I noticed Mike Smith hired Dirk Koetter as the OC for the Falcons. Mike Smith also has an openning for Defensive Coordinator. It made me wonder, where is Jack Del Rio's name in this search? I am assuming Jack wants to continue his career in NFL coaching. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he wants to enjoy his family and his $5 mil coming in 2012.

Let's assume he does want to continue. So why isn't Mike Smith calling? Head coaches are very serious about their assistants. They know the quality of the staff controls their future. They typically hire people they are comfortable with and trust to do the job. So where does Jack stand with Mike?

I wonder what Gregg Williams would say about Jack if asked. How about Joe DeCamillis? How about Wayne Weaver? I could go on and on but the point is made. Is it possible Jack doesn't have a lot of support around the NFL? I don't know.

I don't see Jack as a college coach. I can't see him sitting in kitchens across America convincing high school students to come to his program. I might be wrong.

For me, it will be interesting to see where and when Jack lands. I'm just curious.

The SF 49er have Patrick Willis as a standout Inside Linebacker and they play a very aggressive 3-4 defense.  Sergio Kindle was a name hotly debated in the draft room as time began to expire.  Mike Singletary had to break up the heated debate and chose solid leadership over pure speed.  Takeo Spikes is about to enter his 14th year in the NFL and may be ready to bow to youth.  Rolando McClain recorded 53 solo tackles in his Senior year and will be ready day one to assume a leadership position. If there was ever a perfect match, Rolando McClain and the 49ers are it.

Back in the prehistoric days of blogging Chris began this site with his first post HELLO!  That was August 25, 2006 and he had 10 comments, five from him and the others from the Indianapolis Colts bloggers. He wrote articles for months with no comments. Big Cat Country existed out there alone, in the desert, no one participating in open threads or commenting on articles. He was persistent and slowly the readers began to show up.  Later, in 2008 Collin joined and I joined and Jonathan joined. A young girl named Jeanne started another blog named BlackandTeal. Jaguar blogging was beginning to take hold.

 I had season tickets beginning in 2006 and adopted the Jaguars as my team. In 2008, I would visit both blog sites and couldn't get enough Jaguar information. As I got more involved with Big Cat Country I didn't read BlackandTeal as much. I watched Jeanne's video blogs, but stayed here at BCC.

Collin and Chris and Jonathan and I finally met in 2009 and began going to games together. We grew to really like each other. As BCC grew and grew and grew the need to provide content grew. Chris got a job and Collin got busy and Jonathan and I held the fort as best we could. The decision was made to add more writers to feed the content and then I could take a break for awhile.

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Zoltan Paksa wrote his first front page post for BlackandTeal and was referenced by Paul Kuharsky on ESPN AFC South Blog.  Read his story here

The season is closing out and before I say goodbye, I have some final thoughts.  As usual, there is no rhyme or reason to any of them.


I still can't believe how much Eugene Monroe has improved. The pictures of him protecting David against Dwight Freeney and Jason Taylor were enough, but there is more to appreciate. I have noticed a distinct number of run plays to the left recently.  I saw the team working on this in training camp but I didn't think it would be as successful as it has become.  The NFL publishes an insane amount of statistics and recently added a new catagory for offensive line stats. It takes awhile to to decipher, but here is one that will surprise you. In third or fourh down situations with two yards or less, the Jaguars are third in the league in achieving the needed yardage when running to the left.  It is called a power factor and the Jaguars are almost twice as good running to the left as to the right. They lead the league in almost never having negative runs to the left. Running to the left is a real plus and to me that means Eugene Monroe has come on amazingly well in the second half of the season and not just in pass blocking.  Tony Boselli says he is a better pass blocker than run blocker. That means even better things are coming. I don't know if he will make the pro bowl, but he won't be much different than those that do.

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First of all, I can't imagine being a Jaguar fan and not coming to Big Cat Country. I have been so pleased with the site and all of you. We keep each other informed in a very intelligent fashion and never let this site degrade into the cesspool most other web-based blogs become. Thank you to you all.

I don't want to post a negative article about the Jaguars; they worked very hard this year and don't deserve that. I will have more to say about that in a moment. There are, however, some things I don't understand.

