Minnesota Vikings (5-5)	GAME #11	JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-6)
	VS.

There's still a game to play:

I realize that it's awfully hard to look at the next game against the Vikings.  I'm having a hard time with it myself, looking at Adrian Peterson and the Williams Duo just fails to get me worked up about the game.  The wind, as they say, is out of my sails.  Or, as my dad would say: "And then...depression set in".  The 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars will begin their offseasion a little earlier than we expected.  Nearly two months earlier, in fact.  But what we have to remember is that every second of tape the Jaguars have to examine their roster, the better they'll do at righting the ship.

Frankly, the players who give up and let it show on the field can assure themselves that they've played their last downs with the Jaguars.  The looming free-agents, Khalif Barnes, Reggie Williams, Mike Peterson, et al, will all need to show their suitors that they played right through the echo of the whistle of the last snap of the last game.  If anything, the Jaguars now have a wide open sandbox for testing and developing talent for next season.  There's a degree of pressure that is no longer with the team that just might prove useful in ending with a winning record.

And it all starts against the Vikings.  Our friends at the Daily Norseman have a lot to worry about internally about this week.  They've got several players under varying degrees of scrutiny by the league, whether it's Jared Allen and his love of late hits, or Pat and Kevin Williams looking at an imminent, albeit questionalble suspension for a prohibited substance in a weight-loss pill.

So there's that, it might be another game where the Jaguars have a chance to prove that they can beat teams that have significant absences on their defense. 

What are we looking for?

A win, plain and simple.  The Jaguars put up an win here and start the slow march toward a winning season.  We are at a point where nothing can be taken for granted.  There are no "easy wins" no "weak teams", as the Jaguars are completely unpredictable.  Nothing's more dangerous than unpredictablity. 

Just win baby, win.

We've still got a lot to talk about:

There will be a debate held here at Big Cat Country that will pit writer against writer, commenter against commenter.  It will divide us, it will frustrate us, and ultimately, it will be completey out of our hands.  We have to debate who will take the fall for this season, as someone at the highest level of this team, whether it be James Harris, Gene Smith, or Jack Del Rio will face some sort of consequence for the disappointment of this season.  It is my opinion, and I will flesh this out in more concrete terms later, that James Harris is finished as General Manager. 

What's on your mind on this slow Wednesday?