VERSUS    

The Details:

Who: The Jacksonville Jaguars AT Tenneesse Titans

Where: LP Field, Nashville Tennessee

Weather: High of 86, no chance of rain, clear skys. 

When: 1:00 pm

Where to Watch: CBS Affiliates in the "Yellow" areas on this map. WOKV is the "Official Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars" as far as listening is concerned, though this site offers other online radio feeds.

The Matchup:

Jack Del Rio versus Jeff Fisher: If these coaches could have their way, neither one would run a passing play for 60 minutes on Sunday.  Both teams are built around running the ball and grinding away at their opponents until their will is broken.   Unforutunatly for the Titans, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew are a step or three above LenDale White and Chris Johnson at this point, though the Titans offensive line can certianly make some holes.

Tight End Marcades Lewis versus Linebacker Keith Bulluck: With Jerry Porter officially out of the game, Matt Jones and Reggie Williams return to their roles as the starting recieviers.  This means that Marcades Lewis will have to have a big game as a primary target for the passing attack.  Lewis versus just about any linebacker is a strong mismatch given his size and speed, but Bulluck is one of the better linebackers and should make for an interesting battle.

Left Tackle Khalif Barnes versus Defensive End Kyle Vanden Bosch: With Albert Haynesworth clogging the middle, Khalif Barnes will have to stop Vanden Bosch with largely one-on-one coverage.  While Lewis, Taylor and Jones-Drew can offer a chip block, protecting David Garrard from the Titans best pass-rusher will be a largely lonely job for Barnes.  Compounding this is the danger of injury, losing Barnes to any sort of injury would be devastating considering the positional depth.

Jacksonville Jaguars versus Themselves: It's been a very hard week for the Jaguars.  Richard Collier's absence will be felt on the sideline as they focus on the game while worrying about their fallen comrade.  Richard's health is improving, thankfully, but his tragic story will hopefully inspire the Jaguars on the field

Injury Report:

Final thoughts:

Winning this game is critical for the division race.  The Jaguars cannot afford to start the race to win the AFC South with an 0-1 start.  Not with Houston and Indianapolis on the horizon.  The Jaguars will have determined if they're a division winning team or a Wild Card contender based on how they do in September, so this is about as "must-win" as you can get in week one.

It's easy though, the Jaguars have to turn on the running game, grind out the first downs, and put points on the board on every drive.  As usual, first downs mean we're winning, punting means we're losing, and the best way to stop down any Vince Young theatrics is to keep him on the sideline.  Long sustained drives are what it's all about for the Jaguars, so let's see some of that.

And let's remember to keep Richard in our hearts and minds as we watch our Jaguars on Sunday!

-GO JAGUARS!

-Chris

I'm terrible at picking games and even worse against the spread.  Therefore you don't hear a lot of talk about me betting on games, not that I'd ever partake in illegal activity like that.  But that won't stop me from joining with some of my favorite bloggers to see who is the master and champion of picks.  The real reason why I'm so bad at picking is that I often introduce irrational bias into the selection, which is always bad when money is on the line.

These are my compatriots in the Blogger Deathmatch!

-Ben Folsom, The Curly R
-Will Allensworth, Hogs Haven
-TexSkins, Hogs Haven
-Dagger, Post Game Heroes
-Brian Hunter, Common Prejudice NFL
-Michael Bean, Behind the Steel Curtain
-Derek, Iggles Blog
-River City Rage, Big Cat Country
-Gamecocker, Horseshoe Digest

The point spreads are taken from Yahoo! on Wednesday afternoon, so everyone is basing their picks on the same thing.  With that, here are my picks for the first week of the 2008 NFL regular season.  Winners will be in bold.  I'll also be editing this post so that I can include the rest of my picks before the weekend.  By our rules, the only one that HAS to be up tonight is for the season opener.

Thursday, 4 September

Washington at New York Football Giants (-3.5)

Sunday, 7 September

Arizona (-2.5) at San Francisco

Seattle at Buffalo (-1)

Cincinnati (-1) at Baltimore

Dallas (-5.5) at Cleveland

Detroit (-3) at Atlanta

Chicago at Indianapolis (-9.5)

Jacksonville (-3) at Tennessee

Kansas City at New England (off the board - pick 'em)

Tampa Bay at New Orleans (-3)

New York Jets (-3) at Miami

St. Louis at Philadelphia (-7.5)

Houston at Pittsburgh (-6.5)

Carolina at San Diego (-9)

Monday, 8 September

Denver (-3) at Oakland

Minnesota at Green Bay (-2.5)

Feel free to mock me in the Comments!

-Chris

Despite still hoping and praying for Richard Collier, we've still got an important game coming up this week against our Divisional Foe, the Tennessee Titans.  To help us get a better perspective on the game, I reached out to Jimmy from Music City Miracles to get a little insight on the Titans.  I answered some of his questions as well, so be sure to visit MCM to check that out later today! 

