Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars: Two Weeks To Clean Things Up

It’s apparent that Gus Bradley knows where the issues are on his team and will spend the next two weeks trying to fix them. Despite the much-needed win in London against the Colts Bradley’s post-game locker room speech was about “cleaning things up.” At one point in the second quarter the Jaguars had more penalty yards than offensive yards, keeping Indianapolis in the game.

“I know it wasn’t the cleanest game of football, especially on our side, but we talked about being aggressive, especially in the run game,” Bradley said in his post game comments. “We felt offensively we needed to get that going, and I felt like we were more aggressive up front.”

All of that’s fine and I’ve thought Bradley’s comments in his first few years were the right things to say when building a young team. But at this point the “little things” they talk about that bite you in the NFL in the form of getting beat.

End game situation, tight quarters, veteran quarterback, somehow the safety and the corner got mixed up on the call and Andrew Luck threw a 64-yard TD pass to a wide open receiver. Bradley likes to talk about “situational football” so in that situation the only thing that you can’t let happen, happened. Gus had an explanation but I thought he should have been more in an “unacceptable” mode.

“Yeah, the scissors route, yeah,” he said when I asked him about it. “We missed the coverage. We didn’t play it according to the call. Whether there was some confusion, I think we’ll all take responsibility for that one. Sometimes you have double-digit calls based on formation and based on where personnel is, things like that. When it’s a no-huddle situation, to get that communication across the board is difficult.”

Whether there are double-digit calls or no-huddle, good teams get that kind of thing done in critical situations. Understanding the reason it happened I suppose is the first step to getting it fixed. And perhaps he can’t say much else in public but accountability is one of the reasons those guys are getting paid on Sundays.

When I pressed him, Gus still saw the positive part of what his defense was doing.

“I felt like we played pretty good up until the last couple of series,” he explained. “We had a couple coverage busts, no-huddle situations, where we just weren’t on the same page, and we’ll learn from that one now. You just can’t do it in a no-huddle situation.”

While Indy doesn’t look like world beaters, the Jaguars did show some resiliency by hanging on for a victory. I know they showed a stat about blown leads in the Gus Bradley era, the most in the NFL, but this time a couple of guys made plays and they got their first win of the year.

“Well, I think we’ve been a team, other than our second game, that has fought and battled our way, we just didn’t have some things go our way, whether it’s breaks or we just didn’t make plays when we had the opportunity,” Gus said when I asked him about the sideline attitude during the Colts’ run in the second half. “We felt as a coaching staff, we’re right there. We need to make those plays in critical times, and today you saw it. Just really critical plays made by our team.”

There is a lot that goes into the trip to London but the Jaguars have won back to back games there despite the long plane flight and the logistics of getting the team, staff, cheerleaders, D-Line and it seems everybody else in teal and black across the Atlantic.

“We think every victory is important,” Blake *Bortles said in front of a mixed US/UK post-game media gathering. “Obviously the situation and the circumstances of this one is big, it’s good. We’re excited about it. We’ll celebrate it, and it feels good to go through a week of preparation, to come over here, to handle some different things with the flight and do some different stuff and come out and still win, handle adversity well.”

It’s starting to feel like a home game there with the familiarity of the trip, hotel, stadium and schedule. There’s also a growing fan base in London, not just on Regent Street the day before the game but in the stadium, cheering for the Jaguars.

Being committed to London through 2020 is a positive thing for the business side of the franchise. Perhaps it’s the same for the football team as well.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars Beat Colts

Neither team seemed to be able to get their footing, literally and figuratively in the first half at Wembley. The field was “heavy” and slick and the offenses of the Jaguars and the Colts couldn’t find a rhythm. For the Jaguars, a blocked pass by Dante Fowler fell into the arms of Yannick Ngakoue for a turnover deep in Colts territory. Blake *Bortles followed that with a TD pass from 3 yards out to Allen Robinson to take a 7-0 lead.

Even though the Jaguars had the lead, midway through the second quarter the Colts dominated the time of possession, kicked two field goals and stayed in the game. Neither quarterback could get untracked with their combined total being less than 100 yards passing. In fact, the Jaguars had more penalty yards than offensive yards.

Things changed as the Jaguars started to run the ball. With both T.J. Yeldon and Chris Ivory available, the offensive line got comfortable and started opening up holes on the inside. That made the Colts respect play action and Bortles started to find open receivers. He scored on a little bootleg to make it 14-6 The Jaguars had 80 yards rushing in the first half with Bortles hitting six different receivers.

A nice drive at the end of the half resulted in a FG. Bortles threw it short with just :07 on the clock and Jason Myers kicked it for a 17-6 halftime lead.

For the first time in recent memory the Jaguars scored on the drive at the end of the half and the opening drive of the second half, opening up a 20-6 lead after another Myers field goal. The defense continued to hold the Colts in check throughout the 3rd quarter when Myers added another FG to make it a three score game 23-6. The Jaguars had 9 penalties for 116 yards through three quarters but also had 128 yards rushing.

Starting the 4th quarter the feeling in the stadium was that the Jaguars had control of the game but couldn’t let up. The Colts couldn’t win the game without help from the Jaguars. That’s when Indy scored their first TD against a soft zone to pull within 23-13. And they did it again with the help of a pass interference call against Devon House making it 23-20. House has been picked on all year and Sunday was no different. Aaron Colvin is eligible next week so it’ll be interesting if they give him a shot at the corner spot. Josh Johnson saw a lot of action there against the Colts.

For the first time this year the Jaguars responded to a score in a critical situation. Bortles hit Yeldon a couple of times in the flat for first downs then threw it to Hurns on a simple out route that looked like another first down. Instead, Hurns broke a tackle, cut inside, picked up some blockers and ran for a 42 yard TD to take a 30-20 lead with 5 minutes to play.

In the four years the Jaguars have been here, their fan base has grown, especially at the games and the knowledge of the European and UK fans has expanded. When Hurns scored, the place erupted like a home game. They used to get excited about FG’s and punts but the locals have gotten used to the game.

It’s been a while since the Jaguars answered an opponent’s score late in the game but they did just that on the next drive. After a couple of balls in the flat to T.J. Yeldon, Bortles hit Allen Hurns on an out route but instead of running out of bounds, Hurns cut inside, picked up blockers and scored from 42 yards out to give the Jaguars a 30-20 lead.

Not being able to stand prosperity, there was a mix up on third down in the defensive backfield and Andrew Luck threw a 64 yard TD with 3 minutes to play to cut the lead back to just 3. That’s the kind of thing that just can’t happen in that situation. Whether it was Jalen Ramsey or somebody else, you can’t give up the big play there.

It looked a felt like the Green Bay and the Baltimore games in the last two minutes with the Jaguars holding on by their fingernails. But this time the defense, maybe more specifically Josh Johnson made a play on 4th down to let the Jaguars eventually run out the clock. Indy got the ball back but couldn’t do anything with it. Sen’Derrick Marks had a big sack of Andrew Luck and the Jaguars win 30-27.

It wasn’t pretty but maybe with a taste of winning and a week off, the Jaguars will go into the next part of the season with some confidence.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars/Colts: 4 To Watch 4

Jaguars vs. Colts: 4 to watch 4

1. Stopping the run, running the ball
In the loss to San Diego, it was apparent the Chargers were going to get things done from the first drive. San Diego ran the ball effectively and scored easily on their first drive taking a 7-0 lead. The Jaguars went three and out on their first drive and the Chargers went on to dominate from there. The difference? San Diego ran the ball at will. The Jaguars couldn’t and the game got out of hand quickly. With Chris Ivory back in the lineup and Brandon Linder and Kelvin Beachum expected to return to the offensive line, the Jaguars should be able to run the ball. Gus Bradley said this week the Jaguars have to be able to run the ball even when the other team knows they’re going to run the ball. But if they can’t stop the run they won’t get the opportunity.

2. Take advantage of London
It’s the fourth year the Jaguars have played at Wembley Stadium where they won for the first time in 2015. That’s why this year they followed last season’s trip schedule to a “T.” Nobody in the league will admit to being superstitious but if they win, they’ll do exactly the same thing, week after week. The Jaguars have left on Sunday, left on Monday and on Thursday. Leaving on Sunday saw the Jaguars lost to the 49ers. Leaving on Monday they lost to the Cowboys. Leaving on Thursday, they beat the Bills. So this year they left on Thursday at the same time, stayed in the same hotel, practiced at the same place and followed the same schedule. Bradley said this week they think they found the right schedule that works for his team, with the input of the players. That might sound juvenile but every team does it. On the other hand, most of the players on the Jaguars roster have been on this trip before so they know the routine. Nothing is going to surprise them. On the other hand the Colts don’t know the routine. With some leadership, the Jaguars should settle into a routine that worked and make it work for them again.

3. Preach what they’ve practiced
After each of their three losses the Jaguars have talked about “doing the little things,” and “sweeping the corners.” But those little things that they haven’t swept have cost them all three games. I asked Gus Bradley if he thought he had enough veteran leadership in the locker room to explain the nuanced difference between winning and losing in the NFL. “That’s what today’s meeting was about,” was Bradley’s immediate response, recognizing that could be an issue on a young team. Around the league the Jaguars reputation is that of a young, undisciplined team on the field. Not undisciplined as in running afoul of the law but rather committing critical errors at critical times. Bradley admits that his team’s consistency is lacking on the big plays, but that’s what separates winners from losers in a “50-50” league like the NFL. If they’re going to talk about getting the little things right, then do it.

4. Bortles must play better
This week Blake said he wasn’t sure why he was in a funk but admitted that his mistakes were “stupid and easily correctable.” Bortles hasn’t been in any kind of rhythm this year save for a 9 of 10 stretch in the third quarter against Baltimore. He’s been flat-footed, hasn’t felt the pressure and is willing to check down quickly instead of giving his playmakers a chance to get something done. Thus the Jaguars haven’t had any “explosive” plays. Bortles overall completion percentage is up (63%) but his consistency is down. Bradley pointed out the missed balls to Marqis Lee, Allen Hurns and Julius Thomas that could have been big plays and possibly touchdowns. On the other hand, the two throws to Allen Robinson for touchdowns against Baltimore were perfect. So consistency is the key for Bortles this week.

Randomly: With a triceps injury it’s just about the time it takes to heal for Jarod Odrick. He didn’t tear the muscle off the bone but rather has a soft tissue injury that will keep him out of the game against Indianapolis. He didn’t make the trip and neither did Nick Marshall. Dan Skuta and Julius Thomas will be game time decisions. Everybody else is expected to play. Former Jaguar Kyle Brady has been in London this week helping to represent the team for the NFL. Brady also has some family close to London so he’s enjoyed the stay and plans to make it a regular trip. When NFL teams fly to London they charter through Virgin Atlantic. The teams fly the A340-600, the longest commercial plane in the world. Indianapolis’ flight was a bit delayed on Thursday and the Jaguars got to London a little early Friday morning so the two teams missed each other by about 10 minutes in baggage claim at Heathrow. Back at Allianz field, home of the Saracens Rugby Club, they went through an up-tempo walk through this week. Saracens won both the English and the European Rugby Championship this past season. The Jaguars hope some of that rubs off.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Bortles: “Stupid things, easily correctable”

It’s an easy equation that leads to winning in London: Play better.

In their first two games at Wembley against San Francisco and Dallas the Jaguars weren’t competitive. Last year’s win over Buffalo was a wild swing of emotions but showed the team on the rise. This year it’s a division matchup the Jaguars should win. To do so, they’ll need better quarterback play from Blake Bortles, showing some version of the form from 2015 where he threw 35 TD passes.

“It’s just been such stupid things that have gone wrong that are easily correctable,” Blake said after Wednesday’s practice. “So that’s why for me I can’t wait to get another opportunity to go play, I can’t wait to get an opportunity to, like I said, reach our expectations and play the kind of football we know we can play as an offense and score the points and move the ball that we know we can.”

Even *Bortles admits that sounds like the same old explanations but he’s a true believer. He thinks the Jaguars will break out and show the same kind of scoring prowess and ability to move the ball that they had last year.

“it hasn’t been obviously what we wanted offensively but that doesn’t mean for a second that we’ve lost the confidence as an offense or lost who we are and what we believe we should do,” he explained. “I think our bar and our standard is still at the same level and we just haven’t been able to reach it yet.”

How do they fix that? More specifically, how will Bortles, who takes everything as his responsibility, get out of the funk?

“I think just keep playing,” he said. I’m not very complicated or an over-thinker. I enjoy to play the game of football. I think I play it best when it’s at its simplest form and I’m just having fun and enjoying the game and really, obviously, we’re moving the ball and being successful.

In his first three years, *Bortles has played his best in an up-tempo offense, running around looking like he’s having fun playing the game with friends. Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson hasn’t tried that yet early in the game but that could change this week. It should.

And *Bortles hasn’t lost any of his nerve or talent. He’s expecting to play well this week against a familiar opponent.

“I’ll continue to try and prepare as hard as I can and be as ready as possible, but when the game starts I’m going to go have fun and enjoy myself and have a good time with a bunch of good friends playing football in the NFL.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars Say London Is More Like A Home Game

When you step on the practice field in the middle of the week in the NFL you can tell what day it is, whether the team won or lost and usually who’s going to get a chance to play the following Sunday. For the Jaguars, this was a Wednesday practice, but different than last Wednesday’s practice and the one before that.

“I thought one of the things after the Green Bay game was that really hung around for a while,” Gus Bradley explained after practice. It just was heavy on us. I thought we handled it much, much better this Wednesday.”

Headed to London, the Jaguars have experience on their side, heading overseas with an 8-hour plane flight a couple of days before the game. They’ve left on a Sunday and a Monday but they beat Buffalo last year at Wembley after leaving Thursday night so they’ll follow that schedule exactly.

“Leaving on a Sunday, leave on a Monday, leave on a Thursday and then before the games, just talk to our players about how they felt and how their bodies responded and going into the game, not after the game,” Gus said about the thought process. He didn’t take into account the general superstition factor NFL teams have but rather “Just some of the studies that we have found. For us, for our team, we felt like Thursday was the better option.”

Perhaps this was a good opportunity after three straight losses to get away, have an “us against the world” mentality headed to London. Bradley was having none of that.

“Hopefully we are circling the wagons in our locker room. It doesn’t take a road trip to do it.

Playing in London is important for the Jaguars from a revenue standpoint. Around 20% of the team’s total revenue is generated by the London game through tickets sales and sponsorships specific to the game in the UK. It’s also changed in the four years the Jaguars have made the trip into much more of a home game. Each year, the number of Jaguars jerseys in the stands grows.

You are seeing the fan excitement and the fan loyalty towards us,” Gus Said. “It has changed over the last couple of years. I know the number of Union Jax fans and all that has grown. It is beginning to feel more like a home game as much as it can over there. It is a great atmosphere.”

Following last year’s schedule the Jaguars will depart for London on Thursday evening, arriving Friday morning at Heathrow. They’ll practice that afternoon at a rugby facility, and head back to their hotel. Standard meetings as well as an appearance on Regent Street are on the schedule on Saturday. Sunday the game is at 2:30 BDT, 9:30 EDT here in Jacksonville. It will be shown by the national network around the country instead of being streamed outside of the local markets.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Bradley Knows Now Is The Time

When a coach looks at “game video” they look at it very specifically. When Gus Bradley breaks a game down he looks at the offense, defense, offensive line, etc. position by position looking for good, and not so good plays across the board. After the loss to the Ravens, Bradley chose 60 plays to show the team the day after. That’s a lot of breakdowns throughout a game where the Jaguars squandered a couple of chances to win.

“We went through a bunch of plays,” Bradley said at his weekly Monday press conference. “The big point is consistency and it’s a game of inches.”

Although quarterback Blake Bortles had a completion percentage of 63%, there were some critical misses that cost Jaguars scoring opportunities.

“It’s also a game of inches situation where it’s just off the fingertips of Allen Robinson, overthrew Marqise Lee a little bit. Missed Julius Thomas on a seam route,” Gus explained. There are those things. Telvin Smith had three great plays and then there’s one where he dropped too far and allowed a completion to happen. That was the big message that I was pointing out to them, that the NFL is a game of inches and you have to do it consistently. We’re not making enough of those consistent plays in those times.”

So is there blame to be had? Perhaps everybody shoulders some of it, including the head coach. How to they take that last step to win close games after upgrading the roster to being competitive? I asked Gus if there was enough veteran leadership to know the nuanced difference between winning and losing in the NFL.

