SB Nation - Josh Scobee

49ers in the redzone looking back, looking ahead

Fooch — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:00:19 -0000

by Donna McWilliam - AP

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel. If you want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations hurry up and get yourself Comcast's NFL RedZone Channel.

As we head into tomorrow's must-win affair, I thought it would be interesting to look back at what I would imagine is a somewhat rare performance in the redzone by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars entered the red zone four times against the 49ers and came away with zero touchdowns. While many teams will go 0-fer in the red zone, the Jaguars also managed to only come away with a single field goal. On the other three possessions, David Garrard fumbled twice and Josh Scobee missed a 21 yard field goal. I wonder how often we'll see that kind of ineptitude inside the red zone by an opposing offense?

Coming out of that game, the 49ers continue to put together an impressive red zone resume. While they rank 17th against the rush in the red zone, the 49ers are #1 against the pass and #2 overall. That pass number (-120.7%) is even more impressive when compared to other teams. New Orleans is a close second at -117.1%, but then the #3 team, the Oakland Raiders, is half the 49ers at -60.4%.

Any thoughts as to why the 49ers have been so solid against the pass in the red zone? Maybe it's just the fact that they've been "relatively" weak against the run, and teams elect to run the ball in from down close. Of course, the RZ run defense is at 1.3%, so it's not like they're completely awful by any stretch.

And so the 49ers head into tomorrow's game against a Seattle offense that is atrocious passing in the red zone, but is #3 in rushing offense in the red zone. It will be interesting to see how that is affected with Julius Jones in the starting lineup instead of Justin Forsett. And if Forsett is limited or inactive with the quad injury, how will that affect the Seahawks red zone performance? The 49ers, after all, employ a bend but don't break defense that seems to consistently allow teams to drive a decent distance before stiffening up. I've found the Seahawks to be quite the conundrum this season. On the one hand, they've been pretty poor a good chunk of the time and should be beat-able. On the other hand, I'm convinced they're going to catch the 49ers with their pants down and that scares the crap out of me given the stakes of this game.

Big Cat Country Radio 12/2/2009

Jonathan Loesche — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:49:47 -0000

Where: Click Here

When:10pm-11pm

The Jaguars return home from yet another dissappointing West Coast trip. Josh Scobee had his worst game since his rookie year, David Garrard was a human tackling dummy, and we still have no pass rush. The good news? We come home to play Houston, who may well have had their souls crushed last week by Indianapolis.

On the guest spot tonight, Tim from Battle Red Blog joins us to discuss what we can expect from the Texans this year. If you haven't read through either Q&A thread yet, I would advise doing so. Here is the one on BRB while here is the one Tim posted on BCC.

Jacksonville Jaguars fall to San Francisco 49ers' 20-3: Taking a big swallow of perspective

River City Rage — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:38:17 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

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The somewhat surging Jacksonville Jaguars made a long trip west to face the San Francisco 49'ers and left with yet another humiliating defeat on the west coast. This time, the Jaguars could not blame off-the-field distractions, as it was the abject failure of executing basic football principals, not late night encounters that would doom the team. Josh Scobee, the ever-reliable kicker, would miss two field goals, including the shortest miss of the 2009 Season. More on Scobee later. Maurice Jones-Drew would reach 1,000 yards for the season, but until the 4th quarter was largely bottled up.

The most pressing issue facing the Jaguars after this loss is their sudden inability to score inside the red zone. The Jaguars would get an solid start to a drive, move down the field and leave with no points on the board. It seemed like every time the Jaguars got anything moving, a mistake, drop, or fumble would end the drive and continue the beat down.

Alex Smith, as is par for the course for the Jaguars, looked like a first overall draft pick, not a player struggling to keep his job. The pass rush was a problem, the 49'ers attacked the Jaguars linebackers all day, and the team looked like the one that barely beat the Rams, not one that is in the hunt for a wild card spot.

In a lot of ways, I think, this is an appropriate place for the Jaguars to be. We're just not there yet, we don't have the talent on the field and what we do have needs another offseason to develop. Eugene Monroe had a very rough go of it today, with the offensive line allowing a beat-down on David. Of course, David didn't help himself with how long he held the ball (not to mention the one time he DID throw the ball away, he through to an empty spot on the field), but that's a whole different discussion.

