There is a metric ton of people writing about the Jaguars/Patriots game. To help manage all of this madness, I'm compiling a list of most of them here, to better facilitate your reading experience.
First, and most importantly, Fred Taylor is officially going to the Pro Bowl:
"I don't think it's going to do anything for us this week playing a team the caliber of the Patriots," he said. "It's good to see that it's there, but it doesn't change any of the routines."
Of course, I implore you to visit SB nation's New England Patriots blog at Pats Pulpit
With all the negative storylines getting dragged around for this game, it's nice to see someone explain the long friendship between Kyle Brady and David Garrard. I've got a lot of respect for Kyle, and he is the only part of the Patriots that I care about (how's that for Disrespect), and I'm glad he's doing well:
"I texted him after the Jaguars beat the Steelers [31-29 in the AFC wild-card game] to say how happy we were for him, and then Sunday, I asked what he wanted to put on the game," Brady said. "A dinner [bet]? Or maybe if [the Patriots] win, he buys me a fedora. I had to get that in."
Pete Prisco gave the Jaguars a B for their performance against the Steelers, but is far less optimistic about our chances against the Patriots:
Isn't that like living through a bullet to the stomach only to get the guillotine to the neck the next week?
Paul Spicer and the Jaguars are not backing down from any "bulletin board" garbage:
The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss has a mailbag of Jags questions that's somewhat interesting:
A: I see this Jaguars team as very likeable. While every team is different, this one sort of reminds me of the 2001 Patriots in that you need to watch them closely to appreciate what they're doing. They don't have bona-fide stars, but they play hard, they play together, they limit mistakes and they're tough. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew is one of the league's most exciting players who should probably be talked about more. I think he's overshadowed by playing in a smaller media market. That being said, I will be very surprised if the Jaguars come into Gillette Stadium and win. The weather looks like it won't be a factor and I think the Patriots' offense, specifically in the passing game, can exploit the Jaguars' defensive weaknesses. The Jaguars basically play a 4-3, rush four, and drop seven into zone coverage. I saw the Patriots carve up a Redskins team that played the same way earlier in the season. My main question is whether the Jaguars can control the game when they have the ball through the running game. I think the Patriots will answer the challenge.
Jeffri Chadiha joins the crowd in assuming the Jags can't recover from an injured defense:
It's hard to think they won't. Jacksonville has played a fair share of this season without three key starters -- including defensive tackle Marcus Stroud and middle linebacker Mike Peterson -- and the Jags lost defensive tackle John Henderson to a strained hamstring early in their AFC wild-card victory over Pittsburgh.
Now it's one thing for the Jaguars to lose Stroud and find a way to succeed. But if Henderson's hamstring injury lingers for another week and Peterson can't find a way back to the field (he has missed seven straight games with a broken right hand), Jacksonville will be incredibly vulnerable in the heart of its defense.
The same Accuscore that predicted a Jaguars victory over the Steelers now gives us an 18% chance to beat the Patriots
So there you go, plenty of reading material!
-Chris