Colts show the Jaguars they're not ready, Del Rio with the assist.
by Alfie Crow on Dec 20, 2010 7:46 AM EST
in Jacksonville Jaguars Post Game
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PrintThe Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Indianapolis Colts in what was deemed a "playoff" game by many. As we all know, with a victory the Jaguars could have clinched their first ever AFC South title. The Colts however, were playing for their playoff lives. There's no single person to blame in the Jaguars fall, it was a myriad of issues. Turnovers, penalties, and bad coaching decisions.
Oh boy.
I knew the Jaguars were in trouble after their first offensive possession. The Colts got the ball first and moved right down the field and scored on a Peyton Manning pass to Austin Collie. On the Jaguars first play, Maurice Jones-Drew fell forward on a running play for 4 yards. The next play Jones-Drew was stuffed up the middle for 1-yard, and then on third down David Garrard was sacked by Robert Mathis. The Jaguars forced the Colts to a 3-and-out on their next possession, Jones-Drew had 8 carries for only 25 yards. The Jaguars moved down the field on a few Garrard passes and a 15-yard penalty on Colts safety Antoine Bethea, and the Jaguars kicked a field goal on the drive. Those two drives told me the Colts weren't going to let the Jaguars run all over them as they had in the past, and they didn't.
The Jaguars ended the day with 67 total rushing yards, Jones-Drew only 46 yards on 15 carries for a measly 3.1 yards per carry.
The Colts were going to make the Jaguars play how they wanted, which was David Garrard passing the football. Garrard played admirably for the most part, but missed badly on quite a few throws down the field. Garrard was aided on a ticky-tack pass interference call on receiver Mike Sims-Walker, which was later karma called on a Marcedes Lewis offensive pass interference that was only very ticky-tack. Again the Jaguars had to punt.
The Jaguars were down 14-3 after another easy Colts touchdown to receiver Austin Collie when the Colts punted to Mike Thomas. Thomas made a great move to the sideline and took the punt back 78-yards for a touchdown, leaving Colts fans to boo his "fair catch call".
The Jaguars looked like they were in good shape heading into the half down 14-10, but a sequence of events to start the third quarter left me feeling the same way as after the first. The Jaguars burned a timeout 14 seconds into the first quarter, then wound up in a 4th and 1 situation. Jack Del Rio has a reputation for being a "gambler" on fourth downs, I like to call it hubris. It's appreciated at times, but Del Rio still shows he gambles when he shouldn't. The Jaguars were down only 4 points to start the third quarter, and decided it would be a good idea to go for it on fourth down on their own 39 yard line. A botched pitch between Garrard and Jones-Drew, that Jones-Drew dropped, ended the play short and gave the Colts offense the ball nearly in field goal range. Even if the ball hadn't been dropped on the pitch, I'm not sure it would have been for a first down anyway, the Colts had a run blitz drawn up almost perfectly.
Two plays later, Colts runningback Donald Brown galloped along 43-yards to the endzone for a Colts touchdown, aided by missed tackles and bad angles that plagued the Jaguars all game long on defense. The Jaguars next drive saw a botched option pitch from Garrard to Jones-Drew, where Garrard pitched the ball behind Jones-Drew than ended in a Jaguars recovery for negative 12-yards.
After a punt and forcing the Colts to punt, cornerback Derek Cox blocked Colts reserve wide receiver Taj Smith in the back, catapulting him into Mike Thomas and forced him to muff the punt. The punt was recovered by the Colts, and after some confusion the penalty was declined and it was Colts football. The Colts kicked a field goal on the drive, pushing the score to 24-10 and essentially putting the game out of reach for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars were able to come down and score on a Garrard to Mike Sims-Walker touchdown pass, but after forcing a 3-and-out of the Colts, David Garrard sailed a football over Jason Hill's head for an interception by Bethea. The Colts went down and scored another field goal to push it to 27-17. After another botched 4th down play with a penalty on Greg Jones, the Jaguars defense forced the Colts to punt again. The Jaguars made short work marching down the field for another Garrard to Sims-Walker touchdown in 1:27, leaving less than two minutes on the clock.
Then the dagger was drawn, stabbed, and twisted. The Jaguars rushed the kick-off for what looked like a would be perfectly executed surprise onside kick, but the Colts make a brilliant move to call timeout before Josh Scobee put his foot on the ball. The Jaguars then lined up for a traditional onside kick and Scobee kicked it right to Colts linebacker Tyjuan Hagler for a 41-yard touchdown.
Ball game.
Through a series of mistakes, the Jaguars showed they weren't ready to complete the coup d'état. Untimely interceptions, penalties, muffed punts, botched pitch plays, a poor onside kick, and a terrible decision to go for it on 4th and 1 from your own 38. The Jaguars weren't ready.
The playoffs aren't a lost cause for the Jaguars yet, but they need a lot of help now and no longer control their own destiny.
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nice article alfie...
we are definately a few players away still. im not sold del rio and staff will get us there either. i guess we will see in 3 weeks where we end up. ill be interested to see if weaver will stick to his guns about the jags needing to be in the playoffs. it was jacks proclimation that that was the goal.