No, no, this is a team that's put together some wins, is still somewhat "in the hunt" for the Wild-Card (everyone root against the Steelers tonight), and could still mount a surprise or two going into December. It's obvious, however, that the Jaguars will have to beat the Colts or Patriots to get to the post-season, and that may be a tall order to a roster that's struggled against the Rams and 49'ers.

But that's OK, that's my point here. It's still a fun, albeit frustrating team to watch. Did you see those quick tosses to Mike Thomas? That's going to be a hoot next season. Jones-Drew proved that he's a full-time back, but wait till Jennings is up to speed as a spell back. There's a whole hell of a lot to be excited about with this roster, but don't think for a second that they can sit back and wait for next year to turn things up a notch.

Jonathan's Rapid Reaction Commentary:

Jonathan and I were writing this at the same time, so we don't bury each-other with front-page posts, so I'm going to give Jonathan the floor for a bit.

The thing that sticks out to me the most about this game is the Jaguars continued poor redzone play. While everyone said their performance wasn't that bad when I compared it to other teams, they still had far more negative red zone possessions than any of the other AFC playoff contenders. Today was the culmination of that. 4 possessions. 3 points.

David Garrard now leads the league with seven lost fumbles. He got away with one last week vs Buffalo but wasn't so lucky this week. I'm now of the opinion the Jags need to strongly look at taking a QB in the first round, so long as it isn't Tebow.

Granted, whoever lines up under center is going to have a helluva time getting the ball off. The Jaguars offensive line might as well of stayed home in Jacksonville. The unit gave up 6 sacks and could've given up as many as 10 if not for some last second plays by Garrard.

Why oh why was Clint Ingram assigned to cover Vernon Davis on that 4th down play?

I honestly think Scobee's 21 yard miss will be his last as a Jaguar. If there isn't a headline on Monday saying Scobee was released I'll be shocked. I gave him a pass initially because most of his misses were from 50+, but now it's obviously part of a larger trend.

RCR's final thought:

If there was ever a game that we can win, it's taking on the emotionally devastated Texans at JMS on Sunday. At 6-5, losing to an NFC team in a week where Miami and Houston lose to division teams is good for Jacksonville. The Texans are on an emotional low right now, Jacksonville can do its business and go back to living week by week, just the way we like it.

Just don't lose perspective. We all get suckered in, teased by the tempation of playoffs. Gene has had one offseason at he helm, let's let him have another go at it before we get too spoiled.

-C

Opponent History: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars

sireric — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:50:01 -0000

Buffalo Bills (3-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)
Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 1:00 PM EST
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium - Jacksonville, FL

This is a little later than we normally start to look at next week's opponent, but after the events of the past two days, it seemed appropriate to push it back a little bit. This will be the tenth meeting between the Bills and the Jaguars, including their first ever meeting in the 1996 AFC Wild Card playoff game. The Bills hold a 5-4 lead in the all-time series. This is also the fifth ever meeting to take place in Jacksonville, where the Bills hold a 3-1 victory edge. With the exception of two contests, these have been very close games, with the average margin of victory being a little over a touchdown. Recaps of last five meetings are after the jump.

Sunday, September 14, 2003: Bills 38, Jaguars 17
Completely unable to run the football, Drew Bledsoe and the Bills went to the air. Bledsoe passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns, while Travis Henry proved to be useful in the red zone by pushing in three goal line touchdowns to pace to Bills' offense. Alex Van Pelt even got into the game late and completed one pass for 14 yards. Eric Moulds had a nice day, with 7 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Sunday, September 12, 2004: Jaguars 13, Bills 10
This was another good day for Moulds, but his 8 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown weren't enough. The Bills had a 10-6 lead in the closing seconds of the game, but Byron Leftwich hit Ernest Wilford in the back of the end zone as time expired to give the Jags the win. I remember that I couldn't watch this game, but I was watching a different game looking for updates. The scroll on CBS kept saying that the game was over and the Bills had won, so I was happy. When they showed the game break, I got really pissed.