The first thing I don't understand is the offensive line. As recent as two years ago this was a good offensive line. Three years ago it was a tremendous line. In 2005 the team had 1,959 yards rushing and allowed 32 sacks. In 2006 they had 2,541 yards rushing and allowed 30 sacks. In 2007; 2,391 yards rushing and 31 sacks. In 2008; 1774 yards rushing and 42 sacks. In 2009 we have 1,900 yards rushing and 41 sacks. Andy Heck, line coach, has been here the entire time. Dirk Koetter took over for Carl Smith in 2007. 

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 As promised, here is the pictorial analysis of Eugene Monroe.  Sometimes I go over the top in either my praise or criticism, I know this about myself. But as I looked over the 2,500 pictures from the last three home games, I noticed a number of interesting developments. One was Eben Britton wasn't playing up to his press and I reported that.  The other was Eugene Monroe hasn't been getting enough press.  I saw some amazing plays he was pulling off.  I wanted to go to press with this news, but waited until the Colts game and the rematch with Dwight Freeney.  Dwight feasted on Eugene early in the season so I was curious about this meeting. My jaw dropped as I reviewed the battle between the two of them. I looked at the photos over and over just to be sure.  To me there is no mistake, Eugene Monroe has developed into a top NFL Left Tackle.  I am going so far as to say two things:

1) Eugene Monroe will be a pro bowl caliber tackle. He may already be that.

2) Eugene Monroe is the best first round draft pick of the Del Rio era.

OK, I know I go over the top, so I am asking you to look at what I saw. The meeting with Dwight Freeney is here as well as other plays.  You tell me, am I nuts or is this guy a major player?  Merry Christmas and enjoy the video, it is best in full screen mode.

 - Terry O'Brien

 I bought into the press releases that Eben Britton was doing better than Eugene Monroe. My camera showed me it was true in preseason. However I took over 2,500 shots of game action for the last three home games. Eugene Monroe is a fantastic player and has developed into a potential pro-bowl player. I will detail that later.

I wanted to show Eben Britton. As I reviewed the film, one thing stood out over and over again. Eben Britton was missing or not holding blocks. I showed you the Vonte Davis tackle of Maurice to seal the Miami game. Eben was blocking air as Maurice went down.  Here is a short video of Eben during the Colts game.

You look at it and tell me if he doesn't have a lot to learn. My premise is this... if Eugene has indeed developed into a good left tackle, and if Eben can improve at right tackle, we still need a couple of fixes at guard and center to have real power in the line. I do want to provide caution in thinking the Jaguars offensive line problems are almost solved since we drafted bookend tackles, Eben still has a lot to learn!

- Terry O'Brien

 Make no mistake about it, the Colts wanted this game. Although Dwight Freeney didn't start, he came in on a number of series to try and shut us down.  When I have more time, I will document how much Eugene Monroe has developed as a left tackle.  He has become an amazingly good player, but that is later. We played the Colts even up and take away the return for a touchdown and we might have won this game.  I would have to say special teams let us down once and Eben Britton and Reggie Nelson let the team down with poor performances. Other than that, it was a good game. Since you all saw the game on TV, you know the story. Let's look a little deeper.
 
  

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This is the last of my game analysis photo journal.  If we had a longer week, I would show how much we missed Rashean Mathis. Tyron Brackenridge was victimized by Chad Henning and was the leading tackler for a reason. I like Tyron, he is learning, but will be very glad to see Rashean back. This series will show how much more Eben Britton needs to improve. I have faith in him and trust during the off season he will work on his game, but the loss to Miami was not all David as you will see.  

This is the sequence where it is third down and four from the Miami 47 yard line, the two minute warning has just ended.  We are losing 14-10 and must score a touchdown.  Eben Britton and Maurice are sent out alone to the right side. This is good play calling and should work. That is rookie corner-back Vonte Davis for Miami. Based on what I saw in this game, he is a much better candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year than Brian Cushing.  In this critical play, if Eben takes Vonte out, Maurice gets the first down and our hopes stay alive.

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In the final four possessions of the Miami game, the Jaguars did not move the ball at all.  Sometimes they passed, sometimes they ran, but at no time did they score.  It was not a good quarterback performance and may not have been good play calling.  Here are some examples of what I saw.  The disclaimer is this, I am a guy with a season ticket and a camera. I am not a guy with access to the coaches box and all the information Dirk and Jack have.  What I mean to say is this, take what I write with a grain of salt.  It may be right, it may not be.  Read it and you decide.