I agree
after calming down yesterday and reflecting pensively, I maintain that the game plan on offense wasn’t very good. Why are you running an option play with a QB that has a bad hamstring???? I thought we did a poor job of self scouting and coming up with an innovative game plan that A) broke tendancies and B) exploit the 8, 9, and 10 men n the box look that the Colts told the world they were going to do. We began to make hay when we opened up the passing game late in the 3rd quarter – exploiting their 8 and 9 men fronts. Had that been done earlier, my guess is that our running game would have been much more effective as well.
I said earlier in the week that David would have to be excellent – he was good but not excellent. I also said that the coaching staff would have to come up big also and I think they laid an egg. Players do have to execute and yesterday and our guys didn’t for the most part. However, the players also need to be put n the best positon to succeed and they definately were not – that falls on the coachig staff.
In the final analysis, this team and it’s coaches, simply don’t know how to win when it matters the most.
Side Note – my player of the game was Merceds Lewis – did a great job (not good but great) chipping on the ends and then getting open in the pattern – my opinion, it would have been very nice to see that early in the game instead of late. And the one handed grab at the 10 was simply sick.
i would agree that lewis was the best jag out there yesterday..thomas had a great game as well. cant really count the fumble as his fault i guess. i guess reading a lot of fans on here being OK. with the fact that the jags have outdone themselves, based on what the experts and fans thought they would do. is really driving me mad! the coach and players have said they should be in the playoffs. they simply didnt perform even as a middle of the pack team yesterday. the players .mistakes were routine. ie missed tackles, blocking, catching, over throwing, and penalties. i didnt see a team that was throughly outplayed yesterday. i saw a team that shot itself in the foot. a coaching staff that once again didnt adjust. took chances in bad spots. called vanilla plays in spots….do i think jack is the man..no..do i think he is terrible..no..do i think that if we add better players in certain areas, then hire a new coach next year. that we will be better..no! with a new coach next year..it puts us another year adjusting to schemes and chemistry wise…i really dont know what to think anymore lol
Only thing that bothers me about JDR.....
the 4th and 1 from our 38 yd line. There was no need for that at all….Collie was done for the day, the colts offense was slowed down and we needed to play field position, there was a ton of time left. Not mention if they knew there were some malfunciton with DG’s helmet, punt it away and let the D do there job and play D.
That was a horrible horrible call that good coaches just dont ever make.
You mean like when Bill Belichick
went for it on 4th and 2 at the end of the game against the Colts last year ?
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
Player of the game was Daryl Smith by a longshot
If Greene and Durant were in perhaps it would have been a different result, but the what if’s can be played til the cows come home.
Collie was a man and I hope we did not see the last of him in the NFL. We had no answer for him and Blair White is nowhere close to his level.
In effect, all we can do is take care of business the next 2 games. If you notice, Indy’s passing offense was rendered impotent after Collie left the game. They’re beatable by a heads up team. Oakland still has something to play for so they’re going to give Indy their best punch. They’re similar to Jax but the back of their defense is a lot better when healthy. Tennessee seems to have gotten off the schnide as well and I think they match up well with Indy.
What scares me about the Jags is we have gotten gashed by runners 2 weeks straight. Don’t think our linebackers can get to the outside quick enough to catch those runners.
damn forgot
thanks for pointing out DS joe..he was a beast yesterday! he definitely got the defensive game ball! probably the team ball. i think in the offseason we will have a defensive backfield revamp…LB, DB and safety..
think about it though
offensive line – check. good for 5 plus years. Need a center. Call me crazy and I can’t stand the Gators but if Pouncey is sitting there in Round 3 or 4 get him. He’s versatile.
defensive line – check good for 5 plus years. Need a speed rusher or 2, and Kampman for another year or 2
linebackers – need depth. Durant is gone, Morrison possibly although I think we could use his experience. Don’t think he’s hit his peak yet. IF we felt Harvey was worth keeping around, I would like to see him get a try at linebacker. Call me crazy but he’s got the size for it.
Secondary – Cox and Carey probably safe; Greene and Brackenridge possibly. All other including Mathis gone. Probably our top need in the draft; would not be surprised to see 3 picks in secondary.
Wideouts – for the first time since I can remember, we’re good at the position. Underwood may be trade worthy. MSW hopefully will recall Jacksonville’s faith in him his first 3 seasons when he was injured most of them and not demand #1 money. Not as if he deserves it.
RBs – good, would like to see one drafted late. I think Karim and McGee are too sleight.
By the way, why was Karim not in the game on the last kick return? That was very strange.*
QB – our 2nd biggest need. Make the call on whether Trent is the answer as a bridge or a solid backup. Did hear he had a great week of practice this past week.
Mike Pouncey is awful at center.
And even more awful is Don Carey. I still don’t understand why he’s on the roster and starting. He’s atrocious.
by Alfie Crow on Dec 20, 2010 10:02 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
hell the old Asian woman would have made some tackles he didn't
Think Blue Cross commercial.
I’m thinking Pouncey for his versatility. Think I had some bad coffee this morning.