Sunday, November 26, 2006: Bills 27, Jaguars 24
This time it was the Bills scoring as time expired to get the win. The Bills jumped out to a 17-7 lead on the strength of two Willis McGahee touchdown runs and a Rian Lindell field goal. The Jags pulled closer by adding a David Garrard-to-Marcedes Lewis touchdown pass to the Maurice Jones-Drew TD run they already had to make the score 17-14 at the half. After a Roscoe Parrish punt return for a touchdown and a Josh Scobee field goal, Garrard hit Matt Jones with 28 seconds left to tie the game up. But the Bills got into filed goal range in just 28 seconds, and Lindell hit a 42-yarder to give the Bills the win as the clock hit zeroes.

Sunday, November 25, 2007: Jaguars 36, Bills 14
This game was never really close. Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew combined for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and Josh Scobee hit five field goals as the Jags rolled over the Bills. Anthony Thomas and Roscoe Parrish found the end zone for the Bills as lone bright spots.

Sunday, September 14, 2008: Bills 20, Jags 16
This was probably the one game that I blame the high expectations from the previous year on the most. The Bills headed into heavily favored Jacksonville and pulled out a win. With the Jags leading 16-10 late in the fourth quarter, Trent Edwards hit James Hardy in the back of the end zone on a beautiful fade pass to give the Bills a 17-16 lead. Lindell added an insurance field goal to help seal it for the Bills. Buffalo would win their next two game to move to 4-0 on the season before starting a downward spiral that would crush all of our hearts.

Week 10: Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets Game Preview

Jonathan Loesche — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:07:42 -0000

New York Jets (4-4)	Week #10	Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4)
	VS.

Date:	November 15st, 2009	Location:	East Rutherford, New Jersey
Time:	1:00 PM EST	Stadium:	The Meadowlands
TV:	CBS	Favorite:	Jets -7
Radio:	Click Here	Over/Under:	40.5
Weather:	Mid 50's, no chance of rain	Injury Report:	Click Here
SBN Coverage:	Gang Green Nation	Coverage Map	Click Here

The Jaguars travel to the swamps of New Jersey for what is in essence a playoff elimination game. Both teams are part of the logjam of 5-3/4-4 teams in the AFC. A win means they get a leg up on one of their main competitors, a loss means they'll need a lot of help to keep their hopes alive.

The last time the Jaguars went against a Rex Ryan defense was the final game of the 2008 season at Baltimore. It was certainly a low point in a season filled with low points. The Jaguars committed four turnovers and were held to only 245 yards in a 27-7 defeat.

Now the Jaguars must find a way to defend against the defense to keep their playoff hopes alive. In addition, the Jaguars must deal with a hot rookie quarterback, much like last year in Baltimore. Mark Sanchez has played well for the Jets so far, but has had his fair share of rookie moments.

Can the Jags go into the Meadowlands and land one of Jack Del Rio's biggest wins in his career, or will they have another quiet flight home?

Jaguars Offense vs Jets Defense

The Jets have an impressive resume on defense. They're the only unit in football that hasn't given up 100 yard rusher, 100 yard receiver, or 300 yard passer all year. The defense is surrendering only 11.5 points in the game, best in the NFL. They come at you from every angle and any one of the 11 players on the field is liable to blitz at any given time.

However, here is something to ponder with the Jets defense. How will the react to getting smacked in the mouth running the football? The only time the Jets defense had genuinely looked bad was when Miami ran at them with the Wildcat. That is where this game is going to be won or lost.

Maurice Jones-Drew has to start fast for the Jaguars to have a chance. If he gets going running the ball, that'll force a cocky Jets defense onto it's heels and give David a chance to get throws off. If we come out and throw nine straight times again,we'll likely be seeing Luke McCown because David will be on the sideline with broken ribs.

If MJD can get it going, I expect to see alot of screens to Mike Thomas on the outside as well as to Jones-Drew coming out of the backfield. The way you beat a blitz heavy team is to get them aggrivated and then use that against them.

When the Jaguars do decide to test the Jets through the air, the obvious target is going to be CB Lito Sheppard. Sheppard is coming off a quad injury and the Jets' other corner, Darrell Revis, is one of the best in the league. I would try to get Sims-Walker matched up with Sheppard as often as possible to test the quad injury, while leaving Holt to deal with Revis most of the time.

