when i try again. I will at least shoot to have an audio podcast this week, even if I can't get the Madden content in there.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. Man-cavery:

I have been fighting the urge to spend $1,000 on another living-room TV, and I have managed to keep that beast at bay, for now at least. I brought the TV on the right (a 32" job), in from my bedroom for gameday, and I think I will continue to do so for awhile. I had the Red Zone channel on the bigger laptop, the main game I wanted to see on the bigger TV, and another interesting game on the smaller, moved-in TV. I was keeping notes on the smaller laptop, on the couch. My only problem was changing channels, because the remote wanted to change the channels on both DirecTV receivers, when I only wanted one to move. Does anybody know any solutions to that?

That's all I have after taking up a lot of your time. Have a great week, and let's hope I can get my software issues worked out this week. It's Browns week, which means a lot of grief for me from the locals here in Cleveland, but it's the kind of grief I am happy to absorb if the Broncos win. In any case, we'll be back next Tuesday with more Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations.

Colts v. Jaguars Recap: One Week In, Already On Top

Colts Homer — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:30:37 -0000

More photos » by AJ Mast - AP

3 months ago: Indianapolis Colts running back Joseph Addai runs in the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Indianapolis. The Colts won 14-12. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Browse more photos »

It is only Week One and the Colts have the lead in the AFC South. The Colts beat the Jaguars, the Titans lose in overtime to the defending champion Steelers and the Texans embarrass themselves against the Jets. The Colts have a game up on everyone which is a nice luxury. You can look at it as next week is the start of the season and the Colts were spotted a game. It is a very good thing that everyone else is 0-1.

The Colts had what appeared to be a normal first game of the season. Some places looked rusty but some looked very impressive. It was 14-12, but the Colts really did outplay the Jaguars by more than that. An interception at the goal line cost the Colts at least 3 points and a rare Addai fumble in Colts territory also cost the team some points. However, unless if there is some rule change that I am blissfully unaware of, there are no such thing as style points. The Colts weren't pretty, but they are 1-0, which I feel is more important.

What I Liked

The short yardage running game with Addai. There are 3 plays I look at when I analyze how Addai did in short yardage situations in this game. Two of his carries were on a third and short in Colts territory that he showed amazing speed on and got within the five. One of those runs was followed by the Manning interception, but the other was followed by an Addai touchdown. Addai had a good game in short yardage.

The decision to start Charlie Johnson over Tony Ugoh. I was tough on Johnson in the preseason, but he didn't play well in the preseason. Today he played great. He gave up no sacks. Most of the pressure from the Jaguars came from the right side of the line with Reggie Hayward. The biggest hit from Manning on the left side was on his touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne. Johnson also did well in the running game. Addai's good short yardage carries went to the left side. Johnson did a fantastic job in shutting down Derrick Harvey. Let's see how he does next week against Joey Porter next week. If he can keep Porter from getting a sack, I may have to believe that Johnson is an acceptable left tackle in the National Football League.

Larry Coyer. This may fall under love. Larry Coyer's spin on the Tampa-2 is a thing of beauty. The Colts held Maurice Jones-Drew to 97 rushing yards and they actually got off of the field. Believe it or not, the Colts won the possession battle today. It is amazing. Don't say it is because of the changes in players. Besides Jerraud Powers, all of the starters were starters on the team last year at some point. The starting defensive tackles were Antonio Johnson and Eric Foster, the two best defensive tackles from the team last season. The players were the same. It was the defensive coordinator that was the change. This great performance by the defense was because of the change of defensive coordinator. They went from a bad defensive coordinator who I believe never went to a practice and worked with a team to someone who is looking like the biggest addition to the team this offseason.

Click on the little link below this to read what I didn't like and a position-by-position breakdown of the game.

What I didn't like

Not winning the turnover battle. The Colts had 2 turnovers. The Jaguars had none. That won't work when they play New England or Baltimore. The Colts need to force turnovers. The only time the Colts were even close to a turnover was when Jerraud Powers levitated off of the ground and almost picked off a pass in the endzone which was one of the most impressive plays I've seen from a Colts cornerback. Next week they need to pressure Chad Pennington and force him into bad decisions.

The stretch play. It's not that I have a problem with the play itself, just the guys up front trying to block for it. I think Ryan Lilja might be a little rusty on it, but what is the excuse for Diem and Pollak? Running to the right side was an automatic loss of yards. The Jaguars front 7 is not that good. Donald Brown and Joseph Addai are good running backs who should be able to run all over this defense. There needs to be some changes on the offensive line, starting with the right side of it.

