... to move within two games of perfection with a 31-20 defeat of the Jacksonville Jaguars... and as I predicted they once again didn't cover the spread. So, I got both games right today!
As in many games of late, the Patriots opponent kept things close early, and then collapsed late. The Jaguars scored on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead, but the Patriots answered right back. The game went into halftime tied at 14-14. From there, Tom Brady and the Patriots offense took over as the 2007 NFL MVP led them to third quarter scores on touchdown passes to Wes Welker and Benjamin Watson. Brady had numbers more like you'd expect in playing a video game: 26-for-28 (a crazy 93.3% completion percentage) for 262 yards to go along with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Jaguars offense couldn't get things going in the second half, settling for two Josh Scobee field goals.
The Patriots await the winner of tomorrow's game between the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers for the AFC Championship and their continued persuit of the 19-0 perfect season...
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Showing posts with label Jaguars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaguars. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
And Then There Were 8...
While I attempt to cool my blood down a little, I will take some time out to talk a little football. Eight teams are left in the NFL Playoffs, and four games will be played this weekend to determine who is going to play in the respective league championships. In the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys will take on the New York Giants for the third time this season, while the Green Bay Packers will welcome the Seattle Seahawks into the "frozen tundra"... The AFC offers us a rematch between Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers, while the Jacksonville Jaguars attempt to put an end to the New England Patriots dreams of a 19-0 season.
Saturday's games both have a good chance of being blowouts, while Sunday's games should be closer. Of course, after how badly I did this past weekend - one of four right on the pros, while I incorrectly predicted that Ohio State would beat up on LSU in the BCS championship, perhaps you should take my opinions with a grain of salt.
In the early game, the Packers square off against the Seahawks. Look for both teams to attempt to throw the ball a lot in the cold conditions. Presently, the forecast high is 32 degrees with a 20% chance of snow. Neither team has a very impressive running game to speak of, though we all know how good Shaun Alexander can be when he's healthy. The problem for the Seahawks is that it's been 2 seasons since he was healthy. After rushing for 1880 yards in 2005, he only totalled 1610 yards the past two years. Not to mention that in 2005 he gained 5.1 yards per rush, while in 2006-2007 he averaged only 3.5 yards/attempt. For the Packers, Ryan Grant did an admirable job, rushing for nearly 1000 yards with an impressive 5.1 yards per rush average.
I believe the key to winning this game will be not turning the ball over. This means that Matt Hasselbeck and Brett Favre must not try to make a play when there isn't one available. The Packers were 2nd in the NFL in passing offense, while the Seahawks were 8th. Once again though, we know the Seahawks played a VERY soft schedule this year, while the Packers played some pretty tough teams and still came out three games better off in the win column. Look for the Packers to take this one by at least two touchdowns.
In the later game, the Patriots will take on the Jaguars. Quietly, the Jaguars took six out of their final seven meaningful games - only a 28-25 loss to the Colts kept them from winning seven straight. Most of their regulars were rested in their final game of the year, a 42-28 loss against Houston. Last week, they got up 28-10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, only to see Ben Roethlisberger pull off another of his patented 4th quarter comebacks. Jaguar QB David Garrard saved the day though, gaining 32 yards on a 4th and two play to set up Josh Scobee's game winning 25 yard field goal for a 31-29 win. The Jaguars have a VERY balanced offense - not something that you would have guessed early in the season. Garrard tossed 18 TD's against only three interceptions during the regular season, while the duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew totalled nearly 2,000 yards on the ground, scoring 14 times.
The Patriots stormed out of the gate of course, running up the score on their first eight opponents, before the Colts finally gave them a scare in week 9 (a close 24-20 comeback win). From there, the Patriots looked quite beatable. In fact, four of their final six contests were decided by 10 points or less. The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens both came close to beating them, as the Patriots struggled to three point wins. The Giants came close to ruining their perfect season in week 17, but they too came up three points short. Tom Brady tossed a record 50 TD passes, 23 to Randy Moss (for a record as well)... Even though the Patriots were number one in the league in passing, they were only 13th in rushing. If the Jaguars are going to pull the upset, they will need to force the Patriots to run the ball. Look for this to be a closer game than predicted, with the Patriots winning by about a touchdown.
Tomorrow, I'll look at the Sunday matchups.
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Saturday's games both have a good chance of being blowouts, while Sunday's games should be closer. Of course, after how badly I did this past weekend - one of four right on the pros, while I incorrectly predicted that Ohio State would beat up on LSU in the BCS championship, perhaps you should take my opinions with a grain of salt.
In the early game, the Packers square off against the Seahawks. Look for both teams to attempt to throw the ball a lot in the cold conditions. Presently, the forecast high is 32 degrees with a 20% chance of snow. Neither team has a very impressive running game to speak of, though we all know how good Shaun Alexander can be when he's healthy. The problem for the Seahawks is that it's been 2 seasons since he was healthy. After rushing for 1880 yards in 2005, he only totalled 1610 yards the past two years. Not to mention that in 2005 he gained 5.1 yards per rush, while in 2006-2007 he averaged only 3.5 yards/attempt. For the Packers, Ryan Grant did an admirable job, rushing for nearly 1000 yards with an impressive 5.1 yards per rush average.
I believe the key to winning this game will be not turning the ball over. This means that Matt Hasselbeck and Brett Favre must not try to make a play when there isn't one available. The Packers were 2nd in the NFL in passing offense, while the Seahawks were 8th. Once again though, we know the Seahawks played a VERY soft schedule this year, while the Packers played some pretty tough teams and still came out three games better off in the win column. Look for the Packers to take this one by at least two touchdowns.