Jaguars Defense vs Jets Offense

Rookie Quarterback Mark Sanchez came out of the gates like a man possessed. However, he has slid back down to reality as the season has progressed. Sanchez was a turnover machine in losses against Buffalo and New Orleans, throwing a combined nine interceptions.

The Jaguars will need to build on the success against the Chiefs and hopefully get into Sanchez's face early. All the indications are that he'll show you early on how he's going to be. If he gets hot, back by the NFL's #1 rushing attack, we could end up with a repeat of the Seattle game.

As I previously mentioned, the Jets have the NFL's #1 rushing attack averaging over 170 yards per game.The Jets leading rusher is Thomas Jones, who has 704 yards and 7 touchdowns so far this season.

The Jaguars' defensive line will have to be the key to stopping the Jets' rushing attack. John Henderson and Terrance Knighton will have to be getting penetration in the back field to help counter for a weak right edge.

Speaking of that right edge, former practice squad player Bryan Smith will be the starting RDE for the Jaguars. As Collin pointed out in his brilliant two part series, he didn't play all the well against the Chiefs. However, Quentin Groves has been such a liability against the run it's not likely things could get much worse.

The basic game plan for the Jaguars has to be stopping the run and putting the ball in Mark Sanchez's hands. Sanchez hasn't looked great over the last five games and he's never had a situation where he's been expected to simply throw it to win.

Intangibles and Special Teams

If the Jets have the best rushing offense and one of the best defenses in the NFL, then why are they sitting at 4-4? Two reasons, turnovers and bad special teams.

The Jets have committed 15 turnovers so far in 2009, eleven being Mark Sanchez interceptions. However, the Jaguars are even worse. The Jaguars are -3 in the turnover department in 2009. David Garrard has thrown four interceptions in the last three games and he'll need to be careful to avoid more on Sunday.

The Jets' Special Teams melt down against the Dolphins two weeks ago has been well documented. However, the unit has been suspect all season. Mike Thomas seems like he's due to finally break a touchdown on a return and this would be a perfect week to do it.

Josh Scobee has been having something of an off year. Scobee is just 9-14, though 4 of those misses have been from 50+ and another one was blocked. Also, here is an interestining tid bit. Scobee leads the league with 6 attempts from more than 50 yards. The next closest is Mason Crosby of Green Bay with 4, then several kickers with 3. Only 5 kickers have had more than 2 50+ yard attempts this year.

Coaching

Jack Del Rio leads the Jaguars to the Meadowlands for the final time as the stadium is scheduled to close after this year. After almost coughing up a win against the Chiefs, it will be interesting to see how the Jaguars respond to that scare.

Rex Ryan is coming off his first bye week as head coach. In an interesting move, the Jets only had two days worth of practice during the bye week, despite losing four of their last five games.

Player On The Hot Seat

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB

The entire fate of the Jaguars offense rests in his hands. If he can't get things going running the ball, then the Jets will have their ears pinned back the entire game and it could get even uglier than Seattle.

Video Killed The Game Preview

Prediction

Jacksonville Jaguars 28

New York Jets 24

Mike Thomas breaks a punt return for a touchdown, the Jaguars score following a Mark Sanchez interception deep in Jets territory, and get two long pounding drives thanks to Jones-Drew.

-Jonathan Loesche

Comcast Presents: The Jaguars not so Comcastic First Half Red Zone performance

Jonathan Loesche — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:45:02 -0000

This post is brought to you by Comcast. Check out Comcast and the new Red Zone channel. Catch every touchdown from every game.

The Jaguars were one for two in red zone attempts against the Chiefs. Maurice Jones-Drew scored a ten yard touchdown while Josh Scobee missed a field goal attempt. On the year, the Jaguars are 12 for 23 in the red zone.

The Jaguars need to get better with converting red zone trips into seven points. When teams like Indianapolis, New England, and Pittsburgh go into the red zone, it is assumed that they get into the end zone. The Jaguars need to have that same mentality.

The biggest issue for this team has been red zone turnovers. The Jaguars have had four red zone turnovers in the first half of the season. Factor in the blocked FG against Arizona, and the fourth down stand against Seattle, and the Jaguars have had 6 trips into the red zone that have resulted in no points.

