I know we need most likely a 3-0 streak to get into the playoffs.... our Schedule presents some oportunities facing teams that might not be at full strength and we might just be able to pull it.

However a 2-1 might still be enough..... here I present the combination of results that makes a 2-1 enogh for us.

We need 3 things:

A Baltimore loss visiting Pittsburgh in 2 weeks,

Miami droping 2 of it´s last 3 games. Looking at their schedule it seems pretty viable. They have a visit at Tennessee then host the Texans and the Steelers.

And a Jets loss either against Atlanta, Indy or Cincy.

We aren´t in the Driving seat anymore, but things still seem reachable!!

The good thing is that we only need to wait till Thursday to take the needlo off our toe!!

Go JAGS!!

Short post.

Just to inform, the path isn´t hard!!!

The jaguars need to win 3 games and there´s no way they get out of the playoff picture.

But winning 2 games will also finish the deal if it is combined with 1 Jets loss, one loss from the Ravens against the AFC and one loss from the Steelers. (There´s a game between the Ravens and the Steelers in 3 weeks).

If the Ravens lose one but not against the AFC and the Jags win just 2 games, both end with a 9-7 record and an 8-4 Conference record, and I believe the tie break then goes to the Divition record, wich would put them at 4-2. That´s why we must beat Indy!!!!!

That´s not a hard path.

The schedule fits because the Jets have  tough games against Indy and cincy.

The Steelers need to play the Ravens and the Packers.

The Ravens have to visit the Steelers and play Chicago.

I sense too much caution regarding our playoff chances........

I know this team is rebuilding, and I know we´ve had some heart-breaking losses in which the team seems to be out of interest. But hey! we´re still in the chase!!! And in no way i´m loosing hope...... I know we kind of went out of perspective but how can you not think and root and hope and see this team in the playoffs!!

There´s too much thinking on next season already!!! C´mon people this team is with a winning record, and fans are treating the Jaguars just as if it was last season........ thinking about draft day already........

So now the Jaguars stand at 6-5 with a winning AFC record and holding the 2nd Wild card ticket. We face a schedule not easy, but not that hard!!!

The Texans are just or even more inexpirienced than us from the players all the way to the coachig staff.........and they are just as inconsistent as we are! People are frightened by their offense, but hey! We also have a Hell of an offense! take out the 2 trips to the West and this team is a top 10 offense in the league.

Sure we make Qb´s look like Pro-Bowlers, but the Texans aren´t far away from that either, and we have MJD while they have.......... a couple of decent RBs.

Then we face Miami and the Colts........ who really thinks the Colts can blow us out?? this is a divition rivalry in prime time!! we have bigger chances of beating the Colts than beating the Dolphins!

So I´m not looking into next season just yet....... And so I present you the teams we should root for this next week in order for us to get to the playoffs through the easy way.

Jets @ Buffalo      We root for: Buffalo

Both of these teams are virtually eliminated, Buffalo way before this game, but the Jets even with mathematical chances of getting into the playoffs their AFC record chops their legs in the tie-break. So eventhough this game means very liitle for the Jags lets hope the Bills put the last nail in the Jets coffin.

Denver @ Kansas     We root for: Kansas

It´s a division rivallry and maybe, just maybe, the Chiefs can give the Jags another break by beating the Broncos!! Let´s hope they do!!

Tennessee @ Colts       We root for: The Colts

Tennessee is also virtually eliminated because of their AFC record. We don´t need them to stay alive. AND we need the Colts to stay unbeaten untill we play them!!!!

Oakland @ Pittsburgh       We root for: Oakland

Allthough Highly unprobable, the steelers are in a loosing streak and they lost to the Chiefs allready. If the Raiders beat the steelers the Jags would catch an enourmous break.

Detroit @ Cincy           We root for: Cincy

Let the bengals win the AFC North.

New England  @ Miami         We root for: New England

Let the Pats win the AFC East and put the last nail in the Fins coffin. Beating the Fins sends them eliminated to Jacksonville!!!!!!

San Diego @ Cleveland           We root for: Cleveland

This week´s matchups are, in paper, too easy for the jags direct competitors. Lets hope at least one of them gives out the upset!!!!

