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Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts

dawgpounded — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 04:28:06 +0000

This game is for first place in the AFC South. The Colts are 5-0 and the Jaguars are 4-1 on the season. The Colts have won both of their road games this season but they’ve been close. Also, remember what the Jags did to the Colts last season in Jacksonville…….a 44-17 Jags romp! The game pits two teams with contrasting styles of play as the Colts are a more finesse team while the Jaguars like to bring the pain.

The Jaguars gave up a ton of rushing yards in the first game of the season against the Titans (282 yards) but they have tightened up the run D only allowing 50.0 yards rushing per game the rest of the year. Joseph Addai will be back for Monday Night’s game so it will be strength against strength. The Colts have only allowed 3 sacks this season so Peyton Manning could have enough time to throw the ball downfield to Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and Dallas Clark.

The Jaguars are going to attack the Colts on the ground without a doubt. Maurice Drew (307 yards rushing) and Fred Taylor (297 yards rushing) should get their yards despite the improved run defense of the Colts. David Garrard (104.7 QB Rating) has been outstanding this season despite not having any standout receivers. He has done a great job of spreading the football around this season and he will likely try the same thing on Monday Night.

PREDICTION: The Jaguars will be sky high for this game and they’ll take the fight to the Colts. JAGUARS 27, COLTS 24.

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Jacksonville Jaguars 37, Houston Texans 17

dawgpounded — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:56:16 +0000

The Jaguars punched the Texans in the mouth all day long before they let them get a garbage TD at the end of the game. David Garrard was his usual efficient self as he completed 22 of 34 passes for 221 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs. He also carried the ball 5 times for 26 yards (5.2 ypc). Fred Taylor looked great until his groin acted up as he carried the ball 6 times for 90 yards (15.0 ypc). Maurice Drew then took over as he carried the ball 12 times for 125 yards (10.4 ypc) with 2 TDs and he also caught 4 passes for 59 yards (14.8 avg). Dennis Northcutt had another solid game with 4 catches for 46 yards (11.5 avg). It will be interesting to see if Reggie Williams will get back in the dog house as he lost two fumbles…but he also caught 5 passes for 38 yards (7.6 avg) with a TD. The Jags finished with 244 yards rushing on 26 carries (9.4 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 34 passes for 213 yards.

The secondary led the way for the Jags defense as the Texans kept them really busy. Safety Sammy Knight led the way for the Jags with 12 tackles. CBs Rashean Mathis (8 tackles) and Brian Williams (7 tackles, INT) also had solid games for the Jags. The Texans finished up with 61 yards rushing on 24 carries (2.5 ypc) and they completed 30 of 43 passes for 329 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271014030

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

dawgpounded — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:20:20 +0000

This will be a key battle in the AFC South as the Texans are a surprising 3-2 on the season and the Jaguars are a solid 3-1. The Texans are a little banged up still on offense and that’s not a good thing when you’re playing the Jaguars defense.

The Jags have tightened up their run defense after allowing the Titans to run for a stunning 282 yards in the season opener. The Jags have only allowed 46.3 yards rushing per game the last three weeks. The Texans must still attempt to run the ball or Matt Schaub will be under a siege of blitzes. The Texans are hoping that Ahman Green can play as that might be able to help them have balance in the offense. If Green can’t go the Texans will likely throw the ball really often. TE Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter and Andre’ Davis will put some pressure on the Jags defense but CB Rashean Mathis is one of the best cover corners in the NFL so Schaub should steer clear of dealing with him too much on Sunday.

The Jaguars prefer to run the football and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. The Texans run defense is much improved this season as they are allowing 91.4 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry. Still, look for Fred Taylor (207 yards rushing), Maurice Drew (182 yards rushing) and QB David Garrard (108 yards rushing) will put a lot of pressure on the Texans’ front 7. In the passing game look for Garrard (105.4 QB Rating) to be efficient against a defense that is allowing 213.2 yards passing per game. The amazing thing about Garrard’s passing success this season is the fact that he’s moving the football around as only two receivers have caught 12 or more passes this season for the Jags.

PREDICTION: The Jaguars are on a roll and look for it to continue this Sunday. The combination of their running game and defense will be too much for the Texans.

