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Comcast Presents: The Fumble and The Knee

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This post is brought to you by Comcast. Check out the new NFL Red Zone Channel. Catch every touchdown from every game, only on NFL Red Zone!


On the surface, the Jaguars had yet another sub par red zone performance against the Jets. The Jaguars only scored one touchdown in three trips inside the Jets 20 yard line, making it 14 out of 28 for the year. The only touchdown came on a David Garrard scramble.

However, the other two trips inside the 20 were the one's that everyone is still buzzing about. Maurice Jones-Drew's fumble and kneel down were to the bane of every fantasy owner who had a close loss this week. Not to mention nearly season wrecking plays for the Jaguars.

The first major play was the fumble. Quentin Groves made a rare meaningful contribution by intercepting a Mark Sanchez pass and looked like he was going in for a touchdown. Instead, he tripped inside the 5 yard line to setup a first and goal. On the ensuing 2nd and goal, a bad exchange between David Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew resulted in a fumble that the Jets recovered.

That marked the fifth red zone turnover of the year for the Jaguars and their seventh red zone possession with no points on the season. Or in other words, one out of every four red zone trips for the Jaguars have resulted in no points.

Star-divide



This is a trend that has to stop if the Jaguars want to end the season with a winning record. Even if those turnovers end up being Scobee field goals, 3 points is better than nothing.

The other play that everyone is talking about is Maurice Jones-Drew's knee down at the one yard line. Coach Del Rio ordered Jones-Drew to take a knee at the one if the Jets allowed him to walk into the end zone so that the Jaguars could run out the clock and kick a field goal to win.

The national media is comparing this to Brian Westbrook's play, half the time forgetting the caveat that the Eagles were ahead at the time. They're calling it a great effort, a sign of what a team player Jones-Drew is, etc.

I would call it the obvious decision considering the situation. If Jones-Drew scores a touchdown, that gives the Jaguars a 5 point lead and an obvious two point conversion attempt upcoming.  Regardless of if they make it or not, the Jags would've kicked it off to the Jets with approximately 90 seconds remaining.

Is it really a smart thing to give the ball back to an offense that had been moving well in the second half, with a defense that had spent most of the 2nd half on the field and had just lost it's best player in Rashean Mathis?

I can understand the argument against taking the knee at the one. The Jaguars have had two kicks blocked already this year (1 FG and 1 XP), not to mention the possibility of a bad snap. However, those are two exceptions to the rule with a 20 yard FG.

What is the standard MO for a two minute offense in the NFL these days? A QB having all day against a three man rush before finding a receiver open in a hole in the zone. Sanchez already had a few deep throws open that either he miss timed or were dropped.

What happens if the Jets get a good return out to the 35, Sanchez hits either Edwards or Cotchery for a big gain, and then all of the sudden the Jets are inside the Jags 25 with a minute to play? We're sitting here shaking our heads at the defense this morning.

Is it so hard to see that scenario playing out in Jack's head as he gave the order to Jones-Drew to just take the knee? I'll take the play where the negatives are the exception to the rule, rather than the expected outcome.

-Jonathan Loesche

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I agreed with the knee

What has a higher probability of success;

Scobee makes a 20 yard FG or
The defense stops a drive with 1:30 to go?

Give me Scobee every time.

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by Tkopa on Nov 16, 2009 1:29 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Exactly

I read an article after I wrote this on one of the stat guru websites. His argument went as follows

Chance of the Jets scoring a TD on the ensuing drive:35%

Chance of a 20 yard FG being blocked/missed/etc: 2%

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by Jonathan Loesche on Nov 16, 2009 1:38 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah

But fantasy “idiots” no exactly buy that move:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/jacksonville-jaguars/09000d5d81443772/A-letter-to-MJD
That’s why I’m not like that crap…

Life without knowledge is death in disguise

by Zoltan from Budapest on Nov 17, 2009 5:11 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Also, was it just me

Or did it seem like it took a really long time for the Game clock to go from 1 second to 0, almost as if the Jets clock guy was debating about letting it go to 0.

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by Jonathan Loesche on Nov 16, 2009 1:47 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I thought the same

They we re going to hang that last second out forever.

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

by Tkopa on Nov 16, 2009 1:52 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Agree about the clock ...

… for a moment there I thought we were going to have to kick off.