Baltimore @ Green Bay            WE root for: Packers!

Ravens stand at 6-5 also, but we are above them because of our AFC record. Plus we should always root for the NFC over the AFC unless the jags are playing, so go Packers!!

Our beloved Jags stand at 6-4 carrying a 3 game winning streak and still facing a very winnable 3 game span prior to the prime-time showdown vs the Colts.

This next game, I think, WILL define how this season ends for the Jaguars. If they manage to beat the 49ers tomorrow, this team WILL win the next 2 games and host the Colts at 9-4, leading the Wild card race. If they loose tomorrow then unless we have a lot of luck and see meltdowns both in the NFC North and the west, the Jaguars will end having a fabulous season, yet out of the playoff picture.

So Again the team we MUST root for the most is obviously the Jaguars!!!!

But Eventhough this team led the Wildcard race prior to the start of this week's games we still need any help that our rivals can give us. So lets eye the schedule and see which teams must we root for this week. (Last week every team that we needed to loose lost, so let's hope something like that happens this week).

NY Giants @ Denver           We rooted for: Giants

The Giants never really had a chance in this game.... that's unfortunate because the Broncos are the most direct competitor the Jags have in the Wild card race so a Giants win would've given the Jags a BIG break.

Miami @ Buffalo                We root for: Buffalo

If Buffalo could get a win in this game that would eliminate the Dolphins just as the Patriots eliminated the Jets last week. That would leave the Wild Card race to just the Jags, Steelers, Broncos, Texans and maybe Ravens (If they don't loose tomorrow). The Dolphins trail the race by far, but having direct games against the Jags, Steelers and Texans could give them the edge if they managed to win and engage in a hot streak, so we need them to be eliminated by Buffalo then pounded by the pats so that we just have to give them a couple of slaps in 3 weeks.

Indianapolis @ Houston                  We unfortunetely root for: Colts

Lets hope the Colts continue their winning streak and virtually eliminate the Texans from any contention, a 5-6 Texans team with just one division win is what the Jaguars need heading into next week's game. THIS IS A MUST, There is no way that we can menace the Colts division championship. So why not let them and root for them to pave our way into the playoffs??? I really wouldn't like a 6-5 Texans team coming to town with all the confidence of just having brought down the unbeatable colts. No way Jose! lets root for the Colts to shutdown Matt Schaub and the Texans offense.

Kansas @ San Diego                     We root for: Kansas?

I really wouldn't want to compete against the Chargers for a Wild Card spot, but now that the Broncos lead the division the Chargers turn into our competitors, so any games they can drop are just perfect for us, so lets root for the Chiefs and who knows? maybe they can deliver for the second straight week!!!

Arizona @ Tennesse                  We root for: Titans

I know many people don't like to root for the Titans, but I'll root for anyone if they can help the Jags playoff hopes!! So lets root for the Titans. They still have games against the Chargers and Dolphins, so keeping them motivated and dangerous can, in the future, help the Jaguars playoff chances.

Pitts @ Baltimor                      We root for: Baltimore

These 2 still need to play eachother twice, so lets hope they just split games. The steelers are the most direct competition for us and they are banged right now, so lets hope the loose tomorrow and leave the jags and Broncos at the top and at least one game away from the rest!!

Our beloved Jags are now starting a very winnable 3 game span, and even though I understand that this is still a very young team, and that unexpected losses are to be expected, I can't leave aside the fact that as of right now the Jags are in the driver's seat of their post-season hopes.

So who are we rooting for this week to pave our way to the Wild-Card??

First of all we need to root for OUR JAGUARS!!! they need to go out there and execute both in offense and defense, and also in ST's, we don't need anything flashy, just plain execution and this game should be a steal! I hope people realized that this could be a very enjoyable afternoon in Duval and decided to take 6 hours of they're Sunday to get some very nice entertainment. I can't attend the game, but that doesn't mean I can't help the team!! So i bought 2 tickets and gave them away to 2 friends i left behind in Jacksonville.... hope they get a great game and decide to attend by themselves next home game!!! fingers crossed!!

