Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

: This, as you can tell, is a Hamstring.  Jerry Porter recently had surgery on his after hurting it during mini-camp.  People panicked.

: The Jaguars have four significant injuries to follow during training camp: defensive end Jeremy Mincey (wrist), safety Chad Nkang (wrist) and tight end George Wrighster (knee). This means that James Wyche probably gets the final roster spot at DE, someone else will have a chance to step up on special teams, and the tight ends behind Marcades are a muddled mess of potential and injuries.

: The Jaguars Jason Taylor saga is over.  He's now a member of the Washington Redskins after they suffered the worst opening of training camp in NFL history.  Nothing scares me more than early training camp injuries, they ruin teams.  No matter what happens during camp, I want nothing more than our roster to make it to opening day without getting hurt. 

:ESPN did a good thing.  Paul Kuharsky wrote the most fair-minded and accurate article on the state of the Jaguars and ticket sales that I've ever seen in the traditional media.  I'd love to think that he stumbled across some of the articles I've penned here on the subject, but I don't have the ego to think like that.

: This week is full of excitement as the Jaguars end their offseason hibernation and begin actual football-like-behavior.  It's been a rough few weeks, filled with nonsense like Matt Jones, Cocaine, and talks of LA and ticket sales, but it's about to turn into Oklahoma drills, roster cuts, and talking about practice. 

: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves will sign contracts this week.  The Jaguars typically announce one at a time, thus giving the player (and their agent) a day to enjoy the media cycle, so that's something to look out for.  Word on the street is that Harvey is close, though there's nothing official to confirm that.  As soon as I know something concrete, it'll be posted here.

Enjoy your Monday, I'll be back throughout the day with updates and other things!

-Chris

  
Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

: Cornerback Scott Starks is working with the Clara White Mission to "strike out" homelessness at the Stars and Strikes Celebrity Charity Bowling on Saturday, July 19th.  The event is at the Jax Lane Bowling Center, and will have Rashean Mathis, Maurice Williams, Reggie Nelson, and Gerald Sensabaugh as well as "many more".  More information about the event can be found here.  Kudos to the Jaguars for participating and showing the good side of the team!

:Your humble narrator, me, did an interview with the Pigskin Podcast.  If you think I've got a face for radio, do yourself a favor and give it a listen.  I make a very funny pun about Matt Jones.  Well worth the download.

: Tennessee Titans defensive tackle and face stomper Albert Haynesworth did not come to a long-term contract extension before yesterday's deadline.  Haynesworth and the Titans were hoping to work out a contract and remove the franchise tag, but terms were not reached.  According to league rules, all the Titans can do is extend a one year deal and try again next offseason. 

: The Houston Texans over at Battle Red Blog smell blood in the water in the AFC South, just like we do with the Peyton Manning surgery.  Sure, the Texans also think they'll split the series with the Jaguars this year, but there's no shame in a little irrational exuberism.

: Stampede Blue, our somewhat annoying but generally friendly Colts fans, have a good take on the Packers and Brett Favre.  Why are the Colts talking about Brett?  Because it's (sadly) the big story in football right now. 

: Alex Marvez of Fox Sports writes about the importance of the pass-rushers first step.  Derrick Harvey and Jack Del Rio are interviewed.  Good Stuff.

I'll be back in the morning with a closer look at the defensive line, some Jaguars news, and other exciting things!

-Chris

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

:The Colts offseason of great concern continues. They've been hit hard by the injury bug, and it isn't even August yet.

Strong Safety Bob Sanders and DE Dwight Freeney will probably be starting training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list.
Colts LB Tyjuan Hagler also will be on the PUP list after a recent pectoral injury he suffered during strength training.

Hagler was expected to be a starter this season, and his injury stings, however, the more telling story is Dwight Freeney. He still isn't healthy enough to perform, and although all the Colts' are saying he'll be back for the season opener, I have my doubts. One thing is for certain, he won't be the same beast this year.

:Joe Jurevicius may need microfracture surgery in addition to his recent June 30th clean up surgery. Matt Jones may be looking a little bit better to the Browns now, so perhaps the Jaguars could find interest in Cleveland.

: According to the NFL Network, Grady Jackson still wants to play this season and may lower his asking price to find a suitor.

: The 2009 Supplemental Draft has been canceled for next year due to a lack of applicants. Jared Gaither was the lone gem to come out of last year's supplemental draft and was snagged by the Ravens for a mid round pick (4th-5th rd), which was subtracted from the Ravens draft earlier this year. He may be Ogden's successor and is looking like a steal, some of you may remember that there was a brief debate as to whether the Jags should pursue Jared, but his off the field issues ultimately led the Jags to pass on him.  

