When Jason Campbell's final canon shot fell 23 yards short of the target, the Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans exploded in celebration. The attack, which began at 1:00 pm amidst the remanants of a brief December shower, was both relentless and focused. But in the end, much like the sun that broke through and bathed the faithful for much of the second half, the Jaguars escaped the silver and black to stand victorious and prepared to take ownership of the AFC South at Indianapolis next weekend.

Let us hope any damage sustained will not linger long.

If you look back on how this vessel that is the 2010 Jaguars home schedule was christened there were serious questions as to her armaments and sea worthiness. After a festive launch against Denver, blowout losses to Philadelphia and Tennessee left the crew in the stands with thoughts of mutiny. All the investments made to shore up the teal and black seemed wasted. Even an exciting  victory over the Colts, which was sandwiched between embarassments, could not hold the collective confidence.

But the captain has navigated through the treacherous waters and has shown that our home will not be taken from us without a fight. Go on believing they are soft because of the teal coloring to their uniforms. Insist that this warm climate makes them vulnerable. This ship and its on field crew have weathered the storms, becoming tested and hardened.

Just ask the Broncos, Colts, Texans, Browns and now Raiders.

Thoughts anyone?

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If you listened to BCC Radio last week, or if you've been following this site for the past few years, you know the two games the Jaguars play versus the Titans are must wins. Sunday's victory over Tennessee was a perfect remedy for the seven week hangover that was the 30-3 loss in Jacksonville.

There were so many big players up in Nashville that it is almost unfair Maurice Jones-Drew is getting so much attention. Call it cliche but when Drew stated the offensive line deserved the game ball I believe he was speaking the truth and from the heart. Pocket Hercules was not forcing his way into open territory, he was blowing past would be defenders. The war elephants in front of him made it perfectly clear they were on the march.

On the defensive side of the ball there was a front four bulldozer and blanket back seven which ensured no big plays to be had: You do not stop Chris Johnson by luck and with limited effort. Of his 15 runs, five were for one yard or less including 3 for a negative gain. Huge.

With Dallas beating the Colts, Jacksonville is in the playoff hunt, where they were last year with four games remaining. And like last year a critical game with Indianapolis falls within frame. Let's hope there is more big left in Jack's team.

Now, onto some quick thoughts.

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I have to admit; I love writing these. When time is short, throwing out brief thoughts for your reading pleasure serves to feed my personal need while hopefully giving you a good reason to stop by the site. Wanting this to be a better part of our blog I have thought about the format and will try out fewer comments, with them being solely Jaguar related. If you like it or hate, I'd love your feedback.

For those of you who may not know, a "brownout" is defined (thank you Wikipedia) as the following:

• Brownout (medical), a dimming of the vision caused by loss of blood pressure or hypoxia (sometimes referred to as a grey-out)
• Brownout (electricity), drop in voltage in an electrical power supply, so named because it typically causes lights to dim
• Brownout (aviation), reduced flight visibility due to airborne particles, especially from helicopter downwash

In either definition, the "dimming", "drop" or "reduced" reference seemed to aptly qualify the Jaguars play yesterday. As opposed to a "blackout", the team did not lose power and managed to give the fans another reason to believe this team's arrow is pointing up. One of the items we addressed on BCC Radio last night was that this team continues to have fun which not only is translating into victories but is also energizing a fan base that too has seen some brownouts.

The best thing about a brownout is that, unlike a blackout, the vision comes back, the power stays on and the skies clear.

Now on to my quick thoughts.

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So how has everyone enjoyed watching our team highlights for the week? There is something to be said for what a last second victory over a perennial Super Bowl contender will do for your television viewing. I personally watched ESPN and the NFL network more than I ever have.

But my highlight was coming home to hear my teenage son tell me of the signs he and others made and put in Scobee's front yard. It is that kind of excitement which builds the fan base and gets the city excited. I know the 24 hour rule is in play and we are supposed to forget about it and move on to Buffalo, but we haven't had many moments like this in recent history so I am milking the cow dry.

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If you haven't seen Get Him To The Greek then you are probably trying to figure out what in God's green earth does furry walls have to to with the Jaguars. Without getting into too much detail I'll give you the quick and clean.

Aaron Greenberg (Jonah Hill) has been tasked by his record company boss Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) to bring rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) back to L.A. to perform at the Greek Theater. In the process they happen upon Las Vegas and during a party Aaron is given a "Jeffrey". The "Jeffrey" is nothing more than a joint laced with more drugs than I've ever heard of. Aaron begins to freak out. In an effort to calm him down Aldous tells Aaron to go to a wall covered with fur and stroke it. He is eventually joined by Sergio who is also amped out from the "Jeffrey". As long as the hand is on the wall, everyone is coping.

Later in the movie we see that Aldous has written a song about the event with the famous line:

When the world slips you a Jeffrey, stroke the furry wall, stroke the furry wall.

From training camp through week two I feel like someone has slipped me a "Jeffrey".

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There are some things we know and in turn live that knowledge through conscious acts. Sometimes, however, we forget those obvious items and need to be refocused. This week, for me, was the latter. My college roommate thought he was having a heart attack which turned out to be a false alarm but which has now led to  a week's worth of testing to figure out what happened. His wife, my wife's college roommate, has a sister who will be undergoing surgery and chemotherapy for cancer in her neck. Finally, the father of a close friend died this week after a sudden illness.

