SB Nation User Blog: Tkopa

Kansas City@Jacksonville The view from the stadium

Tkopa — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:05:20 -0000

I saw things today I haven't seen this year, in fact I saw things I have never seen before. For me, it was a beautiful memorable day.

I saw the B2 Stealth Bomber perform the fly-over. You can see it on the horizon and you can watch it grow in size but you can't hear it. If it was night, the only way you would know it was coming was because the stars were vanishing. It is a jaw dropping experience to see it.

I saw a family stand in the endzone in the shadow of the goal post as their husband and father spoke from Iraq on the scoreboard. Then I saw him walk out on the field and a 10 year old boy run to his dad in tears and hugs. Wow

After the jump, I'll tell you what else I saw. I'll keep it short, Chris covered it nicely.

I saw really good punting. Dustin Colquitt from Kansas City put on a clinic today. One time he nailed a 70 yard punt. Mike Thomas never assumed the ball would travel that far and everytime backed up and backed up. When Podlesh had the same punt, same wind at his back, he hit a 40 yard punt. I sit in a section with long time season ticket holders and we agree, Podlesh is a high school kid. Dustin Colquitt is the son of Steeler punter Chris Colquitt. I never saw punting that good.

I saw Baby Holt catch a fantastic 40 yard third down pass. Jarrett Dillard (aka Baby Holt), doesn't get in the game very much, but you can tell David loves him. After the 70 yard punt, the Jaguars were buried deep. David went back and threw a rope, Dillard went high and grabbed it. I haven't seen that type of catch from a Jaguar since.... well, I never saw one before. This is only my fifth season with the team and I am used to the stooges era. It is clear David loves his receivers. He loves MSW and Holt and Dillard and Mike Thomas and MJD when he is out there.

I saw the Jaguars sack the quarterback. That is a rare event. In fact, I saw two in one game. That hasn't happened before that I remember. Daryl Smith took over one series and had the Chiefs facing 3rd and 17 all by himself. He then got the third down tackle and took them off the field.

I saw Rashad Jennings run for a touchdown. I saw the shotgun formation and Jennings in the backfield and said "Jennings the ball carrier, no gain on the play", then he ran it in. Everyone turned to me and laughed. I was wrong. It was a nice stiff arm he threw.

I saw Torry Holt pull that vanishing move again and go over the middle. What an incredible reciever he must have been in his prime. It is still a pleasure to watch him.

OK, game ball. It is hard to ignore Mike Simms Walker but the truth is, he wasn't covered on his touchdown and other long gain. The Kansas City secondary is really confused a lot of the time and MSW didn't do anything special for those scores. It has to be Maurice Jones Drew. His touchdown was the critical score and it was another unbelievable play. He vanishes in the pile and majically appears in the end zone. He is simply the money player and never disappoints.

Another notable performance came from Gerald Alexander. He was awake in the team meeting when they said to tackle. He hit people hard and even rang his own bell on one hit. Mike Thomas was impressive when he figured out where the punts were coming down. His reverse run was excellent. Rahean Mathis was amazing in the first half, hitting hard and enjoying himself.

David ran for his life and played escape artist today. The offensive line has moments of good playing and moments of disaster. That is the character of this team. If the Jaguars draft last year and this year had fixed the defensive and offensive line issues, this team would be a solid playoff contender. The people are not living up to their draft position. Eugene played better than Eben today, but both let David down a number of times. The problem is the guards seem to be getting old too. I am afraid we are only as good as out offensive line will let us be. Winning seven games is a good sign with Gene having another crack at rebuilding. David did pull off some serious escape moves but I wish he would throw it away. This is Kansas City we are playing, throw it away and come back on the next play. Credit to MSW for sensing when his QB is in trouble. He gets in Davids vision to make a play. This is something Marcedes never learned to do. I think the point is, no playoff run for this team until the offensive line solidifies.

The team never left me in doubt today they would win. They were the clearly better team. Sandra and I left with four minutes to go, so we didn't see the meltdown at the end. It was only a scare.

The schedule gets very interesting from here on out. I don't know what to expect, but give this team a chance to grow and fight. Remember, first a team learns to fight to the end before it learns to win. This team fought hard for 56 minutes. I enjoyed the day.