Special Teams. It is still a serious problem even with Coach R here. The wedge rule changes should have helped kick coverage, but the Jaguars still routinely got to the 30 yard line while Simpson only had one good return that was mostly due to great blocking by Ramon Humber.

Now here's a position-by-position breakdown of the team.

QBs

Peyton Manning started his 177th straight game and won his 118th game. Those 118 wins tie the team record with Johnny Unitas. Manning did it in 5 less starts. Folks, we are watching one of the greatest players in football history. Even if he didn't have his best game today, he did enough to win it. He made good throws and connected with Reggie Wayne. Let's see what he can do in a few weeks when Gonzalez is back. Peyton Manning had his 300 yards, but that interception hurt. He had some bad passes, but Peyton never plays well in Week One. He's healthy this year and next week we should see the real Peyton we all know and love.

RBs

Even though they only got 75 yards, they got me excited. Donald Brown is an animal. I honestly believe that he is going to be an elite running back in this league once he gets the offensive line he deserves. Addai is going to rejuvenate his career as a short yardage back if he keeps it up. I support starting Downtown Donald Brown but playing Addai on short yardage plays and in the goal line. That's where Addai does best. Brown does best with space. I want to see Brown have five catches a game. When he gets in the open field he is magic. He jumped over defenders, broke tackles and did whatever he could to get the first down. By Week 17 the Colts running game will finally be good again.

WRs/TEs

Anthony Gonzalez's injury is a bummer. He was ready for a breakout year but he will have to wait two to six weeks. Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon did okay in his place. Collie had 2 catches for 15 yards and Garcon had 3 catches for 24 yards. However, neither of those guys are Anthony Gonzalez. I expect Taj Smith to be signed on Monday from the practice squad and hopefully Tim Jennings will be cut. He is useless. He doesn't contribute on special teams and with Jerraud Powers on the team he has no chance of getting time on defense. Jacob Lacey and TJ Rushing are better cornerbacks. Jennings wasn't good last year and he doesn't deserve a roster spot. With Taj Smith off the practice squad it would open a spot for Terrance Taylor. I would support that greatly. On the tight end side, Jacob Tamme got some action. On the only time he was thrown to he had a nice 6 yard reception. With Gonzalez out he may see more of the field in a slot receiver's role.

The pass blocking was fine. Peyton was only sacked once and he was never under a lot of pressure. The run blocking was horrendous though. It might have been worse than last year. The right side of the line is a mess. Mike Pollak is looking more and more like a bust. The stretch play to the right side is a death sentence. Any run to the right side is a death sentence. Almost every decent run was to the left side. Right tackle and right guard are the two biggest concerns on the team. There was no run blocking on the right side. Peyton got clobbered by a Jaguar coming from the right side of the line. I'm worried about the O-line.

Here's a line I am not worried about. The defensive line was phenomenal. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis got great pressure on Garrard. Freeney had one sack and a bunch of hits on Garrard. Mathis got pressure on Garrard on the final drive. The defensive tackles also did well. They stuffed the two point conversion that ended up being the difference. Eric Foster and Antonio Johnson did a great job of clogging up the middle. All of the big MJD runs were outside runs. He didn't get anything up the middle. Think of how good the line will be with Fili Moala and Ed Johnson back next week. I'm excited to see Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams stuffed multiple times eight days from now.

LBs

I wasn't thrilled by the linebackers but they weren't a problem. Sure they had a little bit of trouble stopping MJD at times, but Session and Hagler had some nice tackles while Gary Brackett did well blitzing on the final drive. I am much less worried about this unit than I was going into the game. As long as Freddie Keiaho doesn't have to see the field they will be fine. I'm looking forward to seeing Philip Wheeler get out there and blitz. He could absolutely dominate in Coyer's system. He will be starting soon.

DBs

Jerraud Powers is amazing. What a steal he was. I think he has earned a starting job over Marlin Jackson to be honest. He shut down the Jaguars' receivers. It is impossible to overstate how pleasant of a surprise he has been. He is a future star at cornerback. The third round curse is over, people. Kelvin Hayden also had a great game. There is a reason why the Colts only gave up 6 touchdown passes last season. It's because the Colts secondary is the best in the league. Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea didn't do anything of note, but they didn't mess up anything either. Hopefully Bob Sanders will be back in the next few weeks or so. This defense will be one of the best in the league with a healthy Bob Sanders.