“Yeah, I think they do a good job of it. I think that is what this meeting was about, too, just to ensure that we understand,” Gus said, anticipating that could be an issue with a young team.

“To look back and say we could have been or we should have been, I am not into looking into the past very much like that. To point out the opportunities and you would like to see this team when you are in those situations take ownership and say, ‘Let’s roll.’ A guy like Brandon Linder is a strong presence in our offensive line, a very strong presence. I don’t know if we missed that presence yesterday. If you do, then someone has to step up and be that presence.”

From a team standpoint, that presence is *Bortles. They talked to Blake early in his career about his body language. His improved play last year put his stamp on the Jaguars offense. This year he’s struggled and he knows it.

“He’s put a lot on him now because he knows he wants to play better and give more to this team,” Bradley added. Like we pointed out in the team meeting, there are multiple good plays there. It’s everybody. It wasn’t just Blake or Telvin, Jalen Ramsey, it was multiple guys that we pointed out just how important those little things are.”

All of the chatter outside the stadium about Gus’ job and how long he has is well known to Bradley and the players in the locker room. But there’s not much he can say or do about it other than keep coaching and win games. I do think he needs to ask more of the players, more discipline, more focus, more attention to that little thing that makes the difference between winning and losing.

If they were just looking at development, the Jaguars see the defense figuring out how to play together. They created chances at the end of the game for the offense to score points and put the game away. It just didn’t happen.

They couldn’t run the ball for the third straight week and Bradley knows that his team will have to run the ball effectively even when the other team knows they’re going to run it if they want to win some games. Especially close ones.

“Green Bay, when you’re on the 14-yard line and its third and two, you have a chance to win the game and then Baltimore, you have two opportunities inside the 40 to win the game, just get a first down and get a field goal, that’s your worst case scenario,” Bradley said, getting more animated with the explanation. “That’s the part that our team has to learn. That part right there could very easily have swung in our favor, but it didn’t. There’s a reason for it. That’s what I think this meeting was about. You have to figure this out now.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Palmer’s Local Friends: “You’d have loved him even if he wasn’t a golfer”

It’s terrible that it takes the passing and mourning the loss of a mutual friend to reconnect you with people who were integral parts of your life at one point. They drift away for various reasons but in this case, the death of Arnold Palmer brought a lot of people back into my life who I’d lost touch with through my own fault.

So I spent part of the day talking to friends and associates of Arnold Palmer here in town. John Tucker, one of the founders of the Greater Jacksonville Open and Liz McCarty, Palmer’s Administrative assistant for 18 years. I also talked with Erik Larsen and Harrison Minchew, golf designers for Palmer’s company in Ponte Vedra, Larsen eventually becoming President of Arnold Palmer Course design. He told me he was just trying to “keep his head above the flood of memories.” Erick will be at Palmer’s memorial service next week in Latrobe. Harrison recalled Palmer as the personification of the “Golden Rule.” “He treated everybody well, just like you’d want to be treated. Always kind and polite.”

Arnold and John Tucker became friends in 1962, meeting in Pensacola. “We hit it off for one reason or another right away,” Tucker recalled sitting in a comfortable chairs on his front lawn in San Marco.

Tucker and a group of Jacksonville businessmen wanted to start a golf tournament here In Jacksonville. Their meeting at Silvers Drug Store in Jacksonville Beach is part of the lore of what is now The Players in Ponte Vedra. But then, getting Arnold Palmer to play in your tournament was the key. Tucker was working for the phone company here in town and laughed when he said, “I was the only guy with free long distance. So I just started calling people and got some dates for a golf tournament.”

Palmer’s relationship with Tucker brought him to town and he took a liking to Jacksonville. He brought Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player (who was friends with one of my predecessors here at Channel 4 Dick Stratton) and the Greater Jacksonville Open was born. “When Arnold gave his blessing the money was better, the accommodations were better the ticket sales were better. Without him, I don’t know that we would have made it.”

John eventually ran the TPC in it’s infancy here in town and told me today, none of the golf presence here in North Florida would have happened without Palmer’s initial influence. The GJO even printed manuals about how to run a tournament that eventually made their way to other fledgling PGA Tour events. Then Commissioner Deane Beman took notice, investigated what was going on in Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra and the story of The Players home in North Florida had its beginning.

“He was a guy you’d have loved even if he wasn’t a golfer, even if he wasn’t famous,” Tucker said. “I played a lot of golf with Arnold and when he was on the first tee he’d give you whatever (strokes) you wanted. He didn’t want to play for much money. Just enough that when he took it from you you’d notice,” he said with a laugh. “And I can’t tell you how many times he’d make a putt on 18 wo win 1-up.”

Liz McCarthy, his administrative assistant for 18 years said he was the same on and off the golf course; she traveled the world with Palmer, organizing openings of new golf courses and appearances. She said he “opened doors for people, looked you in the eye when he shook your hand, took his hat off when appropriate. The consummate, competitive gentleman.”

“He was at a photo shoot and he kept taking his hat off when he was talking with people,” Liz recalled. “The photographer noticed and said something to me and I had to tell him ‘when he’s talking to a woman or he’s shaking somebody’s hand, that’s what he’ll do. That’s how he was raised.'”

Competitive was part of Palmer’s personality and McCarthy saw it after his playing career ended. “He wanted to win and his competition was now in the design business,” she said outside a coffee shop at the Town Center.

Unlike what we’d ever seen in sports before, Palmer embraced and welcomed his competitors as friends. And that didn’t change once his playing days were over.

“He and Jack (Nicklaus) were close,” McCarthy pointed out. “He was close with Gary (Player). When Winnie (Palmer’s first wife) died, the first people to arrive in Latrobe were Jack and Barbra Nicklaus.”

One thing that Liz said really struck a chord with me. Arnold Palmer had friends in Jacksonville, and homes in Orlando and Latrobe. But people all over the world thought they had a personal connection with him. Even if they had met him for 30 seconds, they felt like he was “their guy.”

“He had that ability, which was just part of his personality, to look you in the eye, listen to what you said, and really understand what you were talking about. It wasn’t an act, he really felt it.”

So in other words, people thought they had a personal connection with Arnold Palmer

Because they did.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars Squander Chances, Lose To Ravens

It was a pretty forgettable first quarter for the Jaguars against the Ravens. Two first downs, two penalties and a bunch of punts that moved the field position around a bit. The Jaguars got a couple of breaks thanks to Ravens mistakes but they looked sluggish and out of sync for the 5th quarter in a row. Quarterback Blake Bortles was still off, making a bad decision and a worse throw that led to an interception and killed the only offensive momentum the team had.

Despite giving up a Ravens TD on a Joe Flacco scramble, the defense seemed to have an idea against Baltimore and started to gain some momentum in the second quarter. The offense did the same, taking advantage of another 40+ punt return by Rashad Greene and scoring to make it 10-7.

It looked like a good defensive stand for the Jaguars as the Ravens went into their 2-minute drill but Malik Jackson was called for roughing the passer on 3rd down and Dante Fowler was called for “leverage,” jumping over the tackle on a short FG attempt and gave the Ravens three points to trail at halftime 13-7.

If that’s the rule, that’s the rule but Jackson’s hand touched Flacco’s helmet after the play and he was called for making contact. That’s not much, but it kept the drive alive. Fowler was called for jumping over the lineman, something he should know is illegal and it gave the Ravens three points. No matter if Fowler is fired up or just dumb, that’s the kind of thing that comes down to coaching. If he doesn’t know the rule, he should. If he does and did it anyway, he should be on the bench.

Despite giving up a FG on the Ravens opening drive, the whole Jaguars team started to play better in the second half, making plays on both offense and defense. Again, mediocre officiating kept the Jaguars at bay but they had a call overturned in the end zone for a TD to pull within 16-14. Bortles gave himself up on a scramble and was hit on the ground but no call was made saying “the defender had committed.” That’s baloney and every other QB in the league gets that call. Bortles will get it eventually if the Jaguars start winning, but apparently not now.

It takes some breaks to go your wan in any game and the Jaguars got on early in the fourth quarter when Devin Hester muffed a punt and Denard Robinson recovered at the 38-yard line. Jason Myers kicked a 49-yard field goal to give the home team a 17-16 lead. They had some chances on that offensive series but on 3rd and 1, Bortles had the ball batted down for the second time in the game forcing the FG try.

Off-season acquisitions paid off on the next series on defense. Malik Jackson pressured Flacco into a bad throw that was tipped by Jalen Ramsey and intercepted by Tashaun Gipson. None of those guys were on the Jaguars last year. And that play wouldn’t have happened with last year’s personnel. Another tipped pass at the line of scrimmage gave the ball back to the Ravens but Paul Posluszny jumped over Justin Forsett to intercept Flacco who was under pressure. The officials huddled for an eternity before calling personal fouls on both teams including Jalen Ramsey. Somebody needs to tell the rookies that this is pro football. Make a play and get off the field.

So here’s where good teams take advantage of the breaks and put the game away. But the Jaguars looked tentative on offense both in their play calling and their execution in the following series. Instead of rising up and asserting themselves, the Ravens took control. Bortles again suffered a sack, just about the only thing he couldn’t do in that situation, forcing Myers to attempt a 52-yard field goal. That was blocked and the Ravens had a chance to take the lead.

Methodically moving the ball in small chunks of yardage, they got it to the 37 where Justin Tucker blasted a 54-yard field goal to give the Ravens a 19-17 lead.

Still with 1:02 and a timeout left, the Jaguars only needed a field goal. Instead, Bortles held the ball on second down and was sacked and was intercepted on third down to end the game.

This was a game of missed opportunities and turnovers as well as mediocre play by Bortles for the third week in a row. If he doesn’t step it up, or if other players on offense don’t pick him up, changes are in the offing for the team perhaps sooner rather than later.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Arnold Palmer: No One Like Him

You know people won’t live forever but with Arnold Palmer you thought that might be possible. He lived life with such passion and spirit yet with a humility and grace that never wavered. Palmer battled several illnesses over the past two years and died today at age 87 of heart complications.

Usually tucked in the back pages of sports, Palmer brought the game to the forefront with his charisma and style. His game shoved him into the limelight when the son of a golf pro and greens keeper won the US Amateur. Arnold was no country club type. He was a worker and looked the part. His arms jutting out under his short-sleeved shirt, Palmer hit it hard and had a “go for it” mentality that was appealing to the casual golf fan. His game was “made for TV” and his ascension to the top of the sport coincided with the explosion of television in America in the late ’50’s and 60’s.

With seven major wins including four Masters, Palmer validated his fame and popularity by winning. He finished his career with 62 wins and 10 more on the senior tour. In fact, Arnold basically invented both tours with his own personality and style. “Every professional golfer should give Arnold Palmer 50 cents of every dollar they make,” one of his competitors once said. And he was right. As good as Jack Nicklaus was and Hogan and Snead, Nelson and the rest, nobody captured the imagination and catapulted the game forward like Arnold Palmer.

For about 25 years, since his design company was based here in Ponte Vedra, I spent a lot of time with Arnold professionally and socially. I’m often asked if there are highlights to my career. My answer for a while has been “I’ve had breakfast with Muhammad Ali, beers with Arnold Palmer and flown with the Blue Angels.” The answer I usually get back is, “Doesn’t get any better than that.” And that’s true. It really doesn’t.

Despite being one of the most recognizable sports figures in the world, Arnold never lost the common touch or the ability to give you his undivided attention. A conversation with Palmer was a real talk, not some canned speech he spouted as he moved on.

When Arnold Palmer Course Design opened the Mill Cove Golf Club in Arlington, Palmer was there to play in the opening round. I was in the foursome behind him and brought my dad, a non-golfer along for the fun. After nine holes, my dad went to the clubhouse to get something to drink and wait for us to finish the back nine. Arnold finished about 15 minutes in front of me but when I came to the final hole we were playing that day, Palmer and my dad were standing on the balcony as a makeshift gallery. I waved and they both waved back, clearly enjoying each other’s company. I don’t know how Arnold and my dad were introduced but they’re about the same age and both served in the Coast Guard so they had a common bond. And of course, Arnold had a common bond with everybody. I had hit 6-iron in to about 20 feet and was eyeing the putt from several angles when Arnold said, “Hey Sam, while we’re young!” with a big laugh. Luckily I made the putt, and had Arnold sign my Wilson 8802 putter, the one he used for years, when I got to the clubhouse. My dad still tells that story and more of it, with Arnold ordering shrimp, because my dad liked shrimp, even though none was on the menu. The chef brought shrimp.

Everybody who ever came in contact with Palmer has a story. All are about his grace and kindness with humility and humor mixed in. If you met Arnold once, you thought you had a connection for life. He shook your hand and looked you in the eye. He was polite and kind. He was truly someone to look up to.

Which is how we should honor Arnold. Look at the verve he had in his life and follow it. Look at his kindness and charity and emulate it. Remember his polite manner, his commitment to doing his best no matter the situation and put that into your own actions.

Even though he’s gone I won’t use “was” to describe Arnold Palmer.

He is one of a kind.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars/Ravens: 4 To Watch 4

1. Attitude
In the opening week against Green Bay, the season was full of promise. You could tell the week leading up to the game that the Jaguars had a new swagger, a new confidence in their roster and their ability. Despite losing to the Packers, they didn’t lose that in the days leading up to the departure for San Diego. But something happened during that time span that allowed a team, supposedly on the rise, to fall flat against a mediocre opponent. They lost that swagger that led to good play. Head Coach Gus Bradley acknowledged that they needed to find the problem and fix it. “”Sweep the corners,” ‘is what Bradley said the message was to the team prepping for Baltimore. “In a room, you have to go and dig in the deep corners and do everything. It is easy to bring all the dirt to the middle. You have to go into the corners and dig out to find out – it really is a message about doing the little things.” That’s a noble objective but perhaps it would be simpler put as “play better.” There’s no question the Jaguars are better than they showed last week, displaying that in week one. Bradley and Blake Bortles said the team has a strong mental core and is not about to pack it in after an 0-2 start. “This team is far away from that mindset,” Bradley explained. “They were frustrated and we went out there and we thought we were going to play better than we did and we didn’t play as well. His (Bortles) mindset permeates through the locker room.”

2. Bortles Execution
One thing about Bortles that’s different than some other quarterbacks the Jaguars have had over the years is his ability for self-evaluation. “I have to play better” is something he’s willing to say that a lot of players, particularly young quarterbacks, can’t bring themselves to say. “I don’t know how you really describe it other than it’s just been really bad, Blake said this week. “I know what I should do, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t so I think it’s consistency, being able to get that and obviously being efficient with the ball and not turn it over.” Part of the issue is the lack of targeting his best receiver, Allen Robinson. Bortles has been reluctant to throw those “50-50” balls to Robinson this year, instead checking down to the dump off to T.J. Yeldon. “We do a lot of stuff game planning and trying to get him the ball,” he explained. “He’s always pretty early in the progression so it’s really just me giving him an opportunity to make a play and that’ll be a continued frame because he is an extremely good player and somebody that needs to have the ball in his hands.” It would help Bortles and the entire offense if they ran some up-tempo stuff early in the game. He’s more comfortable and likes directing the offense on the fly.

3. Find Flacco
It won’t be that different from last week with a top-flight, veteran quarterback across the line from the Jaguars defense. Joe Flacco is a bit more mobile than Phillip Rivers but nothing like Aaron Rodgers. He’ll be there if they can get there. Dante Fowler had two sacks against the Chargers and Yannick Ngakoue recorded his first in a critical situation. Both of those guys are still learning and need to be involved in pressuring Flacco. It’s one thing to hold the pocket and get in a quarterback’s face. It’s something else to have a speed rush, jailbreak that creates havoc and makes the QB pay attention. “I think we are just starting to see who Dante is,” Defensive coordinator Todd Wash said on Wednesday. “It is going to be exciting to watch him grow through the season.” Wash sees a lot of encouraging signs on defense but they haven’t been able put it together and finish it off. ‘Right now it is feast or famine. We go three and out or we don’t score. We just have to play consistent and we are going to give ourselves a chance to win some games.”

