Jacksonville Jaguars v. San Diego Chargers: Game Preview

Top of the morning folks!

It's time for our Game Day Morning preview!

Who: The Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3) vs. San Diego Chargers (5-4)

When: 1:00 EST, high noon central.

Where: The Jack.  You know, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.  You might have forgotten what it's like to play at home after our brutal three game road trip.  But our Jaguars finally get a chance to have a home game, and it'll be a good one.

What's at Stake: Because of the other games today, the Jaguars get a fantastic chance to put a big lead on the Wild Card spot.  We've got the Browns playing the  Ravens, where we want the Ravens to win.  There's the Bills v Patriots where (sadly) a Patriots win pushes Buffalo back a bit. And then there is the Chiefs facing Indianapolis in which a KC win puts the Jaguars only a half game behind the Colts for the Division Title (provided, of course, that we beat the Chargers)

So clearly a win is important because it allows the Jaguars to hold the inside track for the Wild Card.  Or, if we take care of our business with a little help from the Chiefs we could be dangerously close to a division title.  Just for the sake of fantasy, close your eyes and imagine just for a moment that the Jaguars are hosting a Wild Card playoff game against Indianapolis.  Imagine the excitement?

Who to Watch: LaDainian Tomlinson is 91 yards away from Ten Thousand.  I'm a history guy, so I'll be happy for him if he gets it.  But I'd rather see the Jaguars (I'm talking to YOU Mike Peterson) just make sure he's only got like 60 more to go when the Chargers host the Ravens.  In all seriousness, watch what the Jaguars defense does to screw with the faltering Phillip Rivers.  I'd imagine we see more Zone Blitzing than we're used to in order do confuse his reads of who's covering whom.

Another important battle will be the Jaguars special teams versus Darren Sproles.  He's proven he can take the ball to the house, so the Jaguars gunners need to be extra careful to tackle and take correct angles.  We've got a good coverage unit, and when Podlesh isn't doing wacky things with the ball he's got enough leg to pin the Chargers deep.

Final Thoughts: I'd love a tremendously boring game.  If the Chargers are denied explosive plays, meaning that Gates, LT, and Sproles are just regular players, the Jaguars will win.  All we gotta do is give em the "Grindhouse" offense that we were doing so well with David Garrard before he was injured.

Oh yeah, David's playing! Let's take a moment and think about how important that is for the Jaguars!

Inactives: Jaguars: John Carney, Todd Bouman (third QB), John Broussard, LaBrandon Toefield, Aaron Glenn, Richard Collier, Tutan Reyes, Bobby McCray.

Bobby McCray?  That's weird, especially with our limited depth on the defensive line.  I hope he's OK, he wasn't on the injury report this week. Carney being inactive means we'll get some Scobee

Chargers: Charlie Whitehurst (third QB), Paul Oliver, Eric Weddle, Anthony Waters, Nick Hardwick, Malcom Floyd, Scott Chandler and Luis Castillo. Antonio Cromartie.  

Ok, time to get ready for the game!  See you all at the Live Blog!

-C