:The Pittsburgh Steelers are for sale... Unlike a bad Twilight Zone episode though, this is for real.

The storied Pittsburgh Steelers football franchise has been secretly shopped to potential buyers amid continuing divisions among the five sons of the team's founder, Art Rooney Sr.  

Some of the brothers and younger third-generation family members are asking whether a better deal can be put together, if there is to be an ownership change.

-Collin

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

: Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline has two articles of note.  His first, the "Breakout Players of 2008" feature is a typical "dead zone" article where potential and speculation reigns over fact.  Facts, of course, are few and far between right now, but whatever:

26. Troy Williamson, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars: He was considered a flop in Minnesota after his selection in the first round of the 2005 draft. He had 79 catches in his first three seasons, just 24 in 2007. That's why the Vikings traded him to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. During the Jaguars' offseason work, Williamson was outstanding. He didn't drop a pass. If that carries over to camp, his speed will be a big addition to the Jacksonville passing game.

: Prisco also does another typical "dead zone" trick by listing his Top 50 Players by Position.  It's fundamentally impossible to rate players across teams and positions because each have a completely different value.  Technically, the top 32 of the 50 should be the Quarterbacks, since they have more value to a team than any other position, but that's not how this works.  Here are the highlights:

1. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Can he do any more than he did last season? The scary thing for the rest of the league is, yes he can.

6. Mario Williams, DE, Houston Texans: Williams is making the Texans proud for passing on Reggie Bush and Vince Young to take this pass rusher. He might have been the league's best defensive player in the final eight weeks of 2007.

49. Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Taylor finally got his due last season with his first Pro Bowl appearance. At 32, he remains one of the biggest home-run threats in the league. His 5.4 per-carry average was second best among the league's best rushers to Peterson (5.6).

: There's a new Jaguars blog on the FanSided Network.  The fine folks at "Black and Teal" are just starting out, and it's a pretty good read.  They already picked a fight with some Cowboys fans, which is a good way to earn some respect.  It's like they play by prison rules and beat up the biggest guy in the yard on the first day.  I look forward to keeping up with them as they get started!

: Charlie Bernstein of JagNation, Brendon Sonnone of Jaguars Journal and I did a podcast last night.  If you're interested in seeing me painfully cop out on a question about the 1999 Jaguars vs. the 2008 Jaguars and other good commentary, you can download it for your listening pleasure here.

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

: Is the end of the Jason Taylor drama near?  There are rumors that Taylor could go to Green Bay.  Adam Schein of Fox Sports thinks this is a good idea.  If it cost a 3rd round pick, I'd still trade for him.  Call me crazy (seriously), but if he's still around into training camp, I'd strongly consider making another phone call.

: Speaking of Fox Sports, Alex Marvez writes up a nice article about David Garrard.  David's done a nice job creating an image around dressing well, because that's typically the lede of any story written about him.

: ESPN's "Scouts Inc" did a roundtable about the AFC South.  Sadly, most of it is behind the subscription wall, but here's a sneek peek:

Jeremy Green: The best offense in the AFC South does not belong to the Indianapolis Colts, but rather the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season the Colts finished No. 3 in scoring, and the Jaguars No. 6. The Jaguars did this without a receiver or tight end you could even classify as a great No. 2. With the additions of veteran WR Jerry Porter and WR Troy Williamson who has looked excellent in the OTAs, along with a maturing tight end in Marcedes Lewis, all of a sudden this is an explosive offense. The Colts have the better quarterback in Peyton Manning, but David Garrard is a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback.

Matt Williamson: The Colts are an underrated group, but with Freeney's and Sanders' injury concerns, I am going to give the slight edge to Jacksonville, especially with Gregg Williams now leading its defense. Under Williams, the Jags should be more aggressive coming after opposing quarterbacks with the additions of DEs Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves through the draft. Tennessee cannot be overlooked in this discussion either, but I am going with Jacksonville.

: John Clayton has concerns about the Jaguars Offensive Line:

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

:  ESPN's Pat Yasinskas spent some time in Jacksonville this weekend.  His first article examines the expectations surrounding Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves:

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

:  Yasinskas also looks at Jaguars Quarterbacks Coach Mike Shula and his up-and-down experience as a coach:

Fans in Tampa Bay and Tuscaloosa might not want to hear it or believe it, but Shula is a very good coach and he's finally landed in a great situation. As Jacksonville's quarterbacks coach, Shula has been a driving force behind the emergence of David Garrard.

