Jacksonville Jaguars v. Atlanta Falcons: Final Game Preview!

  VERSUS 

Who: The Jacksonville Jaguars versus the Atlanta Falcons

Where: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville Florida, 7:30 PM

Where do I watch it/listen to it:  I'll be watching the game at the Kerr's Winghouse in Daytona Beach, if anyone is interested in joining me.  The game will be broadcast over the radio on WOKV.  On TV, the game should be on these stations:

WTEV 47 (CBS) - Jacksonville
WRBW 65 (MY) - Orlando
WMYG 11 (MY) - Gainesville
WTXL 27 (ABC) - Tallahassee
WSAV DT 2 (MY) - Savannah

(So if you're trying to watch the game in Missouri, for example, you might have to find a sports bar, or watch the rebroadcast on the NFL network.

Game Preview:

It's preseason, why should I care?

Easy really, the first preseason game will be our first chance to see what sort of team the Jaguars will have this season.  Typically, the main goal of the preseason is to challenge players in position battles and keep your starters healthy, but Jack Del Rio has a pretty difficult job ahead of him.  You see, the Jaguars open the season at Tennessee and face the rest of the AFC South in September.  This means that they have to be ready to play November style football in the first week of September.  Del Rio's teams are known to start a little slow, this year there's no time to screw around.

So watch the game, note how long the starters are on the field.  Look at how first team players do against Atlanta's first team.  Look at how the line protects David Garrard, are they working like a tight unit as they did last year or do all the position shifts effect their performance?

Three Burning Questions:

1. What will we talk about on Monday, Injuries or Performance?  I'm starting to get very worried about the Jaguars recent stroke of bad luck in the injury department.  The team is getting to a point where it can not take another serious injury, especially at wide receiver.  Mike Walker and Co. need to do whatever it takes to survive the game and stay healthy. 

2. Speaking of wide receivers, will our question mark receivers step up?  Matt Jones and Troy Williamson are practically the number 2 and 3 receivers on the roster right now, giving the Jaguars freakish speed and no on-the-field results.  These guys are having good camps, but must demonstrate in the preseason games that they've repented for past sins.

3. Is this the week where Justin Durrant replaces Clint Ingram at linebacker?  As we discussed during the long offseason, Durrant and Ingram are fighting for the starting job.  Ingram is nicked up, therefore Justin gets a chance to shine tonight and possibly lock up his spot at the top of the depth chart.

Expectations:

I expect to see the Jaguars hold their fancy playbook adventures on the sideline for at least the first week.  While the Jaguars probably want to see the results of the new Gregg Williams defense, they'd probably like to keep it up their sleeve for as long as possible.  In other words, don't freak out if the Jaguars fail to sack Atlanta more than 12 times. 

I expect everyone to enjoy the fact that finally, after so many months, the Jacksonville Jaguars are taking the field in a vaguely real football game.

I'll be liveblogging the game, but if you're in the Daytona Area, please feel free to drop by the Kerr's Winghouse.  I'll be in a black Maurice Jones-Drew jersey.

-Chris