Photo by: Phillips Helmets Whether they call it “a game of inches” or “on any given Sunday” or “playing above the x’s and o’s,” there’s an intangible you can feel when a team is playing winning football. It’s an edge, a little hop, a swagger in the body language that’s easily identifiable. On their run […]
It’s not that the Jaguars beat the Houston Texans easily to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2007, not even how they dominated all over the field winning 45-7. It might be who’s making plays for the Jaguars that are the biggest surprise. Midway through the first quarter Marqise Lee left the […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets There actually is a strategy to keeping Russell Wilson in check. The problem is Wilson is so good, so smart and such a good athlete that executing the strategy is a problem. For the Jaguars defense, a combination of straight up field, stay-in-your-lanes rush, backed by the linebackers spreading across the […]
In December, playoff teams emerge, playing their best football and beating teams they’re supposed to beat. No upsets, no cliffhangers, just a professional job on the field, getting it done and moving on. That’s what the Jaguars were doing in the first half against the Colts at home on Sunday. Opening the game on defense, […]
Introduced as the Head Coach of the Florida Gators football program, Dan Mullen said his teams would play with “relentless effort, every Saturday. “We might not be the biggest or the fastest but we’ll play with relentless effort I can guarantee that,” Mullen said in front of the assembled media, staff and supporters in the […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Without two starting offensive linemen the Jaguars didn’t have much to offer the Arizona Cardinals on that side of the ball. For the second week, Patrick Omameh and Jeremy Parnell weren’t in the lineup and it showed in pass protection as in the running game. Against Cleveland last week, they got […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Out of a list of 108 former players and coaches who were eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, the Selection Committee, by mail vote, cut that number down to twenty-five “semi-finalists.” The Selection Committee has 48 members, one representative for each of the 32 teams and sixteen […]
For the third consecutive year, former Jaguars left tackle Tony Boselli is among the 27 semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. From an original list of 108 eligible players, Boselli joins Jacksonville natives Leroy Butler and Brian Dawkins along with Georgia’s Hines Ward among those the HOF’s selection committee will consider on the […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets With a makeshift offensive line, cool weather and a little bit of snow in the forecast the Jaguars knew going into the game they’d have to just grind it out if they wanted to come home from Cleveland with a win. They did just that with 139 yards rushing, 111 from […]
In his career against the Jaguars, Phillip Rivers has Hall of Fame numbers. He’ll get Hall consideration for his entire body of work in the NFL but against the Jaguars he’s been stellar. His almost-perfect quarterback rating only surpasses his 74.4% completion average along with his 15 touchdowns and no interceptions. Even Doug Marrone said, […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets It was a disjointed game from the beginning. Anticipating a return to the field with a home game after the bye week, the Jaguars got a jolt Sunday morning when Doug Marrone announced that Leonard Fournette wouldn’t play against the Bengals for an infraction of a team rule. It’s been reported […]
From the beginning it seemed like the right move. After Day One, it never felt like a really good fit. After just 2½ seasons as the Florida Gators head football coach, Jim McElwain and the University say they’ve mutually agreed to part ways. That’s a nice way of saying UF wanted him out of there […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets A fifth round pick now in his 4th year with the Jaguars, Linebacker Telvin Smith signed a new 4-year contract Wednesday night worth an estimated $50 million. Better than thought from the beginning, Smith has earned a new deal based on his development and leadership for the Jaguars. After leading the […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets When Colin Kaepernick decided not to stand for the National Anthem in 2016 he did so to protest what he perceived as racial inequities America. In his only comment about his action, Kaepernick said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that […]
It’s never good when you win the coin toss and defer to the second half, but the opponent returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown. That’s exactly what happened when the Jaguars kicked off against the Rams for the first time in Jacksonville since the second week of the season. Jason Myer’s kick was fielded […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets No matter what side of the line of scrimmage they were on, both the Jaguars and the Steelers were looking in the mirror. Sometimes the Jaguars were looking at a Steelers team they’d like to be like, and other times the Steelers were looking at a Jaguars team that was beating […]
For the sixth straight game, the Jaguars’ offense scored on their first possession. That’s a franchise record. It’s also the 4th straight game that Leonard Fournette had scored a TD. He’s the first Jaguars player to score in his first four games as a professional. In their opening drive, Blake Bortles was efficient and accurate, […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets As a famous international singer began the National Anthem at Wembley Stadium, about a dozen players took a knee on the Jaguars sideline, flanked by teammates who were locking arms. On one end, Owner Shad Khan was between players, locking arms in solidarity. All in response to President Trump’s comments over […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets If you’ve watched all three of the Jaguars games you’re confused about what kind of team the Jaguars are in 2017. In London against the Ravens they looked a lot like the team that dominated the Texans in week one. In a stadium full of NFL, Jaguars and plenty of Ravens […]
It’ll be the question that Jaguars fans will ask up until kickoff of the game at Wembley Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens: Which team will show up? The one that thrashed the Texans or the one that was bullied by the Titans at home? Ask the players and they think they’re closer to the team […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Over the five years the Jaguars have hosted a home game in London they’ve tried several ways get themselves ready to play the game. Five years ago they left on Sunday night right after playing the Bengals in Cincinnati. The next year they left on the Monday and practiced in London […]