: Michael Wright of the Florida Times-Union writes about the uniqueness of the Jaguars minicamp :

The Jaguars' two-day minicamp began Friday, their latest start under coach Jack Del Rio. The team hopes that will result in fewer injuries (by giving players more time in offseason conditioning) and allow rookies to adjust to NFL life.

: Wright also looks at the struggles of Cleo Lemon, the ones that were painfully obvious this weekend.  Lemon shall be referred to from here on out as the "three million dollar man":

: Gene Frenette exposes some problems with Jaguars ticket sales in a well-timed piece that is sure to continue the national media's obsession with Jacksonville's ticket woes.  I implore everyone to help stop this by buying tickets:

No doubt it's a tough economy, and people must make difficult choices with their entertainment dollars. But with the NFL angling to put an existing team in Los Angeles in the next five years, the last thing Jacksonville wants is to give an impression that this market has trouble filling the low-priced seats (51,000) when the Jaguars' football arrow is pointing up.

: Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com takes a closer look at the quietest first round draft pick in recent history, the critcially important but media shy Derrick Harvey:

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

:  I participated in two podcasts this week.  First, the great guys at Football Guys had me on to talk about the Jaguars. (of course).  Thanks again to Cecil and Sigmund for having me on.  You can download the podcast here .

:  If you liked that, you'll love the full hour I did with JagNation last night on their weekly talk show.  Charlie Bernstein, Alfie, and myself debate and discuss just about everything you can think of about our Jaguars.  I won't toot my own horn here, but I think this is a pretty good show.  Download it here for your  listening pleasure!

: The Wide Receiver picture might have gotten a little more clear today.  Mike Walker was cleared by the medical staff to practice!  He even came back a day earlier than he planned.  Director of Scouting Gene Smith had this to say:

“He made a nice first-day impression. He looked both fast and quick. That’s a good sign for where he’s at. The one thing about Mike is he has a nice catching radius. Everything looks easy,” Smith said. “I think Mike can be as good as he decides to be, if he sustains his health.

OTA Report 6.3 and 6.4:

: David Garrard is getting ready to put on a show for the Jaguars fans this weekend.  Monday and Tuesday's OTA's were, according to Vic Ketchman, "fantastic".  He's "relaxed, throwing with ease" and most importantly, doing what star starting quarterbacks do.  He's going to show the fans and the media that he's worth every penny.

: D.D Terry had a day of ups and downs.  He's showing quickness and power in a third-down running back sort of way.  Unfortunately, there's not much of a chance he'd see any time in the regular season in that role, but there's nothing wrong with developing some future talent.  Terry put himself in a bad spot by missreading a blocking assignment and fumbling a ball.   Remember, the Jaguars have a tight competition for the final RB spot, so one fumble, one missed assignment, and it's game over.

: Gregg Williams is giving a variety of defensive looks on every single snap.  It's so intense that it's hard to measure the progress of Cleo Lemon and Paul Smith because of all the zone blitzing, safety blitzes, corner blitzes, etc.  Williams is going to make sure that our quarterbacks are never surprised by anything. 

: Reggie Williams, who I've heard very little about so far this OTA season, is looking "like a polished veteran receiver".  I want nothing more than to see Reggie prove to the world that 10 touchdowns was anything other than a fluke season.

: Safety Jammal Fudge is back from Clemson after finishing classes!

: Gerald Sensabaugh is not accepting that Brian Williams took his starting spot lightly.  Gerald deflected a few passes and looks completely recovered from his injured shoulders.

: Paul Smith is looking like a rookie quarterback, moments of brilliance, moments of frustration.  Pay attention to #12 at Minicamp.

That's all for now.  More exciting things coming down the pipeline!

-Chris

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

:  I almost wrote an entire post today about my frustrations with SI's Peter King and his Monday Morning Quarterback.  This week's incarnation epitomizes my love/hate relationship with Mr. King as he quickly brushes off the nuggets of gold in his article, while spending far too much time spewing nonsense.

...I remember talking to San Diego GM A.J. Smith the night of the draft. "We got our corner,'' he said happily, referring to first-round pick Antoine Cason. You might wonder why Smith was so focused on getting his corner, with two good starters -- Jammer and Cromartie -- in house, even after losing Florence in free-agency to Jacksonville. "I'm a firm believer in this game today that you need three starting corners to win.'' Amen

:  Rick "Goose" Gosselin might be the hardest working reporter I've ever seen.  When he goes to the combine, his goal is to talk with every single prospect.  You don't see this on TV, but there are times when there are up to ten prospects in the media room at a time, and some only stay for less than five minutes.  To meet all of them, Rick must sprint between tables just to keep up with it.  It's quite remarkable.

