SB Nation User Blog: Tkopa

Torry Holt is showing this team how a winner acts.

Tkopa — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:41:03 -0000

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.

From Jags Texans

David throws the ball before Torry breaks. Duante tries to react.

From Jags Texans

Looks like another Jacksonville First Down.

From Jags Texans

This time it is a play fake to Maurice. The left corner, Reeves, isn't sure of this play. Besides, he never saw this number 16 before.

From Jags Texans

Nate Hughes isn't going to repeat the first game. Time to turn on the Jets!

From Jags Texans

Torry is right there to make sure Nate feels the love. This is how a winning team treats each other. The young guys notice what Torry is doing and he notices what they are doing. I have been reading how Torry shouldn't start, how he drops balls. Here is what life looks like for Torry.

From Jags Texans

Anyone remembering Matt Jones taking that type of hit for the team? If we make the playoffs, even if we don't, we all owe Torry Holt a big standing ovation at game time. This guy is showing how a winner acts.

- Terry O'Brien

Derrick Harvey playing smart

Tkopa — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:22:19 -0000

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.

From Jags Texans

Derrick is on the line but Andre Johnson begins to plant and step back. A screen is setting up.

From Jags Texans

Yep, Derrick senses it.

From Jags Texans

He reacts, now is he in time?

From Jags Texans

Notice how Derek Cox forces the action to the inside?

From Jags Texans

Gain of two. Nice job Derrick.

Texas@Jacksonville ... When the Game was Won

Tkopa — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:26:41 -0000

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.

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

Another run to Eben Britton side.

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

If he makes 3 yards we win. We couldn't make three yards on the goal line before in four chances, now we have one chance. Again, the run is to Eben Britton side and there is no misdirection. This is an "in your face" bold move and it worked. The Texans could have stopped him for a loss, then they could have stopped him short. In the end, they couldn't stop him at all. Three yards needed, three yards delivered. Did we expect anything less?

It was a great struggle, but one the Jaguars deserved to win.

- Terry O'Brien

Texans@Jacksonville...The view from the Stadium in Pictures (Pt 1)

Tkopa — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:26:09 -0000

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.

Before Brian can react, Zack breaks over the middle and David delivers the ball.

Brian Cushing makes a fatal error here by not running through Zack. He reaches and goes off balance.

Marcedes sees the situation and sends out a dog-whistle command to Zack to hit the sidelines.

Marcedes is getting ready to go bowling.

That's Brice McCain, the Houston CB who holds his balance. Brian Cushing is still in first gear. Marcedes has done his job.

Finally Brice catches Zack. Either Zack Miller is really fast or Brian Cushing is really slow. That match-up, Brian Cushing over Zack Miller must have been one the Jaguars wanted real bad. Based on what I am seeing here, I am wondering about that Defensive Rookie of the Year claim by Cushing.

Here is resulting touchdown play. It should make Jonathan proud, a red zone score!

Notice the misdirection. David is going to his right, but the touchdown is going to Ernest Wilford who is breaking to the left.

Maurice sneaks out of the backfield. Guess who the linebackers are going to cover? Look at Monroe seal the block.

You can see Wilford on the goal line. Mike Simm Walker breaks for the corner. Maurice on the goal line. David has a lot of options and picks Ernest.

It is a game of inches. Brian Cushing can only watch. Good thing Maurice didn't decide to block.

We haven't seen the full power yet!

Tkopa — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:38:46 -0000

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.

San Fransisco at Green Bay. Green Bay is up 30-10 with 11 minutes left in the game. San Fransisco has 210 yards offense up until that point and in garbage time they accumulates another 100 yards and two touchdowns. They were blown out by Green Bay as the Packers accumulated 484 yards of offense.

San Fransisco vs Chicago. The Bears cross into Forty Niner territory 8 times. Twice they throw red zone interceptions. Three other times, while in Forty Niner territory, they throw the interception. Despite giving the ball away 5 times, Chicago generates 350 yards of offense. The Forty Niners generate 216 yards of offense and win the game. Truth is, they were blown out and had a rare lucky win.