Special Teams

Stinks. The return game stinks. The kick coverage stinks. The punting was amazing though. Pat McAfee is thousands of times better than Hunter the Punter. Opponents are averaging starting at the five yard line with him punting. Obviously we can't expect that to continue, but we can expect no big returns off of McAfee punts. He is the best punter the Colts have ever had and I think he may be one of the best in the league.

Next week the Colts travel to Miami to take on the 0-1 Dolphins. The Dolphins didn't play well against the Falcons, but they have an extra day to prepare for it. That's right. It's a Monday night game. I'm not a fan, but it is nice for the out-of-town Colts fans on Stampede Blue. Everyone will be able to watch the game. Maybe we will surpass the 1600 comments we had today!

Good game today. Hopefully a good game next Monday.

Poll

Player of the Game?

Reggie Wayne

554 votes

Pat McAfee

65 votes

Peyton Manning

50 votes

Jerraud Powers

97 votes

Gary Brackett

16 votes

Dwight Freeney

64 votes

Other (please state in comments)

5 votes

851 votes | Poll has closed

Horse Tracks 9/12/09 - Shannon Sharpe gets involved in guiding Brandon Marshall

Douglas A. Lee — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:43:36 -0000

Mornin' MHR Friends! To all my fellow New Yorkers, please shoot me an email at nycbroncosfan@gmail.com if you're interested in meeting up for tomorrow's (and future) games. I know this is last minute, but I had been hoping to get NFL Sunday Ticket Online and it hasn't worked out. I watched most Broncos games last year at Sidebar on 15th and Irving; not sure if that will be the spot again this year. But please email me and hopefully we can put something together!

AP - Brandon Marshall Keeps Lips Sealed On Suspension
Shannon Sharpe got on a three-way call with Rod Smith and BMarsh and gave the young receiver a stern talking to. Big Play Shay says, "Moving forward, I don't think the Broncos are going to have any problems with Brandon Marshall." Personally, I'm thrilled these legends still care enough about the Broncos to help out, even in the absence of Mike Shanahan.

DP - Orton to start Broncos' opener - Mike Klis

DPP - Same as it ever was for Orton - Mike Klis
According to Klis, Kyle Orton hasn't seemed to have lost any velocity or sharpness from his throws during practice this week.

DPP - All quiet on B-Marsh front - Jeff Legwold
Josh Barrett and Le Kevin Smith are out for Sunday's game, while Russ Hochstein is expected to start in place of Chris Kuper.

DB - A Few Minutes With Josh McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Week 1: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Exciting In Its Own Right - Chris Gentilviso

DB - Embodying the Exception - Zach Eisendrath
Jarvis Moss sounds refreshed and renewed by the switch in defensive scheme. Hopefully it shows through on the field...

DPP - Q&A: Rate the rookies - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Analysis: Adjustments will be made - Jeff Legwold

LTC - Defense key to Broncos’ success - Brian Howell

LTC - Moreno eager to debut - Brian Howell

CSG - Indications are Orton will start for Broncos - Frank Schwab

CSG - For McDaniels, this is not any given Sunday - Frank Schwab

DPP - Broncos' 50th season: Long way to reach glory - Jim Armstrong
Armstrong looks back at the Broncos' early days and offers his all-time team.

DP - Bates doesn't dwell on past - John Henderson

MV - The Denver Broncos' Ed McCaffrey, 9/11 and a New York Minute

Bengals News

CE - Henry set to play against Denver - Joe Reedy

CE - No blackout for Bengals - Joe Reedy

NYT - Brothers on the Bengals - The Palmers are the ‘Other’ Quarterbacks - Karen Crouse

AFC West News

ESPN - Adam Schefter: Richard Seymour expected to arrive in Oakland on Saturday, sources say
Sure, feel bad for Seymour. But Belichick being disloyal? Come on. The guy knows what he's doing. If a player is about to go over the hill (or cost too much to retain), then by all means trade him for a valuable draft pick. That's exactly what Shanny DIDN'T do with Reggie Hayward, Bert Berry and Trevor Pryce. You can't afford to keep everyone, so trade them when you can get value; don't just let them walk during free agency. I HOPE McD is willing/able to make similar choices in future. Foresight is a much better quality than sentimentality when it comes to winning.

