As possibly the only Jags fan west of the Mississippi

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I just want to say how happy I am that Jacksonville managed to score three points in their first preseason game against Miami. Coach Gus Bradley said after the game that they "started to get an offensive rhythm". Thank God. If they hadn't, they might not have gotten that critical field goal.

 

I'm beginning to understand how my next door neighbor felt several years ago. He is from Michigan, and the year that he and his wife moved in, he bought NFL Sunday Ticket to watch the Lions go 0-16. I believe that this is an achievable goal for the Jaguars in 2013.

[halobob]

Just out of curiosity, how are you a Jags fan?  I'll root for Mo Drew and Marcedes Lewis to do well but the rest of the team just plain blows.  They were much easier to cheer for when Brunell was QB, I've always liked him.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Born and raised in Jacksonville. My high school played their home games on that field. Of course, that was long before the NFL arrived. The high schools don't get near that field now, at least not during the regular season.

 

I am a former season ticket holder of the WFL's Jacksonville Sharks and Jacksonville Express.

 

I remember the 2006 NFL Draft, when it seemed like every player the Jaguars selected was from UCLA.

 

And yes, the team blows. Being an Atlanta Braves fan in the 1970s prepared me for a lot of adversity, though.

[nando714]

My dads friends wife is a big jags fan

[halobob]

Born and raised in Jacksonville. My high school played their home games on that field. Of course, that was long before the NFL arrived. The high schools don't get near that field now, at least not during the regular season.

 

I am a former season ticket holder of the WFL's Jacksonville Sharks and Jacksonville Express.

 

I remember the 2006 NFL Draft, when it seemed like every player the Jaguars selected was from UCLA.

 

And yes, the team blows. Being an Atlanta Braves fan in the 1970s prepared me for a lot of adversity, though.

Very nice, makes a lot of sense now.  Way to stick by your team through the tough times. 

 

I loved their 2006 draft

[NJHalo]

What do you think of Tom Caughlin?

Around here, he walks on water. Media loves him and defends him

[Keener]

I, too, am a Lions fan who paid for the honor of watching the 0-16.  Good times.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

What do you think of Tom Caughlin?

Around here, he walks on water. Media loves him and defends him

 

Coughlin was an excellent choice to put together an expansion team. He was tough with an eye for detail, and he did a good job of assembling talent. Like most coaches, he had a shelf life in Jacksonville, and the tough messages that motivated the team earlier started to irritate players when things started heading south (winning makes a lot of things easier to tolerate). I agreed with letting him go when they did. By that time he had lost the team and he wasn't likely to get them back. I was hoping that they would get a replacement who was either a top assistant or who had prior experience and some success as a head coach. Wayne Weaver, the owner, did not want a combination GM/coach like Coughlin, who put them in salary cap hell with a lot of bad contracts, which hastened their decline. This let out Denny Green, who was interested but who also wanted control over personnel. They wound up with Jack Del Rio, who was in completely over his head. I couldn't believe that they kept him as long as they did.

 

Right now it's the perfect storm: A small market team with a bad product on the field. It doesn't help that they have to cover a lot of seats with tarps. The stadium was built larger than it normally would have been for a city the size of Jacksonville because of the Gator Bowl and the Florida-Georgia game.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I'm thinking about filing a complaint with DirecTV for giving me a free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket for this weekend. That has compelled me to watch the Jaguars' season opener against the Chiefs. Both teams have new coaches, one (I will let you guess which one) also brought in a new QB and made significant additions to the roster. The latter is killing the former. The Chiefs are sacking Blaine Gabbert almost at will. 

 

At least Jacksonville finally crossed midfield, right after the two minute warning in the fourth quarter. Only a safety averted the shutout. Just barely missed a team record for least total offense in team history (set last year).

[OregonLAA]

Why is Blaine Gabbert still in the NFL

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Why is Blaine Gabbert still in the NFL

 

A better question is why has Blaine Gabbert ever been in the NFL? One thing that gives me a sliver of hope for this weekend is that Gabbert won't play due to a hand laceration suffered late in the Kansas City game. Chad Henne will start.

 

Incredibly, former GM Gene Smith traded up to take Gabbert in the first round two seasons ago. Last year he took a punter in the third round - one round before the Seahawks took Russell Wilson. I don't know a team in football who has squandered more high draft picks than Jacksonville.