Think about that, if the Jaguars make 4 trips into the red zone in a game, the odds say they'll only get 17 points out of it. Two touchdowns, one field goal, and one negative possession.

This leads me to topic I forgot to mention in my Grades and Awards post the other day. The biggest thing that has been dragging this team down is turnovers. The Jaguars are -3 in turnover differential half way through the season. Part of that is due to David Garrard throwing four interceptions in the last two games. However, it is also indicative of a team that adds unneeded pressure to win games.

Let's look at those red zone goof ups and see how they affected each game.

Blocked FG vs Arizona

If Things Go Right: It is 10-6 Arizona. Not the best scenairio the Jaguars want to open at home, but it is still a ball game

What Happened: A blocked FG that was returned for a touchdown. It made the score 17-3 Arizona and with the way Kurt Warner was throwing the game, the words Game Over might as well have shown up on the scoreboard.

Fumble vs Tennessee

If Things Go Right: The Jaguars punch it in for a touchdown and effectively shut the door on the Titans.

What Happened: David Garrard fumbles, leaving the door open for the Titans. However, the door is effectively shut two drives later.

Fourth Down Stop vs Seattle

If Things Go Right: Depending on your thinking, the Jaguars take a 7-3 lead or tie the game at 3-3. They are in the game and surviving a loud Seattle crowd.

What Happened: A bad play call and a throw away by David Garrard. The Jaguars never seriously threaten again.

Fumble vs Seattle

If Things Go Right: We don't get shut out, yay!

What Happened: Garrard fumbles again and the Jaguars proceed to be handed their worst loss since 1995.

Fumble vs St.Louis

If Things Go Right: The Jaguars take a 14-7 lead and don't let the miserable Rams hang around

What Happened: Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled the ball and it remains at 7-7. The Rams go on to take the lead and Jacksonville wonders if it will be the laughingstock of the NFL.

Interception vs St.Louis

If Things Go Right: The Jaguars take the lead and can quit worrying about losing to the Rams.

What Happened: David throws it to a wide open James Laurinitis and the Jaguars can officially worry that they'll be the "lucky" team to break the Rams streak.

With the exception to the fumble against Tennessee, all of these had a direct impact on the game and either cost the Jaguars a win or kept a game much closer than it needed to be. I firmly believe if the Jaguars manage to get that touchdown against the Seahawks, that is a much different ball game.

As Collin mentioned before, the Jaguars have the tools to be successful in the red zone. So why aren't they?

-Jonathan Loesche

Quick Bytes: 10/30/2009

Jonathan Loesche — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:42:26 -0000

Scobee delivers for Jaguars | Jacksonville.com
Josh Scobee talks about his routine of preparing for a big kick. Though Scobee is only 8-12 this season, his misses have been from 63, 58, and 56 yards out.

Pass defense key to improvement for Jaguars | Jacksonville.com
Michael Wright looks at the Jaguars pass defense.

Q&A: Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker | Jacksonville.com
A Q&A with Mike Sims-Walker

Key witness testifies Hartsfield got his revenge in Jaguar’s shooting | Jacksonville.com
More from the trial of Tyrone Hartsfield, the man who allegedly shot Jaguars tackle Richard Collier.

Young returning to face Jaguars | Jacksonville.com
Vince Young's last regular season game was his infamous performance against the Jaguars in the 2008 opener. Will he have similar results this time?

Jaguars ignore Titans drama over Young | tennessean.com | The Tennessean
Linebackers Daryl Smith and Clint Ingram say it doesn't matter to them if Vince Young is the QB or not.

Koetter ready to mix it up | Jacksonville.com
Dirk Koetter gives credit to the vastly improved wide receiver corps as the reason the Jags offense has improved this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars defeat St. Louis Rams 23-20 in dramatic overtime finish!

River City Rage — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:25:57 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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In what was an exhausting and dramatic game between the 0-5 St. Louis Rams and the 2-3 Jacksonville Jaguars, the home team pulled out a victory with a 36 yard overtime field goal by Josh Scobee. The Jaguars seemed to have the game under control after a Jones-Drew touchdown, but a short pass by David Garrard was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Leonard Little.