Carey has made some plays but he doesn’t seem to have the instincts for the position just yet. If you could morph Considine and Carey – Don Juan Sean Carridine, you just might have a serviceable safety.
Ask a gator fan about Pouncey 2.0
And you’ll get a lot of “aww hail naw.”
by Brian Levenson on Dec 20, 2010 10:36 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Have you seen Pouncey play center?
He is TERRIBLE, and I’m not just saying that because I’m an FSU fan.
You can't reason with unreasonable people.
agree'd
i agree with you alfie..im a gator fan and pouncey isnt intelligent enough to do two things at one time. he cant snap, and block at florida. He certainly wont be able to read a pro D set up, snap, and block. He might be better suited to be a guard in the pros. i dont think carey will be a sta.rter next year. If he is god help us. We need to bring in a vetran safety, and draft one as well. i like greene and think he will progress. other than that. i see carey gone or just a back up
by chrisltr22c on Dec 20, 2010 10:08 AM EST up reply actions
His twin brother is playing great in Pittsburgh
Is he the Danny Devito twin ?
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
yeah but...
he aint his playing twin..it is why he didnt come out last year with his brother. think his brother got the brain dna in the womb..
by chrisltr22c on Dec 20, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions
I really
Want to draft Rahim Moore. Playing centerfield that dude is an interception waiting to happen.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
+1
Carey and Considine are both horrible. The one thing that makes Considine a starter is he isn’t out of position, but on the first touchdown he froze and didn’t take Collie in the cover two, and his pursuit angles had me sick.
Next week I say start Hamlin at one of the spots.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
qb is not our biggest need, we HAVE THE WORST DEFENSE LOL
david garrard has freaking 22 passing and 4 rushing touchdowns, if you ask me, thats pretty good with no superstar wideouts, and an offense based on the run. Secondary, linebackers, and if we dont sign mathis a corner..hands down, we need those, no questions asked..with collie in the game, our defense couldnt stop manning on fuck all.
Definetely.
Linebackers and the secondary should be the first drafting priority. I think we still need a qb of the future, but it shouldnt be the top priority.
by jagdodgertown on Dec 20, 2010 7:10 PM EST up reply actions
I hope they bring Durant back, he has been the Jags best linebacker this year, with the exception of this past Sunday, when Smith returned to form and played lights out. The problem with Durant is that he is injury prone, and he will get glued to blocks, but he has made some big tackles in the run game this season. In fact, PFF gives him the highest run grade of any outside linebacker in the NFL. He just can’t stay on the field.
I think Courtney Greene has to be kept. He has played admirably and could become a player in a year or two if he continues to improve. I am not sold on Carey, but he has been much better lately than he was earlier in the season. Considine has no business on the field except in goal line, short yardage, and special teams packages. He has no agility and can’t make a tackle in the open field. He is always late over the top, and on Collie’s first score Sunday, he was completely out of position.
I think Garrard starts one more season as long as the team finishes strong. If they lose the next two, then probably not. I think he has played pretty well.
I agree....
We have to draft a QB no matter, i really like Stanzi, i think we could hold off on him until the 3rd…and still get us some DB’s in the 1 & 2 rounds. But Garrrad is not the future, right now hes serviceable until the new franchise QB is ready. That was our problem before, we alway put it off. We cant do that any more.
WE ARE JAGUARS.......FEAR OUR ROAR!!!!!!
The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
--George Patton--
If for no other reason than if you look at who's drafting ahead of us...
A LOT of those teams need QBs desperately. I don’t see a top name falling to us regardless of where we end up unless Gene is moving way up. And I don’t see him giving up a ton of picks when DG has answered the bell this year and we can get a value guy in the mid rounds like you said.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
Great point here Joe
“Don’t think our linebackers can get to the outside quick enough to catch those runners.”
I think that’s the key and why missing Durant is so bad for us. We have to keep that guy and keep him healthy as we upgrade the unit. As much as I love Daryl Smith I honestly think he has become a liability in a lot of coverage and outside run situations due to a lack of speed.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
I'd say
Smith is our best coverage linebacker right now. Durant could be, but he gets lost.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
That's what sucks
Smith is the headiest LB we have by far, but my man can’t keep up and isn’t fluid enough to run with quality TEs. Durant has the speed and tackling, but gets lost in the lights…
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
I ain't worried about that
Not saying they have to, and not expecting any player to do so, but it’d be a cool gesture if a player or 2 scooped up the tickets as a “thank you” to the fans for their support this year.
I will be there
First game I’ve been able to go in 5 years.
You can't reason with unreasonable people.
I disagree COMPLETELY about the game plan/coaching
Del Rio made calls that we should have been able to execute. Early in the game, the play calling was boring to say the least, BUT we were going against the 29th ranked rush D and tape shows them getting gashed with basic run calls. So we called them. They didn’t work. So we adjusted strategy. I don’t see how coaching played a negative whatsoever in this game. Even on the 4th down calls. In order to beat the Colts we had to be aggressive, control the ball and score TDs. We needed to be able to get one yard against a piss poor run D and the guys dropped the ball. Literally.