4. Run the football
Adding Chris Ivory to the mix this week will be a welcome addition. No matter what Bradley says about the similarities between Yeldon and Ivory, Ivory can hit a gap and move the pile in a way Yeldon can’t. Yeldon is a nice zone runner, avoiding the contact running from “color.” Ivory, on the other hand, can get you the yard off tackle when you need it by blasting somebody. And likes it. If the Jaguars win this game, Ivory should have at least 20 carries, most of those in the second half. They’ll operate behind a makeshift offensive line with Kelvin Beachum out of the lineup and Brandon Linder a game time decision. For competitive reasons, the Jaguars haven’t said how they’ll configure the front five but Tyler Shatley, Chris Reed and Patrick Omameh made the team with their play in training camp and the preseason. Certainly a team has starters but the backups can’t just be fill-ins. (see New England, Thursday night). At some point in this game it’ll be a slugfest with Baltimore wanting to run the ball and establish their presence. The Jaguars should meet that with some attitude no matter who is in the game.

Randomly: Poz is not supposed to be following receivers across the field as he was against the Chargers. “There’s supposed to be a defensive back there,” is how Bradley put it. Although they praised Dwayne Gratz, it was apparent he was the culprit in some crucial situations, “The challenge for him is, it has to be every play, every play,” Gus said. “There are a couple plays he would like to have back, but that is like everyone in a game. We have a tendency to have them at critical times where we can get off the field or we can make plays. We had three of them this week.” Joeckel took snaps at left tackle and at left guard in practice this week. The way both Bradley and Wash talked about Jarrod Wilson, don’t be surprised if he gets a shot at strong safety before long. Jonathan Cyprien still struggles in coverage and hasn’t been a sure tackler this year either. Tom Coughlin used to say, “Back to work” when asked how he’d deal with a loss. Jack Del Rio used to say goofy things like “We’ll plan our work and work our plan.” Bradley talks about the “process” a lot but at least admits they need to be better. “We are also going to stay the course. We believe in this process. We believe in it. We had a game where we did not show up. We did not play up to our capabilities. That is the truth. Now let’s get back going and play like we are capable of playing.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Bradley, Jaguars At A Crossroads

Even in the aftermath, there wasn’t anything to like in the Jaguars 38-14 loss to the Chargers on Sunday. Just about every phase of the game broke down leaving many more questions than answers from the coaches and the players. Head Coach Gus Bradley’s assessment was about the same.

“We talk about the truth. There was not much good to take from the game,” Gus said during a conference call Monday after reviewing the Jaguars performance. “We’re well aware that as a team we did not play very well. It wasn’t to our standard. You try to find some things that are positive, and I’m sure there are. As a whole, when you’re down 35-0 going into the fourth quarter, there’s not a lot of good that took place.”

That is the truth, but in the fourth year of the rebuilding of the roster and the franchise, the football team was supposed to be past that kind of failure across the board. Bradley says everybody shoulders the responsibility, but getting it right is the key.

“We have to get right,” Bradley explained. “They all understand that we cannot have that kind of performance. We all believe that we are a good team, but we just didn’t play like we we’re a good team.”

“I think you really rely on the character of the team,” he continued. “The character and the pride of this team is great. There wasn’t a lot of good that took place yesterday. I think we’ve owned up to that. That’s what is frustrating. That’s more of a feeling now talking to our players is that we know we have the capability of playing at a much higher level and we didn’t.”

Those are all the right things to say and if they’re going to get some wins this year Bradley and the team will have to put that into action. When asked if the next two weeks were a crossroads for the team, Bradley said you have to reflect on what’s happened already this season and move forward. When asked if it was a crossroads for him as the head coach Bradley quickly denied that.

“No,” he said immediately. “All the intention is we have to get right. You are not defined by one game. If this brings us to the right places then that’s my concern right now. To make sure this game, this experience that we had, elevates our play and takes us to the right place.”

Maybe that’s the only thing he could say but Bradley is a smart guy and certainly knows that Shad Khan’s and the fans’ patience is wearing thin. After all the money spent in free agency, the good fortune in the draft and the preseason success, expectations were higher than ever going into this season. The time for learning and building is over. “It’s built,” is how Bradley put it. So now is the time for winning games.

As good a guy as he is, and as good a football coach he is, Bradley’s philosophy as a head coach, empowering the players to be accountable to each other, is still a big experiment. You can hear it taking shape when you talk to the players but it’s a results business and sometime soon, if not now, winning will be the only result anybody is interested in.

There is a difference between performance and results. On opening day, the Jaguars performance was stellar but the result wasn’t what anybody, save for the Packers and their fans, was looking for. In San Diego both the performance and the result were lacking, so much so that it calls everything into question. Bradley admits as much.

“You have to dissect it, take a look at it, what led to this? Was it our preparation? Was it our mindset? Was it discipline? I cannot argue the fact, we talk about what getting better looks like and that’s not what get better looks like and it is really evident.”

You’ll never meet a more positive, focused guy than Gus Bradley. Likeable and driven to be as good as he can be. But at some point winning games is the only measuring stick.

“We’ll be fine. We’ll get back on this,” Bradley said with his usual confidence. “Our players have been great in the meetings we’ve had. No one wants to get it more right than the players and the coaches.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars/San Diego: 4 To Watch 4

1. Pass Rush
Saying he didn’t let them ‘pin their ears back’ Gus Bradley gave the defensive line credit for their effort against Aaron Bradley last Sunday. Rodgers was able to sidestep the rush and get the ball down field, perhaps more effectively than any other quarterback in the league. This week, Phillip Rivers presents a different challenge. “Yeah. It is a quarterback that has the ability to move in the pocket and stay alive,” Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash said this week. “He is obviously very smart. He probably knows what we are doing before we even call it. It is a situation where we hope to pin their ears back and let those guys rush and show exactly how athletic they are.” But Rivers will be right there in the pocket, they’ll know exactly where he’ll be. He’s thrown 11 TD’s against the Jaguars without an interception. If he was the quarterback last week, the Jaguars might have had a few sacks. If they don’t get to him this week, it’ll be a long plane flight home.

2. Running Game
Last week’s 1.8 yards per carry average won’t cut it for any winning team in the NFL. Chris Ivory’s absence might have had something to do with it but running the football tends to be an offensive line/blocking/QB calls/running back project. TJ Yeldon will carry the majority of the load again this week but there needs to be some variety in what they’re doing. Maybe Corey Grant gives them something different in the backfield; maybe Luke Joeckel and Kelvin Beachum provide more push on the left side. Whatever the difference, they need it to be better. Anything under 2.5 yards per carry means something fluky has to happen for them to get the win.

3. Turnovers

Last week, the Jaguars turned the ball over once on the opening drive but it proved to be costly. A ball thrown behind Marqis Lee was bobbled and intercepted giving the Packers a short field at the 29. Good teams take advantage of breaks like that and Green Bay did just that. They scored on an Aaron Rodgers run to make it 7-0. Taking care of the football, especially in their own end of the field is of paramount importance on the road against an offense like San Diego’s. On the other hand, getting some turnovers is what the Jaguars stressed throughout training camp. It didn’t appear they came close last week so somebody playing “above the x’s and o’s” and making a play on defense would go a long way toward a win.

4. Special Teams
A 100% scoring grade is hard to come by in any game but that’s how Gus Bradley assessed his special teams play against the Packers. That’s hard to argue given the two downed punts inside the 5-yard line and Jason Myers not missing a kick. Brad Nortman’s free agent signing this year might have been a bit under the radar but he showed how significant a smart, veteran punter could be. Grant had a 32-yard kickoff return and the coverage teams did their job efficiently. That kind of performance again will allow the game to be decided by the offensive and defensive units.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Graeme Mcdowell Owns Restaurants, Wants To Play Golf

Dark woods, understated lighting and plenty of glass greet you as you step inside the new Nona Blue Tavern in Ponte Vedra. International and PGA Tour player Graeme McDowell and his two partners opened the doors to their second restaurant on Wednesday, donating a check for $15,000 to Tom Coughlin and the Jay Fund, money raised from their soft opening earlier this week.

“I don’t remember feeling this way about the first one,” McDowell said on the back deck of his new restaurant. Their first Nona Blue opened in Orlando near McDowell’s Florida home in Lake Nona. This one seemed a natural progression, right down the street from the PGA Tour headquarters.

“Great local people and family,” Graeme said of the people he’s met in Ponte Vedra. “The first one was a stab in the dark, we feel like we know what we’re doing and they’ve done such a good job with the Sawgrass shopping area. We’re happy to be in the community.”

A self-proclaimed “foodie,” McDowell said he didn’t know much about the restaurant business when they first started but learned quickly.

“It took me a little while. I learned build outs are very expensive. I leave the flippin’ burgers and the hiring and firing to my guys and I see myself more of the PR and branding guy.”

Based on how much golf is played near his restaurant in Orlando, the Nona Blue name became known fast.

“The response I get from all over America is great. People shouting “Nona Blue” at me and G-Mac and cheese (a menu item). It’s really cool, it’s overwhelming the support I’ve gotten in Orlando and hopefully here.”

It’s not a sports bar, but there will be plenty of sports watching done. And it’s not just a place for guys to meet after a round at one of the local golf courses.

“We’re not trying to position ourselves as an NFL watching Sunday destination, but the games will be on,” McDowell explained. “We want you to be able to come in with your wife or girlfriend, but also the boys can come in after a round and drink a few rounds. Approachability, warm, comfortable.”

You could see the pain in his face when he started to talk about golf and the upcoming Ryder Cup. McDowell’s play over the last two seasons didn’t earn him a spot on the team. He didn’t like that.

“The Ryder cup, not being on that team, that’s going to hurt, sitting on my couch and watching but I’m going to watch every shot and it’ll motivate me to get back there.”

It’s not as if he’s completely disappeared. McDowell won a tournament in November of last year but is currently ranked 78th in the world. That’s not the form the former US Open champion is looking for.

“I think streaky is a fair assessment,” he said. “When I play well I play really well. Life’s been a real distraction for me for all the right reasons in the last couple of years. I’ve gotten married had two children and opened two restaurants.”

But golf is moving back up his priority list. “I’ve rededicated myself to the game because that’s still what I want to do. I had to ask myself some tough questions this time last year and ask myself what I wanted to do and I found that I still love golf and want to win another major before I’m done. It’s a refocusing, I feel lighter and leaner than I’ve ever been,” Graeme explained looking fitter than his form in the last 15 months.

And as far as the Ryder Cup goes, McDowell sees the Cup changing hands at Hazeltine.

“I really feel like there’s a change in the feel of the American side. You’ve got a lot of young guys who are really, really close. Like a little fraternity out there. It’s something you can’t create.”

“We have six rookies on the European squad but rookies are not what they used to be. They’ve played a lot of golf in the States. I look for it to be a close one as usual. I have a bad feeling for us but I’ll be pulling for the Europeans. I’ll be using it as motivation.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

After Further Review: I Feel A Little Better Because They Don’t

In recent years the breakdown of every Jaguars loss included some form of “We’re getting better, we’re getting closer” when you talked to the players and coaching staff.

Not so after Sunday’s game against Green Bay. If there was one overriding emotion in the locker room it was anger. Even Head Coach Gus Bradley’s press conference was a little flat. He’s usually upbeat about “lessons learned” but Sunday he was just down because they lost. He confirmed that today after reviewing video of the game.

“Yeah, when we we’re planning for this game, I expected our best,” he explained of his pre and post game emotions. “I felt that we were going to play really well. I am shocked that we didn’t play well. I think that what I am surprised is that I really felt that we are going to win this game. That is a good sign. It is a good sign for our team, too.”

He’s exactly right about that. Perhaps the best thing to come out of the opener is the fact that the team was angry that they didn’t get the job done. If you’ve ever played in any game at any level and lost, you know exactly how they felt.

“There is a difference between you expecting to win and you knowing you are going to win.” Bradley added. “When you know you are going to win, you are shocked if you lost and that is what this team is feeling now. I think that is a good step for our team. We do not accept the loss. We do not accept it. How they are handling it now shows me a lot about them.”

Through training camp and the preseason games the Jaguars had the look and feel of a legitimate NFL team. It wasn’t guys trying to figure out how to play in the NFL. The free-agent additions gave the team the feel of a competitive group. That carried over to the regular season opener and while the significance of this game won’t be revealed until the end of the season, it looked like a matchup of two good teams. We expected that of Green Bay. We didn’t know that about the Jaguars. Even their reaction to the turnover and touchdown by the Packers in the first quarter showed a different Jaguars mindset.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, here it comes, what’s going to happen?’ Bradley said today referring to what had happened to his teams in the last three years after adversity struck. “There was none of that. The tension on the sideline, their focus on the sideline, it was great.”

In fact the Jaguars scored themselves and even took the lead, all done early on without involving their two top receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. Neither apparently said a word and were eventually very productive with quarterback Blake Bortles.

“One of our rules is no whining, no complaining and no excuses. No one wants to hear it anyway. Let’s move on,” Gus said when asked if Robinson had asked for the ball more.

Seeing him in person it might be hard to dispute that Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the game right now. Put a different quarterback on the Packers on Sunday and the Jaguars win that game. With a strong arm and accurate, Rodgers can still run and moves in the pocket just enough to frustrate defenders. Bradley said part of the game plan was to try and limit his mobility. He says that’s why the sack number was low. It was part of the plan.

“It is tough on the defensive line,” he said of the scheme. “They are going after it. We did not turn them loose. It was not a game like that. It was more of a detailed pass rush to really try to constrict him and force him to stay in the pocket.”

It generally worked, limiting the Green Bay offense to just 199 yards passing. And maybe the same kind of rush this week turns into a few sacks of Phillip Rivers in San Diego. But there’s still that “Where’s that guy coming from?” factor that the Jaguars don’t have. Strong and sturdy up front, they need a high speed, occasionally dominating pass rusher to compliment what they have. They’re hoping that Dante Fowler and Yannick Ngakoue turn into those players.

The sooner the better.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Exciting, Encouraged: Jaguars Still 0-1

“Start fast, finish fast,” is how Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley described his philosophy going into the 2016 season. That would be a departure from the previous three years where the Jaguars are 1-10 in September.

“We’re very aware of that,” linebacker Paul Posluszny said this week. “Start fast, start fast has been something we’ve been emphasizing, not only in practice but in preseason games. ”

So that’s why it didn’t feel quite right when Blake Bortles threw behind Marquis Lee and the ball was bobbled and picked off by Green Bay on the Jaguars opening possession of the season.

A veteran team, the Packers took advantage quickly, negating the Jaguars pass rush and scoring on an Aaron Rodgers scramble to make it 7-0 early in the first quarter.

There was a feeling of “here we go again” throughout the stadium until a little screen pass to Marcedes Lewis went for 37 yards to the Green Bay 11. Jaguars’ coaches have said Lewis has surprised them with how solid he was in camp and it showed with his skill and effort on that play. Two carries by TJ Yeldon resulted in a TD for the Jaguars tying the game at 7.

One thing the Jaguars have done is change the field position twice early in the game on Brad Nortman punts. Both landed and were downed inside the five-yard line. That’s where the defense recorded three straight three-and-outs, leading to a Jason Myers field goal to give the Jaguars a 10-7 lead.

It seemed that some questions about the Jaguars were answered early in the game. They can run the football, there’s not too much concern about the left side of the offensive line, Bortles doesn’t mind throwing it to anybody, (Lee, Lewis, Thomas, ARob, DRob, and Hurns all caught passes in the first half) and the defensive backfield can cover. What wasn’t answered was the big question about pass rush. Without much consistent pressure on Aaron Rodgers, he marched the Packers down the field using short passes. Green Bay finished it off with Rodgers shuffling around in the pocket and hitting Jordy Nelson for a TD, 14-10 Packers.

We knew the Jaguars offense would be productive and they showed it again. This time on Bortles arm and a couple of great catches by Allen Hurns and Julius Thomas to regain the lead 17-14. Bortles is checking down to his second and third receiver, partially because he has time and partially because he’s more confident. He found Hurns after scanning the field but the throw and catch to Thomas was something special. Thomas has some of the best hands ever for a tight end and it showed on the TD catch.

Grabbing chunks of yardage over the middle and picking on Jonathan Cyprien in pass coverage, the Packers marched right down the field again inside the two-minute warning. Without much pass rush, Rodgers was able to isolate receivers on Cyprien who’s clearly the weak link in coverage among the revamped Jaguars secondary. Green Bay scored on a play that showcased Rodgers ability as he shuffled around in the pocket to avoid the blitz by Jalen Ramsey and flicked the ball into the end zone for a TD. Ramsey had a piece of his jersey and while Cyprien was flagged for pass interference on the play it didn’t matter. Rodgers made it happen for a 21-17 lead at halftime.