- Terry O'Brien

Sandra has some ideas for the Jaguars

Tkopa — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:13:15 -0000

Sandra had some ideas she wanted to share concerning the Jaguars. Here is my side of the conversation. Enjoy! I always do.

- What Sweetheart? Yes, you and I are going to the Jaguar game Sunday.
- I know, you haven't gone since opening day. I've been taking friends.
- Well I'm happy you are going too.
- They might win this week, but they have been struggling.
- How is the quarterback David doing?
- He has some good games and some not so good.
- I saw that, Tim Tebow set the record for rushing touchdowns.
- No, he can't play for the Jaguars, he plays for Florida.
- I'm sorry, I know you knew that. He can't play for both teams.
- Well if he plays for the Jaguars, he gets paid and then he can't play for Florida.
- I don't think he can play for free.
- I know he is from Jacksonville; he probably does want the Jaguars to do well.
- You think he should volunteer to help the team out for free?
- So how would that work?
- I see, he comes over and plays one quarter for free, just to help out.
- And when he gets the Jaguars 21 points, he sits in the stands and watches.
- I don't think anyone has asked him.

- I don't know if it would work.
- Well yes, that would help. But he might get hurt, the blocking hasn't been good.
- Well they have new guys on the offensive line right out of college.
- Why doesn't the little guy teach them to block? I lost you.
- The little guy who blocks really good... I'm still lost.
- The little guy who blocks can teach the others, you mean Maurice Jones Drew?
- Well yes, he does block really well.
- I guess he could help the rookies to learn to block.
- I don't think they asked him.
- Yeah, I guess they should too.
- No, it is a good idea.
- The receivers? They are doing well.
- No, no one has caught one and run all the way for a touchdown.
- I'm sorry, I lost you again, why doesn't the guy who can catch play receiver?
- The guy who can catch who doesn't play receiver, I'm lost.
- The guy who always catches the ball and gets a touchdown. Not following yet.
- The guy with the hair, you mean Rashean Mathis?
- Why isn't Rashean Mathis a receiver? He plays defense.
- Well, they could put him on offense now and then, I guess.
- Well, he does run well when he catches the ball; I guess it is a good idea.
- You are smart, I agree. What? You want me to write your ideas to Wayne?
- Wayne Weaver doesn't decide those things. The coaches do
- Well, I guess he could tell them to do anything he wants, he owns the team.
- How about this, Wayne reads the web site, I'll post it there.
- OK, let me get your ideas straight.
- Tim Tebow volunteers to play one quarter for free to give them a lead.
- Maurice Jones Drew teaches blocking to the offensive line.
- Rashean Mathis plays receiver for a few plays. Got it.
- No, I think they are good ideas, I'll post them.
- Well, when we go to the game, if it happens then they read the site.
- Love you too!

Aimless Musings and Shallow Thoughts

Tkopa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:02:46 -0000

I really don't think Jack Del Rio threw David under the bus for play calling. I think he said we are going to help him more. If anything, he admitted the coaching mistake. I know it is fashionable to "Fire Del Rio" right now, but this is not the reason.

I still like the progress of Derrick Harvey. I think he is becoming a better and smarter player. Remember, he didn't play football until his junior year in high school and then only three years in college. All of this is still new to him. My fear is that he will learn the game very well in his fourth year and then be a valuable free agent. I just think Jack should have called him out with John Henderson. Derrick cost this team a lot and I am convinced the Mike Peterson and Fred Taylor decisions were financial decisions required to pay for Harvey. Expect him to play well, demand he play well, and I think he will respond. I just don't like the thought of lowering expectations. Derrick is better than that comment implies.

I still say David is taking too much punishment and will not last at this rate. David doesn't do everything right, but when he is on, he is very good. Look at it this way; he is not a third string quarterback like the guy he replaced. I just cringe at the physical toll he is taking this year.

