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Titans@Jaguars The view from the Stadium

I'll try to give you impressions from my vantage point at the stadium. You all heard the game or pirated the streaming video, so you know the statistics.  I saw Collin gave game balls and credit for the win to every one including the folks who wash the uniforms. He's an excitabe boy. Today, I was too, so the view from the stadium is a little different and let me tell you about it. Oh first, I promised. Jonathan was right. 27-17 Jaguars was his prediction and I mocked him. Jonathan was right.  I feel like I am in a Bizzaro world. Good call Jonathan. Great call actually, I never saw this game coming. I never saw this coming
but you did.

After the jump, I'll tell you what I saw.

Star-divide

First impression, Josh Scobee can kick you in the head. The Titans average starting position was... the 20 yard line.  Why? Because Scobee kicked it so far they couldn't run it back. One time he kicked it so far on the kickoff, it sailed out of the endzone and almost beaned a security guard in the back of the head while he was looking up into the crowd. I was hoping, while it was in flight, it would hit him. That is the sadastic side of me, but seriously, it landed so close the guy jumped.  Scobee was pissed about missing the just before half time field goal of 56 yards. When he came out from half time, he went right to the line of scrimmage with his little ball holder device and nailed it on the mulligan.  In person, Scobee is a big man, bigger than David. No one in the league is better than Josh Scobee. No one.

Second impression, Tra Thomas is who we thought he was. David gets the game ball for a standout performance, but Tra Thomas handed it to him.  David was not ruffled at all during the game. No one bothered him in the pocket, no one.  Watching Tra Thomas play was so amazing. Tra seems to read the mind of his defensive opponent and move instantly to where the guy would be. Kyle Vanden Bosch had like 15 sacks two years ago. Tra Thomas abused him in the same manner he treated Quentin Groves in training camp.  The guy is such a good pass blocker you have to see it live to believe it. Here is one of my problems with JDR, he tries to pass BS off as the truth. Eugene Monroe beat Tra Thomas out for the position. BS flag thrown on that one. Jack has a problem now, the line without the rookies in there played unbelievable.  What cha gonna do now Jack?

Third impression, Chris Johnson is fast but so are our linebackers.  Chris Johnson is unbelievably fast. The game moves at a different pace when he has the ball.  You can't believe how the alarm bells went off when he had the ball. Daryl Smith chased him down to the corner and Justin Durant chased him down to the corner. The reaction time our linebackers showed in diagnosing the play was measured in nano-seconds. They were there, instantly. When Chris Johnson was taken away as a threat, there was no fight left in the Titans.

Fourth impression, Jeff Fishers team quit.  The Jaguars punched them in the mouth so hard in the first quarter, they quit.  Oh, Terry, come on, you are being overly dramatic now. THEY QUIT!!! A Jeff Fisher team knew they were done. I never saw that before. The final play of the first quarter was the Titans first first down. They knew they two things, Chris Johnson wasn't going anywhere and Kerry Collins is a horrible quarterback this year. Kerry Collins threw the ball no where near anyone a number of times. As Bill Parcells said. "You are what your record says you are" and the Titans have no wins this year. I bought into the best 0-3 team story until I saw them play. Vince Young needs to start and the Titans need something to jump start them. They quit today. Sometimes we say the score didn't reflect the game and in this case it is true. The Jaguars left 10 points on the field today with the half time blunder and the fumble at the goal line. The score should have been 47-17.

 Fifth impression, Mike Thomas is slippery. Mike ran kickoffs back today. He did nothing special that I could see, no blazing speed, no elusive moves. The stange thing was no one could tackle him. He was like oil sliding through the opposing coverage. I can only guess he reads and follows blocks beautifully.  His reverse last week showed he could find the sweet spot and that ability showed up on kickoff runbacks. Because of Mike and Scobee, the Jaguars played half court basketball while the Titans played full court. I don't know how to say it any different, he is somehow special without looking like he is doing anything special. Make sense? Not to me, someone help me out.

Sixth impression, Play calling is devious.. Dirk Koetter has cooked up a number of misdirection plays that are a wonder to see. The first Maurice touchdown was pure legerdemain.  Everyone pulled to the right. Tra Thomas let his man beat him to the inside. You could see the defensive guy licking his chops, he had finally beat Tra to the backfield, now where was the ball? Tra stood there and laughed at him as Maurice walked around the end where Tra's man used to be. Maurice seemed to draw that moment out as well. No hurry, no big deal, just a nice slow jog for a score. A Jeff Fisher defense laughed at by the Jaguars who aren't supposed to be that good.  I could hear the Jaguars telling the Titans "It is over when we say it is over, now get back here we aren't done having fun".