San Fransisco vs Tennessee. It is 34-20 Tennessee with 2 minutes left in the game. It had been 17-10 San Fransisco at the half. The forty niners had generated 202 yards of offense. In the last 2 minutes of the game, the niners generate 75 yards of offense in garbage time to finish with 358 yards. In short, they were held to 80 yards in the second half and 3 points when it mattered. Once again, they were blown out, but not until the second half.

Overall Conclusion? The Jaguars can be a much better team than the Forty Niners. They have more power and have been on the verge of destroying their opponents. The Forty Niners have been completely dominated in their last three games. They are barely a team. Take away the garbage time yards and they have trouble generating 250 quality yards a game. What does this add up to? Another close Jaguar game, Jags 24, SF 21. I wish the Jaguars would unleash their full power.

Bills @Jacksonville The View from the Stadium

Tkopa — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:12:46 -0000

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.

The Bills came out just as confused as we expected them based on their week. Fitzpatrick started out throwing bad passes to receivers who weren't looking. The Bills first drive was everything we wanted, a wounded animal limping around on the field. Sean Considine intercepted the pass by doing just what he does best, standing in just the right spot. The opening drive of the Bills ended with us on their 28 yard line. Can you say run Maurice run? That is exactly what we did, right to the 12 yard line. So what genius play did we call next? The stupid wide receiver screen that goes nowhere every time. It is a risky worthless play that lost 3 yards. With second and 13, the run option was taken away and the Bills came after David. David ran like he didn't know what to do and we ended with a Josh Scobee field goal.

Why didn't the offensive line show up this week? They didn't run block and they didn't pass block. David looked like a pathetic rookie today for most of the game. Sorry, back to the game.

The Bills tried to move the ball and couldn't until a roughing the passer call moved it for them. At that point in the game, Mel Tucker decided not to rush Fitzpatrick and not to cover Terrell Owens. Terrell Owens caught 48 yards of passes in that drive and the Bills tied the game at 3-3. Just in case you say "well Terrell Owens is a top level receiver", he wasn't. He is slow out of the breaks and doesn't look like anything at all anymore. He could have been shut down easily if we had someone to do it. We kept screaming "Put Cox on him", but why do that?

The next series David was intercepted. The score board showed the ball bouncing on the ground and the defender picking it up off the bounce. THROW THE FLAG JACK we yelled, THROW THE FLAG!!!!! Nope. No challenge. Maybe he saw it closer than the zoom lens on the jumbotron. I don't know. 6-3 Bills.

The next series Mike Simms Walker and Marcedes Lewisgot into a "I can do better than you" battle as they both caught 24 yard passes. That moved the ball to the Bills 4 yard line when Paul Pusluszney pulled the filthiest play I ever saw. That piece of slime who should be and will be fined $25,000 for his actions grabbed Maurice by the face mask and twisted his head around full 360 and never let go as he dragged him to the ground by the mask. I wanted to run out of the stands and go after him myself, but figured the Jaguars would deal with it. Maurice scored and I was glad, up 10-6.

At this point the Bills found their footing and began to play football. Again, no rush on Fitzpatrick. No blitz. No pressure. It was as if we figured we would win and didn't show up to play. It was so lazy and so uninspired I didn't know what was happening. Field goal at the half 10-9 Jags.

Our opening sequence from the start of the second half showed Maurice going nowhere and David running for his life. It was the left side of the line, Monroe, Manuwai and Meester who let us down today. Pressure came hard against David. Finally Podlesh punted his one very good punt. Buffalo pinned at the two yard line. Come on defense, get him and make us proud. Nope. No pass rush, no blitz, no pressure. Fitzpatrick stood patiently as Terrell Owens ran past Tyron Brackenridgefor a 98 yard touchdown, Tyron Brackenridge is all of 5 foot 5 and Terrell Owens is all of 7 foot nine. At least that is how it looked. Two point conversion no good, 15-10 Bills.