May I return to Jack Del Rio for a moment if you don't mind? My biggest complaint against him is his talent evaluation. He had a seat at the table of every draft. He had a hand in most of the personnel decisions. He let good coaches go over his time. Last year, when Jack had the "juice", we suffered the biggest most devastating blunders in personnel ever. That is my complaint. We would be a better team if we had a better GM and he didn't listen to Jack. Jack may be a better coach than talent evaluator but he might not get the chance to prove that.

Jacksonville's attendance problems are not unique to this city. The NFL is in trouble on a lot of fronts and we just happen to be obvious. I feel bad for Wayne Weaver; I just think a lot of people have let him down over the years. I don't think there is a better intended or nicer man in the NFL than he is. I do, however, think there are better football owners. So the question is, do I want an SOB owner who wins or Wayne Weaver and a mediocre team? I want Wayne Weaver and a winner, I want it all.

Bad as this may sound; I am actually ok with the progress of the Jaguars this year. We are perilously close to disaster and only have a few good players, but who we have are really good. If Jack delivers 7 wins this year as a bottom feeder team and Gene gets another year to work personnel then we are moving. This is the climb from the bottom. It will take some time to accomplish. Fix the offensive line and the offense will look great. Fix the defensive line and the defense will look great.

Tra Thomas disappointed me last game and I am solid in the Eugene Monroe camp now. At $19 million, let Eugene take the heat.

I hope we get off this "In Gene We Trust" kick soon. Gene is doing a nice job but he will make mistakes. We need to let him off the pedestal now rather than push him off and stomp him later. He is good at his job, but not infallible. Give the guy room to be human.

Does anyone other than me think Vic Ketchman has lost something this year? I have been very disappointed in his responses to readers and choice of questions. I just sense a real disenchantment with this city and the people. I really find including the Gators in his power poll insulting. Florida is enjoying unprecedented success as a school with a real student athlete leader to look up to. Why is that so hard to recognize and celebrate?

While I am on this note, does anyone other than me miss Chris Harris writing for the site? His wit and insight was the attraction of BCC and I miss hearing from him.

In closing, I think the NFL in general has fallen far from its roots and has not put a good product on the field in a number of places. The Jaguars are not great, but they aren't Tampa Bay or Oakland either. I don't know what the NFL has done to itself, but this current crop of owners better get their act together. Baseball is beginning to outdraw football on television and that is a big red flag. Meanwhile, I will see you at the game!

- Terry O'Brien

It is obvious - line play determines game results

Tkopa — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:38:39 -0000

We have watched NFL football for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, maybe more and some concepts have stood the test of time as being absolute true. Quarterbacks do not win many games or have long careers when they are getting hit often. When a quarterback sustains the punishment level David Garrard has sustained in the last two seasons, he won't perform well or be on the field much longer.

Conversely, most quarterbacks can throw the ball very well and hit moving targets with ease when no one is bothering them. Give a guy like David time and he looks every bit as good as any other top quarterback.

I remember a long time ago the Buffalo Bills had a quarterback duel between Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie. Rob Johnson had the size and arm and polish that made him look like a clear winner. Doug Flutie was small with less deep ball ability. Doug Flutie had one skill Rob Johnson didn't, Doug could run for his life. Buffalo didn't have an offensive line and I remember thinking, better pick Flutie cause Rob Johnson will get killed. Rob was picked as the starter and got killed. It was ugly to watch.

Joe Namath had bad knees and couldn't move. He spent his last year in LA where they couldn't protect him. It was a sad end to a great career.

Over and over the same thing plays out. The quarterback battle between Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown was silly during the Tampa Bay pre-season. Bryon looks great until there is a rush. Tampa Bay has problems on the offensive line and no change of quarterback is going to fix that. Byron was the worst choice behind a weak line.

Vince Young didn't look great, Vince Young had time to think and react. He wasn't bothered. Kurt Warner looked like a superstar when he had time to think. David does too.

Did David have receivers open? Yes. Did David miss plays? Yes. Did Dirk Koetter help him out by calling pass plays under a huge blitz? No. We can diagnose all the nuances of the game if we want, but David doesn't avoid a rush very well or think very clearly when he is getting hit. Only Big Ben does that well from what I have seen. Hit Vince Young like David was hit and he will refuse to go in the game. We don't have the line to play the game Dirk Koetter wants to play and David is paying the price. Unfortunately, we can't win with 9 men in the box and daring us to try and run. That was last year.