I know it’s a lot easier to say Del Rio is at fault as opposed to MJD, but Del Rio and his staff had a FAR better game than those players did yesterday.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
Totally agree
If MJD had held onto the ball but been stuffed attempting a run up the middle, the coaching staff would still be blamed for not doing something more creative.
Hindsight is such a wonderful thing. Especially when there’s no way of knowing if the alternative would’ve worked any better than the chosen path.
Safety play was once again garbage. Considine was out of position early and often. And completely blew the play where DB went for his long TD Run.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
Still great on special teams
I wouldn’t say cut him. He’s great rotationally in certain packages and on STeams. He’s made some big plays for us this year. It seems like you hear his name once a game… but when he starts…. UH OH!
He played horribly this week for sure, but he’s been solid at what he’s good at. He’s just not a full time starter.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
obviously we shouldnt cut him, but we cant expect to win with people like that starting..
i mean i give the guy credit, he tries hard, but its just not good enough to stop peyton manning.If Donald brown doesnt run for those 2 long runs that would never have happened to us with Cgreene in there..its a close ass game.
by FgallosJAGS on Dec 20, 2010 11:46 PM EST up reply actions
not to mention both collies wide open tds
by FgallosJAGS on Dec 20, 2010 11:47 PM EST up reply actions
Collie wasn't on him
Carey was on that side on the second one and Lageman showed on TV last night where the CB didn’t get a jam on the line and Manning threaded it between three guys we had dropping into coverage.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
Oh I TOTALLY agree he shouldn't be starting
And if Greene is healthy, he isn’t. Keep in mind he’s a back up and only playing S because of injury. He’s a special teams guy and a back up to come in and play packages where he doesn’t have to cover a lot of ground.
And I also agree that he played like ass as well. I’m just saying, he plays a great role on the team, but you can’t expect a utility back up guy to be an all star.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
+1
I agree. It was not play-calling, it was poor execution and an inability to dominate the line of scrimmage. Everybody we play is going to stack the box against us (when has this ever been different?): the O-line needs to dominate, or we may as well give up running the ball.
There were a lot of players who had a “bad day at the office” yesterday.
we've got a freaking ox for a quarterback.
why run the pitch on 4th and 1 when all he has to do is run forward and have MJD and Jones help him plow forward? I read there was some radio issues, well, dammit, use that sandlot football IQ and do what has worked for you more often than not!
The Colts run D what else can you say, they stepped up when they had to. They may be piss poor, but they brought it all game. Take nothing away from that unit at all.
Bottom line, I shudder to think how ugly it would have gotten if Collie played the entire game.
MJD has the matchup over the smaller LB and DBs out there
You run the pitch because the formation looks like it’s going to be up the middle, but pitch it out because Maurice either has space to turn it on, or only has to beat one or two of the Colts smaller guys to get the one yard. He can push them forward for a yard at least, right?
I see what you’re saying, I probably wouldn’t have called a pitch either, but I get why they did. Your next two statements, I couldn’t agree with it more. The Colts rose up on us and smacked us in the mouth. We thought we had them in the bag and they manned up. And if Collie had played the whole game, I think we would have longed for that Philly game because this one would have been worse.
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
Or if Peyton had his way.
He did not seem at all happy with how conservative the play calling was in the 4th quarter.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
Going for it on 4th down only down by 4 on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter on your own 38 is terrible, even if you make it. If he hadn’t dropped the pitch, it was blown up anyway.
It was a bad call.
by Alfie Crow on Dec 20, 2010 10:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
It looked open to me
if he catches the ball but there’s no way for any of us to really know.
I also think Black was holding on the play, it wasn’t called but probably would have hand Maurice not fumbled the ball, so it would’ve come back anyway.
The coaching staff had zero faith in the defenses ability to make a stop and before Collie got hurt, they weren’t proving that they could and Jack felt that we need to take this opportunity to turn the game. I’m not sure I make that call there. But you can’t fault the call unless you see it executed perfectly.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
It's one of those trademark JDR unnecessary gambles
It’s like he has a 10, Jack, Queen, and King, and banking on the Ace.
I think it was the playcall more than the idea to go for it.
Let Garrard fall forward and we mightve gotten it. I do think that pitch and the outside run on the 1 yard line were bad calls, but I don’t by any stretch of the imagination blame this on coaching.
by Brian Levenson on Dec 20, 2010 10:39 AM EST up reply actions
Still had a shot at the end
That call was perhaps dead last on the list of reasons we lost if it makes the list at all. The Colts played better in every area then us.
by jstnblke41 on Dec 20, 2010 2:13 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Statistically,
going for it on fourth and one is ALWAYS a smart decision. Given the game situation, one might call it questionable, but it was in no way “terrible”. If they pick up the first down (statistically more probable than not picking it up) and drive down the field for a TD, Jack is a genius. The choice to go for it itself was not terrible; the play call and execution was. A sneak would’ve made tons more sense.
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by CaliforniaJag on Dec 20, 2010 3:49 PM EST up reply actions
Had
He not dropped the pitch he would have gotten it. He had a wide open hole.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
Not if you ask Alfie
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
bibee you my boy
im sick of everyone on here just bash bash and more bashing on our team. our players were ready for the lights yesterday everyone and it was one of our least prepared games for the staff but guess what, theyre still the same players and coaches we were getting on our knees for in terms of worshipping the past several weeks for their great plays and decisions.