Jacksonville Jaguars 17, Kansas City Chiefs 7

dawgpounded — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:05:08 +0000

The Jaguars came into Arrowhead Stadium yesterday and they punched the Chiefs in the mouth on both sides of the football! QB David Garrard was very efficient throwing the ball as he completed 20 of 27 passes for 218 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs. The Jags also got the running game really going as Maurice Drew had his best game of the season as he carried the ball 9 times for 82 yards (9.1 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 30 yards (10.0 avg). Fred Taylor also had a decent game as he carried the ball 16 times for 51 yards (3.2 ypc). Dennis Northcutt is also stepping up as he caught 4 passes for 73 yards (18.3 avg) including one for a TD. The Jaguars finished up with 156 yards rushing on 35 carries (4.5 ypc) and they completed 20 of 27 passes for 201 yards.

Safety Sammy Knight led the way for the Jags on defense with 8 tackles as they were downright nasty not letting the Chiefs score until the last play of the football game. The Jags held the Chiefs to 10 yards rushing on 10 carries (1.0 ypc) and they completed 25 of 43 passes for 261 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271007012

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs

dawgpounded — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:33:29 +0000

This game will be a battle of two teams that prefer to run the football and play defense. Both teams are on two game winning streaks and the Jaguars have had two weeks to get ready for this football game. But, it’s at Arrowhead Stadium which should work big-time in the Chiefs favor.

The Chiefs run defense is soft as they allow 118.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so expect the Jaguars to attack them on the ground. Look for Fred Taylor (156 yards) rushing and Maurice Drew (100 yards rushing) to battle the solid linebacking crew of the Chiefs early and often. The Chiefs must also spy on QB David Garrard who is not scared to run the ball. He has 21 carries for 99 yards (4.7 ypc) so far this season. The Chiefs have a solid pass defense as they allow 167.8 yards per game and they hold opposing QBs to a 62.6 Rating so far this season. The dangerous thing about the passing game of the Jags is that Garrard that he spreads the football around because he doesn’t have a #1 WR.

The Chiefs would be smart to attack the Jags thru the air. The reason for that is because the Jags have a solid run defense as they have only allowed 64.5 yards rushing per game over the last two games. But, you just know that Edwards will give the football to Larry Johnson often as he has 263 yards rushing this season. If the Chiefs’ offensive line gives Damon Huard time to throw the ball he should have success. With Dwyane Bowe (18 rec, 299 yards, 3 TDs) and Eddie Kennison returning this week the Chiefs should be able to put pressure on the Jags defense down the field. That will also open up the middle of the field for TE Tony Gonzalez (21 rec, 238 yards, TD) who should have a big game.

PREDICTION: Look for this to be an outstanding football game. But, I think the Chiefs will feed off of the home crowd and beat the Jaguars by a field goal.

The Jacksonville Jaguars need more from Maurice Drew and Dennis Northcutt

dawgpounded — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:10:34 +0000

Maurice Drew is off to a slow start for the Jaguars. He has carried the football 33 times for only 100 yards (3.0 ypc) this season and he has also caught 6 passes for 56 yards (9.3 avg). The Jags need him to be a bigger part of the offense and that will likely happen soon as he is way too talented to be playing like this. He has done an outstanding job on kickoffs returns however as he has 160 yards on 5 returns (32.0 avg). The Jaguars didn’t expect Dennis Northcutt to be as good as he has been as a receiver as he leads the team with 11 receptions for 169 yards (15.4 avg). They did expect him to be a game changer as a punt returner and he hasn’t come through yet. He has returned 2 punts for 13 yards (6.5 avg) as he has been fair catching the ball a lot. Look for Northcutt to pick it up soon as a punt returner as he is one of the best ones in the entire NFL. And when he starts giving the Jags an edge in field position….the offense will play better.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are off to a good start heading into the bye week

dawgpounded — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:34:11 +0000

The Jaguars are off this week which should give them time to work a little bit on there passing game. QB David Garrard has good numbers as he has completed 48 of 75 passes (64%) for 630 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 interceptions (103.8 QB Rating). With numbers like that it’s puzzling as to why the Jags are only scoring 15.3 points per game. The Jags really need one of their WRs to step up an be a go-to guy but it doesn’t look like anyone on the current roster is that type of receiver. Dennis Northcutt has been the Jags leading receiver this season as he has caught 11 passes for 169 yards (15.4 avg) with 0 TDs. The Jags would like last season’s leading receiver to live up to his ability (Reggie Williams) but he hasn’t come close to achieving the goal the team has for him. He has caught 4 passes for 52 yards (13.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