Seventh impression, John Henderson rocks the stadium. Early in the game the Titans were pinned back against the North End Zone. It was third down and the Jaguars had been doing a good job shutting them down. John Henderson signalled the crowd to pump up the noise. The place went nuts. I have not seen John Henderson do that in two years. Maybe he did, but this was the first time in a long time it meant something. John Henderson was in this game emotionally and it showed. I have not seen the big guy play like this and act tlike this since the Monday Night game against the Steelers in 2006.  

I could go on and on so why not. Here are more general impressions. 

I am sorry David that I ever doubted you. You threw some of the most amazing tight coverage passes without ever really  taking a risk. You are a very good quarterback. You just needed a team around you.

Mike Sims-Walker, nice job. How about watching Marcedes Lewis execute some YAC. When the big guy get rumbling down field, he almost dances sometimes. I get the sense Mike Sims-Walker can break it, but he seems to not yet make it happen.

Jarret Dillard got in when MSW limped off the field in the third quarter. I am telling you, that guy is quick. The Jaguars kept running this quick pass like screen. Only Jarret could bring it alive.  Loved seeing him get in the game.

Zack Miller got some action but I don't see it yet from him.  He looks like what he says he is, a poor man's Tim Tebow. Nothing special from Zack, nothing bad. A note to everyone who said Ernest  Wilford wouldn't provide value, write that on a piece of paper, crumple it up and eat the paper. As Collin called it, David loves to throw to Ernest and he is showing the same guts and sure hands he did here in 2007.  IGWT.

Justin Gage meet Rasheen Mathis. Rasheen will be your escort today and will take you off the field and show you what inconsequntial feels like.

You might see pink cleats and gloves on the players when they replay the game. It was Breast Cancer awareness day in the stadium and I am guessing the players with the pink have been touched in some way by the cancer.  No jokes, i respect the significance.

OK, I was saving the negative for last. Derek Cox was the leading tackler for a reason. He was covering the guy who caught the ball. In the third quarter, the Titans came out with a new game plan, go after Cox. Collins went back to his man over and over. One time Daryl Smith broke into the backfield and pressured Collins who overthrew the receiver and Cox got the interception. Derek Cox needs to pick his game up quickly. He is the weakness in the backfield right now.

I am sure you are bored with all of this by now so let me close with this. I could barely speak to those around me today in the first half. It was too emotional to get the words out. I have been in that stadium for so many games waiting for the Jaguars to return. I was overjoyed and overcome with happiness today. The real Jaguars, my Jaguars, have come home. Welcome back guys. Jonathan, nice to meet you as well!

 - Terry O'Brien

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Well done, Terry.

I would also mention the crowd. They say only 46,000 went through the turnstyles, but it was a loud and passionate 46,000. Once we get it back up to 70,000 the place will shake off its foundation. And that will happen. There isn’t a team in the league with a collection of young talent equal to the Jaguars, and the city will gradually fall in love with them.

And I couldn’t agree more about Koetter’s play design and play calling. We haven’t seen this much imagination and creativity in many years, and how wonderful that he has the O line, QB and young playmakers to pull it off. 68 points in two weeks … you gotta admit, it makes being a fan a hell of a lot more fun.

Thanks for your perspectives.

by ruffdaddy on Oct 4, 2009 10:30 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, it felt like 70,000

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
"As for me, Life goes on."-TheTealDeal

by TheTealDeal on Oct 5, 2009 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

David

Just like Vic wrote in his article, has returned to his efficient self. Last season he still put up 3600 yards under those circumstances. Now with some talent around him he dominates a game the way I haven’t seen a Jacksonville quarterback do since Brunell’s good days. In 2007, the running game dominated, and David managed…

I don’t think thats the case in 2009. Today the Jags threw 37 times, something we never saw during that run heavy 2007 season. I think this is the new Jags, a team that can run when it wants to, but can pass the ball at will, out of the shotgun to boot. I like the new Jags.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on Oct 4, 2009 10:33 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

titans stop the run

and allow the pass. so we exploited

LateRoundPick.com

by Surteal on Oct 5, 2009 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I Understand That

But they are still considered the Titans. One of the best secondaries in the league, with a pass rushing defensive line at the top of the league in sacks. Garrard went out there and dominated that defense, physically and mentally.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on Oct 5, 2009 5:19 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Many of us have questioned the Titans secondary...

and whether they were a product of a relentless front 4 and quick LB corps. I have never been completely sold on Griffith and thought Finnegan was more of an opportunist (still a steal in rd 7). You put Griffith’s head with Nelson’s physical skills and you have a HoF player.

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.
Vince Lombardi

by bwfull on Oct 5, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I Agree

I do think they were a bit overrated last year, but on paper they look damn good. I don’t think Griffith is all that great either, but everyone is on his jock for some reason or another. This season has showed them to be garbage without their d-line penetration.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on Oct 5, 2009 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well

Griffith makes some star like plays every once in a while. He also had his fair share of turnovers.

by Ewdtrey on Oct 6, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

so does AP

leads nfl in RB turnovers since he entered the league

strange, but true.