DONT GIVE UP. Indy, I dont wanna jinx it, but indy goes TO THE WEST COAST sunday against a VERY GOOD raiders team that is better at pass Def than we are by a longshot….. i could see a blowout win by the raiders…. not kidding! and they have rookie lb mcclain back…. everyone come back and tell me i called it on monday….
by harveyismyboy on Dec 21, 2010 1:38 AM EST up reply actions
Let me clarify...
i certainly do not think it was completely the playcalling that lost us the game..i think there were a few coaching issues as well as the players lack of execution that combined to be our downfall. as well as the colts playing much harder nosed football than we did yesterday.
my concern is that time and time again. this team does not perform to its prior level. i see players making basic fundamental mistakes. they miss or dont make basic tackles. they are constantly out of position(see the O and D line, as well as the safeties) this is a very young team. they are going to make mistakes. what concerns me in 2 different respects..jack is a PLAYERS COACH as they say. that is fantastic for veteran players, but not so much with the younger guys. i see lack of basic skills in this team. that is unsettling. my other concern is what happens to this team if jack is replaced. i fear that it might set this team back more than a year. they have bought into what he is preaching. what i see though is still mediocrity. this team has been dominated by winning teams this year. it has struggled somewhat with the bad and modiocre teams for the most part. all of this equals a real issue for this tem in the futuri believe.
completely agree - but those who don't think that the game plan / play calling
was a factor in this — well, we will have to agree to disagree. The option play with a QB with a bad hammy?? – as Chris Carter would say “Come on MAN!”
Do we really know
if his hamstring was bothering him at all ?
Honest question. Just because he was on the injury report and rested during the week doesn’t mean it was an issue at all on Sunday.
And his hamstring wasn’t the reason for the horrible pitch.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
well....
if it wasnt bothering him, then it was the play calling. hell that quarter back draw, and naked bootleg have been working all season. id hope the only reason they didnt run DG that close was because of the hammy.
by chrisltr22c on Dec 20, 2010 10:10 AM EST up reply actions
Right
The reason for the horrible pitch was because he pitched it left-handed.
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by CaliforniaJag on Dec 20, 2010 3:50 PM EST up reply actions
Tania G tweeted on Friday
that the plan had been to bring him back all along if we had a shot at the post-season and it had nothing to do with DG’s injury.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
Here are some observations I took away from the game....
1. The importance of Collie to Manning was amazing. When he was there, they we shredding the Jags secondary, and when he was out, it was like a different team. As much as I hated to see him hurt like he was, It probably helps us next week with the Raiders effort to beat the Colts. I felt to win the division we either needed to beat the Colts yesterday, or hit them hard enough to have a detrimental effect on them the next two weeks. The hit on Collie may have done just that.
2. I think MJD is more dinged up than we may think. There were only a few plays that he seemed to be running like he had the last 6 games. Maybe we should have seen a bit more Jennings to one, see if he could make a play, and two, save MJD if there is truly something not right.
3. I thought the coaches and DG adjusted the game plan well when the run was not there in the second half. I know DG through the interception on the long drive, and I am not so sure the pass the Marcades hauled in with one hand was where it should have been either, but they spread the field, and then the run started to work a bit better. I thought it was encouraging.
4. My main complaint with the Coaching is Jack’s going for it on 4th in our end of the field. Yes they should get it, but things do happen, like botched pitches, and this is why you don’t do that at your end of the field. Even if we would have made it, I would have felt it was poor judgment on the coaching staff.
5. I think our receiving corps is looking pretty good. From Osgood’s great special teams play to the work of Thomas, MSW, and Jason Hill. I like what I see. And of course, Marcades is a house!
6. I have concluded I do not understand the rules involved with blow to the head and hitting the QB. DG gets helmet to helmet and hands (blows) to the helmet all day long, and I do not remember him ever getting a call. I am surprised he does not go pop one of the zebras in the head since they don’t seem to mind it.
7. Our tackles did not win the battle on the end yesterday. I do not really know what else to say, but that needs to get better, and I know they know that.
Yes I hate that we lost, but I find the headline of this piece like something out of the National Enquirer. The Colts did not prove we were not ready for this level, the Colts proved they were better than us on that day. Save the drama. We did not go into a big game and get blown out, we got beat. It was going to happen to one of the teams, and unfortunately, it was the Jags. We have to win out. I do not think the Colt’s have an easy road ahead, and I still feel we can win the division. In my opinion, we are a playoff caliber team that is in the playoff hunt, and that not a bad place to be.
If they were ready for that stage, they wouldn’t make so many critical, fundamental errors.
Like the Colts did.
No one’s trying to start drama. Jaguars went in and mad critical errors. They werent ready.
by Alfie Crow on Dec 20, 2010 10:14 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Simply put.....
I think you are making more of it than it was. Yes they made mistakes, but those mistakes were no more special in this game than in others. Not being ready for a game, in my mind, leads to a blow out, and that is not what this was.