Big thanks to Jimmy for doing this!

1. Give us a quick run-down of the offseason.  Who are you excited to have?  Who will you miss?  What pieces are missing?

In what can only be described as stunning news, Jaguars left tackle Richard Collier was shot this morning in Jacksonville while out clubbing.  According to Rand Miranda of the Florida Times Union, Richard Collier and recent former Jaguar Kenny Pettway were in the Riverside area of Jacksonville when someone approached Richard's Cadillac Escalade and fired multpile shots into the car.  

Richard is in the hospital with life threatening injuries at this time.

All of us at Big Cat Country, while concerned with the recent surge in Jaguars related late-night-news, have our hearts and prayers going out to Richard and his family at this time.  He's set to have a great season, should he recover.  Though right now we all hope he can walk out of the hospital with a full recovery over anythying else.  We'll continue reporting on this story as more information becomes avaliable.

-Chris

The Jacksonville Jaguars rounded out their practice squad today by adding former Tulsa Quarterback and Friend of Big Cat Country Paul Smith to the roster.  Paul had a somewhat rough training camp and was cut early on due to injuries and, ahem, holdouts, but will return to Jacksonville to develop on the practice squad.  While letting BCC interview him is an easy way to get some love over here, Smith is a solid choice as a developmental quarterback.  Remember, the Jaguars have nobody in the pipeline as far as building a future quarterback, even if it's a future backup, so having someone on the squad who can throw the pigskin is important. 

Besides, he was kind enough to talk to us, and that's got to be worth something.  In all honesty, my approval of this signing has as much to do with him being a true "good guy" more so than his ability to translate what he did with Tulsa to the NFL.  There are a whole lot of good stories who get lost in all the bad news.  So it's nice to have something positive to watch.

Reinforcing the Secondary: William James joins the Jaguars

Jamal Fudge was sent home today to open up a spot for free-agent cornerback William James, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles.  They're a team known for solid secondaries, though James was probably the least important member of that defensive backfield.  He's a veteran signing like Aaron Glenn was last season, probably a guy who spends a lot of time on the bench or inactive on game day, but having a spot of veteran leadership is never a bad thing.

That's all I've got for now, back in the AM!

-Chris

Derrick Harvey:: All signed up and ready to go

The Florida Times Union Reports that Derrick Harvey, the Jaguars first round draft selection has finally reached a contract agreement.  The outstanding pass-rushing defensive end from the University of Florida held out for 33 days, but the team and the agent finally came to terms.  Harvey will get $17.175 million in guaranteed money, $23.8 million before incentives and $33.4 million in total potential money

Now we get to see how well Harvey's month of practicing pass rushing with chairs and staying in shape while away from the team works out.  He's now a millionare with a huge responsiblity to justify to the Jaguars and to the fans that he's worth every dime of that signing bonus.  Of course, this is the Jaguars, so terms were no released.  Rest assured that Ken Kremer will let us know though.

H/T to Robb at JagNation for passing this along to us!

Film School:
Just in case we forgot how good he is.

More to come as we hear it!

-Chris

Jerry Porter wasn’t asked to come in here and be a savior,”-Jack Del Rio

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters that unless Jerry Porter practices for two weeks, he will not be activated for the season opener against the Tennesee Titans.

“It’s my belief we’ll need two weeks of practice with Jerry before he can play in a game,” Del Rio told reporters on Monday. “If he doesn’t practice this week, I would say I would hold him out of the opener.”

While the Jaguars have a large investment in Porter, I applaud Del Rio's decision to not force him into playing too soon.  It reflects a long-term vision which is certainly appreciated.  We all know that the first four weeks of the season are critical for the Jaguars, but to rush Porter back and risk losing him for even longer would be foolish and shortsighted. 

The Jaguars have an interesting situation at reciever.  Matt Jones has locked himself back into the lineup, which is good for him.  Reggie Williams is back, though I'd like to see a little more out of him in what should be brief playing time against the Redskins.   Del Rio said he liked what he saw out of Mike Walker, though Troy Williamson need to catch a ball or ten next week if he's want to keep a spot on the roster.

So there we go, one less bit of speculaiton about the season opener.  At least we won't be second guessing the decision if he were to play and hurt himself.

-Chris

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

Finally, after two weeks of sleeping on couches and floors your humble Jaguars Narrator (me) is moved into his home for the next many months.  My absence, while unexcused, is no more, as I've replaced my hour long commute to work with a leisurely five minute drive to the office.  Not that these details are important to y'all, but it's something.

Let's get down to business.

: How about those Jaguars?  Yeah, I freaked a little after the Dolphins game, but the first half of the Tampa game made me feel a little better.