The Jaguars had nearly 500 yards of offense, with Jones-Drew, Torry Holt and Mike Sims-Walker each having over 100 yards receiving or rushing. Mike Thomas made some big plays, and with the exception of the final Rams drive, the defense did a great job, particularly on pass defense. We can debate on Monday what went wrong on the final drive, but you can't argue with a win going into the bye week.

Player of the Game: Maurice Jones-Drew. He asked for the ball, he demanded that the Jaguars return to a run-first idenity, and when the game was on the line, he put on a show. Three rushing touchdowns, 133 rushing yards, 45 receiving yards, all rounding out a dominating performance. Sure, he lost a fumble in the red zone, but he more than made up for it.

When you run your mouth, you have to back it up. MJD backed it up.

More to come, time to enjoy the post-game show. Or if you're me, you're going to work.

First Quarter Grades and Awards

Jonathan Loesche — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Stephen Morton - AP

Mike Sims-Walker has been showing flashes of being the best receiver the Jaguars have had since Jimmy Smith.

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The first quarter has been filled with some great moments (Week 4) and some not so great moments (Week 2.) In between, we have seen a team that came into the season with tempered expectations amongst a gutted roster. Now, that roster has begun to show signs of life that has the word "Playoffs" being spoke and the idea of going 6-2 heading into a showdown against the New York Jets a possibility. However, I think this team is somewhere in between at the moment.

Passing Game

David Garrard has begun to regain his 2007 form, averaging over 235 yards a game and already has five touchdowns to start the season. The main concern for me though is that he only has a completion percentage of 59.7%. David's resurgence can be thanked in part to the resurgence of the offensive line. In the last two weeks, David has been given all the time in the world and it has shown.

The other key to the resurgence of the passing game has been the fact the Jaguars no longer have a CFL level wide receiving corp.Mike Sims-Walker has been a monster since being forced into the starting line up due to Troy Williamson's season ending injury. Torry Holt has been a nice veteran edition who still has something left in the tank. The one disappointment so far has been dearly departed Nate Hughes. I felt like he was scape goated for the loss to Arizona.

Grade: B+

Rushing Game

Maurice Jones-Drew was made one of the highest paid running backs in the league and he has played like it through four weeks. MJD has 296 rushing yards and five touch downs in the through the first five games on the season. Keep in mind that is including the Titans game where he only had six carries. Overall I'm very pleased with how Jones-Drew has taken to being the starting running back.

Biggest surprise to the run game has been Mike Thomas' edition. Thomas gives the Jaguars a nice change of pace player off the end around that has paid nice dividends so far.

Grade: B+

Rushing Defense

The defense has been in a state of transition going from a 4-3 to a 3-4. However, the rush defense has been adequate for the Jaguars. The Jags currently rank 12th in the NFL against the rush giving up 98.8 yards a game. This can be thanked in part to the emergence of Terrance Knighton as a legitimate 3-4 NT (and to think some people wanted us to draft B.J. Raji) and John Henderson's career revival as a 3-4 DE. However, the low rush numbers can also be thanked by something else.........

Grade: B-

Passing Defense

Or lack there of. The Jaguars are tied for dead last in the NFL allowing 282 yards a game in the air and opposing QBs are averaging a 97.2 QB rating against the Jaguars defense. The first two and a half games were horrific to watch, to say the least. However, it seems the defensive line is now starting to get pressure and rookie Derek Cox is getting his footing and showing why he was worth a 2nd round investment. However, the weak link that still exists is FS Reggie Nelson. Nelson is constantly out of place and is going to cost us more big plays in the future. As I told Terry on Sunday, let's hope some team is dumb enough to swap first round picks and take Reggie Nelson in a trade that'll let us take Eric Berry.

Grade: D+

Special Teams

Josh Scobee's 70% FG accuracy is something of a misnomer considering two of his three misses were from 56 and 62 yards. Discounting those two misses, Scobee is 7/8 and I dare say has become the best kicker in the NFL. Also, Scobee is second in the league averaging 71.1 yards a kick off. In other words, Scobee's AVERAGE kickoff is landing a yard deep in the end zone.

On the flip side, Adam Podlesh is an enigma. Podlesh currently ranks 26th in the league with a 36.1 yard net average. The strange thing is his actual average is 39.7 yards, meaning he's getting a lot of fair catches.Still, he needs to show something more than any other journeyman punter.