The Jaguars Defensive and Offensive lines deteriorated because we didn't draft into those spots for years. Tom did, Shack and Jack didn't. Rookies selected in the first round have a 50% chance of even being a starter three years later. The later rounds are even lower. You simply have to keep bringing people into the lines in hopes of finding good ones.

The Jaguars addressed the line play in the last two drafts. Defensive line then Offensive line. We are late in rebuilding these critical areas and having mixed success. This will be a focus of the team going forward.

As much as I hate to write this, we have to follow Jack Del Rio's advice about Derrick Harvey and apply it to this team, lower your expectations. The lines are not there to support any kind of playoff run. They won't be this year and maybe not next.

My only concern is that David doesn't have the time or the body to survive the pounding. I am afraid the line rebuilding may cause more rebuilding. In short, Jack Del Rio, Bill Cower, Marty, or anyone else isn't going to make this team improve quickly. Changing out the coaching staff isn't going to fix the line play, not today. Only Gene Smith can do what is needed and he can't do it right now.

- Terry O'Brien

Tim Tebow Talk

Tkopa — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:37:21 -0000

Tim Tebow Talk

Just me stirring up trouble again.

- Terry

Thoughts on the radio show? If you listened, what did you think? What can we do better?...

Tkopa — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:19:35 -0000

Thoughts on the radio show? If you listened, what did you think? What can we do better? Thanks!

Terry

Holt showed his veteran leadership traits in the fourth quarter. Immediately after Leonard Little...

Tkopa — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:31:47 -0000

Holt showed his veteran leadership traits in the fourth quarter. Immediately after Leonard Little intercepted a Garrard pass and returned it for a touchdown to give the Rams a 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Holt called the offensive unit together on the sideline.

"I just did what I thought a leader should do," Holt said. "It was a perfect time for them to be called up and talked to about what we needed to do in order to win the ball game. If we want to be an elite team, a championship team, we have to execute in critical times. That’s basically what I told them."

The Jaguars responded to Holt’s words by putting together a 9-play, 75-yard drive to reclaim the lead. Garrard especially appreciated Holt’s action.

"The quarterback doesn’t always have to do those things," Garrard said. "To have somebody like that here, I’ve been telling you all along, it’s great and this offensive team needs it. I’m very happy for Torry and what he did.

By Jeff Elliott

Rams@Jacksonville The view from the stadium

Tkopa — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:13:44 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

Browse more photos »

There are so many ways to look at this game and we will consider all of them in a minute, but the truth is, we dominated the Rams and came away with a win. We dominated in everything except the score, and protecting the ball, and protecting David and... wait wait, it was a win and time to celebrate. After the jump I'll tell you what Collin, John, and I saw. As usual, the statistics don't tell the whole story.

About mid-way into the first quarter, I turned to Collin and said, "It is clear, we are the better team", and we were. Take away the overtime, the Rams pick six, and count two touchdowns instead of red zone turnovers and we are at 34-13. The reason we didn't do to the Rams what the Seahawks did to us was simple, stupid mistakes. That is what I am coming to understand. Our talent is not preventing us from getting to the playoffs, our mistakes are. A new team leaning on rookies, we are what we are, a developing team.

You don't need any more facts than this one to realize it has to be mistakes that limits us. We generated almost 500 yards of offense and held Steven Jackson to 50 yards rushing and went into overtime to win the game. Ponder that and you will realize what kind of team we have. Power not yet harnessed.

I know everyone will give MJD the game ball, but in the stadium it was clear who dominated the game, Torry Holt. David threw one pass to Torry and it was badly off the mark. Torry was standing facing David about 15 yards down field and the ball sailed to the right. Torry stretched his arm out as far as it would go and the ball stuck to his fingertips. It looked like a two-finger catch. Another was a beautiful foot-dragging-catch stretching to the sideline. Another was the opening drive catch when he had two defenders spinning around looking for him. If you add in the number of defensive pass interference penalties called on guys covering him, as they held his arms down, he would have been over 200 yards today.