SDUT - DA won't file charges against Merriman

NFL - Chiefs’ Cassel feels good, but will be a game-time call

KCS - Chiefs notebook | Rookie Jackson says he’s made progress - Kent Babb

KCS - Offensive line will be put to the test against Ravens - Adam Teicher

NFL News

NFL - Federal appeals court rules NFL can’t immediately suspend Williamses

NFL - Saints' Brown to miss several weeks after second surgery

NFL - Colts safety Sanders out vs. Jags; assistant Moore to return to sidelines

NFL - Cardinals WR Boldin questionable vs. 49ers

NFL - Texans’ Schaub probable, Walter questionable vs. Jets

Y! - Sources: Tomlin, Steelers working on extension - Jason Cole

NFL Opinion

NYT - Week 1 Matchups - Mike Tanier

SI - Percy Harvin, Titans-Steelers, Carson Palmer, more NFL Week 1 - Peter King

ESPN - Final Word

SI - NFL Week 1 viewer's guide, plus NFL mailbag - Ross Tucker

CBS - Peek at the Week: Cutler-Rodgers kicks off NFC North race - Clark Judge

ESPN - 10 Spot: '09 surprise? Watch Redskins - Adam Schefter

SI - NFL ranks last in SI.com ranking of best/worst overtimes in sports - John P. Lopez

FOX - Week 1 preview: Edwards in for a wake-up call - Kevin Hench
Hench says the Broncos defense will be "awful" and thinks all they did was sign Brian Dawkins. Click here for some thorough journalism! I mean, if you think the Broncos D will be poor due to a scheme change and roster turnover, that's fine; you're entitled. But don't say they'll be "awful" because they didn't do enough...

NFP - Now it’s ‘we’ time in the NFL - Andrew Brandt
Brandt thinks the Broncos should avoid negotiating with BMarsh.

SI - Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers is NFL game of the week - Adam Duerson

NFL - Aging star RBs ready to turn back time as season kicks off - Pat Kirwan

NFL - In stacked NFC East, Redskins are division's true wildcard - Steve Wyche

NFL - As season opens, Favre making waves on and off the field - Jason La Canfora

PFW - Rice will be busy man for Ravens - Mike Wilkening

NFP - Minus Polamalu, Steelers defense still strong - Matt Bowen

Henderson and Hayward: The Key Veterans

silencecs — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:21:40 -0000

Henny and Haywire, at their best...

With training camp less than a week away, the position of dire need on the squad is the defensive line. Formerly, concern centered on the safety position, however, that has been slightly alleviated thanks to what can only be described as a high-stakes heist of the Detroit Lions by the Jaguars' front office. Gerald Alexander has starting potential and to have him for basically nothing brings the epitome of depth to the position.

Henderson

The Defensive line is this team's greatest weakness. The real question is whether or not we can get one more good year out of Big Hen. Knighton will need time to develop, and so will anyone we draft next year. Getting one more productive season would assure our line is at least mediocre this season, while allowing our defensive future to grow and develop further. What I want to see from John is consitent work ethic all year long. He's got a history of taking practice off, and that has to stop immediately. That's not the mentor I want for Terrence Knighton, and that's not the mentality I want in a Jaguar. Jack Del Rio has acted as John's cheif enabler, letting the big man sit out practice for personal reasons regularly. It appears that approach is through and that Jack expects Henderson to show up and practice, no excuses.

If Big John would just apply himself, he has the abilty to regain his 2006 form, even if just for one more season. His girth and strength are still nearly unmatched, and he almost always commands a double team when he's on his game. He is this team's biggest question mark, and that shouldn't be the case with a long time vet who has no significant injury history.

The potential for a shut down defense is undeniably present in Duval. With Henderson, Knighton, or Landri at DT, in any combination, we have over 600lbs of man-eating grizzly bears protecting the middle. The size to shut down the run is there, which some teams lack (ahem, Indy), and I say that with proper form and coaching, this personnel should be able to get the job done. Doubt remains only because Landri has never been a starter and Knighton is a rook. Doubt should remain because Ted Monnachino is the defensive line coach, but people seem to overlook that travesty of a hiring.

Hayward

Reggie Hayward has shown a strong work ethic and desire to get back to his previously dominant form. This is as much a make or break year for him as it is for John. Hayward is scheduled to make over 3 million this season, and if he doesn't make the final roster, he won't find a similar deal on the open market. He'll be going full throttle all through camp and I would expect him to be a fixture on the defensive line all year, barring any significant injury.