It is deep in the third quarter, 2 minutes and 30 seconds left to play, third and five from our own 29 yard line. David has a screen set up to Maurice with Marcedes, Eben and Uche ready to seal the sidelines. Instead David goes to Mike Thomas and the pass is incomplete. We punt. Could David have hit Maurice? I don't think he considered it. He set up to his left the entire time. Is Maurice yelling "C'mon Man!"

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It is the fourth quarter. Jaguars down 14-10.  Maurice busts a run off the left side for 13 yards. We are on the Miami 39 yard line.  The call goes to Maurice off the right side. Greg Jones comes out to engage Joey Porter. Maurice is caught in the backfield by the inside linebacker Channing Crowder. It looks like Channing got by Vince Manuwai. As Maurice is wrapped up, he rolls up on Greg Jones leg.  Maurice knows what happened. Greg jumps to his feet and puts pressure on the leg and buckles.  He signals to the sidelines for help.  Del Rio is there.  This is serious and everyone knows it. Greg is helped from the field and sits for awhile and then is almost carried to the locker room. 

When a player can't put weight on the leg it is serious. We all know what Greg Jones means to this team.  We all know how he tore the ACL a few years back and rehabed himself wonderfully. Even with a dedicated effort of training, it took a year to come back fully.  Greg Jones means a lot to us all. Someday we will have to say goodbye to Greg as a Jaguar.  I believe I speak for us all saying we hope that day wasn't last Sunday.  Get well Greg, we want to see you return, and soon!

- Terry O'Brien

It was a good day at the stadium, Oh yea, we lost.  Sorry. You know what? I am not that disappointed. This team played very hard right to the end. We didn't have all of our muscle in today and even if we did, Miami has a lot of muscle. Miami looks to be rounding out as a playoff caliber team.  We are not quite there yet, but we aren't as far off as we were a few weeks ago. We could have won, we almost won. In fact, the defense took it to them hard. If we had one more play on offense our playoff hopes would be strongly alive. That's OK, the Jaguars are OK, so let's take a look at it. By the way,  if you stare hard enough at this picture you can see Jonathan and Collin, but you have to look for a long time to see them.

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Winning Run in pdf

This is a pdf file I made using adobe Photoshop elements.  It details the final run against the Texans.  See if you can view it and if it is worth anything.  I am just playing with technology to spice up the site. Leave a comment please.

Thanks

- Terry O'Brien

Here is the class of 2009 Jaguar Undrafted Rookie signings.  Of the 18 guys signed, 5 remain on the team, 3 have seen playing time.  Brock Bolen and Cecil Newton are on the practice squad. So a lot of you college football guys know these guys a lot better than I do, how did Gene do?  What is your opinion on the guys he got?  Did he miss any, let any get away?  Of the 3 guys on the active roster, who is the Undrafted Rookie of the Year?    

Russell Allen, LB, 6-3, 230, San Diego State

Kyle Bell, FB, 6-1, 233, Colorado State

Brock Bolen, FB, 6-0, 233, Louisville

Nathan Brown, QB, 6-1, 219, Central Arkansas

Weldon Brown, CB, 5-10, 185, Louisiana Tech

Michael Desomeaux, SS, 6-0, 204, Louisiana-Lafayette

Maurice Dupree, WR, 5-10, 168, Jacksonville State

Jason English, WR, 5-10, 188, Tuskegee

George Hypolite, DT, 6-1, 299, Colorado

Pete Ittersagen, CB, 5-10, 191, Wheaton

Tyler Lorenzen, TE, 6-5, 226, Connecticut

Mike McClendon, RB, 5-9, 196, N. Alabama

Jeremy Navarre, DE, 6-3, 283, Maryland

Cecil Newton, C, 6-2, 300, Tennessee St.

