Big Cat Country

FREE NFL FIELDPASS!?

freek1969 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:13:51 -0000

Im not sure if the NFL has lost their mind, but for some reason they are giving away a limited number of NFL Field Pass memberships totally FREE.

I signed up and went through the process as if Id paid for it but it never asked for credit card or anything....it even created a reciept for $0.00......maybe everyone who is a "non-local" Jags fan should hit NFL.COM and take advantage of this.

O Line Depth Chart

Ewdtrey — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:33:39 -0000

If Williams(LG) and Barnes(LT) win starting positions, who will be Pashos' backup? Will Williams move to RT; which would probably lead to Uche taking the starting LG spot? Or do we move the big 345 pound Collier to the RT spot? Or is there a third option with a back up lineman like Reyes, or Carnahan, etc.?

Personally I like the idea of moving Richard Collier over to the right side. He would probably improve the pass protection that may be needed in a passing shoot out against teams like the Colts, especially against speed rush ends like Robert Mathis.

Another positive story

cuffs007 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:40:23 -0000

It's still refreshing to see the good things that players and coaches do in the NFL, right?

It still confuses me how NFL screw ups get the most attention, while the people with an actual heart who aren't selfish get the backpage story space in small print. Yeah, yeah, I know that all that negative stuff sells papers and brings people to websites, but what does that say about us as a civilization? Not so pretty, huh? Stick with BigCatCountry.com and you will see great stories about great people. Leave all that negative stuff to the shmo's(sp?) who are too lazy. Click right here for the article about a day at a kid's camp with Joe Zelenka, from Jacksonville.com.

Big Cat Country Scores w/Vic Ketchman....AGAIN!

freek1969 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:26:56 -0000

I'm sure many of you read Vic's column, but for those who didn't Vic has AGAIN allowed another mention of BigCatCountry.com to appear in his column.

Talk about plum promotion! I think Vic actually likes the site and is willing to throw it a bone or two. This is begining to show the legitimacy and hard, honest work of the editor, and writers as well as the fans who make this site the exploding mecca of all things Jaguar!

THANKS VIC!

See it here....about halfway down

Top 5

kickandsnare07 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:18:43 -0000

Alright, top 5 jags that have ever played the game??? 1.Fred Taylor 2.Jimmy Smith 3.Tony Boselli 4.Mark Brunell 5.Keenan Mcardell Some might think this is lame but it's something to talk about I suppose? In my opinion Taylor is a top ten back in the history of the NFL. He only has one pro bowl in his resume but is on his way to surpassing jim brown on the all-time rushing list and possesses a rare combo of speed and power. If he were in a bigger market he'd get much more love.

Something positive!

cuffs007 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:24:52 -0000

With a plethora of negative stories floating around the NFL these days, it's always a pleasure to see someone stepping up and making a commitment to their community. Jack Del Rio is already involved in some superb organizations on a national level, but he now maintains a great foundation here in Jacksonville.

I really don't want to read about who got robbed in the NFL, or who did the robbery, shooting, or other tawdry garbage. So much emphasis is placed on reporting sensationalist poop that sells newspapers or what brings readers to their websites. I believe that Big Cat Country has much more to offer when we publish stories about the lighter and heartwarming side of life in the NFL. Take a moment to see what Jack Del Rio is up to with his new foundation right here.

Sportsline Disqualifies Raiders Fans and Jaxson De Ville for Cheating!

freek1969 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:43:02 -0000

[Note by River City Rage, 06/17/08 4:23 PM EDT ]: What a disaster. I'll tell you this, Jaxson is smiling at the way this all played out. Sure, we ended up "losing", but it was certainly an amusing process. There's not much for Jaguars fans to fight about during this very long dead zone, so I thank Raider Nation for providing us with such amusement. Also, thanks to all the readers of BCC who kept us up to date. I can tell you that I had nothing to do with any cheating, but not for lack of trying...

No. 2 Jacksonville vs. No. 7 Raiders

Editor's Note: Both teams have been eliminated from the competition for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the Mascot Competition.

Sportsline resets poll due to Cheating!

freek1969 — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:33:24 -0000

CBSSportsline has issued a "re-do" on the Fiercest Mascot Voting competition between Jaxson DeVille and the Raider Nation.

This is what they have posted at the current time, and they have not reposted the actuall poll as of 12:30pm EST. :

Note: Since there has been cheating on both sides, we are giving fair warning and another chance to redeem yourselves. The poll has been reset with 24 hours left to submit your votes.

Let's keep this a fun competition.

And that folks is a direct quote. I hope that the Raiders Fans get the message here and that they dont restart this war.