The Bills had 350 yards of offense with Terrell Owens having 200 yards of it. He was so open and so not covered all day he could have had more. When one guy is generating almost 60% of your problems, maybe you should cover him? Nope. When a quarterback is starting his first game behind a really bad offensive line maybe you should pressure him? Nope.

The Jaguars had 325 yards of offense against one of the worst defenses. When you combine the Terrell Owens show with no real offense for the Jaguars you get COACHING ERRORS!!!!! AHHHHH it was so frustrating watching this game. Thank God for Marcedes Lewis and Mike Simms Walker. They showed up to play today. Even my idol. Torry Holt dropped balls today.

How did we win? Simple, with six minutes left in the game, we played Jaguar football. Short pass to MSW, Passes to Torry Holt, run by Maurice, touchdown to MSW. Oh, and a 53 yard pass for a Bills touchdown to Lee Evans was called back. In other words, we were one penalty away from losing. One flag by a referee saved this game for us. Against the Buffalo Bills, we needed flag help. God did we miss Rashean and Durant. Gene, the offensive line is not done being rebuilt yet. Better save a few draft picks for guards next year.

I am mad about this game. We won, but I am mad about this game. We came out uninspired with no game plan on offense or defense. A team without a coach and a quarterback whipped our butts today except they didn't get the win. Like I said, I am proud of our players for fighting. I am disappointed in our coaches. Write one nice article about them and it goes to their head. Same old Jaguars. Get on a winning streak and they relax. They better get their pads on this week, San Fransisco is no cake walk.

We are 6-4 now with some very interesting games ahead. If we win 3 of them, it will be a wonderful season. If we win two of them, it will be a good season. But please play hard, please play inspired. Lose if you must, but don't play like today ever again. It was not good football on either side of the ball.

- Terry O'Brien

Shallow Thoughts and Aimless Musings

Tkopa — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:41:16 -0000

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.

I owe Jack Del Rio a big apology.

Jack, I am sorry I ever called for your dismissal. I like the new Jack a lot this season. He took the heat with grace and learned a lot last year. The decision by Wayne to keep him out of personnel decisions freed him up to coach and what a great job he is doing. Jack Del Rio is proving to me he is better than Jeff Fisher. The Jets game turned my head around. That was a beautiful game and I believe will be the turning point of this franchise. I like how Jack has dropped the bravado and simply gives us the truth in his press conferences. I think the money he is being paid is warranted. One more time, Jack, you are my coach and I am behind you, win or lose. Good job, Jack!

During the dead period I predicted a great season by Quentin Groves.

I was wrong. I still like the guy, but he seems to be a head-case sometimes. His mind is not always in the game and defenses love to pick on him. One thing I don't fault him for was falling down on the interception. My heart went out to him. He made a great play and I was glad to see it and he does play great on special teams, but he is not a real force on defense. Come on, Quentin.

I really like Mel Tucker.

I pointed out the defense has been rounding into championship level form in the last few games, and said Derek Cox has come a long way. If there is a defensive player of the year, to me it is Rashean Mathis. He has been a shut down corner this last few games and his presence will be missed. I thought Jack had lost the ability to attract good coaches but I was wrong. Mel Tucker is a top NFL coach and I am glad to have him here.

Despite what Collin yelled during the Rams game, I think Dirk Koetter is a good offensive coordinator. He took the Jets top defense and riddled them. The Jets did play very well in the second half but the mortal blow had been struck. The Jaguars, if they ever played to their potential, would have killed them. There is a lot of strength on this team offensively and when they get it rolling, they are a problem for any team to handle. His play calling always stumbled at times during the game, but lately he has been very sharp. Just look at the numbers. Doesn't call enough running plays? MJD is killing the league. I think Collin hurt his feelings.

Why Jack was questioned about the knee is beyond me. It was smart. If anyone should be questioned it would be Rex Ryan. Why ask his defense to let us score? What happened to smack the hell out of people and force a fumble? Take the ball away, launch a massive strike against David, pull all stops out to stop us. That is football. Maurice and David have given the ball up at the goal line, why not play real football? Let them score was not good football. Jack out smarted Rex. I still question a call to let the other team score the go ahead touchdown. Whimpy call there Rex.