LateRoundPick.com

by Surteal on Oct 7, 2009 1:48 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Another reason

I think MJD is nearly as good as AP.

by Ewdtrey on Oct 8, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Bored?

Terry it was one of the reason that I still awake to read your personel thoughts of the game.

Man we face an Tackle controversy this week. a left tackle to be exact. (I think Britton need more time with his injury, so I expect he will be out against the Seahawks too). But the question of the week will be Monroe or Tra Thomas! Jack said in his press conference, that there is no OLine controversy and the jags have a good depth there. Yeah, the depth are the rookies sadly…And Gene declared the youth movement!…

Cox is an interesting study, but until he can pick INTs I have no problem with him. He is a rookie from William & Mary, and i don’t think we have better ortions then him…
Terry with counting how hostile will the stadium for the jags at Seattle and how good they play there, but counting how bad they were today against the Colts, with Seneca Walalce as QB, how are chances looking on Week 5 based on what you saw on the field?

Life without knowledge is death in disguise

by Zoltan from Budapest on Oct 4, 2009 10:33 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Senaca

Doesn’t turn it over, but he doesn’t make plays either. Shut down the run and short pass, you shut down the Seahawks.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on Oct 4, 2009 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Zoltan - What I saw today looked to be the tip of the iceburg for capability

Torry Holt could have had 10 catches today if need be. Jarret Dillard can come in and light it up. Witherspoon isn’t back yet. The O-line can pass and run block. The linebackers haven’t brought Brian Iwuh in much yet. Brian can lay people out.

You need a very surgical passing attack and wonderful playcalling to beat us. Arizona did that. Indianapolis Colts had a tough time with us. I think we are growing into a team that beats you bad if you aren’t any good.

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by Tkopa on Oct 4, 2009 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I have an amazing stat for you Terry

The Jaguars face a four-game stretch of schedule that sandwiches a bye week between four teams that are a combined 1-15.
Sounds good, huh?

Life without knowledge is death in disguise

by Zoltan from Budapest on Oct 4, 2009 10:42 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

And the 1 win

is only because two of the teams played each other SEA over STL 28-0

by pksiv on Oct 5, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Derek Cox led the team in tackles

Because he broke 3 great plays that were not supposed to be “his” plays……

He broke a run to the left in the second Titans drive and another in the 4th drive
Then tackled Washington as he crossed the field running away from his defender….

And even if the Titans targeted Cox, they were able to get very very little out of him. he did contain Britt decently….. when playing him, cause that long reception was made after Britt got free from a Mathis tackle and made a fool out of Reggie Nelson………

Don’t get me wrong here….. I appreciate all the nice writing and analysis, bit I don’t really understand all the magnification of Cox play (on the verge of picking on him)………… cause if we happen to examine each member of the secondary the way you’ve done it with Cox, I think we might end with one of the worst secondaries in the league, cause then Mathis can’t tackle, nelson gets caught out of position and so on……….
You can’t even credit any big plays to the Titans targeting Cox….

A guy who the Titans DID target and DID get something out of was Nelson… when he was moved to CB…. The Washington TD play was thanks to the fact that the Titans ran the TE to Mathis, and Left Gage and Washington for nelson and Durant, Nelson sat on Gage and Durant was beaten by mere speed by Washington……..

by jaxjags.. on Oct 4, 2009 10:45 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Fumble

When was there a fumble at the goal-line?

by SamJags on Oct 4, 2009 11:36 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

David Fumbled...

David and Brad Meester fumbled the ball on the snap at the Tennessee 13 at about the 11:30 mark in the 4th quarter

by alwaysforgiven821 on Oct 4, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Play of the game for me

It had to be when Nick Harper decided to go for some crazy wrestling tackle and injured himself in the process.

After last year’s disappointing Titan’s game, today was an incredible game to be at.

by Jags on Oct 5, 2009 12:22 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Good Game Jags

I was so happy to see you guys punking the Tits all over the field.

If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be fucked up.

You are banned from Music City Miracles.
Happy Now Tits?
You are banned from Blogging The Boys.
You are banned from Silver Screen and Roll.

by CFHTim on Oct 5, 2009 7:51 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Great article, Terry.

I enjoyed every line and every word. I forgot Jon called the score…Helluva call, Jon.

Vae Victis!

by viator on Oct 5, 2009 8:09 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I might’ve missed this… But obviously Monroe didnt play? And Neither did Britton?

by floridafalcons#63 on Oct 5, 2009 9:41 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Neither played

M. Williams ( I think it was Mo) and Tra Thomas played. Tra played lights out at i believe LT.

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
"As for me, Life goes on."-TheTealDeal

by TheTealDeal on Oct 5, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Monroe was out with an illness

& Britton was still recovering from an injury.

