Entries by Sam Kouvaris

Jaguars Still Searching For Answers

Since 2000, the Jaguars have had three winning seasons, the last coming ten years ago. So we have some experience with teams out of contention at the end of the year. Some give up, some just play out the string, others try to build for the future. The 2016 version of the Jaguars is different […]

Rogers At Bolles: “This One Is Special”

Spend any time with Corky Rogers and it’s easy to see why he’s still coaching High School Football: he still loves it. Rogers is taking the Bolles football team to Orlando on Thursday to play Cocoa for the state championship. It would be the 12th in school history and 11th for Rogers at the school. […]

Bradley: “It’s Disheartening”

When you’re a fan, a player or even the Head Coach of a 2-10 team, nobody wants to hear about the good things you’re doing. Gus Bradley admitted that Monday at his weekly press conference saying he understands what people are thinking because he’s thinking the same things. “I think it’s just disheartening looking at […]

At The Bottom, Jaguars Remain Committed

It’s a turnover, an interception for a touchdown, a penalty that keeps a drive alive or a break that doesn’t go in their direction. Any one of those things can lead to defeat in the NFL. A combination of those every week has put the Jaguars at 2-10 with seven straight losses. “It’s the biggest […]

Coughlin To Jaguars Surfaces Again

When the first rumblings of the Tom Coughlin-to-Jacksonville story happened back it May, it seemed like distant thunder. Coughlin himself filled us in, saying he’d been in touch “with a few teams about a role” but didn’t’ find the right fit. Coughlin was still smarting from being fired by the Giants, “I’ll still fight you […]

Despite Losses, Bradley Soldiers On

With nine losses and six of those in a row, you might expect many of the questions asked of Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley are the same week in and week out. And they are. A lot of “What happened” and “Why” is discussed at his weekly press conferences. It can be frustrating on both […]

Critical Times, Small Mistakes, Jaguars Lose

It’s the one play by the one player at almost the exact one wrong time that is getting the Jaguars beat on a regular basis. Their loss to Buffalo is another one score defeat in a game where they had their chances. The officiating was suspect for sure, but you can look at three or […]

Jaguars: Tell The Truth Monday

From the beginning of his career as Head Coach of the Jaguars, Gus Bradley has talked about telling the truth to his players, his coaches, the ownership and the media. He even dubbed the day after games “Tell the truth Monday.” So it’s not surprising that he’s continued that despite the disappointment of being 2-8. […]

Jaguars Stick With Bortles

It might be the most important position in sports and consequently, maybe the hardest. Quarterback, on any level, is different from every other position. That’s probably why Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said, “If you’ve been a quarterback, you’re a brother of mine.” Quarterback’s get too much of the credit for winning and a fair […]

Jaguars Vs. Texans: 4 To Watch 4

1. Consistency Which Jaguars team will show up on Sunday? We’ve seen several versions of the Jaguars through the first half of the season. The team that plays close to it’s talent level showed up in London, against Green Bay and last week in Kansas City. In the other games the Jaguars went through long […]

Jags’ Oc Hackett “Excited” About Offense

When Nathaniel Hackett was promoted to the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars he was described as a “little Gus.” Hackett has the same level of energy and enthusiasm Gus Bradley brings every day but it’s focused on one thing: the offense. Last week against Kansas City the Jaguars offense showed signs f improvement. They ran […]

Sports And Politics: Not So Strange Bedfellows

It’s always amusing to see which “celebrities” claim they’ll be moving to a different country if a candidate they don’t like wins an election. Cher recently said she’d “move to Jupiter” if Donald Trump was elected President. Sports stars haven’t gone that far, but support for political candidates and causes is embedded in sports culture. […]

Bradley Says Jaguars Character In Tact

At the halfway point of the season with a disappointing 2-6 record, you could hear the wistfulness in Gus Bradley’s voice this week. He was reflective about his team’s reaction to the embarrassing performance against Tennessee on national television. “That was really hard on us,” Gus said at his Monday press conference. “It was hard […]

Jaguars Beat Jaguars In KC

It’s the routine things that keep most NFL games close. The simple throw and catch, the routine kick, the everyday tackle. When both teams do that, coaches lean on their best players to “play above the x’s and o’s” to make a play and win games. That’s why the NFL is pretty much a .500 […]

Babby’s Idea Screams “Minor League”

Bear in mind that the name of a sports franchise doesn’t mean much over the test of time. In fact, when the NFL decided that Jacksonville’s franchise should be called the Jaguars, it was third or fourth among the fan poll voting. It had no connection to North Florida but the NFL decided “Jaguars” was […]