It is highly unlikely Reggie will ever be a sack machine again, as rupturing your Achilles is a devastating injury. If he is going to do it though, this has to be the year. I believe Reggie's overall focus though, has to be on stopping the run. He must hold his own in the trenches and continue to mentor Harvey in the same mold. The entire line needs to focus on shutting down the opponents running game, enabling the Jaguars' to keep only 7 in the box most times. If Sean Considine finds himself inside the box on first and second down more often then not, you can count on the Jaguars having a long season.

-Collin Streetman

Poll

Who will make more of an impact this season, Reggie Hayward, or John Henderson?

Henny

129 votes

Haywire

130 votes

259 votes | Poll has closed

The Jaguars 2009 Pass Defense

Jonathan Loesche — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:33:41 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

A common sight last season, a complete pass against the Jaguars pass defense.

Browse more photos »

Here is a quick rundown of Jacksonville's 2008 Defensive statistics against the pass.

Category	Yards/%/ETC	NFL Rank
Completion Percentage	63.9	24th
Yards Per Completion	8.1	30th
Yards per Game	224.1	24th
Touchdowns Allowed	25	27th
Interceptions	13	17th
1st downs allowed	166	12th
20+ yard receptions allowed	55	31st
40+ yard receptions allowed	17	32nd
Opposing QB Rating	95.4	28th

I'll give everyone a minute to grab the beverage of their choice to deal with those numbers. The only category the Jaguars pass defense didn't rank in the bottom half was first downs allowed. Call me cynical, but I think that was helped by the fact the Jaguars gave up so many big plays.

The stats that really bother me are the number of 20+ and 40+ yard receptions allowed. Those are the big plays that can change a game around. Jacksonville gave up between three and four of those a game, and one of those was going for 40+. To put that into perspective, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 23 20+ yard passes and only two went for 40+. The average number of 20+ yard pass plays given up in 2008 was 42.3. The average number of 40+ yard plays given up was 7.7.

Putting things lightly, the statistics show the Jaguar's pass defense was bad last year. That 95.4 QB rating would have been good for 5th in the NFL last year. The question now becomes, how do the Jaguars improve in 2009?

Defensive Line

If Shack Harris wants any kind of vindication, the defensive line needs to make a resurgence in 2009. The Jaguars never generated a consistent pass rush last year, leading to receivers managing to work their way open. It doesn't matter if we had Deion Sanders in his prime, if Peyton Manning has all day to throw, he'll pick the defense apart.

Derrick Harvey needs to step up in a big way. He was given a mulligan last year, as many noted how other now dominant defensive ends struggled their rookie year. However, considering Harvey's reputation for taking plays off and not giving 100%, he'll need to show a lot this up coming year.

Reggie Hayward may finally be all the way back from his ruptured Achilles. Hayward seemed to be a great free agent pick up until the injury has slowed him down through out most of his career as a Jaguar.

Quentin Groves is going to be submitting quite a few samples to the NFL's drug testing personnel. Groves is absolutely massive compared to how he was last year. It's obvious he is set on being an every downs player instead of being simply a pass rusher or a 3-4 OLB stuck on a 4-3 team.

These three players have to provide the majority of the pass rush for the Jaguars. If anyone of these can turn in a 10 sack season that can force a double team off of Henderson, then they'll be doing their job and the Jaguars will improve.

Defensive Backs

As I noted in the first Camp Battle article, the defensive secondary should be improved no matter what. With no Drayton Florence and a hopefully rebounding Reggie Nelson, that area should be improved.

Where the question marks lie are with Derek Cox, Brian Williams, Sean Considine, and new comer Gerald Alexander. Alexander was a solid player before a neck injury sidelined him last year. I believe he is a lock at the strong safety position going into camp.

That now leaves the battle between Cox and Williams at the corner position. Regardless of who wins, I'm sure both will see plenty of action as the nickel back. I believe Williams will win the position in training camp, bumping Cox to play nickel this year.

The Conclusion

Well, the Jaguars pass defense can't get any worse. A now healthy Reggie Hayward and veteran Derrick Harvey have to provide a consistent pass rush for anything to change. If they can, the Jaguars secondary has the talent to take advantage.

Jaguars defeat Packers: Post-Game Quotes

River City Rage — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:35:46 -0000

The Fumble, followed by the Recovery: The one bounce that went our way...