Save the drama for your mama!
sorry, a reference from the greatest reality show ever, Boot Camp.
I think we all saw the same thing yesterday. We simply are not ready for prime time. Showed it against the Colts last year, Titans on Monday Night, Giants a few weeks ago, and yesterday.
We were thoroughly outplayed in the first half and only down 4 with the Jaguar killer in the locker room and all out of sorts. JDR went all in with an unnecessary gamble and we’re down 10 and chasing the rest of the game. The loss was a team loss – execution, sketchy play calling, and getting beat at our own game.
When you have to play a perfect game to beat the division leader, as much as it hurts to say it, you’re just not there yet. Doesn’t mean we won’t get there next year, as I think with a few more additions (and a couple subtractions) we’ll be there, but we’re just not at that level yet.
We did not have to play a perfect game to win, not even close!
You can remove any one of the MANY mistakes that we had and we can still win the game. Forgetting the onside kick, that was a result of the mistakes, and we have ourselves a 3 point game, so lets look at a couple of the mistakes….
1. JDR Gambling: I agree. I do not have any idea why he went for it, especially with Collie out for the day. As I said above, and saw Alfie said the same, even if we had got the yards, it would have still been a bad move. If we do not give them the ball on our 37 (?), good chance they do not score, and the removal of that 7 points gets us ahead.
2. DG throws an interception on a great drive: There is no doubt in my mind that we were going to come away with at least a field goal on that drive. Give the Jags 3 points more, and we have a tie and over time against a hurt Colts offense.
That’s just the first two that came to mind, and we both can agree there were more. You implied that we had to play perfect to win, and we are not up to that. I just showed you how the elimination of 1 of those two mistakes could change the out come of the game with the other one (and the many that go with it), still in the game. I will say it again, the Jags are a playoff team that got beat yesterday by another playoff team. That’s all that was. You compared that loss to the Monday night Titans loss? C’mon man….not even in the same league. We have come a long way from that. You and Alfie need to step away from the Kool-Aid, we are going to be OK!
And lets not forget...
the play from the article picture. What type of a freak incident / mistake was that? Even with that eye sore, it was still only a 3 point game.
maybe you're right
but when you think about it, the NFL usually comes down to a handful of plays one way or the other that determines the outcome. DG looked rock solid for a drive and a half.
I predicted before the game that special teams was going to win or lose the game for us. As it turned out, a block in the back on Cox and a timely time out call by Caldwell trumped a questionable 78 yard punt return TD and a great play by Osgood on the 2 yard line.
And I agree...
that many games do come down to a couple of plays when you look back, and in saying that, it makes the mistakes and great plays in this game no different than many other games in the NFL yesterday. This was a big game, two playoff caliber teams went at it, and one came away with the victory in a game that was still up for grabs right down to the 2 minute warning. When that happens chances are both teams were very much ready for the game.
Monroe looked like he reverted to last year's opener.
Must be something with playing indoors. Something to think about if they close the roof at Reliant.
That's true
I guess… I don’t know man. He was awful jumpy and grabbin at air yesterday. Seems like hit or miss in that matchup the more I think about it. Maybe you’re right…
WTF IS THE INTERNET?!?
Are... are you trying to blame that loss on Del Rio?
It’s definitely not his fault.
by Brian Levenson on Dec 20, 2010 10:32 AM EST reply actions
same deal as when Belichick went for it
make it, he’s a genius, miss it, he’s an idiot.
Gutsy call, wrong play and wrong time to do it.
I can see the rationale, however. Crowd is still stunned from the Collie injury and the team seemed to be sleep walking. Go for it and make it, extend the drive, all of a sudden doubt creeps in on the Colts D and you take the crowd out of it further. Don’t tell me the crowd didn’t play a role in the game, as Monroe had his worst game since the Philly debacle.
You're comparing a proven coach in Belichick with Tom Brady as his QB with Jack Del Rio
Even if Jack got us another extended drive it was still a dumb call. You have to see the bigger picture. The defense stopped Manning a couple of times on critical drives, especially after Collie left.
I agree......
it was a dumb decision, whether we make it or not. It alone, though, is not the only reason for the loss. I thought it was stupid for the Pats to go for it when they did also.
I don't know
About you, but I wouldn’t rely on our defense to make another stop. I would have gone for it there too. We have the number 1 rushing attack in the league(at least leading up to sunday) but we couldn’t get one damn yard. Good call, sorry ass execution.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
actually we were #2
but if we can’t gain a yard when we need to against the Colts, we’re not going to win.
And Sunday, we needed to twice and couldn’t do it.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
Gambling Jack needs to put the Madden down.