Cryotherapy Jax: Recovery Is The Key To Peak Performance

As technology is being used in all facets of sports, research is showing that recovery techniques are one of the key ingredients to avoiding injury. And it’s not just rest. Active recovery is being shown as a part of sustained performance for weekend warriors and elite athletes alike. “I travel a lot, I was just […]

Bradley, Bortles Say Hackett Brings “New Vision”

On Friday afternoon, Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley gave a straightforward “no” to the question of changing his staff in the near future. On Saturday he fired Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson. There seemed to be a disconnect there, and understanding what has to be kept behind closed doors, Bradley revealed today that he was thinking […]

Bradley Says Jaguars Lacked Focus

A Hall of Fame coach once famously said, “Discipline isn’t wearing coats and ties on the airplane. It’s not jumping offside on third down.” Discipline is lacking on the Jaguars in 2016. They’re the most penalized team in the league and young players like Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler are committing discipline errors inside and […]

Time’s Up: Jaguars Should Move On

After an embarrassing performance against Oakland at home last week, what were we expecting from the Jaguars on national television on the road against the Titans? Fire? Enthusiasm? Heart? Desire? Passion? Probably all of of that. What did we get? Lackluster, undisciplined, half-hearted and just about every other negative adjective you can think of in […]

Khan Says Bradley’s Staying

Despite two embarrassing losses, the latest on national television, the Jaguars have no plans to change their head coach. Sources last night confirmed and the Times-Union reported that Shad Khan said he had no plans to fire Gus Bradley after the team’s 2-5 start. Bradley has been under fire since the start of his tenure […]

Jaguars, Bradley Wobbling On The Tracks

I went to sit in the stands for most of the third quarter as the Jaguars were getting beat by the Raiders and heard some of the most lustful booing of the home team in recent memory. While the Jaguars defense was losing their cool, probably for being on the field so much, the offense […]

Jaguars Embarrassed By Raiders, 33-16

It started as another lethargic effort by the Jaguars offense. A quick three and out after a nice stop by the defense turned into points for the Raiders, a FG by Sebastian Janikowski and a 3-0 Oakland lead. While Blake Bortles was off the mark throwing the football, he did run effectively on the next […]

Jaguars Win, Need Work

There’s a lot of talk when you listen to the Jaguars about bouncing back when things don’t go your way, starting fast and overcoming adversity. But in reality, the 2016 team hasn’t been capable of any of that. Losing the opener to Green Bay, the team let that defeat linger for a week and they […]

Jaguars Bye Week Approach Slightly Different

In his previous three years as the head coach of the Jaguars, Gus Bradley’s teams are 1-2 in the game immediately after the bye. But a truer picture shows his teams playing better after the bye week. The Jaguars won two of three last year after the trip to London and beat the Giants here […]

Jets Game, Training Camp, Jaguars Still Working

It’s only two weeks or so into training camp but it’s already apparent things are going to be different on defense for the Jaguars this year. “It was good to see the high level of competition on both sides, going back and forth,” head coach Gus Bradley said after his team faced the New York […]

Jaguars Lose: Same Song, Wrong Notes

It’s pretty simple in the NFL: if you’re quarterback isn’t playing well, you’re not going to win. For most of 2016 Blake *Bortles hasn’t played well and the Jaguars are 2-7. But despite his slump and the Jaguars record, Gus Bradley was plain when he was asked if Bortles should sit for a while and […]

Bradley: “It feels different out there”

With a week off, Gus Bradley and the Jaguars staff took some time to reflect on the first four games of the year. Bradley clearly likes the 2016 version of the Jaguars and is equally disappointed that they’ve started 1-3. “I think there are some areas that we are doing really well,” Gus said at […]

Sawgrass CC: No Issues

As one of the original communities in Ponte Vedra Beach, Sawgrass Country Club has seen all kinds of different weather. Its golf course sits virtually right on the ocean and was the original North Florida host for The Players in early March in the late ’70’s and ’80’s. The weather was so severe one over […]

PV Residents Say Beach Is Resilient

There’s a certain look to North Florida beaches. Wide and white, backed by sand dunes with a gradual slope to the ocean. Hurricane Matthew changed the topography of the beach, altering even the view from the road. “It’s pretty powerful, I’ve seen it maybe a dozen times in 30 years,” Bobby Weed, Ponte Vedra resident […]

Historic Ponte Vedra Inn And Club Survives Matthew

Originally built in 1928 the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club is one of the most historic places on Florida’s east coast. Selected to host the Ryder Cup in 1939 and withstanding Hurricane Dora’s wrath in 1964, the Inn was 80% full as Hurricane Matthew steamed towards Jacksonville’s beaches. “We informed our guests during the week […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]