The Quotes:

: Jack Del Rio:

"A nice way to have the day end. I thought we did a nice job coming out starting fast. Offensively took the ball, wanted the ball, wanted to give our offense a chance to go down and score. We were able to do that to start the game; that was big. It's sure nice to jump out and get a lead. I thought once again, I think all year now, seven home games during the regular season our fans have been terrific, and I just want to thank all the people that showed up and supported us the way they did today. It's been a rough year, we understand that, and to have our core base show up like that, be that supportive, I'm very appreciative. I thought it was outstanding

(ESPN reported that Gregg Williams will not return next year. Is there anything to that?)

"No, that's people getting ahead of the story. Gregg does have a one year deal. He's got a lot of options. He's a very popular coach. He's a very good coach. He's got a lot of options. We have not visited on that. When he came in, I was lucky enough to hire him this year. He knew that we would get to the offseason and discuss. He's going to be a popular guy, very much in demand, not only for other coordinator jobs but for possible head (coach) jobs. So, he's earned that ability to take a good look around and decide what he wants to do. But people making things up like that… It hadn't come from me and anything that doesn't come from is just people speculating."

: David Garrard: (on almost losing the fumble on the last drive)

"You know I should have been thinking about what my wife tells me all the time, ‘There's always somebody behind you.' I guess she's saying I'm just not fast enough to outrun guys…which is true…and that was a prime example right there. Luckily some angels kept the ball close enough and I was able to corral it and not give up a terrible play."

: Maurice Jones-Drew (on the confidence during the losing streak)

"I don't think we lacked confidence. I just think we weren't executing that well and by showing everyone on the same page today showed that we can still do it. We went out and played hard. The defense did a good job of getting us the ball back, special teams did a good job, and on offense, we held up our end of the bargain scoring points. We pulled out a victory and had fun."

: Dennis Northcutt: (on what he was thinking after he dropped the pass early off his finger tips)

"Well number one, I should have had that of course and I know that more than anybody else, and (you) just got to move on and get the next one. Stay focused, eyes on the ball, follow it all the way in. At the end, I just didn't follow it all the way in. It was a drop by me and I just kept telling myself ‘stay focused, stay focused, the quarterback is counting on me.' It feels so good to have a quarterback like Dave [Garrard] because for the first time in my career, I have the best quarterback possible. We stay after, we work and work and the chemistry that we have, there is no way that I can do what I do without him staying with me everyday, and that's definitely the chemistry that we have."

: Reggie Hayward: (on moving on to the next game to face Peyton Manning)

"He's a tough guy to get pressure on and he doesn't get rattled very much and he's so quick to get rid of the ball. So it's going to be a great challenge and we're going to have to come in with a great game plan. If you mess up their timing, they can't run their offense smoothly so that's our job as defensive linemen to mess up their timing. Hopefully, we can get in their faces."

: Derrick Harvey: (on success of forcing the quarterback out of the pocket)

"Just working hard and trying to get after the quarterback."

: Paul Spicer: (on the 4th down stop)

"That was a turning point in the game. It came at a point where the momentum could swing either way. We brought out five defensive linemen and got low and just came off the ball and made a new line of scrimmage."

More analysis and breakdown coming soon!

SB Nation - Reggie Hayward

Derrick Harvey's Role on Defense

Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Live Blog/Open Thread

Will you buy a Big Cat Country T-shirt

Yes

No

Game Preview: Week 2: Arizona Cardinals at Jacksonville Jaguars

Thing to Watch for: Jacksonville Jaguars

Thing to Watch for: Arizona Cardinals

Player On The Hot Seat

Prediction

The __________ will win by _____ points on Sunday

Jaguars 10+

Jaguars 4-9

Jaguars 1-3

Cardinals 1-3

Cardinals 4-9

Cardinals 10+

Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Injury Report

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Colts v. Jaguars Recap: One Week In, Already On Top

Player of the Game?

Reggie Wayne

Pat McAfee

Peyton Manning

Jerraud Powers

Gary Brackett

Dwight Freeney

Other (please state in comments)

Horse Tracks 9/12/09 - Shannon Sharpe gets involved in guiding Brandon Marshall

Henderson and Hayward: The Key Veterans

Who will make more of an impact this season, Reggie Hayward, or John Henderson?

Henny

Haywire

The Jaguars 2009 Pass Defense

Defensive Line

Defensive Backs

The Conclusion

Jaguars defeat Packers: Post-Game Quotes

The ______ will win by _ points on Sunday