How in the world can you think going for it on 4th down on your own 40 yard line is a good idea. What he did is inexcusable. If you fail, the Colts are guaranteed to go away with at least 3. Suppose we punted and the defense held and we got the ball back? Well then we’d only be down by a touchdown instead of down two scores. He needs to cool it on some of those 4th down calls. I would have preferred he tried again on 4th and goal rather than that crap.
suppose
We converted the 4th down and drove it in for a td. Its a lot easier to second guess after the fact. I like the aggressive play call. I think a lot of fans forget Garrard doesn’t get to audible whenever he wants. We have the privelage of seeing exactly how the defense lines up. The offense doesn’t know until after the play has been called and their lined up.
by duuuvaaalll on Dec 20, 2010 12:23 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
suppose
We converted the 4th down and drove it in for a td. Its a lot easier to second guess after the fact. I like the aggressive play call. I think a lot of fans forget Garrard doesn’t get to audible whenever he wants. We have the privelage of seeing exactly how the defense lines up. The offense doesn’t know until after the play has been called and their lined up.
by duuuvaaalll on Dec 20, 2010 12:23 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
You say it is easier to guess after the fact...
and yes hind sight is always better, but there is a difference here. When ever you take a chance, there is a potential reward and a potential loss. In this case the reward would be keeping the drive alive, with the potential to score points, and keep Manning off the field. That all sounds good, but even if you get the first down, you are still about 60 yards from the end zone, and 30 yards from even a long field goal. That’s still a bunch of ground to cover, so there is no lock on the Jags getting points yet. The potential loss is giving up a fairly certain 3, and a possible 7 points. That’s a pretty big risk for an uncertain reward.
If you change it to their 40 instead of yours, the chance of you leaving with points (only 10 yards from very make-able field goal) goes up, and they have to get 30 to be in the same boat. I like those odds a bunch better. I do not think Jack was horrible yesterday, simply made a bad call!
there is a lot of blame to go around for the Jags loss to the Colts. A few things, as a Jags fan, I just feel like talking about. These points are necessarily from this board, but from other boards; jacksonville.com, facebook, twitter, etc.
1) the Jags cant win the games they are “suppose” to win.
- Really? We just got done playing the Colts. I dont care how injured they are or how bad their rushing defense is. This is a team that is led by future HOF QB, Peyton Manning. There is NOTHING about playing the Colts that says we `should` beat them. Can we? Yes. Should we? No. Our history with the Colts has always been tight. We have a good rushing offense, they have a good passing offense. It all comes down to who executes the game plan better that day.
2) Garrard and JDR need to be replaced
- replace JDR? Thats the last thing I want to happen. I know his overall record shouts mediocrity but replacing a head coach will only set our franchise back. I like to look at JDRs success since `07 when we finished 11-5 and in the playoffs as a wildcard. In `08 we had strong expecations to only be brought down by injuries finishing a terrible 5-11. In `09 when Gene Smith took reigns over the terrible Shack Harris era, we were an overhauled team to finished dead last in the AFC South at 7-9. We are in the `10 season at 8-6 and firmly beleive that we will finish 10-6. Playoffs or not, that is a HUGE success for our franchise and only tells me that the combo of JDR and Gene Smith has all arrows pointing up for our franchise.
- replace Garrard? Not this year or next year. I think he is a good QB and if he has time, he can beat you. Granted, he isnt he most accurate QB but he has a strong arm and he can kill you with his legs. He has also shown his accuracy has improved with his commitment to improving his game during the offseason. Its unforunate that this loss overshadows the fact that he set a franchise record for passing TDs. I do think we draft a QB in the `11 draft and groom him for atleast one year before he plays. Till then, Garrard is working for our offense.
3) Play calling/coaching was terrible
- a lot of people are unhappy with JDR going for it on 4th and 1. As a fan, I cant get mad at him for going for him – it showed me that he beleived in our offenseive unit; unfortunately we just didnt convert. JDR, as of late, has built up the `gambling` reputation and we love him when it works. Im not gonna turn around a complain when it doesnt work. The good comes with the bad. Besides, it had just as much to do with execution as it did with the play calling.
I agree that Lewis was our best Jag out on the field. I beleive we would have been able to use him more to our advantage if our O-Line was getting their asses handed to them. That took a huge aspect of our offense away – having to use Lewis as an extra pass/rush blocker. To my understanding, the Colts are not a `big` team but are fast. With MJD being hurt, I would like to have seen Jennings used more in the game and allowed to bounce outside and use some of that quickness.
Just a few things i thought i would voice off as a Jags fan. Still got a lot of love and support for the team and no matter what happens, the Jags have been fantastic this season – exceeding everyones expectations.
I am fine will what you have said....
but I can not support Jack’s decision to go for it at that location on the field. I am not against going for 4th and one, but not that close to our own end zone. As I said before, even if we made it, I would not have thought it a wise decision.
I am fine will what you have said....
but I can not support Jack’s decision to go for it at that location on the field. I am not against going for 4th and one, but not that close to our own end zone. As I said before, even if we made it, I would not have thought it a wise decision.
i hate
when people who know nothing about jacksonville or the jags write about us. Their solution to all our problems are fire Del rio and cut Garrard. Then sign T.O and Randy Moss and then trade for Tebow
funny thing is, all 3 of those were knee jerk moves
and all 3 teams are currently worse than they were before. I think the Moss pickup was the death knell for Tennessee and TO had the numbers but you knew it wouldn’t go any other way. Denver really could have benefitted from a first rounder on the defensive side of the ball. It was a defense heavy draft.