The coverage units have been solid so far, certainly aided by Scobee's bombing kick offs. While the haven't been at the top of the league, they are far from the disaster many fans feared when Russ Purnell was hired.

The returning duties have been a game of musical chairs that have seemingly found a winner in Mike Thomas. Thomas has looked excellent so far in his duties and I'm sure a highlight reel punt return for touchdown is coming soon.

Grade: B+

Intangibles

The Jaguars are sixth in the league with a +4 turnover differential and are tied for sixth in the league for fewest penalties with 19. For a team that is transition, these are huge and I don't think I need to explain why

Grade: A

I'm going to save my thoughts on the Jaguars' coaching for a separate article.

MVP: Mike Sims-Walker

Sims-Walker has been the spark plug a sputtering offense has needed foe years. Now that he is finally healthy we see what all of the hype was about and he is well on his way to becoming a true #1 wide receiver in the league.

Best Rookie: Terrance Knighton

A tough call between Knighton and fellow third rounder Derek Cox. However, I went with Knighton for almost singlehandidly helping lead a resurgence on the defensive line.

-Jonathan Loesche

Titans@Jaguars The view from the Stadium

Tkopa — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:49:35 -0000

I'll try to give you impressions from my vantage point at the stadium. You all heard the game or pirated the streaming video, so you know the statistics. I saw Collin gave game balls and credit for the win to every one including the folks who wash the uniforms. He's an excitabe boy. Today, I was too, so the view from the stadium is a little different and let me tell you about it. Oh first, I promised. Jonathan was right. 27-17 Jaguars was his prediction and I mocked him. Jonathan was right. I feel like I am in a Bizzaro world. Good call Jonathan. Great call actually, I never saw this game coming. I never saw this coming
but you did.

After the jump, I'll tell you what I saw.

First impression, Josh Scobee can kick you in the head. The Titans average starting position was... the 20 yard line. Why? Because Scobee kicked it so far they couldn't run it back. One time he kicked it so far on the kickoff, it sailed out of the endzone and almost beaned a security guard in the back of the head while he was looking up into the crowd. I was hoping, while it was in flight, it would hit him. That is the sadastic side of me, but seriously, it landed so close the guy jumped. Scobee was pissed about missing the just before half time field goal of 56 yards. When he came out from half time, he went right to the line of scrimmage with his little ball holder device and nailed it on the mulligan. In person, Scobee is a big man, bigger than David. No one in the league is better than Josh Scobee. No one.

Second impression, Tra Thomas is who we thought he was. David gets the game ball for a standout performance, but Tra Thomas handed it to him. David was not ruffled at all during the game. No one bothered him in the pocket, no one. Watching Tra Thomas play was so amazing. Tra seems to read the mind of his defensive opponent and move instantly to where the guy would be. Kyle Vanden Bosch had like 15 sacks two years ago. Tra Thomas abused him in the same manner he treated Quentin Groves in training camp. The guy is such a good pass blocker you have to see it live to believe it. Here is one of my problems with JDR, he tries to pass BS off as the truth. Eugene Monroe beat Tra Thomas out for the position. BS flag thrown on that one. Jack has a problem now, the line without the rookies in there played unbelievable. What cha gonna do now Jack?

Third impression, Chris Johnson is fast but so are our linebackers. Chris Johnson is unbelievably fast. The game moves at a different pace when he has the ball. You can't believe how the alarm bells went off when he had the ball. Daryl Smith chased him down to the corner and Justin Durant chased him down to the corner. The reaction time our linebackers showed in diagnosing the play was measured in nano-seconds. They were there, instantly. When Chris Johnson was taken away as a threat, there was no fight left in the Titans.

Fourth impression, Jeff Fishers team quit. The Jaguars punched them in the mouth so hard in the first quarter, they quit. Oh, Terry, come on, you are being overly dramatic now. THEY QUIT!!! A Jeff Fisher team knew they were done. I never saw that before. The final play of the first quarter was the Titans first first down. They knew they two things, Chris Johnson wasn't going anywhere and Kerry Collins is a horrible quarterback this year. Kerry Collins threw the ball no where near anyone a number of times. As Bill Parcells said. "You are what your record says you are" and the Titans have no wins this year. I bought into the best 0-3 team story until I saw them play. Vince Young needs to start and the Titans need something to jump start them. They quit today. Sometimes we say the score didn't reflect the game and in this case it is true. The Jaguars left 10 points on the field today with the half time blunder and the fumble at the goal line. The score should have been 47-17.