After a week where they didn’t commit a single turnover, the Jaguars gave up two in the first half and one at the start of the third quarter against Tennessee in the home opener on Sunday. After playing only his second game as a professional without turning the ball over last week, Blake Bortles was […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets As one of the shelters that’s expected to stay open the longest, the Bob Hayes Sports Complex and Legends Center needs plenty of food and supplies. Tonight’s delivery of water, clothing, shoes and food was a cooperative effort of the Florida Air National Guard from Jacksonville and Tampa, the Harris County […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets With the team arriving back from Houston on Tuesday morning, the Jaguars administration had to get immediately to work on what was going on in Jacksonville. Water had come into the south end zone of the stadium but once the St. Johns started to subside, it was pumped out immediately. After […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets There’s a lot going on with the weird confluence of September 11th, the Jaguars win and Hurricane Irma’s impact. From Houston, Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone referenced all three in a conference call on Monday afternoon. Marrone wished everybody in Jacksonville to be safe as floodwaters rise and fall and said […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Staying in Houston another night, Doug Marrone said he was keeping tabs on what’s going on in Jacksonville. He also noted that September 11th was a particularly personal remembrance for him. One of his teammates was in one of the towers and a close friend was a firefighter in New York, […]
All through the preseason veteran Jaguars defensive players said they were going to be all right. Between resting veterans and nagging injuries, the expected starting eleven on defense didn’t have one play together. Signing Calais Campbell and A.J. Boyue in the off-season, plus with the development of Myles Jack, Dante Fowler and Yannick Ngakoue, the […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets On one hand, it’s simple math this time of year in the NFL. The league changed to just one cut for 2017 instead of the traditional two so there are a lot of decisions and a lot of numbers to deal with this weekend. Instead of stepping down from 90 to […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets If the Jaguars are beaten during Doug Marrone’s tenure was the Head Coach, it won’t be for lack of preparation. Marrone has proved to be a planner and thinker, methodical and unhurried when it comes to making decisions. That’s the path he’s taken this week as he goes about selecting a […]
When you’re searching for good things to talk about and the only things that come to mind are the punter and a free-agent wide receiver/punt returner who also dropped a sure TD pass, it’s not good. In a game where the Jaguars needed to take a big step forward, they did just the opposite. Instead […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Again this week Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone isn’t telling anybody how long different players will see action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Marrone says he isn’t “a secretive guy” but rather wants the players to be ready to play instead of ready to come out. After giving quarterback Blake Bortles […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets All you get in the first preseason game is first impressions. Sometimes they’re false and other times they start a trend. For the Jaguars, you hope the first impressions against the New England Patriots are some indication of how the season might go. They scored points. They made some stops. Blake […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Maybe it’s unfair to compare Blake Bortles to Tom Brady. Bortles in his fourth year in the league and Brady just turning forty are two different animals. But seeing the contrast of what Brady does on the practice field and what Bortles does is stunning. Whether it’s the footwork and arm […]
Without the old burden of achieving status as the “Fifth Major” you knew it was only a matter of time before The Players moved back to March. Tuesday the PGA of America will announce that the PGA Championship will be moving to May with the PGA Tour moving the Players back to it’s March timeframe. […]
It was much more than just a joint practice between the Jaguars and Patriots in New England on Monday. It was an event. A record crowd of more than 20,000 fans was at the Patriots practice fields to see 2 ½ hours of two-team workouts. Some of it boring but some of it scintillating. Most […]
It would be hard to overstate how solid and sharp Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady looked in the first practice against the Jaguars in New England. When he and the Pats first team offense took the field there was a noticeable hush of excitement going through the crowd, knowing they were watching something special. The Jaguars […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets At the NFL owners meeting last April, I asked a colleague from Buffalo, Doug Marrone’s last stop as a head coach, what we might expect in Jacksonville. “He’s a beaut,” the scribe said with a laugh. “He’ll be more miserable when you win.” With that in mind, I set off to […]
Photo by: Phillips Helmets Noticeably leaner and seemingly focused, Jaguars Quarterback Blake Bortles was clearly the leader on the offense as the team opened their training camp for 2017. It was Bortles leading the way in drills, hustling from one place to another and “breaking it down” in the middle of the offensive get together […]
Hang out on any dock for any length of time and you’ll hear somebody say, “That’s why they call it fishin’ and not catchin’. But at the annual Media Day for the 2017 Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament, there was plenty of catchin’ going on. Aboard the “D-Breef” with Captain Dennis Sergent again this year out […]
Gone are the days of hitting iron after iron, driver after driver to find the one that “feels” right. Technology has changed all of that. Measuring every aspect of your golf swing and the result is an every day occurrence in today’s game. The new TPC Performance Center at Sawgrass is tying all aspects of […]
