Carolina Panthers v. Jacksonville Jaguars: Final Game Preview

Update [2007-12-9 11:58:27 by River City Rage]: Jaguars Inactives: John Broussard, LaBrandon Toefield, Aaron Glenn, Lamont Thompson, Mike Peterson, Uche Nwaneri, Tutan Reyes, Reggie Hayward.

Carolina Inactives: David Carr (third QB), C.J. Wilson, James Anderson, Jeremy Bridges, Frank Omiyale, Dwane Jarrett, Gary Gibson, Charles Johnson.

VS.  

The Facts

Date: December 9th, 2007
Time: 12:00 p.m. Central
Location: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville FL
Records: Panthers (5-7) Jaguars (8-4)
Weather: 76 degrees, 0% Chance of Rain, wind ENE 6 mph
TV: CBS
Radio: 106.5 WKMG
Panthers Coverage: Cat Scratch Reader

How the Jaguars Can Win: It's all pretty simple this week.  Stop the run and force the pass.  I know it sounds counter-intuitive  considering our woes in pass coverage, but when you've got a 44 year old quarterback throwing to a very limited group of receivers (quick, name someone other than Steve Smith), you should be able to cover.  Quite frankly, if we can't do it, we don't deserve to go to the playoffs.

Carolina would probably like to keep the game close, and to do so they'll need to establish a running game and attempt to burn as much clock as possible.  In many ways, they will try to "out grind" the Jaguars offense.  Jacksonville has been good but not great at shutting down an offense on 3rd down, so the Defense will have to be sure and stop making the conversions .  

How Carolina Can Win: Don't let the Jaguars control the ball.  Force 3 and outs.  That's about all you can hope to do.  Expect a pretty heavy dose of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor.  Jacksonville can get a little frustrated if they don't get into sync, and the defense can be tired out if they're constantly on the field.  John Fox is probably coaching for his life right now, never doubt the ability of a desperate coach.  Ever.

Things I'd like to see:  It's pretty simple, I'd like to see one game where each area of the Jaguars game steps up and makes one big play.  One big play on offense like a huge pass or long run.  One big play on defense, like a critical 3rd down interception or a perfectly timed blitz that stops a drive with a little momentum.  One big play on special teams, a kickoff return or punt return that makes a statement (hopefully for a touchdown).  We've still yet to play a complete game where from start to finish the outcome is never in question and the domination is complete.  A "complete" win would give the Jaguars just the momentum needed to ride into Pittsburgh next week for a good AFC battle.

Who needs a big day:? Marcus Stroud.  He's got to show that he can dive right back in and be a dominating force.  He's had 4 more weeks to get his head straight, now we have to hope the anger is there in such a way that he's able to attack the offensive line.  If Stroud and Henderson can have their first good day all season, we might (and I mean MIGHT) see a pass-rush.  

On Offense, Reggie Williams.  He needs to get some karma after what happened last week.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Reggie had his most determined week of practice in his career this week.

Ok folks, I'm out for a little bit.  I'll be doing the usual live blog right at game time, so stop on by!

-Chris