An exchange of field goals on the first two possessions of the second half made it 24-20 Green Bay. It was the first red zone stop for the Jaguars defense behind some solid play by Prince Amukamara. Rogers continued to pick on Cyprien, buying time with his feet and isolating a receiver on him.

As the third quarter wore on, Rodgers continued to show his skill and savvy, picking his spots and methodically moving the Packers downfield. Green Bay looked a bit winded but controlled the ball and kept their defense off the field. While the Jaguars defense stiffened at the goal line, the Packers still held the ball for 16 plays and 73 yards to take a 27-20 lead.

Showing good poise, the Jaguars converted a couple of 4th downs in the 4th quarter but had to spend all of their timeouts to do so. That led to a delay of game penalty at a critical point of the drive. Jason Myers kicked a 50-yard field goal to make it 27-23 with just over 5 minutes to play.

That’s when the defense finally got some pressure on Rodgers, forcing an incompletion on 3rd and 11. Sen’Derrick Marks applauded the crowd in the north end zone for forcing a false start on 3rd and 6 and the Jaguars got the ball back at midfield.

Missing any timeouts, the Jaguars were a bit out of sorts but kept the drive alive into the final: :30 of the game. On 4th down, a weird holding call on Luke Joeckel was followed by an interception by the Packers, negated by defensive holding. So back to midfield and a first down. On 3rd and one, Bortles tried to hit Rashad Greene over the middle that went incomplete and on 4th down Allen Hurns was stopped short of the marker giving the ball to the Packers, ending the game.

Maybe it was the clock management, but I hated the final two play calls of the game. On 3rd and 1, do something that give you a better chance at gaining a yard and on 4th down give your quarterback some options instead of just tossing it out to a receiver who you’re hoping gets a yard. Not sure if OC Olson has Blake under wraps in that situation but you would hope Bortles would have the ability to get them into a better play than that.

We won’t know what this game means for a while but if Green Bay is one of the top teams in the league, the Jaguars showed they can play with anybody. Winning teams know how to win and the Packers showed that. The Jaguars are better, exciting, encouraged and fun to watch. The O-line will be fine, Bortles and the offense will score points, the defensive backfield can cover and they’re still looking for a better pass rush.

But they’re still 0-1.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars: 4 To Watch 4

Jaguars: 4 to watch 4

1. Does the left side of the offensive line work? When he named Kelvin Beachum as the starting left tackle, Head Coach Gus Bradley admitted that it really wasn’t a competition. He awarded Beachum the job for his “body of work.” Yes, Beachum was an elite left tackle for the Steelers before his injury in October of last year. His rehab has been long and while he’s approved to go 100% he’s only played a few series in the preseason. His conditioning will be in question as the opener drags on. Beachum admitted it’s “a marriage” when it comes to the relationship between him and Luke Joeckel at left guard. Joeckel had performed well in the first two preseason games at tackle but was also given kudos by the coaching staff for the way he approached the move to guard. It might take a while but here’s to ‘hoping’ that the coaches aren’t ‘hoping’ this works out. Perhaps they’ve seen something that convinced them it’s the best combination available.

2. Did they spend money in the right place? Acquiring Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson through free agency seemed to create an immediate upgrade for the defense. Gus Bradley likes to use a nine-player rotation on the defensive line so Jackson being fresh throughout the game, and a healthy Sen’Derrick Marks also only playing 30-40 snaps should keep them fresh. Any kind of push up the middle from those two will put pressure on the passer along with Jared Odrick. They also are pretty stout when it comes to sheer size in the middle with Roy Miller and Abry Jones so they should be effective against the run. Gipson is the kind of free safety Bradley wants. One that can cover from side to side, is a ball hawk and isn’t afraid to hit. Gipson’s confidence and leadership will also go a long way in the defensive backfield.

3. Can they run the ball? Which leads to the free agent acquisition of Chris Ivory. Thought to be a thumper, Ivory has shown speed to get to the edge and an ability to quickly get his shoulders turned and head up field. He’ll bring plenty of punch behind his pads. Quarterback Blake *Bortles called him a “ball of muscle” in the preseason, but he also has speed that might catch some defenders off guard. If T.J. Yeldon is a classic “run from color” ball carrier who does well in a zone blocking scheme, Ivory can be a very effective “gap” runner, especially in short yardage. Brandon Linder at center will be the key to the offensive line getting a push for the running game. Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson says Linder has adapted well to his new position, and brings that “physical presence” that they need up front. No question Linder is a tough guy. They missed him last year after his injury.

4. Can the rush Aaron Rodgers and keep him contained? After sitting out a year with a torn ACL, Dante Fowler is being counted on to provide an edge rush for the Jaguars, something they haven’t had in a while. In fact, the only guy you can compare Fowler to who’s ever worn a Jaguars uniform is Tony Brackens. If you’re a Gator fan and haven’t paid attention to Fowler since he left Gainesville, you might not recognize him. He’s completely changed his body style and is faster and stronger than ever. He dominated early in training camp but ran into a wall, literally, starting with the practices against Tampa Bay. The coaches challenged him to be a “pro,” study more tape and take the mental part of the game as seriously as he does the physical side. Between Fowler, Yannick Ngakoue, and Myles Jack the Jaguars have plenty of speed to get to the passer. Part of their problem with Rodgers will be what he can do outside of the pocket when he’s flushed. Getting to him and getting him on the ground will be the key to keeping the Packers offense in check.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars And Packers, More Similar Than You Think

On the surface it looks like a mismatch of a still-learning quarterback in the Jaguars Blake Bortles and a 12-year veteran Aaron Rodgers. But closer inspection shows a lot more similarities between the two quarterbacks and the receivers and running game they rely on.

Bortles has spent the recent off-seasons working specifically on his quarterback skills and training with his top receivers, Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson. He’s also feeling pretty good about Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon running the football. Rodgers has worked on his delivery and footwork throughout his career and leans on players like Randal Cobb and Jordy Nelson when he’s scrambling around and Eddie Lacy pounding it on the ground.

“That’s what you rely on. You rely on the thousands of reps we’ve put in over the years and trust we’ll be able to make it work when he gets out there,” Rodgers said of Nelson’s return in 2016 after an injury. “I’m sure he, just like a quarterback, going out there in the preseason, doesn’t mind taking a shot to get a feel of the game. I’m sure it wouldn’t be bad for him to get tackled.”

Working for the second year in Greg Olson’s offense, Bortles has better command and is more comfortable. He admits it’s still a learning process but he’s getting more comfortable knowing where Olson might be going during a particular drive.

“I think this year it’s definitely more of a collaborative effort-or not a collaborative effort, but I have a good feeling of what he likes to call,” Blake explained before practice on Wednesday. “So it’s definitely less shocking, but I think when the calls come in, I expect them to come in and we’re definitely on the same page.”

On the other hand, Aaron Rodgers us under a new offensive coordinator, Jacksonville’s Edgar Bennett is running the Packers offense after stints as the running back and receivers coach in Green Bay. But the offense is basically the same.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a structured offense for 12 years,” Rodgers explained. “Obviously, it’s morphed over the years. I had a good relationship with Mike (McCarthy) over the years as a play-caller to a quarterback. We’ve had a lot of great moments together and we learned to anticipate things and anticipate the calls and get into a flow with him where you feed off each other.”

Taking over the offense was in the cards a few years ago as Bennett switched coaching groups to gain a more diverse knowledge of the offense.

“When Edgar went to wide receivers in 2011 the initial thought was mine and I went to him, sat down and talked to him about it and then told him what I was thinking,” Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy explained. And his praise and expectations of Edgar are higher still.

“Definitely. I think Edgar Bennett is head coach material in the National Football League. With that being said, when you look at what he’s done at every position he’s had success. He did a great job with the running backs, great job with the receivers and that’s a big part of why he’s our offensive coordinator today.”

In only his third year, Blake Bortles has shown marked improvement and hopes to build on the 35 touchdowns he threw last season.

“You can really tell. Just the ownership, even with protections,” Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley explained about Bortles progression. “That was a big emphasis with us. I know the sack numbers have gone down last year from the year previous. It is a big point of emphasis. I think when you own the protections and understand it and can handle it out on the field, it is a big part of it. I really see that part of Blake as well.”

For Sunday’s game, the Jaguars are the “sleeper” pick, figuring that if you’re going to beat the Packers, early in the season, on the road and in the heat is the place to get it done. But Bradley warns against thinking that Green Bay could be down an out before the final whistle. He noted their ability to come back in the second half.

“They have that. You can see multiple games where they have done that. Let’s come out strong and have a good couple stops and then that is good, but it is 60 minutes because this team can get a roll. It is more of that message. We are going to need this effort throughout. It is a very explosive offense.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars Roster: Bigger, Faster, Stronger

Looking over the 75 players who were vying for the 56 final roster spots on the 2016 Jaguars, Head Coach Gus Bradley declared this team “bigger, faster and stronger,” than teams he’s’ coached in Jacksonville in the past.

“It’s an exciting time,” Bradley continued, talking about the cutting process. “We have some really good football players we’re going forward with and that’s exciting.

While agreeing with Bradley that it was “exciting,” General Manager Dave Caldwell had a slightly different take.

“Exciting because in the past few years we’ve been looking at guys being cut from other teams,” he said with a laugh. “This year, we’ve got our guys right here.

Even making the final 53 on Saturday didn’t mean you were around for game one. Joe Banyard was cut and Josh Wells put on IR to make room for other free agents who could help right now.

“Yeah we had some very tough decisions. Very tough decisions,” Bradley said on Monday. “To us that is a good thing. When you are getting down to those last four or five cuts and you have multiple discussions about what role everyone can play. I think from top to bottom without a doubt this is the best team we have had, personnel wise.”

It’s not always the starting 22 that have to be adjusted. The Jaguars will have 14 new players on the roster this year, all will be expected to contribute on special teams (except QB Brandon Allen. Getting what you’re looking for on special teams means sometimes it comes down to just what a guy ‘looks’ like.

“That is hard. It is hard,” Bradley said, explaining part of the process. “I think that you are looking at what roles people fill and what we are looking for at certain positions. At times we need length. When you lose a guy like Ryan Davis we had Clay Harbor and that size and length is what we were looking at. I think sometimes it is body type what you are looking for and it might not mean that they can go elsewhere and be a good special teams player.”

When it comes to deciding between two players, it can be a ruthless process. Coaches have to be overly-analytical to find the smallest thing that will make the difference between being on the squad or looking for a job. Josh Johnson is a good example of how easily it is to be out of the league and how hard it is to make your way back in. Johnson was playing in the CFL when the Jaguars brought him in for a workout. His performance on special teams and his versatility as a defensive back helped him earn a spot on the 2016 Jaguars.

“Josh Johnson is a guy that’s obviously production has earned him to be on this team,’ Caldwell explained. “He’s around the ball, he makes plays on the ball when given the opportunity. Not only that but he’s been a sure tackler. He’s been a good blitzer, he can play both nickel inside for us and outside, and on special teams, he is an emergency returner for us. So it was a difficult decision. Nick (Marshall) is more of just an outside corner for us and Josh brings a little bit more versatility for us.”

So it’s a little of this and a little of that that can help you get into the league. And when it comes to the competitive part of it, you have to shine or generally you’re gone. Sometimes it’s just that other guys played really well. That’s the case for the Jaguars in deciding between Ryan Davis and Chris Smith.

“It was some of the guys like Chris Smith playing really well, Dan Skuta using him and our surplus of guys that’s interior rushers; Malik Jackson, Sheldon Day, Sen’Derrick Marks and Jared Odrick all can play inside,” Caldwell said after the cuts were made. “Then you got three LEOs there and then you got some flexibility with Hayes Pullard and Myles Jack in terms of MIKE, WILL and OTTO. And then it came down to special teams too and then who was going to be up so that was really the thing that came down to was special teams and not really having a great fit for him anymore.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Plenty Of Jaguars Fans In London

Each year when the NFL closes Regent Street in the shopping heart of London, they put on a fan fest that rivals the NFL Experience at the Super Bowl. There are obstacle courses, kicking demos (very popular) cheerleaders and a bunch of Jaguars fans.

“We came over for a couple of weeks around the game to see the countryside and support the Jaguars,” said Captain Roland Powers (ret.) while enjoying all of the festivities. “I’d say it’s 90-10 Jaguars fans here, and a lot of them are British,” he added.

Walking along there were a lot of NFL jerseys and because it’s their first time here, plenty of Colts representatives. But the Jaguars play here every year and many of the NFL fans in the UK have adopted the Jaguars as their “home” team.

“I needed a team to support and I picked the Jaguars,” said Michael Lewellyn, a London resident. “They seem committed to London and I’m quite keen to see the sport grow here in the UK,” he added.

“I don’t know much about it,” Lewellyn’s girlfriend Beck McCatrish chimed in. “It’s really neat to me and I’m not sure if I like it.”

“I’ll convert her!” Lewelly interjected with a laugh.

One of the features on Regent Street each year is a live stage where the players and cheerleaders entertain and answer questions from fans. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was on stage thanking the fans for their support.

“We never thought we’d be in this situation where we had three games and they were all sold out,” the commissioner said. “We know they want more and we’re trying to figure out ways to do that.”

I asked Goodell about Shad Khan’s original commitment to London and how important that was to the NFL.

“He was willing to stand up and do it,” Goodell said. “His vision was to make sure it was great for the fans in Jacksonville and the fans in London.”

“This is great for the city of Jacksonville,” Goodell added. “People here know where Jacksonville is and what the city is all about. That’s what we’re trying to do, make this good for the city and good for London as well.”

Making the trip from St. Augustine, Jaguars fan Owen Cumiskey said he was amazed at how many other Jaguars fans were around.

“Everywhere I go, people are yelling, ‘Go Jaguars’ and all kinds of things,” Cumiskey said. “It’s expanding our franchise and out brand and our fan base so I think it’s great.”

Each week before Jaguars home games in Jacksonville David Tarkington holds a church service in the parking lot of Old St. Andrews church in the sports complex. He’s brought that idea to London this year and will hold a service before the game just a couple of tube stops from Wembley Stadium.

“Really a tailgate event, just an encouraging word. It gives people a chance to not feel guilty for missing church on Sunday morning,” Tarkington, the pastor at 1st Baptist in Orange Park related.

I asked him if his message changes when the Jaguars struggled. “The message is hope, you gotta believe,” he answered with a laugh. It’s a 10 minute message but just trying to connect the Biblical messages with a sports theme.’

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Are The Jaguars ‘Hoping” For Success

“I’m not a big fan of hope,” former Jaguars linebacker Tom McManus once said to me during an analysis of a game.

Hope is a funny word when it comes to professional sports. On one hand fans can hope things go well. On the other, hope shouldn’t be a part of a coaching staff’s decision making.

That’s why I’m hoping that the Jaguars staff isn’t hoping things work out on the left side of their offensive line.

During his daily press conference, Head Coach Gus Bradley said they decision has been made to start Kelvin Beachum at left tackle and Luke Joeckel at left guard for the regular season opener against Green Bay on September 11th. All along they expected Beachum to be back for the third preseason game, at the same time saying it would be a competition for the starting spot.

Clearly, the competition was only between Beachum and himself, whether he’d be physically able to play when asked. His 23 plays against Cincinnati showed what he’s capable of doing at the same time showing how he’s not conditioned well enough to play an entire game.

Still, Bradley says it was a “body of work” decision and admitted it wasn’t a true competition at all.

“I can credit as far as where at left guard he really elevated himself and, I cannot argue, that’s what I told him, I cannot argue the fact that you’re playing left tackle better than you did last year.,” Bradley said of his conversation with Joeckel. “I can’t argue the fact that this was a competition back and forth; that’s not accurate because Beachum wasn’t playing much in training camp. It was more the body of work we saw in what was best.”

“The competition did not come out where it was straight from the start because of the number of reps Beachum got, so we went about it a little bit of a different way,” Bradley said, trying to put the best spin on an awkward situation. It’s the first time in his tenure as head coach that Bradley had to “clarify” some things that were going on. I’m not sure what the big mystery was or if they were just trying to protect Joeckel for some reason but it’s obvious they intended for Beachum to be the starter at left tackle, if physically able, from the day they signed him as a free-agent.

