A typical sight at home games this season

Anyone familiar with the Cold War knows the phrase Mutually Assured Destruction. It, along with the United State's paranoid Domino Theory were the two driving forces behind almost every foreign policy decision made from 1949 until 1991.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the idea, in a nutshell, it said that if either the US or Soviet Union finally decided to launch nuclear weapons at the other, the resulting retaliation would leave both countries devastated and broken.

The nuclear arms build up of the Cold War gave us some great theater and a lot of "What if" scenarios, but ultimately didn't amount to anything, thankfully. Instead, it was much more a promotional vehicle than anything. Threats to cut the military budget? Just throw up some footage of the Soviets marching their newest ICBM past the Kremlin and nobody said anything. Deep down, I don't think either side really intended to make good on their threats as they knew the other side wasn't crazy enough to end the world either.

I can't help but wonder if this same principal applies to the NFL and Jacksonville. Ironically, during the 1970's and 1980's, Jacksonville was in much the same position Los Angeles is in. We were the big bad boogyman NFL owners used when they wanted new stadiums. They would just point to Jacksonville and say, "If you won't give me what you want, I have a 80,000 seat stadium and town rabid enough to fill it in Jacksonville."

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[Editorial NOTE: Rather than post something above such a spectacular article, please take note that it was just reported that Trent Edwards will be replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting QB. Terry's stat-sheet should look even better after next week.] -Collin
 
Something is happening on the Jaguar defense and it looks very good. This chart shows the average yards allowed by the defense for the first 5 games though Seattle and the average yards allowed for the next 4 games through New York.

While on the radio program a few weeks back I wondered why we were so bad on defense, especially pass defense. Mel Tucker didn't have Greg Williams reputation as a defensive genius, but he always had good pass defense. Cleveland had near the top numbers in interceptions and was fairly stout against the pass, they just couldn't stop the run. So why were we having so much trouble?  I surmised at the time that it might be temporary and as soon as Derek Cox learned more and the secondary got settled, it would improve.  I think that might be happening.  The average of the last four games includes the 430 yards Tennessee hung on us. After the jump, let's look a little deeper. 

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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.

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Forty-five years ago, the words, "I shook up the world, I'm a bad man", were proclaimed announcing a surprising upset. The most feared man in the world, Sonny Liston, was vanquished. It was the upset, the surprise outcome, that still holds our attention.

Upsets, or even near upsets, are the most thrilling moments in sport. When a person or team stands in there and fights harder than imagined against all odds, we can't help but to rise to our feet and cheer. Even if the person or team loses, as long as the fight is good, we are moved. I don't care how many times I see "Rocky" or any of the sequels; they always hook me.

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by Stephen Morton - AP

Mike Thomas has been part of an excellent rookie class. That class needs to keep maturing during the 2nd half of the season.

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1. A definitive answer if David Garrard is the guy

The Jaguars have invested heavily in David Garrard and what have they gotten from it? Several ups and several downs. One week David Garrard is a Top 10 QB, then next he'll look like a journeyman. Part of it has been the offensive line, but David has shown his ability to improvise in the past. I'm not saying I want Garrard to rank with Brady, Manning, and Roethlisberger. What I want is to have confidence in David week in and week out.

2. Will Maurice Jones-Drew keep it up?

MJD is on pace for almost 1,900 total yards and 22 touchdowns this season. The key phrase being on pace. Fred Taylor was famous for exploding in the 2nd half of the season. Will Jones-Drew fade during it? Questions remain as to whether Jones-Drew can be a premiere back over a 16 game season. If he has as good a 2nd half of the season as first half, then we can be sure we have a special player.

3. Will Jones-Drew set the franchise scoring record?

The current record is held by Mike Hollis who scored 134 points for the Jaguars in 1997. At Jones-Drew's current pace, he'll have 132 points. The Jaguars take on the Browns in Cleveland to close out the season, and stranger things have happened there in franchise history than MJD kicking a FG.

4.Offensive line consistency

Barring injury or severe deterioration in play, I'll just be in facepalm mode if the Jaguars switch around the starting offensive line again. Monroe has shown he deserves to be starting at left tackle and is the future of the position. This team would be best served by sticking with 5 guys game in and game out.

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This post is brought to you by Comcast. Check out Comcast and the new Red Zone channel. Catch every touchdown from every game.