Two more Torry Holt stories. The first one was when MJD ran left for the go ahead touchdown with under two minutes left in the fouth quarter. Torry Holt ran out on the field and didn't look for Maurice, he looked for Eugene Monroe and jumped on his back. Eugene had thrown the block that sprung Maurice and Torry went out to congratulate him. Eugene carried Torry off the field with Torry cheering him. Eugene must have felt great. The other one was when Mike Thomas ran back a kickoff and two Rams collided trying to get him. One of them was Ron Bartell. He lay there for a long time and the Rams gathered around him, in the group was Torry. They treated him like one of their own. You want to know the difference between this year and last year? Jerry Porter verses Torry Holt. Torry Holt is team chemistry and fills the role Fred Taylor used to hold.

Maurice was a beast in the second half and ran for 125 years in that half. His number of carries was second most in team history and that means 25 carries in the second half must be a one half record. Torry dominated but Maurice came through when it was needed. There was one play in the first half that impressed me. David was running for his life and trying to get to the first down marker. Chris Longwas closing in on David from behind and suddenly his feet left the ground and he landed on his butt about five yards out of bounds. He struggled to get up and then realized Maurice had hit him. He got in Maurice's face and said something and I thought Maurice would send him back to the ground.

It was a rookie line again today with Eugene and Eben starting. There were a lot of plays where David had plenty of time. There were times when David could have stepped back and avoided the pressure. David is hard to protect sometimes as he seems to sometimes step into trouble instead of away. His focus is down field and he doesn't sense the pressure. However the rookies had moments of lapses again, and David paid the price. David is getting hit too hard too often for me to feel he has five more years left in him. His career is closing down quickly with all the punishment he takes. He was not sharp most of the game. He threw four interceptions today with two the Rams held on to and two others were in their hands and dropped. We hung perilously close to disaster today.

I am beginning to believe when the rookies start, Marcedes will vanish. He stays in to block more than go out for passes. It may look like he didn't have a good game, but I think he did more than anyone will give him credit for.

Derek Cox is getting better but he was singled out again today. He did start to take a bit more risk later in the game and made some good plays. He is a sure tackler and when he closes in, the guy goes down. He got better today. Rashean Mathis made a stunning interception and played beautiful. When you consider the Rams offense scored 13 points today, something was going well.

We played without Justin Durant and also with Russell Allen in the backfield. It showed. I know Justin Durant would have closed down a number of plays. I can't help but think Brian Williams as safety would have improved our defense. We don't have a shutdown capability yet.

Quentin Grovesplayed a lot for a third string guy. If Quentin Groves is a thrid string guy, we must be loaded with talent. On special teams, Quentin came flying down and stuck the runner solo. I don't know what is wrong but he has too much talent to sit.

Summary.

Folks, it all boils down to the lines. The offensive line is rough but has the talent to move upward. I am worried about the punishment David is taking while they learn, but it will get better. Eben Britton still has problems figuring out who his man is on blitzes.

The defensive line is a run stopping line. It is not a pass rushing line and without Durant, they couldn't afford to send the linebacker. When you see Steven Jackson you marvel at his size. When you see John Henderson grab him and drive him to the ground, you marvel even more at big Hen. If you are an opposing QB, playing the Jaguars is the same as wearing a no hit vest. This area may be worse than last year.

Without improvement on both lines, the Jaguars will not progress beyond a .500 team and find themselves in silly overtime games against a team they so clearly outplayed. Get used to it, we will have moments to rejoice and moments of anguish. Today we narrowly escaped anguish but that means celebration. At the by week we are 3-3.

-Terry O'Brien

Del Rio must demonstrate he can calm the waters and not let another season get away from him. Or...

Tkopa — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:25:32 -0000

Del Rio must demonstrate he can calm the waters and not let another season get away from him. Or else, he too, may be issuing a different kind of apology

Gene Frenette

This is exactly my problem with JDR in a nutshell - TKO

Random thoughts a long way from home

Tkopa — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:20:57 -0000

I had to travel to New Jersey for a week long corporate meeting. I picked up a bit of the game at a TGI Friday's and saw enough to know Seattle wanted that game bad. It was a pleasure to have this site to come back to and see what the thoughts and comments were. I am heading home tomorrow and will be at the game on Sunday. Collin is coming in on Saturday and he and I will take in the game together. He promises to educate me on what I am seeing on the field. Maybe I'll just get drunk. Anyway, from a distance I have some thoughts...