What I like about Jack taking the knee is the confidence it shows in his team to execute a couple of basic plays and win the game.

by ruffdaddy on Nov 16, 2009 2:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I'm getting used to our "big names" making plays

MJD, MSW, Holt, Garrard, but two of my favorite receptions of the game were by Marcedes. Nice catches in traffic. I want to see more of that, and hopefully we will.

by Pyrofish on Nov 16, 2009 2:33 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

i actually dont think our red zone troubles are a big deal. sure they are not pretty but each instance has certain circumstances and I dont think any time we have not scored was THAT impactful. our record today is the same as if we had scored a TD in most of those tries. Im happy with our redzone offense and dont think anyone should pay too close attn to it

by harveyismyboy on Nov 16, 2009 3:06 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

mjd

I like the web site but Jack is a coach for a reason and you are a writer. The fumble happens and the kneel down was the right thing to do on this play. I might have left a few more seconds on the clock in case of a fumbled snap, but thats why I am a small business owner. Thanks for your time.

by Jagman12 on Nov 16, 2009 3:38 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Great Article

So many people are attacking Del Rio after the decision, but I honestly think it was one of his best. Another he made that many are mad about: the onside kick. Really, I wouldn’t have cared if it had been a normal kick, but that kick had the chance and should have been recovered by the Jags. I watched it over and over. Scobee kicked it great. Bad player execution.

Great game from Del Rio, I think.

by alwaysforgiven821 on Nov 16, 2009 5:57 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I'm seeing something from Jack I haven't seen much before.

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Keeper of the "That's what she said"

by TheTealDeal on Nov 16, 2009 6:14 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I've been one of JDR's critics but I applaud both decisions and did so at the time

I do disagree with you one the onsides kick – I thought it poor execution by Scobee – he needed to “flatten” out that kick. Had it gone 12 – 14 yards we get it.

by OGN on Nov 16, 2009 6:36 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Seems

Like a good kick when two of our players run right by it. Believe it or not there are different types of onside kicks. Scobee looked to kick that one just the way the Jags wanted it. Had we recovered that, everyone would be praising the call.

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

by Bestjagfan on Nov 16, 2009 8:42 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Has anyone seen what the "experts" at ESPN,

which is somewhat the opposite of each other, unanimously bashed JDR’s call, in favor of Old School score points at all cost. These guys don’t understand that our Defense isn’t great and that there was significant time left on the clock.

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Keeper of the "That's what she said"

by TheTealDeal on Nov 16, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I remember

Them praising the Eagles and Brian Westbrook a few years back when they did the same thing. Biased sons-a-bitches.

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

by Bestjagfan on Nov 16, 2009 9:25 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I know

What respect i hade for ESPn as a whole, mostly recruiting lists for the Gators has evaporated.

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Keeper of the "That's what she said"

by TheTealDeal on Nov 16, 2009 9:29 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah but

the Eagles were winning at the time.

by pksiv on Nov 18, 2009 8:55 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I was against the call at the time

but didn’t realize that Mathis was out… I think that definitely plays into it.

by pksiv on Nov 18, 2009 8:56 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Good clock management by Del Rio – Kudos to him

Now me, I would have taken the TD and been happy. Weird stuff can happen on kneel downs and on kicks. A bad snap, bad hold, holding penalty, or bad kick could have happened.

But everything worked fine so I applaud the decision.

Also, props to MJD. He had himself on his ff team and took a knee. I have him on my team too. MJD made the ultimate sacrifice by passing on 6 points. He then had the class to say sorry to his fellow FF owners. Cool stuff.

There are plenty more TDs in his future

by WarWolf on Nov 16, 2009 7:38 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I'm hoping karma rewards him against the Bills

225 yards and 4 TDs worth of rewarding

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by Jonathan Loesche on Nov 16, 2009 7:54 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Well I don't believe in Karma

however I do know simple Math.

Bad Rush Defense + MJD = Fantasy Paradise.

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Keeper of the "That's what she said"

by TheTealDeal on Nov 16, 2009 8:44 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

We need him big time

I REALLLY worried because maithis out. Evans+Ticking Time Bomb vs Nelson at corner=GIVE ME THE LONOOONG JAGUARS DRIVES!

Life without knowledge is death in disguise

by Zoltan from Budapest on Nov 17, 2009 5:12 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Well

We learned weird things can happen on second and short as well.

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

by Bestjagfan on Nov 16, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Contrary to popular belief, and Comcast and Dish Network advertising

NFL Red Zone is NOT exclusive to Comcast or Dish Network

Me babe, steppin' out
Into the night, into the light

by Orlando Rays on Nov 17, 2009 12:32 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

On the bright side

In like every halftime show after the Jags-Jets game has it been mentioned (The Knee). Good Publicity i guess.

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Keeper of the "That's what she said"

by TheTealDeal on Nov 17, 2009 5:10 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I think with that move

Maurice just booked a ticket to Miami…

Life without knowledge is death in disguise

by Zoltan from Budapest on Nov 17, 2009 5:48 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I think regardless he should go

"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Keeper of the "That's what she said"

by TheTealDeal on Nov 17, 2009 9:51 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

What stuck in my mind was

the call against Reggie Nelson with the hit on Sanchez. They said he led with his helmet, but it looked like he was bringing up his arms before the hit? No more malicious than a hit David Garrard took not long after that on his pass completion. The game is really getting ticky-tacky. The refs are becoming too much of an influence on the outcome of the game. The best acting wins the award.

Maybe Jack has the right idea… the last offense on the field wins – 5 man touch football.

by Jaghomer on Nov 18, 2009 11:21 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

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