I will give Tim credit though. He did better than I thought he would with a limited playbook. I mean the stats were not great but the run was some great ingenuity and the pass was nice. Lloyd and Gaffney really sold out for him yesterday.
But you look at the 2 tds and think Tebow had a hell of a game then Matt Flynn goes out and nearly beats the Patriots in Foxboro. If not for the poor clock management at the end…
I like Tebow but was secretly rooting for him to not play too* well. Only for the fact that the Jags lost, Garrard through an INT and didnt want to hear any `see.. we should have drafted Tebow` talk..
Flynn was playin a really good game – his team really stepped up around him. His full back, cant remember his name, was great too.
Did you watch the Denver game?
Tebow did not look good at all, he can certainly run but that is truly it. His passing TD was his one decent read all day, and it was lucky to have been completed.
by jstnblke41 on Dec 20, 2010 2:18 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I'm not a Tebow fan
but I thought he threw some decent passes.
But the key is, once DC’s get film on him he’s toast. Those runs won’t be there anymore and they’ll make sure to pressure him and see how quick his decision making skills and accuracy are under pressure.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
8 completions
… he still has to do just a touch more to convince me that he is an NFL calibre QB. His TD run was awesome, though.
Did you read where he blew the play call on the TD ?
They apparently called a play he’d never practiced there. It was supposed to be a draw play but he thought it was a QB Draw. The RB wisely kept running and blocked the safety when Tebow didn’t give him the ball…. Tebow outed himself on that one.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
Like I said
He did better than I expected with a limited playbook.
Every knuckleballer gets the hitters the first go around.
The players lost this game, not the coaching
Take away the errors by players (Garrard’s airmail pick, Cox’s block in the back on the punt return, Lewis’ pushoff to take away a converted fourth down, Greg Jones’ chop block to take away a converted fourth down, Garrard’s horrible pitch on the option), and the Jaguars win this game.
Take away any perceived coaching errors (4th down attempts, switching the direction of the onside kick, offensive playcalling), and the Jaguars still lose this game.
The players lost this game. Coaching very rarely decides games, and it didn’t here. As I said above, the fourth down decision was sound. The execution was far from it.
The great thing about a game on this stage is it exposes our weaknesses:
DE – Mincey and Lane did an awful job containing the run to the outside. Mincey especially was awful; he got completely taken out of the play on the long Brown TD run by Jacob Tamme, a TE. Lane showed some flashes…in run coverage. He really didn’t get to the QB much. If Kampman can somehow come back at full speed, the Jaguars still need an all-around solid DE for the other side. Lane has the upside to be that guy, but we could still use another good player at DE.
FS – Don Carey just sucks. There’s really no defending him. This is a monstrous hole in our defense. The Jaguars could honestly also use another body at SS, as Considine really isn’t very good either.
LB – Russell Allen is a nice special-teamer and a decent run-stopper, but he’s awful on the outside. He should never play anything but the middle, and honestly that’s a stretch. The Jaguars desperately need more speed at linebacker; Morrison is average speed, Smith is slightly above-average speed…Durant is the only linebacker with speed, and he was out. Two new bodies would be ideal, but one would suffice.
C – Brad Meester got zero push, and though he’s had a decent season, he’s getting old, and the team has zero young guys to take over for him.
QB – Garrard didn’t make a ton of mistakes, but the mistakes he made were enormous. The airmail interception was one of the biggest plays of the game, and the left-handed pitch was a stupid decision (the pitch itself wasn’t stupid; the fact that he did it with his left hand was). He also missed wide open receivers downfield a couple times. Garrard is a good enough placeholder, but this team needs a quarterback of the future.
Anyway, it was a disappointing game, but I’m still keeping the faith…I think Oakland has a great chance to beat the Colts this week; it’s in Oakland, and their run game is clicking on all cylinders. Also, their pass defense is much better than ours. Overall, I believe if the Jaguars take care of business against Washington and Houston, we’ll be seeing them at home in the first round of the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens. Even though there are some obvious holes that need new talent, this team is looking up.
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I hope you're right about the last part.
I think Oakland has a shot to beat Indy as well. I don’t think TN does whatsoever. However, my fear is not that Indy will win out. I’m worried that the pressure becomes too much, and we drop a game to Houston in week 17. We’ll see.
I don't think we need too much pressure
to lose a game in Houston.
Winning @HOU is always tough for the Jaguars. We’ll need to score 30+ to win that game.
DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.
I thought coaching was good
Both lines just played horrible. The run defense was pathetic, Mincey and Lane got whipped on the Colts stretch play, and there was no pressure. On offense we couldn’t open holes or pass protect.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
we couldnt buy a hole for our running game.. and that makes me sad.
Colts line looked fast yesterday.. I would have preferred to see Jennings get the ball and bounce out. He isnt going to bruise you but he showed some quickness in the Oakland game. We could’ve used it.
I'd like to see a little more Jennings period
I think he’s a nice compliment to Maurice and he’s a better pass catcher as well. I’d like him to get 6 or 7 carries rather then his usual 2 or 3, he’s earned it methinks.
by jstnblke41 on Dec 20, 2010 7:31 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
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