If the jags execute, we should get plenty of time to lay back and start focusing in other results just minutes before the end of the 3rd Q, this are the relevant week 11 games for the Jags:

Miami @ Carolina    We root for: Carolina

So Delhomme couldn't help the Jags and the Panthers ended up losing against the Brown-less Dolphins, giving them some life and relevance in the Wild-Card persuit, still they're conference record is at 3-3 so not much to woory about.

Pittsburgh @ Kansas City    We root for: Kansas City

Can the weak Chiefs pull the upset and get the home win against the Steelers??

Let's hope they can!!! although highly improbable, we can still root for them to give a BIG hand to the Jags... A loss like that combined with a Jags win would put the Jaguars ahead of the Steelers in the Wild Card pursuit.

Indy @ Baltimore     We STRONGLY root for: Indy

Let's face it, there's no way the Colts are going to suffer a mega-meltdown and give the Jags a chance of snapping the AFC South Crown, so let's root for them to humiliate the Raven's defense and bring them down to .500. If the Ravens do beat Indy, they will have a 6-3 Conference Record!! that would give them a very nice tie break.....

Jets @ New England    We root for: New England

A Jets loss would terminate any chance of them pursuing a Wild Card.... they would be 2 games behind .500 and with a negative Conference Record....... So we root for the pats to eliminate one of our competitors!!

San Diego @ Denver      We root for: Chargers?

This one is a hard one..... A Chargers loss would put them at 6-4 and a 4-4 conference record, while a Denver loss would also put them at 6-4 but with a conference record of 5-3..... But looking at the momentum of this 2 teams i rather root for the chargers. If the Chargers win they are ahead in the AFC West, and if we win we would stand ahead of the Broncos, but I feel way more comfortable competing against the Broncos...... Their schedules are very simmilar but i think that San Diego's succes is way more sustainable for the next 7 weeks than Denver's. Right now this teams are going into opposite directions, with Dener loosing 3 straight and Chargers winning 4 straight. I think we root for the Chargers.

Cincinnati @ Oakland     We root for: Cincy

Let the Bengals gain distance in the AFC North persuit.....

I Don't want to bore you guys but..........

I’m still wondering if Paul Smith was injured???

If we wasn’t I just can’t believe the team gave up on him this fast.
His performance in the scrimmage was Ok, his first Pro-game wasn’t as bad if you consider the state of the game he went into…… I mean, he slips with the mud in that last throw to the End Zone and still managed to place a nice ball.

When your backup is completing barely over 33% of his passes and attempting over 20 throws, why wouldn’t you let your 3rd string have a drive or two??? I understand receivers dropped many passes, but you cant deny that many of the dropped passes where initially bad thrown balls.

I hope he gets some playing time, I’m not sure he’s going to beat out Bouman, but i rather see that the backup earned his spot even against bad competition than watching the backup inherit the spot without a fight.

It's not really a projection......but....

The bookies have the jaguars heavily favored to win OVER 8 games this season.

Meanwhile the Texans are slightly favored on winning over 8

The Titans are favored to win over 9 games

And the Colts are even on winning 10 games.

There is no other division in which all of the teams are favored to go for/over  .500......

The NFC East has the Redskins favored to win UNDER 8 an the other 3 going over .500.

So even the Bookies get the AFC south as one of the toughest if not the toughest of them all divisions in the NFL........

Picture via sports.espn.go.com

I'm bored of reading all this "Hot seat List" articles and that kind of stuff that usually just reads that David Garrard is just not living up to his contract. I'm bored and bothered by this articles not just because I don't think that's the case, but because I think the guys that write them won't even bother to research a bit.

That is why I present to you my main argument to why David is a pretty good Qb.

Recently the Jaguars offense has characterized itself by presenting year in year out a very competitive running game as well as a high Time of Possession and a total ground attack focus.

This reached its peak in 2007, where a very competitive offense combined itself with a decent defense to take the Jaguars on the road to New England where the team fell honorably to the best offense in the history of the NFL.

However in 2008 devastating injuries to the team resulted in a 5-11 record when 97% of the fanbase expected the team to reach easlity the playoffs.........

Many people blamed David before the OL, because he was not able to maintain his inhuman Td:Int Ratio.