I hope that we will all keep close watch on this and VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!

Offensive Line

JagsFathead — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:05:10 -0000

From The Ultimate Jags Newsroom:

OFFENSIVE LINE

Key gains: None. Key losses: Cut veteran guard Chris Naeole, arguably the club's best offensive lineman. Didn't offer reserve tackle Stockar McDougle a contract. Better or worse? Probably worse, based on reshuffling along the interior and the injury situation at tight end. The Jags moved guard Vince Manuwai from the right to left side and opened up competition for the starting right guard spot between Uche Nwaneri, Maurice Williams and Dennis Norman. Although the club played several games without Naeole last season, his absence will be felt. The team's decision to open up competition at left tackle between Khalif Barnes and Richard Collier will likely improve play at that position. At tight end, Marcedes Lewis has battled this offseason through a knee injury and it appears George Wrighster won't be ready for camp. Greg Estandia performed well last offseason, but this year, his outings have been average.

What's the thought..........are we worse ???? My thought is that we got our best out of Naeole. I never thought he was the best OL. I say it's a wash at best. Is this now the weakest part of the team?

Corner depth???

kickandsnare07 — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:57:34 -0000

How you guys feeling about brian williams moving to safety? He has played the position before and I do believe he upgrades us at safety but where does that leave our cornerback crop? Florence has good potential but he was the nickel in san diego and is now expected to be our #2? The only thing that really bothers me about this is the lack of depth at the corner spot. How does everyone feel about sensabaugh, can he get the job done??? This is my first post, new member of Cat Country. Fan from day one. -Ron in ME

TE Position

afl_storm — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:17:21 -0000

Hey guys (and gals), it's me again, still trying to learn our roster. Now being a Cowboys fan, they have almost always had a great TE (Novachek and now Witten), I have looked over the Jags roster and I am not sure how we use the TE position and who is the best of the group. Now I know some will laugh at this but on Madden they have Lewis as the best of the group but again I am not sure who even started last year. (as soon as I finish this post I am going to check out last years stats for the TE)

If anyone could catch me up on the TE position I would be thankful!

Thanks,

Jaxson De Ville vs. Raiders fans (Updated)

cuffs007 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:55:24 -0000

[Note by River City Rage, 06/15/08 1:14 PM EDT ] : Somethings not quite right with CBS's voting. Somehow this battle drew more than a million votes, when others averaged in the tens of thousands. Someone's clearly figured out how to "freep" the poll. This is such an "Oakland Raiders" thing to do. What we do know is that before the poll went crazy, Jaxson was winning.

We should go "recount" on CBS. Get some activists in front of CBS headquarters, get as many lawyers that we can afford, and maybe there's a retired Secretary of State out there that will be the public face during the democratic crisis.

-Chris

C'mon everyone! Go vote for Jaxson De Ville to beat those crazy Raiders fans! The voting is getting closer, so don't delay! You don't want to see fans from Oakland to beat our beloved mascot do ya? Practice for the upcoming elections by making your choice for the right candidate. Maybe not for the presidency, but winning the best mascot in the NFL is way too important to pass up. What are you still doing reading this? Go! Now! Enjoy.

Head over now to this spot and Vote now! We have to fill the "dead zone" with fun stuff too, right?

ESPN - NFL Front Page

afl_storm — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:31:34 -0000

FYI - ESPN's NFL Front Page has the Jags as their top story. They have a story of career restarts:

Career Restarts

and one on:

Matt Jones - Odd man out?

Also I posted about Pat Kirwan & Tim Ryan on Moving the Chains - Sirius NFL Radio (Weekdays 3-7 EST) refering to the Jags as America's Team.

Well someone called in today and asked about it and they explained that in a poll last year that ranked the popularity of NFL teams the Jags ranked dead last 32 out of 32.

So they do it as a joke but Pat stated that his goal is to help the Jags move up. He is very high on the Jags and he feels they will be a great team this year.

If you don't have Sirius you need to get it. My radio stays on Sirius 124 NFL Radio, I have one in my car, my wife's car and in my office so I listen to it all the time!

Poll

Do you have Sirius?

Wow!

JagSoldier — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:08:47 -0000

This a great sight. This is my first day here and I am really impressed. I look forward to reading all of your posts. The ones that I have skimmed through so far have been really insightful. Some of the other boards you find on the internet are full of people wanting to argue with one another. I hope that this sight stays away from all that and just gets down to the business of talking Jag stuff.

Later Everybody

mini camps

Tat2dhuman — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:28:42 -0000

Does anyone have the mini camp schedule? I live in Palm Coast and can't get the Jax paper, is there a link for online sports page? Help please! Also is there any update on Porter's knee?