Fifth impression, Mike Thomas is slippery. Mike ran kickoffs back today. He did nothing special that I could see, no blazing speed, no elusive moves. The stange thing was no one could tackle him. He was like oil sliding through the opposing coverage. I can only guess he reads and follows blocks beautifully. His reverse last week showed he could find the sweet spot and that ability showed up on kickoff runbacks. Because of Mike and Scobee, the Jaguars played half court basketball while the Titans played full court. I don't know how to say it any different, he is somehow special without looking like he is doing anything special. Make sense? Not to me, someone help me out.

Sixth impression, Play calling is devious.. Dirk Koetter has cooked up a number of misdirection plays that are a wonder to see. The first Maurice touchdown was pure legerdemain. Everyone pulled to the right. Tra Thomas let his man beat him to the inside. You could see the defensive guy licking his chops, he had finally beat Tra to the backfield, now where was the ball? Tra stood there and laughed at him as Maurice walked around the end where Tra's man used to be. Maurice seemed to draw that moment out as well. No hurry, no big deal, just a nice slow jog for a score. A Jeff Fisher defense laughed at by the Jaguars who aren't supposed to be that good. I could hear the Jaguars telling the Titans "It is over when we say it is over, now get back here we aren't done having fun".

Seventh impression, John Henderson rocks the stadium. Early in the game the Titans were pinned back against the North End Zone. It was third down and the Jaguars had been doing a good job shutting them down. John Henderson signalled the crowd to pump up the noise. The place went nuts. I have not seen John Henderson do that in two years. Maybe he did, but this was the first time in a long time it meant something. John Henderson was in this game emotionally and it showed. I have not seen the big guy play like this and act tlike this since the Monday Night game against the Steelers in 2006.

I could go on and on so why not. Here are more general impressions.

I am sorry David that I ever doubted you. You threw some of the most amazing tight coverage passes without ever really taking a risk. You are a very good quarterback. You just needed a team around you.

Mike Sims-Walker, nice job. How about watching Marcedes Lewis execute some YAC. When the big guy get rumbling down field, he almost dances sometimes. I get the sense Mike Sims-Walker can break it, but he seems to not yet make it happen.

Jarret Dillard got in when MSW limped off the field in the third quarter. I am telling you, that guy is quick. The Jaguars kept running this quick pass like screen. Only Jarret could bring it alive. Loved seeing him get in the game.

Zack Miller got some action but I don't see it yet from him. He looks like what he says he is, a poor man's Tim Tebow. Nothing special from Zack, nothing bad. A note to everyone who said Ernest Wilford wouldn't provide value, write that on a piece of paper, crumple it up and eat the paper. As Collin called it, David loves to throw to Ernest and he is showing the same guts and sure hands he did here in 2007. IGWT.

Justin Gage meet Rasheen Mathis. Rasheen will be your escort today and will take you off the field and show you what inconsequntial feels like.

You might see pink cleats and gloves on the players when they replay the game. It was Breast Cancer awareness day in the stadium and I am guessing the players with the pink have been touched in some way by the cancer. No jokes, i respect the significance.

OK, I was saving the negative for last. Derek Cox was the leading tackler for a reason. He was covering the guy who caught the ball. In the third quarter, the Titans came out with a new game plan, go after Cox. Collins went back to his man over and over. One time Daryl Smith broke into the backfield and pressured Collins who overthrew the receiver and Cox got the interception. Derek Cox needs to pick his game up quickly. He is the weakness in the backfield right now.

I am sure you are bored with all of this by now so let me close with this. I could barely speak to those around me today in the first half. It was too emotional to get the words out. I have been in that stadium for so many games waiting for the Jaguars to return. I was overjoyed and overcome with happiness today. The real Jaguars, my Jaguars, have come home. Welcome back guys. Jonathan, nice to meet you as well!

- Terry O'Brien