[OregonLAA]

I remember when Gabbert's name started coming up in draft talks. I think Kiper talked him up and he started shooting up the board. A friend and I looked up highlights and were baffled. I didn't get it. He looked terrible. I haven't liked him since. None of it made sense. I now wonder if Kiper can get paid to bring up someone's name

[Brandon]

Saw Gabbert play a few times at Mizzou and he was solid but also played in a system that transfers well to the NFL. I never thought he'd be a stud, but didn't think he'd be so bad either. But the Jags as a whole suck, so who knows.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Gabbert benefited from coming out in a weak QB draft class.  Two guys went ahead of him - Cam Newton and Jake Locker.  Newton was a consensus #1 pick but Locker was a major project who analysts had been talking about for years because of his size and athleticism.  After Locker went at pick 9 Jacksonville panicked and moved up to get Gabbert at 11 and while the analysts and commentators didn't necessarily  slam the pick many thought it was a reach.   

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Saw Gabbert play a few times at Mizzou and he was solid but also played in a system that transfers well to the NFL. I never thought he'd be a stud, but didn't think he'd be so bad either. But the Jags as a whole suck, so who knows.

 

To give Gabbert some credit, this is his third head coach and third offensive coordinator in his three seasons in the NFL. Learning a new system every year can't be easy, especially when you're not surrounded by a lot of talent.

 

My impression is that Jacksonville has put together a solid ownership/management/coaching team, but as low as the talent level has sunk it's going to be a while before that becomes apparent.

[Brandon]

Yeah, the Alex Smith scenario.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I saw a quick news item on ESPN regarding quarterback ratings in the first half of games this year. They were talking about Robert Griffin III, who had a QB rating of 3 in the first half of games this season. Two QBs were worse, including Blaine Gabbert with a rating of 1 at the very bottom. Some of us could probably match that, yet Jacksonville has made no effort to obtain a credible replacement.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Vegas Halo Fan

[St1ck]

Crazy you can get $10 tickets for their games.

 

 

http://www.stubhub.com/jacksonville-jaguars-jacksonville-everbank-field-20-10-2013-4270679?gcid=C12289x446&keyword=NFL+Team+Schedule+Jacksonville+Jaguars+20131020

[1nutkruk]

Crazy you can get $10 tickets for their games.

 

 

http://www.stubhub.com/jacksonville-jaguars-jacksonville-everbank-field-20-10-2013-4270679?gcid=C12289x446&keyword=NFL+Team+Schedule+Jacksonville+Jaguars+20131020

I know, they should be free.  $10 is way too much.

[Tank]

Finally got a good look at the Jaguars new helmet colors. Oh sweet Moses those look like a 4th grade art project gone bad.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Finally got a good look at the Jaguars new helmet colors. Oh sweet Moses those look like a 4th grade art project gone bad.

 

It looks like they couldn't decide whether the helmets should be black or gold, so they chose both. I'm trying to imagine the thought process in the NFL offices when they approved this (the league has to approve all uniform changes).

 

BTW - the Jags electrified the home crowd with two field goals today, doubling their previous peak 2013 home game point output. Jacksonville has scored 11 points in three home games - three field goals and a safety. The home fans have yet to see them score a touchdown.

 

A friend of mine was telling me that today was Jacksonville's golden chance to win a game. The Chargers were working on a short week, they were traveling cross country and they would be out of their element. Being the eternal realist, au contraire, I told her. The Jags are at home, where they never score, and this offense has taken ineptitude to a new level. Another friend, a guy I went to school with in JAX who moved to St. Louis during our junior year in high school and is now a big Rams fan, apologized to his home town fans for the Rams squashing the home club. My reply: You should be embarrassed that the game was tied at anything past 0 (it was once 10-10).

 

If Norv Turner were still coaching the Chargers, I might have given the Jags about a 25-30 percent chance in this one. As it was, no way, despite the short week, the travel or anything else.

 

I know that better times lie ahead, but damn it's difficult to be patient with a product this bad.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Vegas Halo Fan]

A scrap of good news (although everything is relative with an offense as bad as Jacksonville's): Chad Henne has been named the permanent starter at QB for the Jaguars, and Blaine Gabbert has been relegated to backup. Maybe that sorry experiment is finally over.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Well, there goes the perfect season:

 

Jacksonville 29, Tennessee 27

 

I wonder what time the asteroid is going to hit.

[bucbrett]

Congrats on the win!

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Thanks, Buc. Little known fact: I was present at the first game the Buccaneers ever won, preseason game in 1976 against Atlanta at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Still have the Bucs pennant I bought at the game.