Kevin Patterson, SS, 5-10, 185, Wake Forest

Todd Peterson, WR, 6-4, 215, Nebraska

Johnny Williams, LB, 6-2, 236, Kentucky

Julius Williams, DE, Connecticut 

The first Quarter is over, the Jags had the ball for over 10 minutes. We have 3 points to show for it. The Texans are hitting hard and Maurice has been stopped. Thank God for the defense. It is the start of the second quarter and is third and 7 on the Houston 43. Duante Robinson just broke up a pass to Torry on the right side. David tells them it is the same play to the left side. He looks at Torry and Torry nods and smiles. It will be ok. Torry Holt is a winner. Let's see what happens next.

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Derrick Harvey looks like he is gaining confidence in what is happening on the field. He may not get the sacks, but he is still owning his territory. In this sequence, the Texans are in the Red Zone. Let's see what play they call and how well Derrick reacts. 

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Make no mistake, the only way the Jaguars were going to lose was if  they beat themselves. They came out fired up and the energy lasted the entire game.  To prove it, here is the final drive sequence that won the game.  It was nothing special, just "We are better than you man on man". 

 It was just what everyone says, put the ball in the hands of the best player. Unfortunately, he needs a line to block.  The Jaguars couldn't punch it in earlier on four chances, so this final sequence was risky.

Jacksonville Jaguars at 4:01, (1st play from scrimmage 3:57)

1-10-JAX 24 (3:57) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to JAX 24 for no gain (Z.Diles).

2-10-JAX 24 (3:19) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to JAX 39 for 15 yards (D.Barber). (Torry Holt thowing a nice block).

Timeout #1 by HST at 03:10.

1-10-JAX 39 (3:10) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to JAX 43 for 4 yards (Z.Diles).

2-6-JAX 43 (2:29) M.Jones-Drew right end to HST 48 for 9 yards (B.Pollard).

1-10-HST 48 (2:23) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to HST 48 for no gain (Z.Diles).

Timeout #2 by HST at 02:18.

2-10-HST 48 (2:18) M.Jones-Drew right end to HST 41 for 7 yards (B.Pollard).

Timeout #3 by HST at 02:13.

3-3-HST 41 (2:13) M.Jones-Drew right end to HST 38 for 3 yards (D.Barber).

Game over. 

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I took my camera to the game and captured some of the action. Rather than give a complete recap, I thought I would show an interesting drive the Jags put on.  Before I do, let me say it was a fantastic game and I will write more later.  Forget the errors, forget everything, it was a dominating win with contributions from everyone.  Game ball... Derrick Harvey.  Argue if you want, he laid down the law early, set the tone, and shut things down all day. More later...

Here are pictures of an interesting drive featuring nothing but Tight-Ends. Nate Hughes had caught the TD. The defense played great and forced a punt, and now it was show-time for the Tight-Ends.  Zack Miller breaks free for 62 yards based on a great play and great blocking by Top Dog Tight End Marcedes Lewis.  Later, Tight End Ernest Wilford completes the score.  The play calling was excellent and I wanted to show how it all developed.

Zack Miller (left) gives a good indication he is staying home to protect David. Torry, Mike, and Marcedes are clearing out the backfield. Brian Cushing is guarding the middle.

After the jump, l'll show a great series of pictures capturing the action.   

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I have finally decided what is frustrating me about the 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars. They won't unleash their full power.  I have witnessed every home game game and watched two of the away games.  The knockout power exists.  It exists in unimaginable quantity and it it time to bring it out.  Let's look at the Jaguars last three games and compare them to this weeks rival, the San Francisco Forty Niners.

The Buffalo Game.  On offense, the Jaguars are on the Bills 11 yard line, settle for a field goal.   In the next series David throws an interception giving the Bills an easy field goal.  Later in the game, the Jaguars drive 65 yards to the Bills 21 yard line only to fumble the ball away. On Defense, the Jaguars give up a record 98 yard touchdown.  Without that play, the Bills are held to 250 yards and 10 points all day.  The results of what I document is Bills 9 Jaguars 3.

Unleash the full power... Touchdown at the 11 yard line, no interception, touchdown instead of fumble, take away the TO 98 yard play.  We change from Bills 9 Jags 3 to Jaguars 14 Bills 0 with a full power final Jaguars 29 Bills 9. This becomes a knockout performance.