Quick Thoughts on the Tampa Bay game

1. Maurice Jones-Drew's injury, no matter how slight, is frightening.  He's tough as nails, but seeing him leave the game with an ankle (injury) reminds us how fragile an NFL team really is.
2. Matt Jones can officially relax.  He's gone from a likely cut to being the receiver we thought he would be when he was drafted.  Now he's got to keep it up.
3. Reggie Nelson: Wow.
4.  Fred Taylor looks like he's ready for November/December football.  I don't expect him needing a game or two to get into top form, he looks ready to go right now.
5. It was nice to see Reggie Williams and Reggie Hayward on the field.  R-Dub had little impact, but Hayward forced a fumble on the Buc's first drive.  We need both of them.

: The Derrick Harvey Holdout continues.  The Team's increased their offer to within one million dollars of what Ken Kremer wants.  Jack Del Rio calls out Kremer for this nonsense.  I agree, at this point you sign the deal and get to Jacksonville.  I will say this, there are some who say that the city will hate Harvey for this.  I continue to think that it's the agents that get the fans wrath, not the players, unless the players do something TO worthy.

: Roster cuts to 75 are tomorrow.  Today's the day when the dream ends for a few players.  If you're Alex Boston, Chris Brown, Jesse Mahelona, or Clyde Edwards, you've got to hide around the facility for awhile.

: I'm going to attempt to break down the film for the Jaguars-Bucs game and see what insights I can pull out.  I'll be back in a few hours!

-Chris

From the department of things I never saw coming:

The Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, Gene Upshaw, has died suddenly of pancreatic cancer. Gene was a Hall of Fame offensive guard with the Oakland Raiders, playing from 1967-1981.  His tenure with the NFL Players Association is marked with highs and lows, going from the failed players strike of 1987 to the very sucessful development of the Salary Cap.  Gene's relationship with Paul Tagliabue gave the NFL over twenty years of labor peace.

Of course, Jaguars fans might not have the highest sense of approval for Upshaw, his insistance on protecting and expanding the players share of team revenue is one of the financial factors that hamper the Jaguars ability to spend on the same level as other teams.  Gene was also unclear about his stance on limiting rookie salaries, something that hits very close to home.

But we'll morn the passing of a Hall of Famer and a man who fought to break the financial stranglehold of league owners.  We might disagree with his tactics and his styles, but his interest was giving the fair share to the players who are on any given snap, one play away from a broken neck.

So today, our hearts go out to the Upshaw family.  Here's to you Gene!

-Chris

Watching the game last night was a terrifying and concerning event for me.  The cognative dissonance of watching the Miami Dolphins look like playoff contenders and the Jaguars look like bottom feeders despite knowing that this team is better than it looks really ruined my night.  That and the eight minutes of "technical difficulties" that the local Orlando broadcast went through in the second quarter.

The Jaguars were awful and they were worse than awful with their starters than anything else.  The passing game was rough, to say the least, with Mike Walker still dropping passes and Troy Williamson accumulating a whopping zero catches.  There was a play when Troy was sent deep, but he did not blow away the coverage and the pass fell incomplete.  Ryan Hoag was our leading receiver, with a 53 yard catch.  You might recall that the Jaguars did an awful lot to improve the recieving corps, yet two weeks into preseason and Ryan Hoag is outperforming everyone else?

But despite all the offensive miscues, the fumble, the missed pass to Mike Walker, nothing scares me more then the unmitigated disaster I saw on defense.  Typically it's considered a bad sign when defensive backs lead the defense in tackles.  When Rashean Mathis makes more tackles than Mike Peterson (5 to 3), you know that there's a problem.

Quentin Groves is learning that his speed is a liability in stopping the run, as he failed to have any sort of real effect on the field.  The rest of the defensive line was a mess, making Chad Pennington look like a real quarterback and even allowing two nine yeard scrambles.  There was no push, no speed, no emotion, it was watching professional athletes go through the motions.  I can only imagine what Gregg Williams is feeling right now as he breaks down film and realizes just how fundamentally awful they played. 

This team is at what can only be the lowest of low points.  The offense is out of synch to a huge degree, partially because the receivers are decimated by injury.  The offensive line is not performing like the powerhouse of last season, again because of injury.  If it's always darkest before the dawn, than I've never seen anything more black and bleak than this game.

Even the bright spot, a nice return game with Brian Witherspoon, is now a problem, as he's suffered from a sprained ankle, one he described as "real bad". 

Enter the Teaching Moment:

I'm sure everyone has used something bad as a point of reference toward making something good.  It's refered to as a teaching moment, a point where a leader can utilize bad results as a chance to correct future behavior.  Sometimes a bad game is just a bad game, they'll look at the film and correct a thing or two and it's not a problem.  A game like last night's debacle is not that type of bad game.  It must be made into an example to the entire team.  It must be driven into their heads that they are not a hyped theam that's playoff bound.  They made the Miami Dolphins look good, and that's disgustingly bad on the Jaguars part. 

This game, this film, this whole encounter with the Dolphins must serve as a teaching moment.  Jack Del Rio has to turn this into a moment where the team comes together and moves on, because if the team of last night is the team of 2008 we'll be thinking about the draft in December, not the Playoffs.

-Chris