For anyone who wants to read......MoJo will break out this year, 3rd year breakout season!

Has anyone ben at the mini camps? Seen Harvey in action yet? And does it cost to get into camp?

Tat2dhuman

New Jags Fan - What is up with Matt Jones

afl_storm — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:35:45 -0000

I just moved here and am trying to catch up with the Jags. What happened with Matt Jones. I thought he was playing well and had a chance to be a decent WR. Everything I am hearing around town is he will be cut this season right before the season starts? He is making the switch from college QB to WR. That is not an easy switch, one that many have failed at. I thought it was strange when they took him in the draft, and now it looks like a mistake?

What happened? Why did he fall out of favor with the Coachs?

Spinning Ticket Sales

cuffs007 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:11:06 -0000

This is a great article that shows how some spin has made ticket sales look pretty poor, causing all sorts of other negative attraction to our beloved Jaguars. I would like to say that, if you can afford to, go out and get season tickets, bundled game packages, or even single game tickets. It's so much better to see a game in person! Plus, it's a win-win situation for the fans and Jaguars organization.

From Tim McClellan at MVN.com .

With all of the hoopla surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars, local media has had to resort to spinning things in any way possible to paint the situation with ticket sales in a negative light.

The Jaguars currently have fewer than 4,000 non-premium season tickets remaining in order to declare the 2008 season a sell-out, avoiding blackouts. This number has been touted as being behind the pace for ticket sales in 2006 when the local media has reported on this. What has not been reported is that the team is actually ahead of their numbers for 2007. Renewals are up by 10% over previous years, and the number of tickets that need to be sold in order to avoid blackouts is smaller than the threshold that the team had to contend with last year...

[Note by River City Rage, 06/10/08 7:14 PM EDT ]: Tim, aka FBT, writes for Jaguars Journal, a fine MVN site. This article is fantastic, and the rest of it may be read here.

Quinn Gray cut by Texans

moneyallday — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:06:08 -0000

Today Monday June 9th the texans cut former jags back up qb. Is it possible that the Jags cut Lemon and sign Gray again??? In my opinion i would really like to get Gray back into a teal uniform. I believe he showed promise last year when garrard was hurt. I think he is a much more proven back up qb in our system than Cleo is. What is your guys take on this situation?

Jags' DL not suffering without Stroud (ESPN.com)

cuffs007 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:17:15 -0000

Another short, but sweet, article from ESPN.com. Maybe the should just email me the articles when published so I can post them quickly over here. Don't forget that Big Cat Country is all you need for Jaguars information. You can't email the NFL, ESPN, CBS Sportsline, or any other NFL website and expect a response like you do here. The kind of service and community you get at this website is unequivocally the best! *cuffs007*

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

While watching the Jacksonville Jaguars practice over the weekend, it was a little weird not seeing Marcus Stroud lined up next to John Henderson in the middle of the defensive line. But it was also comforting for the Jaguars to see what they have at defensive tackle after sending Stroud out of town in the offseason.

The spot next to Henderson is wide open, but Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio likes to talk about creating a competitive environment everywhere and he's got one at defensive tackle that could make this line better. Del Rio's not sure how things will sort out exactly, but there are some good possibilities.

Tony McDaniel showed enough in a backup role last season to convince the Jaguars to extend his contract and he's got a shot at a starting job.

"It's a great opportunity for him,'' Del Rio said. "We got him extended. We believe the arrow is going up with him right now. We're counting on him being part of our rotation right now.''

The Jaguars are also high on Derek Landri and Rob Meier, who were in the rotation last year. That would seem like a pretty solid rotation. But there's one more wild card in the mix. That's Jimmy Kennedy, who flopped with the Rams, but is looking impressive in offseason workouts

. "Jimmy Kennedy's here with a chance to fight for a spot and he's got a chance to kind of change the course of his career,'' Del Rio said.

Harvey & Groves (from ESPN)

cuffs007 — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:32:42 -0000

Hope you folks don't mind me pulling articles and blurbs from other websites. I think it's easier to come to Big Cat Country for all of your Jaguars news. I know Chris and Collin are busy putting together some really interesting items all the time. So, it's a small contribution from me, but at least you don't have to look all over the web during this time of the year. Big Cat Country is all you need!

Pat Yasinskas covers the NFL for ESPN.com.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

-- On a Saturday in April, Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves forever were linked together.

This fall and winter, the Jacksonville Jaguars would like their two rookie defensive ends to be linked to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady -- or at least getting close to the two quarterbacks who have separated this team from the AFC's elite.