I liken the impact of these events to a race. Sometimes you get caught up in the activity of those around you and forget the pace that ensures a strong and enjoyable run. It is simply a matter of putting things back into focus to allow you to have a clearer perspective.

We've all had our ups and downs
It's been mostly down around here
Now this whole damn mess is becoming quite clear

Life Worth Livin' - Uncle Tupelo

For the teams and their fans it is imperative that last week's game and individual performances are tapered. As ESPN's Paul Kuharsky noted multiple times: it is just one week. So no, Houston, that doesn't mean you've turned the corner. And no, everyone else, that doesn't mean the Colts are on the other side of success.

In reading this and a few other Jaguar sites, we seem to be very cautious in our optimism. We like what Aaron Kampann and Tyson Alualu did but we know Aaron's injury and Tyson's youth still have at least15 more tests. We like that David Garrard showed a bit of the 2007 game management but it needs to be an every Sunday and not an every other Sunday performance. We don't like that Mike Simms-Walker was a non-factor but even Andre Johnson had a bad week.

That isn't where I think the problem resides.

If you followed twitter and this site early in the week the buzz was directly focused on the journalistic failings from the likes of Jerome Bettis and Gregg Easterbrook. My role in this was heavy handed as I emailed these two directly along with the news agencies which published and edited(?) their articles. While it is necessary to defend the city and the team, the obvious truth is this: sell tickets, win games and your problem will more than likely go away.

In a well written article, Kuharsky reminded us that editors want stories which attract attention and focus on "hot" issues. Even with a well packed stadium and a vastly improved defense, the public perception is that Jacksonville is still a failed NFL experiment. If the fans buy tickets and the team wins games it will be very hard to paint the dismal picture some are hell bent on defining. The more we react, the more power "they" have.

Putting it in that perspective reminds us that "we" have the power. Now jump those random musings.

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Forgive my lateness. The autosave feature failed and I lost the entire article.

So the big dance has started. This past Thursday evening the NFL christened the 2010 season in the great city of New Orleans. While the game was less than expected, the hype was grand. The Today Show reported from the Big Easy and once again the lead up to the game was highlighted with a pre-game concert, this time featuring The Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift.

For the Jacksonville Jaguars, year two of Gene Smith's house cleaning will commence this weekend amidst a high degree of media attention and intense fan focus. Some teams start their season in front of the home fans with the hope of a rookie quarterback leading them to victory, Jaguar fans will enter EverBank stadium with a majority of the focus on the visiting team's backup quarterback.

Yawn.

I thank the NFL and the national media for renting the dance hall,but their theme choice, decorations and DJ are a buzz kill. Same tired colors. Same boring music. Same cliched messages. Having the Super Bowl champion Saints host the opening game was obviously the appropriate venue. However, once again Jacksonville finds itself the focus of their failures (ticket troubles,blackouts, not drafting Tim Tebow), rather than their successes (ticket drive, decreased blackouts, promising preseason from Tyson Alualu). This marginalized and dismissed small market franchise will no longer be the unpopular boys and girls sitting alone by the wall while the others mingle and dance.

Those days I'd gladly walk so long for you,

Although it seemed I crawled most of the way

After some time I felt like a cripple

It's just that simple

Wilco - It's Just That Simple

On Sunday the Jaguars and their fans are crashing the party. Consider this our rebellion against the establishment. We are storming the Bastille and removing the king and queen. No longer will we be subjects to the speculation of moving and the belittling of our city. We have grown tired of being told we prefer college football over the NFL. The tickets have been sold and the fans are in the seats.

Think not drafting Tebow was a failure? Get back to me after Alualu man handles Denver from the line to the backfield. From player to fan we are fed up and though we are grateful you let us in, we no longer see you as anything more than another business entity. Write and say what you want, on September 12th we will show you you are wrong.

Simply put, we don't give a damn what you think.

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Every year the NFL Fan has to suffer through the necessary evil that is the preseason. From full price tickets for half a product to over analysis of an under utilized playbook, our sacrifice for the sport we love seeks but one thing: September. It is August, with its Pavlovian bell ringing tease, which shows only glimpses of the promised land. For 31 days our weakness is exploited, but it is a small price to pay for five months of milk and honey.

But let us refrain, at least for a moment, from our narcissism. There is another reality. When Thursday's game against Atlanta ends you may hear two funeral dirges playing in the distance. One is for the 2010 preseason. The other is for death of the NFL dream.

It is easy to forget, amidst the the monsoon of criticism we shower upon Jaguar and other NFL players, that these are people working to obtain their dream job. Years of summer workouts and off season conditioning will prove fruitless when The Turk walks them down that NFL green mile: It is the same for the rookie or the seasoned veteran. The truth hovers over the locker room like the Grim Reaper. Every player is falling towards the inevitable finality of his career and there is nothing he can do to stop it.

My apologies. Sometimes the existential angst just overwhelms me and I am suffocated by the absurdity.

So with this in mind I will take my seat in EverBank stadium and applaud names I will not remember as they execute plays which may simply fill time and game tape. Not one foul word will fall from my lips. At the very least they deserve my respect for their commitment and courage to face failure on such a grand scale.

Thank you all for entertaining us and good luck as you move away from football. More thoughts after the jump.

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