“I really appreciate Luke and how he competed at guard and tackle,” Bradley continued, echoing what he said earlier in camp. “He improved at both areas. We felt like he did a really good job with Beachum, you know the body of work that he has had and also what he has shown to us in camp.”

Most fans will only remember the two times Joeckel was put flat on his back against Cincinnati, once falling into Blake Bortles. Bradley says he saw those as well but is looking beyond and in a larger scope.

“There’s plays here and there that you look at, but going into it, we just think that he’s got a high, high upside at guard and for us, we got a guard that’s playing very well and a guy that’s improved at tackle versus where he was last year. For us, selfishly speaking, pretty good deal, a guard and another left tackle for us.”

They’ll have to trim another 22 players off the current 75-man roster by this weekend. That’s why Thursday’s game against the Falcons is so fiercely competitive. Roster spots and some NFL futures are on the line. The Jaguars have a lot of decisions between helping now and developing players down the road. Offensive line is one of those positions they’ll have to release some players who are capable of staying in the league.

“I think that the depth is coming along there.,” Bradley explained. “We feel like [Tyler] Shatley’s really starting to perform really well. He had some good plays we showed in the team meeting today. So did [Chris] Reed. He’s doing a pretty good job in there, too. We got some decisions to make, that’s why this game, a lot of those guys will play.”

Without committing to not playing the starters on Thursday night, Bradley said the plan is to see just about everybody else get some playing time. He’ll look at the general health of the team regarding tightness, soreness, etc., before he decides if any of the starters will see action against Atlanta. Blake Bortles will not play but Chad Henne could also be on the bench for the entire game. The head coach says it could be Brandon Allen at quarterback and he could play the whole game. Plagued with a back problem for most of training camp, Sheldon Day went through practice on Tuesday and the staff is planning on him getting some reps in the game against the Falcons.. Bradley was asked if he had addressed his players’ actions during the National Anthem in light of the recent Colin Kaepernick controversy.

“I have, individually. Just when it comes up in conversation, but we have not addressed it as a team. I think with our team, it is more the communication, they all have their freedoms and things like that, but to communicate and have good conversations about their thoughts, I think is important.”

Bradley added he didn’t anticipate any similar action by the Jaguars.

Game time is at 7pm Thursday on Channel 4. The pregame show is scheduled for 6:30.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars Know Bengals Effort Won’t Fly

I was surprised by Gus Bradley’s upbeat mood after the game Sunday night against Cincinnati. Sure, the second and third teams were competitive and won the game in the end but the starters looked miserable in the first half. Bradley is a very positive coach, so I asked him if it might be a good thing to have two weeks before they play for real with this kind of performance fresh in their minds.

“Right. And that’s what I think for us these experiences we go through, for us the offense especially gets punched in the mouth, we got their attention the next 10 days. We definitely got their attention now about how important everything counts,” Bradley said in his post-game press conference. ” Blake said it too, ‘Come on, Gus. One more series.’ I said, ‘What a great lesson for you to say every series is so important because you don’t know when it’s your last one, how many you have left, so you really got to take advantage of it.’ So I mean there’ll be a bunch of lessons and we definitely got their attention.”

That might be a bit of a rosy outlook for a team that was just manhandled in the first half by an admittedly solid Bengals squad. Besides being physically outmatched, the Jaguars looked slow and out of sync compared to their first two-preseason games.

In the post-game locker room there wasn’t any panic but each player echoed what Safety Tashaun Gipson said about not performing.

“All of our starters were out there this game, we had a week of preparation, we just didn’t go out and execute at times,” the veteran safety explained. “But at times it looked right and that’s what you want, to be more consistent, but moving forward we shouldn’t panic by any means.”

We got our first look at Kelvin Beachum at left tackle. He played the expected number of snaps and seems poised to start at that spot when the season begins. It wasn’t pretty by any means on offense in the first half but Beachum is looking forward. “It’s the preseason,” he said in front of his locker. “You have to take that into account. At the same time, you can’t make excuses about the situation. You’ve got to find a way to make plays and do what we do best.”

While Luke Joeckel earned praise for his play at left tackle in the first two preseason games, he was moved to guard beside Beachum with the first team against Cincinnati. He was tripped on one play that was replayed by NBC and didn’t appear to have the same success he enjoyed the first couple of weeks. The coaches have noted that Joeckel has taken the move to guard seriously if that’s where he’s asked to play, but Luke is still competing in his mind for the left tackle spot.

“I’m definitely more comfortable at tackle, that’s where I’ve played my entire life, but I’ve got to get more comfortable at guard and when I’m in there I’ve got to be the best guard I can be,” Joeckel said, reflecting what the coaches have talked about when it comes to his dedication. “There are no excuses; I’ve got to keep getting reps and get more comfortable quickly, but I expect more of myself so I’ll go back and look at tape.”

We saw Myles Jack with the first team, a plan the coaches had before the game, trying to get him reps with the “ones” to see how he responded as well as putting him in all kinds of down and distance situations. He’s an athlete, he’s going to be a good player but for now, he’s a rookie. The good thing is, he knows it.

“With this being my first season I really don’t know what’s going on but I’m looking at every game is the biggest and most important game of our life,” he said post-game with a smile. “So the games are preseason in everybody else’s eyes but it’s a game to show, that’s how I’m trying to treat it and that’s how I have been treating it.”

Wanting to be great is part of the ingredients a player needs to be great and Jack certainly has that. Believe it or not, not every player has that same desire. It would be easy to call it luck for the Jaguars but that’s part of their vetting process before they sign or draft a player. General Manager Dave Caldwell and Bradley are looking for guys who love the game and want to play at a high level.

Bradley said he’s responsible for Hayes Pullard not reporting on the TD catch and you could say he’s dealing with a lot of young players who are learning how to be professionals. That’s the case with Dante Fowler, who was flagged for being on the field after Pullard’s TD and has a youthful exuberance that the team is trying to channel into production on the field. They even asked Fowler to concentrate on being more of a “professional” this week, watching more film, meeting with coaches and being mentally prepared.

“Yeah, he did. He responded really well,” Bradley said when asked if Fowler embraced that kind of coaching. “I think the big thing with Dante is just his conditioning. We got him in there some screen and then we set up for him to see some run series that he would go in there.”

Here’s the Jaguars press release on reducing the roster to 78 players. They need to be down to 75 by tomorrow at 4. The only surprise name is McCray. Both Ficken and Quigley were auditioning Sunday night for everybody else in the league.

The Jaguars waived the following eight players: fourth-year LB Joplo Bartu, third-year WR Shaq Evans, first-year K Sam Ficken, rookie CB Mike Hilton, first-year RB Cameron Marshall, fourth-year CB Demetrius McCray, fourth-year P Ryan Quigley and rookie WR Jamal Robinson.

The Jaguars placed seventh-year OL Jeff Linkenbach (concussion) on the team’s reserve/injured list.

The Jaguars assigned the reserve/physically unable to perform designation to third-year OL Luke Bowanko (hip) and rookie DL Jonathan Woodard (achilles). Players assigned the reserve/physically unable to perform designation do not count against the team’s active roster and can return to practice any time between Week 6 and Week 11 and then have a 21-day window before they must be moved to the active roster, kept on the team’s reserve/physically unable to perform list or waived.

The Jaguars waived/injured third-year S Earl Wolff (hamstring). Wolff will revert to the team’s injured reserve list if he clears waivers.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Wake Up Call For Jaguars Vs. Bengals

If nothing else, the first half against the Bengals should have served as a giant wake up call for everybody associated with the Jaguars.

“We played pretty bad at every position. When you play bad, you don’t score a lot of points,” quarterback Blake Bortles said in the second half.

Players, coaches, front office people and even fans who have been full of optimism had that tempered a bit by many of the same mistakes that have plagued the team in the last three years.

A reminder: it is still preseason.

But against a perennial playoff team, the Jaguars turned it over, missed assignments on defense, and had 14 yards of total offense midway through the second quarter.

And oh by the way, they were down 14-0.

When it was first team vs. first team, the Jaguars were no match for the Bengals, getting manhandled at the line of scrimmage and outsmarted in the field. If Gus Bradley was looking at this game as a “fact finding” situation, what he found out is that his team has a lot of work to do.

Early in the week Bradley said having the game on s Sunday night in front of a national TV audience would give him a chance to see how his players reacted to that spotlight. When they kicked it off, the Jaguars, unlike the first two-preseason games, looked tentative and a step slow.

Andy Dalton and the Bengals turned a TJ Yeldon fumble in the first quarter quickly into a touchdown. Three plays, twenty-two yards and it was 7-0. Their next drive, after a Jaguars punt, chewed up 8:57 on the clock and ended in another Cincinnati TD, 14-0 Bengals. The Jaguars looked outmanned up front and were out of place on defense consistently. If Bradley and the coaching staff were asking the players to do something different (i.e. play a base defense) it might be explainable. But teams do prepare and game plan for the third preseason game much like the regular season so it’s hard not to just see the first half as not much better than anything we’ve seen in the past three years.

Simple things kept the Jaguars from having any success.

Hays Pullard was so excited to be in the game as the fullback, he forgot (or wasn’t coached to) to report to the ref as an eligible receiver his touchdown catch was negated.

That’s just basic football stuff that can’t be ignored.

That was followed by a couple of miscues that led to a field goal from Sam Ficken that bounced off the left upright and in for three points. Ficken and punter Ryan Quigley were in the game for starters Brad Nortman and Jason Myers. Both were auditioning for other teams in the league.

As the defending division champs and a 2015 playoff team, the Bengals are good, not great. But Bortles was right when he said they were the perfect team to go up against in the third preseason game on national television. Tough, big and solid, they exposed the Jaguars starters as “not ready for prime time” yet. It might not mean it’s time to panic but it should get everybody’s attention.

If the Jaguars are still in the building and learning process, hoping to be a competitive team in the division, the Bengals are several years in front of them, already thinking about a deep playoff run.

From the look on Gus’ face on the sideline, he’s not going to have too much good to say about this one when it comes to the starters. His thought that anybody thinking “I got this” is the enemy of all success will be a theme this week.

They’ll cut 15 players on Monday and give the second and third teamers a chance to start and make an impression on Thursday in Atlanta. While the starters won’t play for either side, that game, as is the case with the final preseason game, will feature fierce competition with guys trying to make an impression and stay in the league. After that, they’ll cut again to 53 and look to sign up to as many as 10 players to the practice squad.

Everybody should be happy it’s just preseason. If it is a wake up call, the bell is sounding loud and clear.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Arrow Up On Jaguars

Looking at the Jaguars through two preseason games and three weeks of training camp some things about the team are starting to take shape.

1) A year under his belt in the offensive system has helped Blake Bortles take command and get comfortable. They time spent in the offseason throwing to Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson has paid off with them understanding what the other is thinking as a play develops. Head Coach Gus Bradley has noticed that Bortles is carrying his practice play into the preseason games.

“I’m really pleased with his consistency and decision-making,” Bradley said after Saturday’s game with Tampa Bay. “Those are two facets that we pointed to in the offseason and into training camp. He’s put two games together where he’s made good decisions for us.”

It was funny to hear Bortles explain his process last year getting into the huddle and up to the line of scrimmage. Blake said in one pregame meeting that he was hoping nobody would talk to him after he got the play in his helmet so he could repeat it several times in his head before stepping in the huddle to make the call. Now he doesn’t even think about it.

2) While the team is waiting on Kelvin Beachum to get into a game and ramp up the competition at left tackle, Luke Joeckel is taking advantage of his opportunity, playing like the first round draft pick the Jaguars expected.

“He did a really nice job,” Bradley said about Joeckel’s play against the Bucs. “I think it was Luke’s most physical game that he’s played as a Jag, where he showed up and really attempted to be physical. I think sometimes, people will play more physical when they really understand the assignments and their jobs. He’s on it now. That part of the game, I think, has really picked up for him. He did a good job in protection and in the run game.”

Bradley has also been impressed with how Joeckel has been willing to learn the left guard spot and excel inside instead of pouting and thinking he’s only a tackle. No matter what happens with Beachum, the Jaguars are comfortable at this point with Joeckel starting at tackle.

3) Good effort is evident when you watch Dante Fowler in practice and although he was stymied in two practices with the Bucs last week, Fowler continued to give the same effort in the game.

‘His effort continues to show,” Bradley explained. “He got a hit on the quarterback on a throw on a twist game that we have set up, so his effort still jumps up out at you. But I do know we complimented him on his effort and on all the plays that he was in.”

4) Both publicly and privately in the locker room, veteran players have been impressed with rookie Jalen Ramsey. Mark Brunell told me that it might take several years for some players to understand and take to the professional game, for Ramsey “It might take a few weeks.” Bradley admitted Ramsey is one of those players who raises everybody else’s game as well.

“Well, I hope everybody raises each other and every individual takes on that responsibility, but he is,” Gus said. “He does some really good things. Just like he’ll pick up some things from other players, I’m sure they’ll pick up some things from him.”

One of the unique things about Ramsey is that he can play both inside and out, pretty special for a player just out of college.

“I thought he did a good job,” Bradley explained. “Now we saw him both on the outside and in the slot and I don’t know exactly how many times, but I do remember a couple of them in particular. The big thing with Jalen is he’s got really, really good poise. He’s obviously a very talented athlete and he’s got good technique, but his poise at the line of scrimmage and you really trust his speed, so it allows him to play at a comfort level that he has great confidence.”

5) There will be players who are cut by the Jaguars before the regular season who will make, and play for other NFL teams. Despite their lack of production against Tampa Bay, the second and third teamers who remain on the final 53 for the Jaguars have the kind of depth they’ll need to compete over a 16 game season. That hasn’t been the case for the last four years.

A player like Sen’Derrick Marks isn’t listed as a starter but he’ll play like one. Sen’Derrick told me that the addition of Malik Jackson and the rotation he’ll be in during the regular season could put him in the game for 30 or 40 plays. He expects to be fresh and productive and not double-teamed.

“I think knowing Sen’Derrick, there are times in his career that he has been here that when we did limit some of his reps, that it helped him be even more effective,” Bradley confirmed. “He is going to argue this. He is going to argue all of this. I don’t really look at him as a backup. We talk in terms of, ‘We are going to need you all.’. He is in a strong competition now. I was very pleased how he handled it, though. He went in there with the second group and competed his tail off and really showed up on film. I think message sent, message received for him.”

Randomly:
If they get the offensive line set, they’ll make quick progress scoring points and controlling the clock. Brandon Linder has adapted to the center position quickly, not surprising because he’s a smart player, but he brings a physical presence in the middle of the line that the team is hoping improves the run game. Chris Ivory not only likes to be physical he has speed you don’t expect. Brad Nortman is a nice addition as the punter but Ryan Quigley can really boot it as well. Brandon Allen looks better than expected behind center and could be backing up Bortles sooner rather than later. They’ll keep a bunch of running backs, like last year, but special teams will determine where Denard Robinson and Joe Banyard fit into the regular season plans. Corey Grant, healthy again, appears to be the kick returner. They’ll keep five wide receivers if Marqis Lee stays healthy, so that means Bryan Walters is competing for that fifth spot with guys like Aurileus Benn and Tony Washington although the coaches like Rashad Lawrence as well. And Myles Jack can really play.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

South End Zone Project: Khan Wants To Get It Right

In February of this year when the Jaguars made a big splash unveiling their Shipyards project vision; Jaguars Owner Shad Khan said a renovation of the South End Zone could be completed before the 2016 football season began.

While the project went through various design stages and permitting processes, that timeline got pushed back with Khan saying, “We’re only going to build this once, so let’s get it right.”

Today’s announcement of the project called “Daily’s Place” as part of a multi-year naming rights agreement put the completion in March of 2017.

At the original announcement seven months ago, Khan told me he’d like to see the Jacksonville host the NFL Draft. He reiterated that today.

“It could be a great venue for the draft with all the amenities,” Khan said. “We’re going do our utmost.”

Last year’s draft was held in and around Grant Park near Chicago’s waterfront. The NFL estimated 750,000 people made their way through the exhibits, displays and temporary amphitheater over four days.

All along Khan has said his vision was “iconic, a signature piece for Jacksonville.” Today’s renderings backed up his idea of more “Sydney opera house” than strip mall.