The defense has been outstanding for the Jaguars this season as they have only allowed 11.3 points per game. The Jags have also cleaned up the run defense after getting sliced for 282 yards rushing by the Titans in the season opener. In the last two games the Jags have allowed a combined 129 yards rushing. The Jags are also unleashing an outstanding pass rush as they have 10 sacks already this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars 23, Denver Broncos 14

dawgpounded — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:57:37 +0000

The Jaguars went on the road and took the fight to the Broncos in Denver yesterday. David Garrard was very efficient running the offense as he hit 14 of 20 passes for 154 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions. He also was elusive running with the football as he had 12 carries for 52 yards (4.3 ypc). Old vet running back Fred Taylor was tough against the Broncos as he carried the ball 17 times for 84 yards (4.9 ypc). Maurice Drew had another tough game as he carried the ball 15 times for 37 yards (2.5 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 18 yards. TE Mercedes Lewis led the way in the passing game with 3 catches for 44 yards (14.7 avg). WR Reggie Williams only caught 2 passes for 11 yards, but one of the receptions was a TD. The Jaguars had possession of the football for 38:42 which really helped keep the defense rested and effective! The Jags finished up with 186 yards on 47 carries (4.0 ypc) and they completed 14 of 20 passes for 140 yards.

The Jags defense was outstanding. They took the Broncos out of their gameplan by shutting down the running game. The Broncos only rushed for 47 yards on 18 carries (2.6 ypc). Safety Sammy Knight made the game sealing interception and he had 4 tackles to lead the way on the inspired defensive effort. The Jags also allowed the Broncos to completed 16 of 23 passes for 218 yards. This was a huge win for the Jags on the road as they are now 2-1 on the season.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923007

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Denver Broncos

dawgpounded — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:37:09 +0000

Both of these football teams have good defenses as the Jaguars allow 299.0 yards per game and the Broncos allow 218.5 yards per game. The Jaguars will attempt to get their running game back on track against the Broncos who have problems stopping the run as they allow 156.0 yards rushing and 5.1 yards per carry. With that in mind look for Fred Taylor (72 yards rushing), Maurice Drew (63 yards rushing) and David Garrard (47 yards) to challenge the Broncos linebackers early and often in this football game. Still, the Jaguars will have to throw the ball a little bit or the Broncos will bring an 8th man in the box to stop the run. Garrard (101.8 QB Rating) has thrown the ball well but none of his receivers will likely get open against Dre’ Bly and Champ Bailey. The Broncos are only allowing 62.5 yards passing and a QB rating of 38.2 against!

The Broncos will also try to run the football a lot against the Jags defense which is allowing 182.0 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry! Travis Henry (267 yards rushing, 5.4 ypc) has to be licking his chops for a chance to attack the Jags defense, but the Jags defense is much better than they have shown so far this season. The problem for the Jags is that the Broncos can also throw the ball. WRs Javon Walker (220 yards), Brandon Marshall (134 yards) and Brandon Stokley (108 yards) have all had good starts catching passes from Jay Cutler. Still, the Jags haven’t allowed a TD pass this season and they have sacked the QB 9 times already.

PREDICTION: I think both teams will be able to run the football. So, the tiebreaker could be which team has more success throwing the football. With that in mind I will take the Broncos by a field goal in a low scoring football game.

David Garrard has been so-so this season for the Jacksonville Jaguars

dawgpounded — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:16:11 +0000

David Garrard’s numbers look good so far this season but the Jags have only scored 23 points so far this season. Garrard has completed 34 of 55 passes (61.8%) for 476 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions (101.8 QB Rating) and he also has carried the football 9 times for 47 yards (5.2 ypc). Garrard needs to get better at passing on third downs to keep drives alive when teams know the Jags are going to throw the football. His job would be a little bit easier if the Jags were able to run the ball like they did last season as they are only averaging 94.0 yards rushing per game this season. Also, the Jags need someone to step up in the receiving corps to be the main man. They haven’t had one of those since Jimmy Smith was playing a couple of seasons ago.