FanPost

Previewing the Jaguars First 3 Games

I decided to take a look at the Jaguars first three games and see what the major storylines, as well as give me analysis and a prediction. All the these predictions are based off the teams current situations so it does not include any unforeseen injuries or events.

Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars:

Top Storylines: Season Opener and (Sadly) Tim Tebow

Overview: The Jaguars start the season off against the Denver Broncos and have a great chance to start the season with a win for the first time since 2006. The Broncos have been plagued by injuries all off season and preseason. The Broncos have lost Pro Bowler Elvis Dumervil, OT Ryan Harris, RB Moreno, WR Thomas, and a slew of Offensive Linemen. All these injuries should help to increase the chances of the Jaguars winning. The Broncos Kyle Orton is a good QB and very underrated in my opinion and could take advantage of the Jaguars weak secondary. With all the injuries to the OL though Orton might being seeing a lot of pressure from the revamped Jaguars defensive line. With the Broncos weak run defense as well, the Broncos defense could see themselves being run over by Jones-Drew and Jennings. Overall I would say that the chances of the Broncos having a fighting chance in this game solely rests of the play of Kyle Orton. If he can pick apparent the Jaguars defense then it should be a good game, if not we might have a blowout in favor of the home team.

Prediction: Jaguars win 27 - 14

Jaguars at San Diego Chargers:

Top Storylines: Chargers Offense vs. Jaguars Revamped Defense and Can the Jaguars survive out west.

Overview: The Jaguars caught a nice break in Week 1 with the injuries to the Broncos but make no mistake the second game of the season at San Diego will be the first true test for this young Jaguars team. The Chargers offense is powerful even without Vincent Jackson who will still be on suspension. Phillip Rivers is an amazing quarterback and has a lot of weapons on offense including Antonio Gates, Malcolm Floyd, and Sporles. The Chargers are also counting on rookie RB Ryan Mathews who has showed talent in the preseason. For the Jaguars it is simply a matter of containing this offense as much as possible. If the the Jaguars new defensive line can get some pressure on Rivers and make a few stops the Jaguars will have a chance to win this. If the Chargers are allowed to march down the field every drive, well then this once might get ugly. The other storyline to watch is if the Jaguars can finally win a game on the west coast after losing two ugly games last season when they went out west. Hopefully their west coast troubles are in the past because the Jaguars need to be on top of their game to beat San Diego.

Prediction: Chargers win 24 - 10

Philadelphia Eagles at Jaguars:

Top Storylines: Kolb vs. Garrard, Early Must Win game

Overview: By the time the Eagles arrive in Jacksonville both teams are expected to be 1-1 (Eagles beat Detriot, lose to Green Bay). Considering both teams play in very tough divisions this makes this game the first must win game of the season for both teams because falling to 1-2 in either division is a tough spot. The biggest wildcard in this game is the play of Kevin Kolb and David Garrard. Kolb is finally taking the starting job but has looked shaky in the preseason but by Week 3 might have calmed down. Kolb will go against the Jaguars weak secondary so like in Week 1 with Orton, if Kolb catches fire and starts shredding the Jaguars secondary then the Jaguars have problems. The Jaguars should have no problem bottling up McCoy and the running game, its how they fair against the passing game that will make the difference. On offense the Jaguars have a tough task versus the stout Eagles defense but the Eagles passing defense was only 17th last season so if David Garrard can step up and have a big day then the Jaguars should win this one. Personally I feel this game is a toss up, both Jones-Drew and McCoy will probably have tough days vs strong run defenses so I feel this game will come down to which QB or pass defense steps up. Also a possible major factor is the Eagles poor kick off and punt returning which might make a difference.

Prediction: Jaguars win 17 - 14

Hope you enjoyed my preview, and I will do the weeks 4 - 6 after the first 2 games. Go Jags!

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