Here’s how they describe the combination covered practice field and entertainment venue in today’s press release:

Daily’s Place will house the new 5,500-person capacity amphitheater and 94,000-square foot covered flex field, as well as a luxurious back-of-house artist building. The soon-to-be-iconic superstructure will reside underneath a roof that covers both venues. Fabric and steel comprise more than eighty percent of the design materials for the project. Polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”) fabric will be suspended from a series of steel trusses, each spanning 430 feet from the south end zone of the stadium to the southern façade of the flex field.

Daily’s Place will be fully integrated into EverBank Field, creating a cohesive environment for events and festivals to utilize the entire stadium premises. At the ground level, the new south end zone field super-tunnel will lead to a brand new central bar connected to the amphitheater entrance. The existing Bud Light Party Zone and Terrace Suite areas will now be linked to the amphitheater’s elevated seating decks via access bridges at each level.

The covered flex field includes a regulation size football field with over 20 feet of auxiliary space around the artificial playing surface. At its highest point along the 50-yard-line, the roof rises nearly 80 feet. Flanked on the north and south side by massive hangar doors, the facility can be used independently or opened up to the amphitheater via a sliding door behind the stage that measures approximately 53 feet tall by 60 feet wide. Along the south side of the property are four more sliding doors of similar size that, when opened, create an open air experience measuring 222 feet wide. When the doors are closed to the flex field, the space is fully climate controlled.

With the inside of the stadium renovations completed, for now, Khan says the south end zone project will provide the impetus to get the entire Shipyards project going.

“What this means for the Shipyards is very good, because you have to have some inertia to get something going,” Khan said. “We have now, across the highway, would be a great opportunity for a high-end hotel and convention center, which really this town needs. We’ll try to work with the city and then as you move towards downtown, the city is wrestling with a lot of challenges environmentally. As that is addressed, then you can really have the growth. I think it’s very good. It’s embryonic, but important.”

All along developers have known that the old Jacksonville Shipyards was an environmental challenge, costing upwards of $50 million to clean up before any construction can begin. The city, as well as Khan, is trying to engage the State of Florida and the federal government to participate in the cleanup.

Starting at the stadium and moving west, Khan wants to reshape downtown, saying a strong urban core is a vital part of any city’s success. He originally wanted to buy the Jacksonville Suns franchise from the Bragan family as part of the project but the timing and the price at the time weren’t right.

“These new facilities are part of our ambitious vision for the future of downtown Jacksonville as a world-class sports and entertainment destination,” Khan said today. “The proximity of Daily’s Place to the St. Johns River, EverBank Field and the Sports Complex will further shape the identity of Downtown Jacksonville as a cool place to be. And, we should expect all of this to serve as a catalyst for future development in the area. It’s a great day for Jacksonville.”

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Jaguars vs. SD: Nothing To Like

Whatever we watched last week against the Packers we watched the opposite this week against the Chargers. From the opening snap, Phillip Rivers and San Diego did whatever they wanted against the Jaguars on offense and defense, looking dominant in a 38-7 rout.

For all of the tenacity last week against the Packers, the Jaguars folded this week on the west coast. San Diego scored on their first three possessions, running the football at will and putting the game out of reach early. Blake Bortles threw behind Marqis Lee again in the middle of the field and it was picked off. Rivers quickly took advantage of the short field to take the lead and never looked back. When the game felt like it might be slipping away last week against the Packers, the Jaguars put their foot in the ground and made a stand. This week, the defense was porous and Bortles had three turnovers in the first half, two interceptions and a fumble, all leading the Chargers scores.

Without an outstanding play by Yannick Ngakoue, San Diego would have been up 28-0 before halftime. Ngakoue recorded his first sack, stripping the ball from Rivers and the Jaguars recovered it. Bortles looked out of sorts all day and threw an interception to end the drive.

Besides the play by Ngakoue, Dante Fowler recorded his first two professional sacks and we saw Myles Jack on the field at middle linebacker for the first time. Other than that, there weren’t any highlights. Any scores by the Jaguars were meaningless and any stats compiled by Bortles were all during garbage time.

I’ll go back to the four keys they needed to compete in San Diego and they didn’t get any of them. No pass rush to speak of, turnovers in their own end, no running game and special teams had their failings as well. Penalties were a problem again with Jared Odrick losing his poise and his temper helping the Chargers to another score.

I’ve said all along that the number of wins at the end of the year won’t necessarily be the measuring stick for Gus Bradley’s future. Games like last week gave the Jaguars hope. Games like today call Bradley’s future into question.

Khan wants a competitive team and doesn’t like being embarrassed. He’s been patient, like the fans have, and he wants results. Looking at the first four games of the season, and the rest of the schedule, it appeared the Jaguars needed to win two of their first four. Now as they’ve started 0-2, they’ll need to win against Baltimore and Joe Flacco at home and beat the Colts and Andrew Luck in London to look like a competitive team for the rest of the year.

This one’s a blow to the psyche as well as a loss on the scoreboard. It’s a ding in their confidence. What they built last week is gone and they’ll have to rebuild themselves quickly before the entire season gets away.

(Here’s a stat that applies: Teams that start 0-2 have a 12% chance of making the playoffs)

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Will Gus Bradley’s Coaching Experiment Work?

Just about all the talk, all the prep and all of they hype are behind them now. The re-tooled Jaguars will take the field on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers with new expectations. Last February I asked Owner Shad Khan what his expectation level would be for 2016 and he said, “Better than 5-11 I can tell you that!”

So while a specific number of wins is probably not the measuring stick for success this year, how the team plays, how competitive they are throughout the year and how they compete in games will give an indication of how much better they are. Through the draft and free agency they’ve upgraded the talent. But to become a better team it takes a little bit of an intangible quality. Head Coach Gus Bradley has said through training camp that he’s felt that intangible has come quicker than expected and explained how it manifests itself when he’s with the team.

“Very good. Very focused team,” he explained on Friday. “You see position groups talking among one another. It’s conversations [about] what are we dealing with this week. They are having a lot of conversations about football and what they’re going to see, so that’s always good. Can’t always say that is how it has always been. This group is really into football, really, really into it. You can tell by how they’re watching film together and they’re doing it as groups rather than individuals, which is cool.”

Working with Bradley in press conferences and in private meetings, he’s authentically positive. It’s not an act. He truly wants to empower the players to hold one another accountable, to get them ready to play their best. He’s done it in his own career, telling me last week becoming a head coach in the NFL wasn’t an “ultimate goal” for him.

“I wanted to be the best position coach I could be,” he told me. “And when I became a coordinator in Seattle, I wanted to be the best coordinator I could be. I wasn’t always looking at what path would make me a head coach.”

So giving the players that kind of focus has been his goal. To change the meaning of success from what happens on the scoreboard to how you play. Giving the players the tools to play their best is his goal. That’s when the score will take care of itself.

“Now I think when they’re confident that should be a sign that they feel prepared,” Gus related about his team’s vision of the opener. “They’re prepared, they understand the task in front of them, the challenges that they’re facing, but they’re clear on it and they know what they need to do. So I think when you’re prepared like that it breeds confidence.”

Through the conditioning, the meetings, the installation and the practices, Bradley said his team is prepared to take on the season. He never wants his players to have an “I got this” mentality, but rather to be constantly improving both physically and mentally.

“We got better today,” was the perfect answer Kelvin Beachum gave when I asked him what the team did on their ‘Bonus Monday.’

Bradley would approve.

“We talk about enthusiasm, play tough, and one of them is playing smart,” the head coach explained about how the team is finding out all the facets necessary to win in the NFL. “We really have to play smart this game. You play smart every game, but there are so many challenges that this team presents with the hard counts, with the freebies, with the penalties and the substitutions. We have to have a really clean game. That has been addressed with our team.”

In their fourth year of changes, the Jaguars have the ‘look’ look of a legitimate NFL team. They’re big across both fronts; they’re fast in the offensive and defensive backfields and their quarterback is building on some previous success. But they’re still young. Only two players (Marcedes Lewis and Paul Posluzsny) are out of their 20’s. Myles Jack just turned 21 last Saturday. They’ll start Jalen Ramsey, a rookie, albeit a highly touted and drafted one, at one of their cornerback spots against Aaron Rodgers. To Bradley, that ‘reason’ for not doing well passed a couple of years ago.

“If we said we’re a young team then, we can’t say that any more,” he explained when asked if he was worried about his team being so young.

“If they are counting on a Saturday speech then it’s too late,” he added. “This team, everything we do, we try to teach them [that it is] more internal. It is more about you going out there and doing your job and doing it at a high level. Hopefully it comes from within rather than from me.”

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Bortles Better, Defense Better

He’s a third year pro but perhaps more importantly, it’s Blake Bortles’ second year in the same offensive system. It’s allowed the Jaguars quarterback to be more in command and take a bigger leadership role.

“Yeah, I think so, definitely. If I wasn’t then it would be pretty disappointing,” he said after Tuesday’s practice in full pads.

“I think going in a second year in the system, I think, personally, the decisions have been better. As a whole there are some bad decisions and bad throws and there probably always will be, but trying to minimize those as much as possible and try to find ways to be efficient.”

Watching Bortles on the field, he looks crisper and more decisive with his decision-making and his throws. Some of that is just maturing as a player. Some of it is the competition he’s facing each day in practice.

“Yeah, I think everything feels better,” he explained. “From an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint as well. I mean the defensive line, the backers, the secondary – you know it really feels better and it’s challenging as a quarterback to try and match these plays against this kind of caliber of a defense.”

While Bortles didn’t single out the previous Jaguars defenses as deficient, it’s obvious the money spent in free agency and the addition of Fowler, Ramsey and Jack through the draft has changed the whole look and speed of the defense.

I think the stuff they are doing is really good and effective. Some of the things they are doing, mixing looks up and doing things like that presents some different challenges so I think it is definitely more effective and when you put better players into the system then it is only going to be that much harder.”

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Stadium Improvements March On

As the focus for the Jaguars concentrates on their improvement on the field, the backdrop at the stadium continues to be hammering and building as workers race against the calendar to have improvements done before the season starts.

“That extra week in August because our first preseason game is on the road is a big help,” Jaguars President Mark Lamping said about the construction schedule. With all of the things they’re doing and plan to do at the stadium, Shad Khan was leaning on Lamping’s expertise getting the new Busch Field in St. Louis and the stadium in New Jersey built when he brought him to Jacksonville.

Khan’s renovation of the weight room and the locker room were just preludes to the major projects he envisioned that are now becoming reality.

“We listened to the fans,” Khan said this week. “Not just here in Jacksonville but all over the world. What do they want, how to they want to watch a game? What kind of experience to they expect? All of those things when we started this project.”

It’s clear that watching the game in Jacksonville is different than almost every other NFL city. Fans want to have different experiences throughout the day.

“If you’re going to commit seven, eight hours to coming to the stadium, you need to enjoy it,” Jaguars director of sales Chad Johnson explained. “You have numerous different things and experiences you can find at the stadium and that’s what our fans want.”

Johnson’s comments came was he was standing in the nearly-completed loggia area of the south end zone, an “add-on” experience that’s unique to Jacksonville.

“You’ll be right here, just about on the field when the players are introduced and when the game is going on. You can’t get that anywhere else.”

As they complete Phase 1 of this current project, the east and west clubs as well as the interior of the south end zone will be completely different. In fact, the two clubs are distinct from each other.

“Why not?” Khan said, standing in the east club, when asked about the difference between the two. “The west side will be more of an upscale, urban feel. This one will be younger, hipper, more beachy. We have two different, distinct clienteles that are looking for two different experiences.”

From his time in baseball with the Cardinals, Lamping sees plenty of similarities between watching that sport in St. Louis and football in Jacksonville.

“It’s a lot like what baseball fans want. The ballpark, or in this case the stadium should be a place that has a unique feel, a unique look that belongs to the city. The fans should feel a part of it represents them,” Lamping said drawing the comparisons between the two different fan bases. “We’ve connected them with their digital needs without having them sitting and staring at their smartphones and running up $160 dollars of charges during the game.”

Between the indoor and outdoor spaces, the pools, the party deck, the WiFI and the digital boards within quick view no matter where you are, Jaguars fans will be able to keep track of their “other” team or their fantasy roster constantly.

“That’s something that’s unique to our market,” Lamping said in the new, open-air of the west club. “You wouldn’t show Eagles highlights to Giants fans but here in Jacksonville we realize that while everybody wants to the Jaguars to win, most have come here from somewhere else and have another favorite team as well.”

They’re still fine tuning some of the details of Phase 1, like deciding what kind of structure the players will run through when the enter the field from the south end zone, but it’ll be ready when fans show up on August 20th to face Tampa Bay in the second preseason game of the year. After that, Phase 2 will begin on the outside of the south end of the stadium, the long-awaited amphitheater and indoor practice facility they’re calling the “flex-field.”

“That’s going to be something special,” Khan said with a smile adding that they had just finished approving the design of the project. “It’s going to be something iconic, a signature for Jacksonville that will be instantly recognizable.”

Spring, 2017 is the target date for completion of the south end zone project. It will be open for plenty of events before it’s ever used as an indoor football field.

Once that’s done, Khan has plans for the Shipyards project, probably starting a little east of the actual shipyard property with a luxury hotel, a walk-bridge to the stadium, public spaces, some retail, a spot for the USS Adams and maybe even docking space for Shad’s mega yacht “Kismet.”

As he says, “You can’t sit on the status quo. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.”

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FSU/Boise St. To Play Here In 2019

As they continue to work toward bringing in “neutral site” college football games. JaxSports has found a willing partner in Florida State University.

FSU is scheduled to play Boise State in a home-and-home series in 2019 and 2020 but talks are progressing to bring that game to Jacksonville to open the season.

“Florida State is definitely interested in bringing games to Jacksonville,” one source with knowledge of the situation said. “They’d like to play that Boise State game here but still travel to Idaho the next season.”

As of now, FSU is scheduled to open this yer against Ole Miss in Orlando and 2017 vs. Alabama in Atlanta. They’re also in discussions to open the 2020 season in Atlanta against West Virginia.

If you’re wondering why the Seminoles would agree to these games away from Doak-Campbell Stadium, the $8 million they’ll make for opening away from Tallahassee in the next two years seems to be the draw.

Besides the money, FSU also is a national draw on television and playing in these celebrated games also helps in recruiting. A loss in one of these openers no longer eliminates teams from consideration for the National Championship and a win ups their strength of schedule against non-conference opponents. In addition, it would give the school at least an additional week to complete any renovations to the stadium that might be planned.

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Air2G2 Local Company Making Good

As a concept, it seems pretty simple: All living things need air to grow. But for Glen Black, it was a brainstorm in college that led to a growing business based on that concept.

Black is the President of Air2G2 by GT Air Inject, a Jacksonville company with connections all around the world. While a college student, one of Black’s professors wondered aloud if they couldn’t get air to the roots of a grass system and if that would promote growth. Black went to work on the concept and the Air2G2 machine was born.

“Air is everything to anything that lives,” is the company trademark and Ar2G2 machine provides that where it doesn’t get to: underground.

Any expanse of grass needs to eventually given room to grow. Grass fields used for sports, football, baseball, golf, soccer and others, get compacted together where air can’t get to the root system and promote growth. The Air2G2 does just that. But putting three spikes in the ground that push compressed air in at a seven-inch depth to break up the “compaction layer” and again at 12 inches beneath the turf surface.

Traditionally “aerating” a grass surface (field, fairway, green, tee box) involves taking chunks of the turf out of the ground to let the remaining grass expand. The Air2G2 does that without disrupting the playing surface and allows teams and players to go right back to work.

Fields a the Jaguars stadium in town, Fenway Park, and Wrigley Field are among the places the Air2G2 is in action. Florida Field and others in college football count on it to keep their fields going all year. Real Madrid is one of the international soccer clubs who use the Air2G2 machine to keep their field in shape.

At a cost of $38,000 it’s in the price range that most clubs can afford. Handmade here in Jacksonville, the company is working on a home model for significantly less. As far as time, besides the “instant use” component of the Air2G2, it takes a little longer than mowing the grass to put the machine into use.

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Jaguars “Fact Finding” vs. Bengals

It might have been a “game week” of preparation but even as hard as they try, the players and coaches admit the third preseason game is different than the rest but still nothing like the regular season. “Fact finding” is how Head Coach Gus Bradley characterized his goal for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati. The Jaguars, like the rest of the league, will have to cut their roster to 75 players next week. Deciding who to keep and who to let go will be more difficult than in the past. This group of 90 players is the most talented under Bradley and GM Dave Caldwell, making the decisions more difficult. The decisions can play themselves out more clearly under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.