And we could bring here an analysis involving passing yards, Tds, attempts, rating etc, but that really does not show me anything else than group performance.

That is why I think I can make a case using YAC and 1st Downs achieved.

In 2007 when the team had a dominant OL, a dominant Running game, a decent defense and an underperforming Wr and Te corp the jaguars found a way to put themselves near the top in TOP, 1st downs per game, and actually had the leader in YAC for the AFC south.

And such success is easily attributed to the fact that Garrard used to throw the ball with 8 guys crowding the box, That is why the time that our big receivers needed to gain separation was granted by good protection, and our running game pounded the opposite defenders, resulting in being the 4th team with the most 1st down a game.. with nearly 21 1st downs........ Garrard committed nearly no errors and finished with an inhuman Td:Int ratio and a passer rating of more than 100.

Also the team had the ability to make big plays, making 80 yard its longest rushing play and 60 yards its longest passing play..........

but what happened in 2008??

The team ended with 5-11 far away from leading or being amongst the leaders in Total yardage, Tds, rushing or passing yards, they where also the team with the shortest long play in the NFL, the YAC of our Wr corp where vomitable, the team passed from being one of the least penalyzed to being one of the most penalyzed in the entire NFL, amongs other calamities.

But.......

Te team managed to still be amongst the leaders both in TOP and 1st downs achieved in the league just 1 less than 2007.

So what happened???

To me this shows me that David Garrard was in control of this offense both in 2007 and in 2008,  even without the legs of this offense (who does'nt remember the games where fred or Maurice had less than 10 rush attemps?) the jaguars signal caller was able to mantain the jags amongst the leading teams in TOP and 1st down achieved.

And even though the team had just 1 less 1st down a game in average, the inability to produce any big yardage plays doomed the jaguars offensive hopes. This lack of big yardage plays came from the inability of the OL both to open gaps for the Rbs and the lack of protection for DG....... Then you have the under-achieving defense and then of course the worst WR corp of the NFL (non of the starting Wr of 2008 can or are going to find a place to play in 2009), that is why the YAC reduced so much from 2007 to 2008.

And even with all this DG was able to put us in position to win the game in each and every one of the first 8 games of 2008 where the jaguars had the lead in the 4th Quarter in each game and our Defense was unable to mantain it in all but 7 of those (cause vs the Colts and the Texans we won in final drives)....... All this with a weak Rushing game and most of the times throwing against 4 or 5 men in the secondary..........

I really cant understand when people say he was not living up to his contract when his contract is not as big as bigger under achievers like Carson Palmer or Marc Bulger. Or that he is in the hot seat, when even last year in that fractured offense he ended up delivering..........

If you've seen all the Jaguars games for 3 seasons you (like me) can see that DG owns this offense, that he controls the times, the pase, the ball, the momentum............ That he is the leader in this offense, that the guys will play for him, and that he will play for the guys......... Now with the commitment he has shown with the weight loss and the workout, and having shown he can pass the ball, I'm very confident tha the Offense will be pretty mean next year.......

jaxjags..

PS: Pardon my under-achieving writing skills.....

That was our Salary Cap number for 2008..............

I'm not really into player contracts, so I just wanted to know what to expect about that number for 2009...........

Could players like D.Florence, Porter and or B. Wiliams  of really low performance and really high cap impact (6 mill) could be dragging us to the SC Hell???? There are some others like Cleo Lemon that impact more than Rashean or Tony "I like to Hugg DE's" Pashos that makes an impact of nearly 5.........

Then again I've seen complaints about the money Big John receives for his performance, when Rob Meir receives just around a million more than him..??

I wasnt aware of this number... I left it when it was arround 84 mill last offseason..... And it does concern me, cause I rembember the Cap Hell, and I dont think this team could stand another issue like that, in this city.............

http://content.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/teamdetail.aspx?team=15&year=2008

Thats for the team's salary per player

While getting ready my fantasy teams I found that Matt Jones had a smack for today, something that's strange cause obviously we're in BYE week.....

This is what it says:

Sun, Oct 19 WR Matt Jones entered a rehab center Monday stemming from his offseason arrest on cocain possession, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Jones reportedly will be suspended by the league, likely for four games, as early as this Monday.