The Jets Game. On Offense, the ball is on the Jets 31 yard line, the Jags are stalled and Scobee misses the field goal.  Later in the game, Quentin Groves intercepts and falls at the four. Maurice fumbles at the one, no score.  The defense was fine with nothing more expected.

Unleash the full power... Field goal good, touchdown instead of fumble. Full power final Jaguars 34, Jets 22. Another knockout performance.

The Kansas City Game.  The offense was fairly efficient with two exceptions. The Jaguars on KC 35 yard line, Scobee missed the field goal.  Later, the Jaguars are on the KC nine yard line and settle for a field goal.  The defense was the group that held back.  Kansas City accumulated 301 yards of offense with 145 yards coming in the last 4 minutes.  They were held to 155 yards total offense for 56 minutes of the game!  That is a knockout performance.

Unleash the full power... Make the field goal, get the touchdown, and shut down the last four minutes. Full power final Jaguars 24 KC 0. Another knockout performance.

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We won but I don't feel as good as I did last week when we beat the Jets.  We should have won, we should have beaten them easily and instead we fought hard for the victory. I am proud of the team for hanging in there and winning.  They are showing they want to win and that is good. I am not proud of the coaching in this game. We looked like we struggled most of the game and I still don't know how we won it.

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I am in a mood to say some controversial things. I hope I don't raise any fire storms, they are just things I feel and want to express.

Is Maurice Jones Drew eclipsing Fred Taylor as the greatest running back the Jaguars ever fielded? 

This season, he is putting up numbers that are astounding.  Fred Taylor put up 1,572 yards in 2003, Maurice is on track to break that record this year.Fred put up 14 touchdowns in his rookie season. Maurice will break that this year. To those of us attending the games, we are witnessing possibly the greatest running back season ever.  If anyone deserves a standing ovation on Sunday, it is Maurice. Go Maurice!  I do miss Fred, but MJD had eased that transition a lot.  It is too early to call MJD better than Fred, but wow, what we are seeing this year is pro bowl caliber play. I can't believe I think this, but the decision to let Fred go looks like a good call.

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[Editorial NOTE: Rather than post something above such a spectacular article, please take note that it was just reported that Trent Edwards will be replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting QB. Terry's stat-sheet should look even better after next week.] -Collin
 
Something is happening on the Jaguar defense and it looks very good. This chart shows the average yards allowed by the defense for the first 5 games though Seattle and the average yards allowed for the next 4 games through New York.

While on the radio program a few weeks back I wondered why we were so bad on defense, especially pass defense. Mel Tucker didn't have Greg Williams reputation as a defensive genius, but he always had good pass defense. Cleveland had near the top numbers in interceptions and was fairly stout against the pass, they just couldn't stop the run. So why were we having so much trouble?  I surmised at the time that it might be temporary and as soon as Derek Cox learned more and the secondary got settled, it would improve.  I think that might be happening.  The average of the last four games includes the 430 yards Tennessee hung on us. After the jump, let's look a little deeper. 

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Jarret Dillard broke his ankle in the Jets game and will be out the remainder of the year. It happened in the second quarter at a critical third and five. Jarret ran a clean route, setting his break and cut for the sidelines, one yard past the marker. Donald Strickland and Kerry Rhodes were in pursuit. David hit him just as he came open and Donald Strickland rode him to the ground. Jarret hung on to the ball, made the first down, and then rode the cart.  I couldn't help but think about him all day today.

I jokingly call him Baby Holt because I noticed he made friends with Torry at training camp. Everywhere Torry went, Jarret went. During pre-season, when Jarret got in the game and made a play, he came to the sidelines looking for Torry.  It didn't take long to find him, Torry was waiting to congratulate him.  The relationship seemed special and Jarret waited for his chance during the season.

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Jaguars Fans on This Site: All week Jaguars fans graced us with their presence here on GGN, and I can't say enough about them. They were classy, knowledgable, and added a lot to our discussion here. In the year and change I've run this blog, I've come across some great fan bases. The Bills and Texans come to mind. The Jaguars fans we came across this week top the list. Congrats on the win. Good luck the rest of the way. Please do continue to stop by.

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The Jaguars deliver a stunning come from behind drive against one of the best defenses in the NFL.  A stunning win.  While the staff gathers its thoughts, get your comments and excitement out here for now!

 Terry