“We’ll put some guys in different positions just to see how they handle a heightened environment,” Bradley said this week. “It might be how they handle going against a one. We need to find out more information about some guys. We’re excited. I think it has been a good week, I’m glad we had this dress rehearsal.”

Much of the attention will be on the left side of the offensive line where Kelvin Beachum will start at tackle and play “15 to 25 snaps” according to Bradley. Although the coaches have praised Luke Joeckel for his play at that spot all through training camp and in the first two-preseason games, Bradley said the “fact finding” would start with Beachum and Joeckel on the left side. What has impressed the head coach is how Joeckel has taken the competition seriously and hasn’t said a word. He’s just worked at both positions and excelled in the first three weeks. No complaining.

“You would think that and I think you would say, ‘Okay we need to talk to him and help him through this,’ but I have not talked to him,” Gus explained. “He has been unbelievable. I mean, just in passing and the way he says his mindset is, I know we all appreciate that and it tells us a lot about him. You know, you wonder, but I am not surprised. We saw that mindset in the OTAs and he has carried it through, so I have not talked to him much about it at all and he has been handling it great.”

That’s not to say things have been all hearts and roses for the Jaguars during training camp. The first day in pads wasn’t much, “Not to our standard,” Bradley said at the time. The second day of practice against the Tampa Bay Bucs, “Wasn’t sharp,” according to the head coach. And even this week the “No Repeat Friday” where they concentrate on not making the same mistakes and running through multiple formations and plays without “repeat” wasn’t what he was looking for.

“Today, we did not really do a good job,” Bradley said on Friday. “It was not up to our standard. It just was not as sharp. I guess that’s what a test run is all about, to create that standard of what a No Repeat Friday is all about. It’s a good lesson.”

What’s strange about the preseason is how the coaches are looking at different players in different situations. Last week against the Bucs all they wanted to see from Julius Thomas was his run blocking. So no real “targets” and it seemed like he wasn’t even in the game. This week could be different but it all depends on the situations presented in the game.

About 40% of every NFL roster turns over each year so it won’t be surprising if there are twenty or so new names wearing the Jaguars uniform starting on September 11th. A chance to play in front of a national television audience is always motivation. So guys will shine, some won’t rise to the occasion.

“I think to see how guys respond, the heightened environment of Sunday Night Football is really good in preseason because it does give us a chance to see how these guys respond to it,” Bradley noted.

Sending young players in the game where the spotlight is on has helped Gus evaluate who can step up once the regular season starts. That’s why he likes the “big game” environment created in the preseason.

“It’s a heightened environment so now what? It’s okay to be excited about it, now acknowledge it and let’s go. So we do talk about it just so they have the understanding that you’re going to be playing and every game’s a great big game but sometimes when it’s heightened like this more, guys can get out of whack.”

After dominating early in training camp, Dante Fowler has run into some fierce competition, something the coaching staff has appreciated.

“Dante, as we all know, the physical attributes that he has,” Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash said this week. “The thing that we are challenging Dante on now is being a pro, being great in the classroom, taking it from the classroom to the field, studying more tape on his own. We’re really pressuring him right now to be a pro.”

One thing Wash hopes to see more of is the physical nature Jalen Ramsey brings to the cornerback position. Early in the game Ramsey stuck his nose in a pile to make a tackle. He says it’s how he’s always played the game. Wash took notice immediately.

“We were excited just how physical he played on that snap,” Wash noted this week. “He did not come up there and try to dodge the offensive lineman, and got himself in position to make the play. He’s not scared to put his face on people and that is something that’s important to us. We want to be known as a physical defense not only from the front seven, but our back end also.”

Game time is 8 o’clock for the nationally televised game. Channel 4 will have the pregame at 6:30 and I’ll live tweet from the game on Twitter @samkouvaris

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Time for Jimmy Smith in The Pride

There’s never been a question about Jimmy Smith’s on-field greatness. Smith is one of just three players to play more than ten seasons for the Jaguars, from 1995-2005, and still owns 11 team records 10 years after his retirement in 2006.

But how to you honor a player during his much-publicized struggle with drug addition and run-in’s with the law? Jimmy’s battles with drug abuse were well chronicled on ESPN’s “30 for 30” series among other places. He’s served jail time, has been confined to his house and convicted on drug and parole violation charges. He’s still on parole in Mississippi until March of next year.

Even his retirement in 2006 was surrounded by controversy. In a hastily called press conference, Smith said he was “tired” and it “was time” for him to retire. He denied that he might have been facing a year’s suspension for failing another drug test at the time. But walking away from a several million dollars didn’t make any sense for Smith at that point in his career. Even how the announcement was handled for one of the all-time, on-field greats didn’t seem right. Smith denial was unconvincing and tepid at best.

As fans and friends have hoped, Smith has stayed out of trouble for a few years, long enough for the Jaguars to honor him this December as a member of The Pride.

“There is no question that Jimmy Smith was one of the best players to ever wear a Jaguars uniform,” Jaguars Owner Shard Khan said. “His contributions in the early years were critical to the success the Jaguars enjoyed during that time. The fact that most of his records have stood for 10 years without being surpassed underscores what a great player he was.”

Serving on the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee, I’m instructed every year to only consider a player’s football accomplishments, disregarding any issues he might have outside of the game. That’s why Lawrence Taylor was elected to the Hall during a time he was consistently running afoul of the law.

But The Pride of the Jaguars is different. If only by the definition of the word “Pride.” In this case it has double meaning, denoting a collection of individuals and a spirit of those involved. It would have been tough to induct Jimmy during his troubled times.

A five-time Pro Bowl performer, Smith was a key to the Jaguars’ early success when the team earned four straight playoff appearances from 1996-99 and played in eight postseason games including two AFC Championship games. He was the Jaguars’ leading receiver seven times and was voted to the AFC Pro Bowl team five consecutive years from 1997-2001.

“We had such great fun and I have wonderful memories of my time there,” Jimmy said. I want to experience it once again with my teammates and the great Jaguars fans. This is a great honor.”

Smith joined the Jaguars as a free agent in 1995, and over the next 11 seasons he produced marks for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns that still stand today. His 171 games played and 150 games started both rank second in team history, and his 11 seasons played is tied for second all-time.

Part of Jimmy’s success was the team around him. Fellow Pride members Mark Brunell, Tony Boselli and Fred Taylor helped anchor a very potent offense during Smith’s career.

Which also begs the question “What about Keenan?” No matter where McCardell ranks statistically in Jaguars receiving history, he was a force opposite Jimmy that put pressure on defenses and gave Smith room to roam. They were even promoted together as “Thunder and Lightning” during their playing days.

Maybe they’re spacing it out, but if Jimmy’s going in, Keenan should be there with him.

Or at least next.

Then Meester.

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Smith “Grateful and excited” to be in The Pride

“It’s not the end, but it’s a new beginning.”

It was with that statement that former Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith summed up his thoughts about being the latest player to be invited to join The Pride of the Jaguars. Smith’s statistics are gaudy by any measure of wide receivers in the NFL and outsized when it comes to the Jaguars record books. Smith still holds at least 11 team records a full decade after his retirement.

When the call came from Jaguars Owner Shad Khan on Saturday, Smith almost didn’t pick up the phone. It was a strange number with a 217 area code and Jimmy admitted he usually doesn’t answer numbers he doesn’t know. But he had a feeling and was glad he did.

“My heart started beating fast and I couldn’t catch my breath,” Smith explained on Tuesday. “[He said], ‘Jimmy this is Shad Khan with the Jacksonville Jaguars,’ and he began to say thanks so much for my service for the Jaguars and what I’ve done during my time there and how engaging I am to the community and how engaging I am social media and that they were extremely proud of me.”

Through his drug addiction and legal woes, Smith has had a support group of fans, family, friends, teammates and coaches. He was quick to thank them for sticking by him and credited his new-found spiritual conviction for getting him to a new place in his life.

“I’m just happy that God has allowed me to be resilient and persevere and show that you can turn your life around and still be on top.”

Smith singled out Tom Coughlin, Keenan McCardell, Mark Brunell, Fred Taylor, Tony Boselli and the Weavers as particular supporters who have helped.

In conversation with Taylor, a former teammate and the first to call and congratulate him, Smith said he understands the responsibility that comes with joining The Pride.

“I love him, but he was just talking to me about the importance of having your name in that stadium and the responsibilities that are going to come with it. And that’s being a good role model and being someone who can help someone else. It means a lot to me.”

“But you got to do more than that and I think being in the Pride represents what you do in the community, how you treat people, how you engage people,” Smith explained

Because of his legal woes, Jimmy knew any post-career accolades would be delayed until he got himself straightened out.

“Everybody has issues and has problems. It’s just how do you deal with those problems and how do you come out of it? I feel like the work is not over with by any means. The work’s not over. Struggling with an addiction is every day. It’s not like you got it fixed this day and gone tomorrow. So I have to live my life in recovery as a reminder of what I’ve gone through and where I am today and how I’ve persevered, and not to go back there again. That’s what I mean when the work is just beginning. It’s not the end, it’s the beginning of the second chapter of my life. It’s going to be a lot of hard work and I got a job to do. It’s up to me to go out there and be a role model for those that are in need.”

As excited as he was to have his name on the stadium (“It gives me chills) Smith was equally animated about the current crop of Jaguars and the help he can provide to the wide receiving corps.

“They have a jump on us. It’s just a matter of them being consistent, it’s a matter of taking care of their bodies, being healthy, and making sure their home life is straight. Hopefully that is something that guys like us, the alumni, can help the new guys with, consulting with them and helping them maintain their edge in order to be successful.”

Smith singled out Marqise Lee as a perfect example of somebody he can help. “I would say take a look at the guys before him. Take a look at my career, take a look at Keenan’s career. We didn’t have the immediate success, we just had to learn. It’s just like in college – that redshirt freshman year where your body is catching up. For Marqise Lee he just has to learn to get in that weight room and get on that good diet and nutrition and master his craft. It’ll come. It’ll come. It will come soon.”

And as far as the other half of the “Thunder and Lightning” duo becoming a member of The Pride? Jimmy says Keenan also deserves his own day.

“Yes. It is just a definite yes. Originally it would be cool, because I remember hearing Mark say this, that both of us would be good going in together. But if you really think about with what each one of us has done – I think I myself and Keenan also feel like this a time where we need our own individual stage. Yes, we were considered one of the best tandems in the NFL, thunder and lightning, but we are both individuals and to continue to work we both need our days in the sun. Definitely I want to see my boy Keenan get in there.”

With Smith’s induction, McCardell deserves serious consideration. Tom Coughlin is a must. Brad Meester embodied everything you’d want a pro athlete in your town to be. And Maurice Jones Drew carried the franchise through some rough times.

Notice that there are no defensive players on the wall or on the list. Perhaps Rashean Mathis might be the first. Hopefully some of the defensive players currently on the roster will fulfill their potential, and careers here in town and put their names up there in the future.

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Khan On 2016 Roster: “Scary Good”

When the owner says it’s time to win, it’s time to win. And while he didn’t use those specific words today, Jaguars Owner Shad Khan clearly has high expectations for his team in 2016.

“Absolutely, I can’t wait,” Khan said when I asked him if he was excited about the start of training camp next week.

With the free agent acquisitions in the off-season, the draft falling their way and coming off last season’s breakout offensive year, the plan seems to have come into place. Patience has run thin during the building process, occasionally for Khan and certainly for the fans, but the roster looks legitimate on both sides of the ball.

“It’s scary good,” the Jaguars Owner said with a chuckle when he talked about the names on this year’s team. “Certainly the four years I’ve been here, we’re not used to the national attention. It’s good to have expectations and it’s good to have pressure.”

It’s become the vogue thing among cable network shows to take notice of the Jaguars and even pick them to win the AFC South. As if they know something everybody else doesn’t. But the team doesn’t care where they’re predicted to finish. The only prediction they care about is what their owner’s idea of success will be. “Better than 5-11, I can tell you that,” Khan said earlier this year when I asked him about raising the bar for 2016. So when he talks about “expectations” and “pressure” it’s pretty clear his mandate for 2016 is pretty simple: win.

While he’s happy with where his football team appears to be on paper at this point, Khan is also pleased that the stadium improvements are giving the Jaguars home a distinctive look and giving him a reputation as an innovator.

“This is a 20-year old facility, so how do we make it the best in the business?” Shad said as he addressed the new clubs on the east and west sides of the field. “You create something people want to be a part of. It puts the stadium and the city in the best light. We have a lot of other things going on here besides the NFL so it says a lot about the experience and a lot about the city.”

The clubs will have floor-to-ceiling windows facing the field as well as all of the latest digital technology to attempt to engage the fans from inside and entice them to come to games. While the east and west clubs were identical in the original design, the two sides of the stadium will give a very different experience in what the team is calling the “re-imagination.”

“Why not?” Shad said, standing in the East club when I asked him about the two clubs being different. “If we want to have different experiences it should be different. One is more casual, one is more formal. This is a public stadium. We want to have more use. If you’re looking for a more urban feel, more Manhattan, that would be the other one (the West club). Here it’s more of a casual, more of a beachy feel.”

Clearly the Jaguars research showed that fans don’t want to be tied down to their seats during games. Between the clubs and the end zone spaces, there’s plenty of room to roam. And Shad is trying to be on the front end of that fan experience.

“I think listening to the fans here and also listening to the fans around the world. What would be something they would aspire to because what we have here is something cutting edge.”

And as soon as the clubs are finished, construction will start on the amphitheater and the “flex field” Khan wants as a centerpiece of that part of town. While the Shipyards project goes through the EPA process that might take a while, the Jaguars owner is trying to put some “mojo” in the design, something he said was lacking in Jacksonville a couple of years ago.

“I think the South End Zone is going to be fabulous. Its Jacksonville, Florida at it’s best. Open air but yet can be closed for weather. Great design, almost something iconic that could be signature landmark for Jacksonville.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Jaguars Ready To Win Says Malik Jackson

It’s been a pretty dramatic transformation in the Jaguars locker room over the last four years. As much as General Manager Dave Caldwell has been looking for talent as he builds the roster, he’s been vetting players’ personalities as well. There’s a certain type of player that can work inside a team with Head Coach Gus Bradley’s coaching style. Bradley is trying to empower the players to hold each other accountable to do their best and get the job done. All it takes is one bad apple to undermine the entire process.

Only certain kinds of players want to be a part of that and Malik Jackson noticed it right away. Jackson was one of the targeted free agents in the off-season because of his ability on the field and the presence he has in the locker room.

“Coming in that locker room when I first got here you could see that Coach Bradley wants to get guys in there who are good people, people who know how to win and guys who can bring people along to win,” Jackson said during a visit to Channel 4.

Adding players who are established NFL starters who know what it takes to win on the field and in the locker room was clearly a priority for the Jaguars in this off-season.

“Me, Chris Ivory, Gipson, Julius Thomas. Guys who know how to win and who want to win,” Jackson said. “There’s a lot of new guys who can play. Who really want to play, who really want to win and bring this program back to the top.”

Looking at his new teammates, Jackson is confident they can be a factor in every game but outlined the difference between just being a factor, and winning.

“I think there’s plenty of talent on this roster,” he said, agreeing that “coming together” to win games takes a few intangibles.

“Number one, we all have to stay healthy and two, we have to talk to each other and understand what we’re saying.”

You wouldn’t think simple communication and putting your ego aside would be a factor for players being paid millions to play the game. But Jackson said it might be the single biggest difference between winning teams and also-rans.

“A lot of people get sensitive when you try to talk to them. If I scream at you it just means I’m passionate about what this is. I’m not being mean. If I talk to you or if you talk to me I can’t be sensitive about it. You have to understand we’re one team with one goal. It means a lot to us so we have to take criticism and keep going.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Cryotherapy: The latest in “Sam’s Big Comeback”

For those of you who have followed by journey since my stem-cell surgery in November, first I want to say thank you. Somebody asks me about my knee, the procedure, the braces I wore or my rehab everyday, and I appreciate it.

Since the stem-cell procedure is so new in the US, the experts are still gathering information the rehabilitation process.