I think the common lesson between the Titans game and the Seahawks game is this.. whoever controls the lines will probably win the game. When we control the offensive line, David looks good. Dirk Koetter looks brilliant. We score points. When we don't control the lines, Jack Del Rio is fired, David holds the ball too long, blah blah blah. It will be the same story each and every game.

The only thing these two games showed me was that our drafting in the last two years was directionally correct. If two of our 4 top choices performed at a top pro level right now, I think things would look different. Maybe Alan Fanaca was a better choice than trading up for number 8. The Jets are giving Mark Sanchez time to have fun. Honestly, that is our problem and the Jaguars know it and have tried to correct it.

Is coaching our problem? I have a hard time thinking Andy Heck, the offensive line coach, is doing anything wrong. I have seen what Dirk Koetter calls for plays and I don't think he is major source of problem. So maybe coaching is a problem in some areas, but in other areas our guys get whipped. It was interesting to see Miami whip the Jets defense. The Jets had painted the picture of a defense as firm as a wall. Rex Ryan had to apologize. Sometimes guys get whipped. I think on the offensive side of the ball, it isn't coaching. It isn't David. Seattle just beat us. OK, so it happens. We embarrassed the Colts a couple of years ago and they simply burned the game film and moved on.

Maurice Jones Drew sounded off his week and I read the article. I honestly don't know how I feel about that. Part of me says "Well you porky little shit" and another part of me says don't take losing too easily. I get what he is doing but I am not sure it won't wear thin as the season goes on. What is the next level? Play me or trade me? Where is MJD going with all this? I hope it doesn't become a regular occurrence. I don't know, but it gives me the impression of weakening JDR and calling out Dirk Koetter a bit. All things considered, I am a bit negative on it.

Jonathan was right in his article about Jaguar crunch time. Last year, the three game stretch was Cleveland, Cincy, Detroit. Test taken, test failed. The Jaguars face the same test stretch and Jonathan was right to call it out. Seattle, Rams, Titans.

I did read all the articles after the Titans game about how we would be 6-2 and how good we were and just shook my head and remained silent. A few of you tried to gently bring people back but most of you were having none of it. I sent Collin an email after his article last week and said "I think I know who is making the Kool Aid". The only thing I can honestly say is what I said after the first Colts game, I am still confused as to what kind of team we have. Moments of joy and moments of disappointment. The only troubling thing was the offense collapse. The defense is not going to progress as fast as the offense and so the offense must carry us. We need at least one side of the ball to be exciting.

The real question put out there this week was "who is going to LA". I think it makes a good poll question, but I know this, Wayne Weaver said they can't make it at 45,000 attendance. How much is the problem the economy in your mind? If we had knocked on the door of the Super Bowl last year, would the stadium be full? I guess the question I am asking is "Does Jacksonville still love the Jaguars?" I don't know. Tickets are available at reduced rates everywhere in town. Have I seen the last of the full stadium games?

In the "at least we are not them " catagory, there are too many teams that do not look like they are getting up off the floor this year. I have never seen a year where football is this bad in so many places. Buffalo, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Oakland. I still can't believe the Titans are winless. What happened? I think football needs to divide into two divisions. The really bad teams in one division and the really good teams in the other. All playoff teams come from the good division. The top two teams in the bad division get to play in the good division next year and the bottom two from the good division get kicked down. Everyone in the bad division has 50% of their salary taken away and given out as bonuses to the players in the good division. Any coach who spends five years in the bad division must leave NFL football for 5 years. Televised games of teams in the bad division can show commercials during the game and as many commercials as they want. There that is my solution.

OK, so to end on a happy note.... I am excited to have Collin visit and get to the stadium this weekend. Should be a fun game. First, i want to get home and see my wife. I miss her. See you at the stadium!!! Sandra, I'm coming home!!

Terry O'Brien