Hats off to Andy Heck for rounding the rookies out on the line. This line is beginning to shape up nicely. Eugene Monroe played beautifully last game and it is a sign of more to come.

I was sorry to see the posts about empty seats and the vitriol it unleashed by our readers about Jacksonville. I have never lived in a better city that this. I met my wife here and have a wonderful circle of friends. To paraphrase Garret Morris "Jacksonville been berry berry good to me". Can we please get off the the ticket sales issue on this site? It has been covered everywhere else and there is nothing more to say. Trashing this city because of ticket sales doesn't inspire or will change anything. Remember, Jacksonville was the 13th best attended football city and had the third best local television audience. Let this city catch its breath after a devastating economic blow. They love the Jaguars and will be back.

Has Marcedes Lewis lived up to expectations yet?

I think he has. His blocking is strong and those clutch catches brought me to my feet. I don't think of him as having hands of stone any longer and David has a lot of faith in him. I think he has emerged. Speaking of receivers, Mike Simms Walker is owed an apology by the guy who called him Mike "I need a" Walker. His presence in the offense is a real spark to everyone. I never believed he was that good and I owe an apology to Jonathan for speaking down to him in comments when he called him a first round draft draft potential if his health had stayed. He is that good.

Here is one thing I know no one will buy, Shack Harris didn't do that bad of a job while here.

His 2007 draft included Reggie Nelson, Justin Durant, Mike Simms Walker, Uche Nwanari and Derek Landi. His 2006 draft included Marcedes Lewis, Maurice Jones Drew, and Clint Ingram. He blew up on first round draft choice because he was position drafting. Can anyone name a receiver they would have picked when Matt Jones was selected? If ever there is an argument for BAP it is our first round draft choices. Position drafting doesn't work, the Steelers know that. Everything bad wasn't Shacks fault and everything good wasn't Gene's genius. Having said that, I am glad he is gone, Gene is in charge and Jack is a coach. We do have the best of all worlds now.

He doesn't get much credit but David Garrard is impressing me. He looks to be in his prime and I hope he lasts a few more seasons. He is the reason we are moving right now and is in control of our offense. He has bad games and when he does, we will lose. But when he is hot, like the Jets game, he is hard to stop.

Back to Maurice for a moment. Would you trade Maurice for Adrian Peterson?

You know, I think it is an even trade right now but I wouldn't do it. Has anyone seen Adrian sit Merryman on his backside? Maurice is a Jaguar and I expect him to introduce Fred into the Pride of the Jaguars some day and for Fred to return the favor. Some day I expect to see them both in the honor roll.

Where has my friend John been? I need to call him soon.

With everything happening, I won't give up my season tickets. I think the best is ahead of us. As for ticket sales, I am sorry for those not coming. This has turned into a very exciting season, beyond my expectations. I love this team and love this city. I wouldn't want to be any where else right now. I just want to see a Super Bowl ring for Maurice. In the mean time, I hope the Saints get it this year. They have it all going for them right now. After that, it is our turn. Oh no, I am a homer! You know what, I am glad to be one. Have fun Jags, I'll see you in the stadium.

- Terry O'Brien

Somethin's Happening

Tkopa — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:49:43 -0000

[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.

I did a study about a year ago in which I took every game played in 2007 and averaged the defensive yards allowed by the winners and losers. The numbers said that winners averaged 300 yards allowed on defense while losers averaged 330 yards allowed. I did the study for 2006 and 2008, all told I looked at over 700 games played. The numbers never move, winners allow 300 yards on average, losers allow 330 yards on average. Now a team can lose giving up only 250 yards and a team can win giving up 400 yards, but not often. If a team allows 300 yards or less, it has a 75% chance of victory. Before you site examples of times this doesn't work, I get it. The Redskins are allowing under 300 yards this year and they are losing and the same with the Jets. My arguement is both of those teams are closer to winning than we might think. The Redskins need just a little bit of offense. Sorry, I digress, back to the Jaguars. I consider the 300 yard metric to be the champion level defensive metric. Hit that and you are playing good defense. Let's look at the Jaguar defensive performance this season.