“It’s all over the map,” said Mike Ryan, the former Jaguars athletic trainer who now runs Mike Ryan Fitness in Jacksonville Beach as well as other projects and commentary for NBC Sports. “The physical therapists are coming up with ways to rehab from that procedure but there are a lot of different opinions.”

Mike’s right about that but from somebody who’s undergone the procedure, I can tell you the rehab is closer to coming back from knee surgery than anything else. The first two weeks are filled with a lack of mobility and a lot of soreness. As I mentioned in the original story the advice from my longtime friend and medical advisor Dr. Paul Shirley was “Ice and prayer.” So I did a lot of both.

As I’ve progressed through this process, I started an upward trend to feeling better with less knee pain starting at about two months and getting progressively better into month five.

“That makes sense,” Dr. Stephan Esser from SE Orthopedics said as I filled him in on my progress. “The stem cells are immature when we first line your knee with them and it takes a while for them to mature and start to replicate.”

I tried to follow Dr. Esser’s instructions on recovery and was probably an “80%” patient, probably being too aggressive on more than one occasion during the early stages of rehab. After four months, they cleared me for a step up in the intensity of my therapy and I had my good days and my bad days. I had lost some flexibility and mobility in my left ankle and my left hip in the beginning of the process so I had a lot of soreness through my hip flexors, quads and lower leg.

“No surprise,” was again the answer when I met with noted physical therapist Dr. Mark Baughman in Jacksonville Beach. Mark has his doctorate in physical therapy so when he put me through my first evaluation, he and I laughed when he said I was a “classic case of dysfunction.”

Finding the “links” to where my lack of mobility and soreness was coming from, Dr. Baughman worked from the ground up using the old phrase, “we’ll be chopping wood for a while” when he discovered the lack of flexibility I had in my left ankle and left hip. Through a series of sessions with Mark I’ve regained a lot of that but there’s still work to do. Sitting in a chair at work, in the cockpit of the airplane, the car or riding my bike promotes a shortness in just about every muscle in the front of my body so I spend a lot of time counteracting that with stretching, the Swiss ball and sometimes just laying flat on my back on the floor.

At right about the six-month mark I was experiencing some associated pain around my knee so Dr. Esser suggested I come in for some “nerve retraining.” I had no idea what that meant but found out quickly it was an aggressive form of acupuncture combined with some electric stimulation.

That’s always seemed a little bit like hocus-pocus combined with voodoo to me but I was quickly converted. Going to treatment five out of seven days, Dr. Esser worked on the muscles around my knee as well as some of the meridians flowing through my knee and gave me instant relief and results. Shortly thereafter I rode my bike in Europe for a couple of weeks, even climbing the iconic L’Alpe d’Huez with no ill effects. And if you’ve seen me, I’m not built for climbing! Stephan has suggested regular acupuncture and I’m a believer.

Recently I’ve started a cryotherapy routine looking for another nudge forward. Ice baths and cold therapy have been around for a while but this is supposed to be the next step in recovery or managing chronic, old injuries.

“We get it down to negative 302 Fahrenheit (degrees)” Beau Dominiak, the owner and trainer at Outlast Cryotherapy in Ponte Vedra told me before one of my treatments.

“It’s basically pulling all of the fluid out of your extremities, sending all of the blood back to your vital organs,” he explained of the three minute. “When you come out of there as you return to a normal state you’re sending fresh blood carrying nutrients and oxygen back to your extremities.”

Dominiak is a former pro soccer player in Scotland and uses the machine himself up to six times a week. “It’s great for chronic injuries I’ve had and sometimes I even use it before a workout as pre-hab.”

“Very positive results,” is how he described what his clients have talked about. “It’s intended to be an everyday tool, a couple times a week is probably ideal.”

I can tell you it’s had some positive effects using cryotherapy along with the other protocols in my rehab program. I can also tell you the first two minutes you’re chilly but it’s OK. The last minute, you want to get out.

“It’s that fight or flight response that’s what you’re looking for,” Dominiak said with a laugh. “It’s supposed to have your body want to protect itself. It’s promoting both body health and brain health.”

I’ll keep you posted on the results!

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

MJD on Jaguars: “They can win the South”

He’s certainly no stranger to the stadium but it took an assignment from the NFL Network to get former Jaguars running back Maurice Jones Drew back on the Jaguars practice field.

“Getting a feel for the team,” Jones Drew responded when asked what brought him to town. The network wants him to have a good sense of the teams he’s talking about so a visits to mini-camps is on the schedule

His first impression of the 2016 Jaguars is a good one.

“They look good right now,” he said after practice. “There are a lot of people excited and I’m excited for them.”

As much optimism that surrounds the Jaguars at this time of year, Jones Drew knows a lot of pieces have to fall in place. He looks at the roster based on what players have shown what they can do in the league and finds the Jaguars pretty young in some critical areas.

“A lot of people get excited. Remember to win a championship you have to have consistency. When you’re relying on young people you don’t really know.”

But as far as being better this year, the former NFL rushing leader thinks the Jaguars can be very competitive.

“You have to get in the dance and I definitely think they have a chance to win the South,” he said when asked about his expectations for this season.

He recognizes that the Jaguars spent a lot of money on defense in the offseason but thinks the addition of Chris Ivory might open up the offense.

“(He does) A lot of good things, Chris Ivory has done good things with the Jets and in New Orleans. TJ Yeldon, they are trying to give him some space. It’s good to be able to have multiple type of backs. Fast backs, big backs. That and with some talented wide receivers will help the running game.”

As a Pro Bowl running back, MJD knows the value of a quarterback who gets the job done. Jones Drew admitted he’s been critical of Blake Bortles, mostly based on his turnovers.

“I’m a tough critic of him (Bortles). He’s a very talented QB. But he has to limit turnovers. He turns the ball over. He throws it well, reads defenses. Limit turnovers and he’ll be fine.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Foley To Leave Florida In A Good Spot

When he first arrived on the University of Florida campus in 1976, Jeremy Foley thought he had made a mistake.

“I drove down here from New Hampshire with my dad and got out of the car,” he said in Gainesville on Tuesday formally announcing his retirement as Athletic Director effective October 1st. “It was 4000 degrees and I was wearing corduroys. Florida was the only place in the country to offer me an internship to finish up my Masters. On the day I started, nobody, I mean nobody knew I was coming. I thought I was in the wrong place.”

Clearly things changed in the last four decades but it was 16 years before he applied for the Athletic Director job.

“I applied for one job in my life before I applied for this job. When I walked on campus at the University of Minnesota, no disrespect to them, but it didn’t feel right. I wanted to be here. I like watching sports and I wanted to be a Gator.”

From his internship in the ticket department to his ascendency as ticket manager and eventually Athletic Director, Foley has spent 40 years on campus at the University of Florida. When he was a candidate for the AD’s job, I was a big supporter of his candidacy. I said so on the air consistently and even called the president of the university at the time to say that Foley was the right guy for the job. Obviously he didn’t need my help and far exceeded any expectations I might have for him. In fact, Jeremy was so good for so long, it felt like that’s how everybody did that job as AD. But that’s not so. Foley redefined the position with a blend of leadership, compassion and just being a fan. He figured out early what makes any college program tick. “College athletics is a coach’s game,” he explained. ” Student-Athletes come and go but if you have the right coaches in place, you’re going to find some success.”

Foley noted that he hired Billy Donovan and Urban Meyer and added that he became friends with both. That’s a bit unusual but winning, and according to Foley, winning the right way, made it easy to establish friendships, even with people who worked for you.

“I have a ring at my house from 1984 for a football championship but it doesn’t mean anything. It was vacated (for SEC and NCAA violations). There’s always another championship, always another game. Let’s do it right. The Gator brand is special and it is strong. We pay attention at the highest level at all sports. If you’re going to do things right and be a national brand you have to win in more than one or two sports.”

There are no controversies on the horizon for University of Florida athletics. No coaches to be hired, no programs to fix. Foley will raise money and continue to work on a facility plan for football, baseball and basketball. He doesn’t plan on going anywhere soon. “I’m still the boss,” he said with a smile.

“I’ve been blessed to do this. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s the right time, it’s my call. I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s a perfect time for a transition because it’s going so well. I’ve done things that I could have only imagined doing. It’s the juice and energy of what we do. If they’re keeping score, we’re going to try and win.” ”

While he said he didn’t regret anything he’d done as the AD, Foley did say when a decision didn’t work out; he regretted the turmoil it created around the program.

“I hate the fact that all that turmoil existed when a decision to hire a coach didn’t work out. But that’s the decisions that have to be made when you sit in the chair.”

At 63 years old, Foley is still full of the energy and enthusiasm he’s had the entire time he’s been at Florida. It’s not unusual to see him doing stadium steps or working out somewhere near his office. But he said now’s the right time to leave. Things are good.

“I never imagined this day would come. You have to self-evaluate and do the right thing for your self and for the institution. When the team charter takes off for the first time and I’m not on it, that’ll be tough. I’ll be a long way away from Gainesville, Florida, that’s for sure.”

Picking a new AD will start with a committee and eventually be the choice of the university president. Foley will be involved only when asked for his input and using his experience in the business. But he’ll let his successor know how special he thinks the job of leading the Florida athletic program is.

“I’ll tell them about the coaches, the commitment and the culture we have here. I’ll tell them about the people here because we have some special people here,” he said with a tinge of emotion in his voice.

And he’ll give them a little bit of advice.

“You need to be a fan. You have to be a CEO, you have to raise money but you really have to be a fan.”

And as far as his legacy, Foley said he’ll let others decide what that is, but he’s proud of the accomplishments at the University during his tenure.

“When I came here in 1976 we hoped we’d someday win one SEC Championship. Now It’s one of the best programs in the country. Is it the best? That’s debatable. But you can’t keep us out of the conversation and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Marks Returns Optimistic

Looking for that blend of veterans and youth going into the 2016 season, the Jaguars are counting on Sen’Derrick Marks to return from injury, back to his Pro Bowl form. Marks returned for the final OTA on Friday, a little ahead of schedule.

“That is what is good about our staff,” Marks said after practice. “They don’t rush you back. They actually listen to what you have to say and add that with what the Doc is saying and what the MRI and everything is telling them and then they add it all up.”

It’s the second straight year Marks has come back from an injury. In the final game of 2013 he tore his ACL and spent the off-season getting healthy. He tore his right triceps muscle in the 10th game of 2014, ending his year a bit early.

“Yeah, this is not as bad as the knee,” he explained. “The knee was huge. This was all about strengthening and letting the tendon heal on the bone and just getting it back stronger. This was a lot easier than it was with the knee.”

As part of the defensive line rotation, Marks is one of the veterans expected to lead the upgrade in pressure on the quarterback. Getting back on the field was a good sign according to Head Coach Gus Bradley.

“It is good, I think just for his confidence,” Bradley said as he wrapped up the OTA’s. “He has worked to a level to where he has gotten himself cleared.

Anytime you ask Bradley about Marks he has glowing things to say. His respect for him as a player is evident. Particularly when it comes to coming back from injury.

“He’s good. I am not going to say it is easy,” Gus explained. “It is not easy. It is not. When you are a highly competitive person it is challenging. He remains one of our strongest leaders on the team. That gives you an idea of how he is handling it. He is outstanding, outstanding.”

Adding Malik Jackson and others to the defensive line might be just what Marks was looking for to increase his production. Asking any player to be on the field for 70 plays is asking a lot. So when there are plenty of options, everybody benefits.

“Well if you remember with Sen’Derrick we learned with him that when he has limited reps, and I am not saying limited down to 10-12, I am talking about 35-40 reps – he seems to run his motor higher,” Gus noted. That is something we are taking into consideration. My hope is to have a defensive line where you see us roll in and out. It doesn’t matter who is in there and to keep them fresh.”

When asked about the additions on defense, Marks said it’s a positive to finally have some depth.

“It’s even better that we have even better guys coming in behind us,” he explained. “We have a first group, a second group and a third group. We actually have good competition. For me, I consider myself as a veteran and as a teacher and we actually have guys that you can teach and will listen. I think that’s good.”

Marks is that “authentic professional” that the Jaguars have added to the roster on offense and defense. He’ll work as teacher as well as competitor, “making sure everyone is on the same page, no matter who is in.”

And his attitude toward getting back on the field after two years of injury?

“That was the only thing that kept me sane last year with the back-to-back injuries was that maybe I added a couple years to my career because I didn’t have to take all the poundings,” he said with a touch of levity and truth. “By adding extra guys this year I don’t have to take all the run reps. I think it adds a little bit to my body. For me, I feel great.”

Jacksonville Sports News, Sam Kouvaris - SamSportsline.com

Hurns Deal Good All Around

It’s a “feel good” story for the Jaguars and their players. You can add anybody who ever overcame adversity to that list as well. Third-year wide receiver Allen Hurns, who made the team with his work ethic and performance as an undrafted free-agent signed a $40 million, 4-year contract with the team yesterday, rewarding him for his work and production.

“Obviously to have 1,000-plus yards and 10 touchdowns last year in his second year. He’s done it two years in a row,” General Manager Dave Caldwell said after practice on Friday, explaining why Hurns earned this top-10 deal. “Wasn’t just a one-year wonder and that’s another reason why we felt comfortable with it. Two years of production plus the type of person and character he is. It was the right decision on our part.”

With Hurns under contract, the attention can now turn to Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson, eligible to sign new deals next year. But Caldwell was having none of that.

“Really independent of Blake and A-Rob, I think this was about Allen and doing what was right for Allen and getting him done before the season started,” the Jaguars GM continued. And he stayed on the message when asked if it sends a signal to other players about performing well and getting paid.

“No, this is really about Allen and it was really what Allen deserved. He did everything right to get this done.”

While Head Coach Gus Bradley wasn’t in on the negotiations, he was obviously pleased that the Hurns deal is done.

“I thought it was great. What a great deal,” he said after practice on Friday “He’s exactly what we’re all about – his work ethic and how he comes in. we asked to be on a race to a maturity and handling himself more like a sixth-year veteran, he’s done that. He’s got the respect of the locker room, the coaching staff and then his production. All of that, I’m really excited for him.”

If the Jaguars have a model player who they think embodies the culture Bradley is trying to create, it’s Hurns.

“From the day we brought him in here to now,” Bradley continued. “I think every day that you’re with him, you’re not surprised that he’s reached this accomplishment just because of his work ethic.”

It’s easy to feel good for Hurns and the payoff for his accomplishments. He’s a straightforward, working player who has been humble from the beginning and plans on staying that way.

“No matter what, how much money I make, that doesn’t bring catches come this season,” Hurns said after practice. “I got to continue to put in the work and continue to show what I can do. So that’s what I love about it. No matter what you get or no matter what you did last year, you got to always prove yourself. That’s what I love about this league.”

When his agent Drew Rosenhaus came to town, Hurns wasn’t sure the deal would get done so quickly. But meetings with Caldwell and an update from his agent brought it together in a matter of hours. Still a bit nerve-racking for Hurns and his family, even waiting for the paperwork. But for a guy from small beginnings, the payoff was not only for him but for his mother, his grandmother and his brother as well.

“My mom was crying. She started crying instantly. My grandma, she said how proud she is of me, just what I went through and I never complained about anything. Same with my brother. Those are the people that are always with me and they’ll tell me things for what it is. I can have a good day or a bad day, they’re going to tell me what to do.” But if you’ve ever been on a team, you know nothing is off-limits when it comes to giving each other a hard time. A big contract extension is the perfect subject to catch grief from your teammates. Consequently, Hurns wasn’t spared from his share of ribbing, especially from other players on offense.

“Nonstop. The guy who gave me the most problem was Julius Thomas, like he wasn’t paid.,” Hurns said with a laugh recalling the free agent contract Thomas signed last year with the Jaguars. “But at the end of the day it’s all love. That’s the good thing about it. It’s all genuine, there’s no jealousy so that’s what I love about it.”

In the last two years if you talked to Wide Receivers Coach Jerry Sullivan he singled out Hurns as one of his favorites. “I love that guy,” he said to me more than once. The admiration is mutual, with Hurns giving Sullivan credit for making him a better player. He also pointed out how Sullivan has helped him along in non-football ways, going to him as a mentor for off the field questions. Still, it is a football team so it’s no surprise that Sullivan was happy for Hurns, and showed it by giving him the customary hard time.

“A little bit. A little bit,” Allen explained. “He gave me crap about me always wearing my Miami book bag. He said I’ll be getting one of those Gucci book bags or something like that.”