The Jaguars were one for two in red zone attempts against the Chiefs. Maurice Jones-Drew scored a ten yard touchdown while Josh Scobee missed a field goal attempt. On the year, the Jaguars are 12 for 23 in the red zone.

The Jaguars need to get better with converting red zone trips into seven points. When teams like Indianapolis, New England, and Pittsburgh go into the red zone, it is assumed that they get into the end zone. The Jaguars need to have that same mentality.

The biggest issue for this team has been red zone turnovers. The Jaguars have had four red zone turnovers in the first half of the season. Factor in the blocked FG against Arizona, and the fourth down stand against Seattle, and the Jaguars have had 6 trips into the red zone that have resulted in no points.

Think about that, if the Jaguars make 4 trips into the red zone in a game, the odds say they'll only get 17 points out of it. Two touchdowns, one field goal, and one negative possession.

This leads me to topic I forgot to mention in my Grades and Awards post the other day. The biggest thing that has been dragging this team down is turnovers. The Jaguars are -3 in turnover differential half way through the season. Part of that is due to David Garrard throwing four interceptions in the last two games. However, it is also indicative of a team that adds unneeded pressure to win games.

Let's look at those red zone goof ups and see how they affected each game.

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More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

12 days ago: Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew runs for a third-quarter touchdown during an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville won 24-21.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)

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The Jaguars have completed the first half of their schedule and the results are a resounding...........who knows. This team has had it's share of ups and downs, though it has been entertaining the entire time. This team is in rebuilding, but that doesn't mean it has it's strengths and weaklinks.

Passing Offense: B-

The key here has been the emergence of the wide receiving corp. The Jaguars no longer have a CFL level wide receiving corp and it shows. Mike Sims-Walker has been showing why the Jaguars have been so patient with his injuries, while Torry Holt has been the best free agent pick up since Mike Peterson.David Garrard has been up and down, though that has as much to do with the play of the offensive line as himself.

First round pick Eugene Monroe is seemingly finally entrenched at the left tackle spot. As long as the coaching staff doesn't have anymore divine revelations to start Tra Thomas, I don't see Monroe leaving that spot for the next ten years. Fourth round pick Mike Thomas has certainly been the surprise of the draft class for me. He has been a nice spark plug for the offense.

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More photos » by John Russell - AP

19 days ago: Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio looks up at the scoreboard in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/John Russell)

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All through the bye week, the sentiment was that this 3-3 was radically different from the 3-3 record the 2008 Jaguars posted. This team's arrow is pointing up, last year's was down. Despite having the same record, it was clear these were two very different teams.

However, a similar challenge lay ahead for both teams. In 2008, the Jaguars were to play the win less Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. It seemed simple enough, win those two games, along with a trip to Detroit, and the ship is righted. In 2009, the Jaguars had to go to winless Tennessee and then come home to play the 1-6 Chiefs. Win those two games and at 5-3, we could officially say this team was a real contender.

In 2008, a disaster occurred. The team went up to Cincinnati and proceeded to lay an egg that would even make a Kiwi cry in pain. It was the de facto last game for Mike Peterson, the player who perhaps embodied all the positive qualities of the Jack Del Rio era. That was followed by another loss to Cleveland, and everyone knows the rest of that story.

This year, the Jaguars went to Nashville to take on an 0-6 Tennessee team that they had just beaten 37-17 a few weeks earlier. A win would've guaranteed the Jaguars a non-losing divisional record for the first time in years and set them up for a potential playoff run. Again, a massive egg was laid, though no one outside of Nashville and Northeast Florida noticed because of Brett Favre.

Once again the Jaguars were handed a seemingly golden opportunity and proceeded to give a collective "eh." Things like what happened on Sunday is why this town seems so apathetic towards this team. If it doesn't help itself, then why should the town help it?

What is it about this team that makes it always go the opposite of where you think it's going. Play well against the Colts, blown out by Arizona. Win back to back divisional games only to struggle since. It's simply maddening that this team can't be figured out week to week.

Whether it was the play-calling, the line play, the quarterback play,  things have to turn around somehow. I forgot who said it, but someone on this site described last year's scenario as "Test taken, test failed." Right now, the Jaguars are on the border between a D- and F. If they want a passing grade, they'll need to take care of business against the Chiefs.

-Jonathan Loesche