MJD is Hercules
by kterr on Nov 29, 2010 9:25 AM EST
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After Sunday's lose to the Giants, most every fan agreed that out of the many mistakes that were made in the second half that not running the ball more was one of the biggest mistakes. Entering half time the Jaguars had rushed for 145 yards on 20 carries already and looked like they could run at will. On most weeks this would seem like a solid first half, except this week it was exceptional. The Giants were a Top 5 defense, even higher against the run. Maurice Jones-Drew was questionable and was suffering an abdominal injury. MJD, with help from Rashad Jennings, carried the Jaguars on his shoulders again Sunday but for some reason the Jaguars didn't put the ball in his hands when they needed to in the second half.
To start the second half the Jaguars threw the ball 6 times and only ran it twice on their first 2 drives, result was 1 INT and on the second drive the Jaguars didn't even make it to Giant territory. On the third drive they started to get back to the run, running on the first 4 plays and even moving the ball all the way to the Giant 38-yard line. A sack and fumble by Garrard would force the Jaguars to punt but this drive showed that the MJD needed the ball in his hands, he was willing the Jaguars down the field. Next drive, same game plan....result was a FG and the Jaguars took back the lead. The final 2 drives were once again pass heavy, the last one obviously due to being behind. The Jaguars simply got away from their game plan to start the half. If the Jaguars had simply given the rock to MJD to start the second half the Jaguars would be looking at 7 - 4 right now.
MJD has literally been carrying the team the last 4 weeks. Garrard has played decent, but MJD has consistently been great. He has 4 straight games of over 100 yards rushing and seems to be on a hot streak. The clincher is that he is doing this all why he has been hit by a string of nagging injuries from his ankle to his abdomen. He truly is Hercules, he has put out this great performances no matter what the caliber of the defense has been and all while injured. Now look at the caliber of run defenses the Jaguars face for the rest of the season:
Titans: 17th, Oakland: 29th, Indianapolis: 30th, Washington: 27th, Houston: 9th
With the exception of Houston (which is misleading because they got a huge boost from shutting down Chris Johnson) all of the Jaguar's remaining opponents have terrible or mediocre run defenses. Now with Maurice Jones-Drew on an amazing hot streak and seemingly being able to move the football at will against the Giants, what is he going to be capable of doing against these teams! If I was Dirk Koetter I should be putting the ball into MJD's hands early and often. Am I saying stop throwing the ball completely, of course not. Simply use the first half of the Giants as a guide. Maurice Jones-Drew has simply been on a mission the last four games and I say we give him the ball and just let him continue to be Hercules.
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I agree......
I read a few times that we do not match up well against some of the remaining teams, including the Titans. I do not see it. I am with a game plan that is heavy on run with a sprinkling of pass thrown in for good measure. And as far a Chris Johnson goes, as I remember, we had him pretty much shut down too (though not as much as the Texans), and the only reason he had a good statistical day against the Jags on Monday Night was a big run at the end of the game that did not really matter.
Almost everyone went into this game against the Giants expecting to loose, hoping for a good showing, and agreed it was a test against a good team to see where we are at. I am not a big fan of morale victories, but we played them well. Our defense did great in holding them to field goals three times in a row. I feel good after this game, as long as the team is healthy, that we can beat every team that we have left on our schedule. This was not the a game of the Bad David, or a game where the Jags folded. It is a game where they got beat. The coaches and players will learn from mistakes. Monroe’s head will heal, and we will go into Tennessee in first place, and we will leave there in first place with a win. Oh, and the Dallas team that the Colts are playing on Sunday, not a walk in the park anymore either! Ask the Giants and the Saints all about that!
hit post too soon
yesterday’s game reminded me a little of this game they played in 1996 against the Rams where Brunell threw for 400 yards, Keenan was a monster with over 200 yards receiving and we lost 14-10 I believe. You see the stats and you say, how the hell did you lose this game and how the hell did you only score 10 points?
I can see that....
but not so sure that we ran out of talent, but maybe you are right. We certainly did not play well enough to win, obviously. I keep going back to certain plays in my mind, like the great catch by Maningham where he reached back to get the ball. There were so many plays (and calls) that could have gone the other way, and changed the outcome of the game. I still think that the this team is much better than the team was at the beginning of the season.
I like that analogy.
“Ran out of talent.” Ran out of healthy 1st round tackles. Ran out of real WRs able to get open and catch the ball. Ran out of defensive backs that could tackle.
Haters gonna hate.
by MoveThoseChains on Nov 29, 2010 6:27 PM EST up reply actions
If he is
Then this defense has a lot of problems tackling. He missed a few on Sunday, including the one that gave up the lead.
You can't reason with unreasonable people.
cmon guys...
It’s almost impossible to make that play, especially against a strong TE liek Boss, Green wasn’t in good position, and Boss stiff armed him hard, and courttney is a small guy(a safety), Boss is huge, with a much longer reach.
by rhettchrystal on Nov 30, 2010 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
+5..
thats a very favourable scedhule for MJD, he should have another solid 5 last games, hope it happens. Our run game compliments the pass so well, cause when were rollin on the ground, we surprise with a throw, and it works..this needs to be fixed for TEN next week Dirk
if you think about it
if he keeps going 100 yard games, for the last 5, he’ll most likely break 1500 yards.
by rhettchrystal on Nov 29, 2010 6:16 PM EST up reply actions
MJDs...
face said it all against the Giants. It was twice he had that face that said “I can’t believe this.” I had the same feeling and couldn’t believe they just didn’t keep handing it off. I understand that they made it a point of emphasis to stop the run the second half, but that’s what you have a RB like MJD for.
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