Football

Five weeks ago,  fans got the gift they thought they’d have to wait at least another year for.When Head Coach  finally made the choice to send rookie quarterback  on the field to start the second half against Indianapolis last month, fans cheered, critics sighed and the experts scooted to the edge of their seats. It was finally time to see what the third pick in the 2014  was all about. While Bradley tried his best to assure the world Bortles would not play this season, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that  just wasn’t working out. The Jags …

Here’s What We Learned from the Jaguars’ 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the 2014 preseason finale at  Thursday …1.  is the Jaguars’ starting quarterback … OK, we didn’t learn this Thursday, but to hear the buzz and debate, it sounds as if people might need a reminder. Blake Bortles’ start Thursday in the preseason finale was because the Jaguars were sitting a slew of front-line players and not because there are plans to stray from the plan. The plan is for Henne to start the regular season as the starting quarterback.  

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should be aware by now of the big changes recently revealed by the  franchise. By big changes, I mean huge. Perhaps, even visible from space. As the Jaguars get prepped to take on the  on August 8th, the biggest news doesn’t focus on the action on the field, but what is going on above it. Team owner  unveiled the 60-foot-tall, 362-foot-long mega-screen that will allow fans, as well as drivers heading over the city’s downtown bridges, to view supersized images of every pass and tackle on the field. Positioned above the north …

Houston, we have a problem: . If you haven’t been following, Jacksonville-you may want to sit down for this-your Jaguars are now the proud owners of an  best three game winning streak. This time, Duval faithful got to witness the victory firsthand. The Jaguars won at home for the first time in over a year as they ran with the night and played in the shadows of the Sunshine State in front of a national Thursday night audience on the . The Big Cats poured more misery gravy onto the  nightmare season for the second time in the last three …

After taking a week off from my  column to enjoy family and friends during my favorite of all holidays, I am happy to report back this week and write about not one, but TWO Jaguars victories on the road. A week ago, the Jaguars won a gritty 13-6 defensive battle against the  in Houston. The win allowed the Jags to usurp the reeling Texans and match 2012’s win total as they also left behind the cellar of the  South. Suddenly road warriors, the Jags then turned around and knocked off the  32-28 in Cleveland, never an easy task in front …

The smell of funnel cake wafted over from  and throughout  last Sunday. Like the Fair, the  slim-to-none mathematical chance of ending the season at .500 also left town that day after a 27-14 defeat at the wings of the  in what I labeled the “Shut Carson Palmer Up Bowl.” Earlier in the week, Cardinals  infuriated Jaguars fans (well, #JaguarsTwitter anyway) by taking an underhanded cheap shot at the Jags paltry attendance. By game’s end, Palmer had quieted the Teal Faithful by putting his 419 yards and 2 TDs where his mouth is. By beating up the Jaguars in Jacksonville, so-so …

The Good The  escaped the evil clutches of Nashville’s Flaming Thumbtack with their first win of 2013, made even sweeter against the arch foe . The final score was 29-27, and that two-point differential can be chalked up to a holding penalty in the end zone against the Titans that resulted in a two-point safety awarded to the Jaguars. The true star of the game at crunch time ended up being defensive back , who stripped the Titans quarterback with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter and then returned the ball 21 yards for a victory sealing TD. Since it …

“Panic on the Streets of London!” Those words come the song “Panic,” as written by one Stephen Patrick Morrissey, the former front man of The Smiths and famous Brit crooner known for his perpetually melancholy lyrics and celibate lifestyle. Hmm, incessantly depressing and doesn’t score—sound familiar? If the Jaguars weren’t panicked before they crossed the pond, then they certainly should be now.  were shellacked 42 – 10 in front of the Englishmen and women in another lifeless, embarrassing loss. A packed house at  watched–presumably in Halloween-embellished horror—as  laid waste to their new “home” team. Despite the pitiful outcome of the …

 electronic scoreboard/message strip read, “When You Think of Garbage, Think of Us.” The not-so-well-thought-out message was an advertisement for a waste management company, though, given the  season so far, it may as well have been the team slogan. Yes, the Jaguars were once again defeated. This time the hapless Jags were back on their home turf as they fell to the  24-6, falling to a “record” of 0-7. There was some hope that the Jaguars were improving after the , and some (including me) were making bold predictions of a sneaky Jaguars victory given that the Chargers were on a …