Let's go with the Cowboys and Jaguars. The Cowboys improved in the draft on special teams, selecting elite college returnmen Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins, and the Jaguars improved their pass rush. I thought there were four elite edge rushers in this draft, and Jacksonville landed two of them in Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves

:  Sticking with the "big shots", SI's Don Banks explores the consequences of the 80 man roster limit and how the loss of NFL Europa is going to hurt teams.

The potential ripple effect that will be spawned by the simmering controversy threatens to impact everything from the amount of throwing starting quarterbacks may be forced to do in camp, to the elevated playing time and risk of injury for veterans this preseason, to the decreased opportunity that rookies will receive in their bids to make an NFL regular-season roster

: Even ESPN will get some love from me today.  This article, by Elizabeth Merrill, follows a 6th round pick, Xaiver Omon, from draft day to his rookie minicamp with the Buffalo Bills:

His girlfriend, Lauren Williams, suggests they go outside and shoot some hoops. He sinks the first shot, misses the second, then Ludacris bounces on his cell phone. It's a 716 area code, and Omon wonders if it's a prank. The man on the other end is an exec with the Buffalo Bills. Omon doesn't have time to think it's strange, that the Bills weren't at his pro day, and now they're calling. He falls to his knees. Within a couple of minutes, he'll start to cry.

: Charlie Bernstein of JagNation brings us a great quote from Jack Del Rio on our new pass-rushing missile in Quentin Groves.  Charlie, who's both an gentleman and a scholar, does a great job over at JagNation, and if you're not reading them you're only getting half the story on the Jaguars.  (If you can't tell, we're a pretty tight fraternity of Jaguars writers

Jack Del Rio:
"He can play some end of the line 'Sam' but the way a 3-4 team might use him, you can do some of that if you're going to play a reduction front with that. But we didn't draft him with that in mind," Del Rio said. "We drafted him to be a right end, a pass rusher and a guy that if he shows he's capable of stacking the point and fending off tight ends, then we'll put him in position to make plays. We saw enough of that on tape, that he can stack the point. He did do 30 reps on the bench, he does roll his hips and when his hand placement is good, he has plenty of strength at the point.

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars.

:  Let's start with another walk down memory lane.  In this piece from deep inside the Sports Illustrated Vault we learn about the life and development of  Tony Boselli and his road to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  This will surprise you, as a youngster, Tony loved to eat:

Despite earning minimum wage, he never complained about his paycheck because he was close to the action and close to the food. On his breaks he would devour Big Macs, french fries, milk shakes and apple pies. "One of my managers called one day and said, 'I can't afford him. He's eating more than he's making,' " Tony Sr. says. "So, I transferred Little Tony to the landscaping crew."

:  If you don't mind a little math, Big Cat Country favorite NFL Stats breaks down the Ellsberg Paradox and why coaches should go for it more on fourth down.  While the Jaguars are not mentioned directly, the shadow of Jack Del Rio is everywhere.

: The Football Professor has done the math and made their 2008 season projections .  They have the AFC South finishing like this: Indianapolis Colts 11-5, Jacksonville Jaguars 10-6, Houston Texans 7-9, Tennessee Titans 7-9.  I'd be OK with that outcome, though the road to a Jaguars Super Bowl must run through a division title.

: Believe it or not, there's actually a little bit of drama at the running back position for the Jaguars.

: I'll never understand how the writing is so terrible at ESPN.com, but ESPN the Magazine does fantastic work.  Are they so terribly divided that they can't share the talent?  Anyhow, David Garrard is the subject of a fantastic article, though it leaves me with some questions about his wife:

"Jack took a chance on him," says Garrard's wife, Mary, sitting next to her husband on the couch. She pauses, purses her lips. "It would have been really hard for me to hitch my cart to a guy who ended the season like Dave did in 2006."

Garrard says. "I'd had a few turnovers, and I needed to step up. That play changed the way people saw me. It changed the way I saw myself." Garrard adds that when he called Mary after the game, she just kept screaming into the phone, "Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching!"

: A list of 2009 free agents , courtesy of Adam Schefter of NFL.com.  Let's go ahead and spread a rumor that the Jaguars are targeting T.J. Houshmandzadeh.  And yes, I had to copy/paste that.