Think back to last season, when Brady seemed to have all day to find receivers (completing 26 of 28 passes) and New England eliminated Jacksonville from the playoffs. Or think back to the Jags' two regular-season games against Indianapolis. Manning threw five touchdown passes as the Colts defeated the Jaguars twice and strolled to their fifth straight AFC South title.

Those three games exploited a weak pass rush that couldn't get near Brady or Manning. If the Jaguars, who appear solid everywhere else, are ever going to close the gap on the Colts, they need a defensive front that can apply some pressure.

That's why Harvey and Groves will be under pressure to produce immediately. They didn't come at a cheap price as the Jaguars traded up in the first round to snag Harvey with the eighth overall pick and jumped up again to get Groves in the second round.

"It was obvious that we weren't going to be able to solve it in free agency, so we really turned our attention to the draft," Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. "We were able to come out with two of the best three or four pass-rushers in the draft."

As the Jaguars began a two-day minicamp Friday, veterans Paul Spicer and Reggie Hayward were the ends for the first-team defense. For the moment, Del Rio doesn't want to rush his two rookies.

"What they are now is draft prospects,'' Del Rio said. "They have to get here and pan out. You bring these young men in here with a lot of competition and make them earn their way up the ladder and onto the field. Hopefully, in the end, the by-product of that competitive environment is waves of people that can get there and help you harass the quarterback a little bit better."

But the Jaguars didn't make those draft day trades for Harvey and Groves to come in and sit on the bench.

If you look into Del Rio's history, look to 2002 when he was defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. Julius Peppers was taken by the Panthers with the second overall pick in the draft and was working with the first team on the first day of camp. By the end of the season, Peppers was a big reason why the Panthers had one of the league's best defenses.

Spicer and Hayward might play important roles, but you can bet the Jaguars want Harvey in the starting lineup and Groves at least getting a lot of time in the rotation by Week 3. That's when the Jaguars travel to Indianapolis after opening at Tennessee and playing host to Buffalo.

"We have to go into training camp prepared as if we're every-down defensive ends and not just focused on the pass rush,'' Groves said. "When it's time to rush the quarterback, we rush the quarterback. When it's time to play the run, we play the run."

At 6-foot-5 and 271 pounds, Harvey has enough size to be an effective run defender. Groves, 6-foot-3 and 259 pounds, might be a little undersized to be a strong run defender. But that might not matter all that much. Both were brought in almost entirely for their ability to rush the passer.

That's what they do best. Groves led Auburn with 7½ sacks as a redshirt freshman and his play only got stronger each year. He also brings some versatility after playing last season at outside linebacker after injuries forced the Tigers to juggle players. Groves often looked awkward as a full-time linebacker, but has the size and potential to be used as a rushing linebacker at times. But the real plan is to let him stay at defensive end, where the Jaguars seem to believe that two rookies are better than one.

Harvey tied for fifth in the SEC with 8½ sacks last season while playing for Florida. Groves gave Auburn steady production throughout his career, finishing tied for fifth in school history with 26 sacks.

The link between Harvey and Groves already is in the minds of Jacksonville fans. As players walked through a gated area at the end of the first practice, fans lined the gates and repeatedly begged Harvey and Groves to sign autographs, while quietly letting some big-name veterans walk by.

Both players stopped and signed for about 10 minutes, Groves chatting away with fans and Harvey quietly scribbling on one item and moving on to the next.

For all their similarities as players and all the similar expectations, Harvey and Groves are about as different as two players can be. Jacksonville's media relations staff is doing its best not to overwhelm the shy Harvey. In a tunnel outside the stadium and away from fans, players and other media members, Harvey did two very short interviews.

He's pleasant, but a man of few words. After a few minutes of conversation, about all Harvey would reveal was he was happy to be staying so close to Gainesville and he had just moved into a condo in downtown Jacksonville.

"I just want to work hard, get better every day and help this team win," Harvey said.

The ice seemed to break a bit as Harvey smiled and laughed when asked about his growing relationship with Groves, but he still delivered a one-sentence answer.

"We help each other with the playbook and we hang out together, too," Harvey said.

A few minutes later, Groves, who likes to talk and doesn't mind doing it in large groups, was brought into a media room where cameras, microphones and tape recorders clicked away. He was asked about his shy new friend.

"He's the same way behind the scenes," Groves said. "You're going to have to talk to Derrick before Derrick talks to you. I try to get him to open up a little bit more. A couple more encounters, a couple more nights out with him, he'll be OK."

If Groves and Harvey can share a few more encounters standing around fallen opposing quarterbacks, the Jaguars might be a lot better than OK.