Do you see the difference? Do you begin to see a move down to the 300 yard level? To be sure I am not being a homer, I ran a statistical analysis on the two averages I mentioned above. I wanted to know if the change was real or just random variation. Even though we have a small sample size, the averages are different to an 88% confidence factor. Statisticians like to see a 95% minimum to state anything with certainty, but this isn't bad. What it says is it looks like our defense has probably changed for the better, but we can't be sure just yet. Statistics and I agree, we can't be sure yet, but it looks very promising.

Now defensive performance is based on individuals. Quentin Groves missing a tackle, Reggie Nelson missing an assignment, or any other miss can pile yards on fast. If Rashean Mathis is hurt as seriously as we believe, we might not see him again this year. That will probably change the defense. Probably? It will.

My point of the article is this, I think Mel Tucker has been good for the Jaguars. I think Jack and Mel are bringing the players along quite nicely. With an offense able to put up some huge numbers and a defense getting better I can't help but remember the lyrics of an old Peter Frampton song...

You know it's alright somethin's happening
Hold tight it might be lightning

Keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers for Rashean.

- Terry O'Brien

Thinking about Baby Holt

Tkopa — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:34:31 -0000

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.

Jarret demonstrated his gravity defying abilty during the Chiefs game here in Jacksonville. It was third and fourteen with David standing in his owm endzone, Jags up 7 to 3. David threw a rope over the middle 40 yards to a leaping Jarret Dillard. Jarret is 5 foot 11 inches and went over 6 ft 2 inch Javon Belcher to grab the ball. It was a stunning catch and one the home crowd hadn't seen in five years. We came to our feet in appreciation.

Jarret Dillard was a Gene Smith gem in the fifth round. In 2006 Jarret was a sophmore at Rice. Rice went on a terror streak to finish the season with a 7-1 run. That brought Rice it's first bowl game in 45 years. During that run of 8 games, Jarret caught 55 passes and 16 touchdowns. I'm sorry, maybe you didn't quite understand that. In 8 games he caught 55 passes and 16 touchdowns. One more time, in 8 games, first bowl game in 45 years. Can you feel the respect and admiration?

There are two guys who held the record for touchdowns catches in consecutive games, Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss each with 12 consecutive games with a touchdown. Only one guy has more, Jarret Dillard has 13. Very few players have meant as much to their school football program as Jarret Dillard did to Rice. He was amazing. Watch this video if you want to understand how special this guy is.

Dillard at Rice

I always wanted him to get in the game as a Jaguar. I knew he was a player who could make a difference. I can't help but think about him now and wish him well. Get well Baby Holt. We want to see you back so very very much.

- Terry O'Brien

John Butchko from Gang Green Nation had some words

Tkopa — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:48:04 -0000

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.

Halftime Adjustments: The Jets played much more inspired football in the second half.

Other Thoughts:

You really can't say enough about Maurice Jones-Drew. It's been a long time since a football player impressed me like he did today. He's the total package. He's got speed and vision. He hits hits holes. He's bruising between the tackles. He's a threat as a receiver. He blocks well. He's got football intellect and is selfless like when he went down on the 1 instead of padding his stats with a touchdown so the Jets wouldn't have a chance to get the ball back. He was the difference.
David Garrard also gets props. He made the plays on that last drive.
It's funny how things even out. Two weeks ago, the Jets pretty much manhandled the Dolphins but essentially handed them the game by making silly errors. This week, the Jags really had the better of the play for most of the game, but a missed field goal, a guy tripping himself going into the end zone, and a botched exchange from the one foot line were enough to almost gift wrap the Jets a win.
I find this a bit easier to swallow than the Miami game. It's one thing when the opponent plays better than you like the Jaguars did. It's another to constantly shoot yourself in the foot like the Jets did two weeks ago. There was no doubt the Jaguars were the better team today.
It's frustrating because it's clear the Jets are on the verge of being a good team, but they just can't finish games. Kind of like Mark Sanchez. He makes plays that show the ability is there, but it just hasn't all come together yet.