In the face of adversity, what you do from then on dictates who you really are...

by JagsNguyen on Oct 5, 2009 10:00 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions   0 recs

We started

with Tra, Vince, Brad, Uche, and Mo;
but we got a mix of Jordan Black, and Kenyan Forney in there too when the game was in hand.

by Ewdtrey on Oct 5, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

And

 I don’t think the score was a coincidence.

If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik

by Bestjagfan on Oct 5, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Good article.

That awesome that in your article you wrote an apology to David Garrard. I think it has been clear that the guy has never had decent WRs to throw to until this year, and contrary to popular belief I think the sky’s the limit for him now. Just look at what he has accomplished the last 2 years stats-wise with broke-down WRs & the O-line going down hard last year.

It’s amazing how these 2 wins have brought everybody’s emotions back in check. In the NFL anything is possible. Gene, Jack & the boys are slowly turning the franchise around.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.

by JagGameFace on Oct 5, 2009 10:21 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

See MMQB this morning?

Peter King Mentioned the game, Asked what was wrong with Fisher’s Tits. Then on page 6, a one-liner about Garrard playing to send a message to Wayne Weaver about Tebow. Then later, a one-liner about the D playing well.

I guess it’s more than we usually get from him :-)

by Pyrofish on Oct 5, 2009 10:22 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Don't expect much from media

but now there is talk of us going 6-2 by the time we play the Jets… & if we can pull that off, we can definitly expect to hear more about the Jaguars & the possibilty of a playoff birth & maybe even the Division…

Win was great, but we gotta still understand that this is a rebuilding team… let’s hope the Jaguars being so young don’t get too full of themselves this week & under-prepare themselves for the next two games.

In the face of adversity, what you do from then on dictates who you really are...

by JagsNguyen on Oct 5, 2009 11:52 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions   0 recs

Good Stuff Terry!!

Does anyone know if the NFL Network will re-play the game as they so often do from time to time?

by JagTank on Oct 5, 2009 12:08 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Replay s/b on NFL.com

You gotta watch stream though…

In the face of adversity, what you do from then on dictates who you really are...

by JagsNguyen on Oct 5, 2009 12:34 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions   0 recs

I just want to say that Harvey had a stand-out performance...

Terry, you were right in your support for Dirk Koetter when I questioned the guy, and since you didn’t bring it up, I will. You were right about him. He’s had two straight weeks of stellar play calling. Stellar…

I still think you’re wrong about Del Rio though… are you softening on your stance against him slightly? The defense is starting to respond positively, and I know it’s early and you’ll need to see more, but if we enter week 9 with a record north of .500, what will your position be?

Looking forward to the Rams Game brother!

The End Is Nigh... www.infowars.com

by silencecs on Oct 5, 2009 3:27 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Hi Collin! I was wondering when you would appear.

I threw my openning line out in the post to get your attention and maybe cause a smile. Hope it worked.

I have decided that maybe, just maybe, my problem with Del Rio is a personal one. I don’t like how he handles things and sometimes he grates on me.

Can he grate on me and be a good coach? Yeah, maybe. For example, I was on a Twitter steaming event with MSW and asked him about JDR. Without a blink said JDR was a good coach and very respectful to his players. Said he loved playing for the guy. He could have ignored my streaming question but he picked it out and spoke to it from he heart.

So some of the players like him and play hard for him. I think his arrogance gets in the way of intelligent thought. Which opinion matters? The players and the team. In short, I don’t matter.

Jonathan stopped by at the game to visit. For all the crap I have given him, he was happy to meet me and was great fun to be around. I am looking forward to the Rams game and your visit. Maybe seeing Derek Cox live will be a surprise? Glad you are coming.

 - Terry

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by Tkopa on Oct 5, 2009 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I just watched the first half on NFL.com

Just some random thoughts:

I loved seeing 91 in the backfield getting production.

Garrard had a great day, but it looked like he got nailed way more than he should have been. That Tony Brown Wrestling move should be fined! If that was on Brady or Manning, he’d have been ejected from the game… however, it looks like David is getting just enough time, a little more might save him some ground time though.

What’s not to love about Sims-Walker?

That fumble recovery by Nelson. It looked like he was 10 yards away and closed on that ball before anyone else even knew what was going on. nice heads up play Reggie!

by Pyrofish on Oct 5, 2009 4:04 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Happy days ahead

I am glad to see some Jags fans posting possitive stuff, was tired of hearing negativity, I wish I had the luxury of being there to watch them play like some folks but being 4 states away doesnt work too swell. So appreciate what you have and go to the games the Jags have some good times in the future and need the support…. But it does not feel the same watching them win without Fred, but glad he is having sucess but he will be back!

by bradenthegreat on Oct 5, 2009 6:03 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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