In the later game, the Patriots will take on the Jaguars. Quietly, the Jaguars took six out of their final seven meaningful games - only a 28-25 loss to the Colts kept them from winning seven straight. Most of their regulars were rested in their final game of the year, a 42-28 loss against Houston. Last week, they got up 28-10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, only to see Ben Roethlisberger pull off another of his patented 4th quarter comebacks. Jaguar QB David Garrard saved the day though, gaining 32 yards on a 4th and two play to set up Josh Scobee's game winning 25 yard field goal for a 31-29 win. The Jaguars have a VERY balanced offense - not something that you would have guessed early in the season. Garrard tossed 18 TD's against only three interceptions during the regular season, while the duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew totalled nearly 2,000 yards on the ground, scoring 14 times.
The Patriots stormed out of the gate of course, running up the score on their first eight opponents, before the Colts finally gave them a scare in week 9 (a close 24-20 comeback win). From there, the Patriots looked quite beatable. In fact, four of their final six contests were decided by 10 points or less. The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens both came close to beating them, as the Patriots struggled to three point wins. The Giants came close to ruining their perfect season in week 17, but they too came up three points short. Tom Brady tossed a record 50 TD passes, 23 to Randy Moss (for a record as well)... Even though the Patriots were number one in the league in passing, they were only 13th in rushing. If the Jaguars are going to pull the upset, they will need to force the Patriots to run the ball. Look for this to be a closer game than predicted, with the Patriots winning by about a touchdown.
Tomorrow, I'll look at the Sunday matchups.
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
Jones-Drew, L.T. Run Wild!
Perhaps that embarassing loss by UCLA to Notre Dame two weekends ago was all it took to light a fire under Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The day after his (and my) alma-mater's loss he had a big day against the Kansas City Chiefs, with 112 yards of total offense on twelve touches including a 52-yard touchdown run. I said in my blog this past Wednesday that all he needed was "more touches" to be back to the 2006 version who burst onto the NFL scene with 16 touchdowns.
With only 14 yards on five carries late in the first half in today's game against the Houston Texans, it appeared this was going to be another long day for Jones-Drew, but with 2:30 to go in the first half, he rambled 27 yards on a play to help set up a 37-yard field goal by John Carney. The Jaguars took a 10-6 halftime lead.
The game was still very much in doubt as the third quarter wound down. The Jaguars had a 16-9 lead, and Jones-Drew, for the most part, had been ignored in the offense. With 1:30 to go in that frame, he only had touched the ball nine times on offense: two receptions for 34 yards, and seven rushes for 47 yards...
As the third quarter ended though, Jones-Drew FINALLY was allowed to become more involved in the Jaguar offense... a four-yard rush, followed by a 25-yard pass from David Garrard closed out the quarter. The fourth quarter opened with a Garrard pass to Jones-Drew for no gain. He then gained 10 yards and a first down with a run to the left side, setting up a first and goal. Two plays later, Jones-Drew cruised into the end zone with an easy 7-yard run to the right to give the Jaguars a 23-9 lead.
Houston nearly drove the length of the field with their next possession, but quarterback Matt Schaub was sacked, forcing a fumble. Daryl Smith of the Jaguars picked up the loose ball and rambled 77 yards for another score to make it a 30-9 game with 8:55 to play. Schaub was intercepted on his next possession, setting the stage up for Jones-Drew again. The Jaguars took over at their own 27 yard line. They handed the ball to Jones-Drew on the first play of the drive for no gain... Garrard then passed to Michael Lewis for a 16 yard gain to give the Jaguars anothe fresh set of downs... Then, just like last week, Jones-Drew broke the big one... a 57 yard scamper down the right side with 5:48 to go in the game made the Jags lead 37-9.
In a little less than 11 minutes, Jones-Drew had touched the ball seven times, accumulating 103 yards and two scores... making those of us who have stuck with him on their fantasy teams like me VERY happy!!! The commentators doing the game gave him the ultimate compliment today, comparing his moves to the great Barry Sanders. At only 5'7" tall and with his shiftyness and ability to break the big play seemingly at any time, I think those comparisons just might be valid... Even with his big day, he only touched the ball 16 times on offense today. With what he's done the past two weekends, you wonder just what kind of numbers he would put up if given say 25-30 touches a week? I can only hope! In the meantime, the Jaguars ended up cruising to their fourth straight win, with the final result being 37-17.
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One guy who doesn't have ANY problems getting touches is LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers. To be precise, he ended up with 27 touches today in the Chargers game against the much-improved Oakland Raiders... What did he do with those touches, you may ask? Well, one look at the box score is pretty much all you need to see:
Q1 9:24 SD TD Tomlinson rushed up the middle for 3 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 7-0
Q1 6:51 SD TD Tomlinson rushed to the left for 27 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 14-0
Q3 9:42 SD TD Tomlinson rushed to the left for 13 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 21-7
Q4 2:52 SD TD Tomlinson rushed to the right for 41 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 28-14
Yes, there's a reason why L.T. goes #1 year after year in fantasy league drafts, and the above only tells part of the story. Yes, he scored FOUR touchdowns in the Chargers 28-14 win over the Raiders today, but he ended up accumulating some REALLY gaudy numbers on the day: 24 rushes for 199 yards, 3 receptions for 16 yards. In a typical league this day would give you 44 fantasy points... yes, that's a lot!!! With the other consensus top five overall fantasy picks (Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Shawn Alexander, Frank Gore) disappointing their owners a lot so far, it's good to see at least one of the big five guys starting to live up to his reputation and lofty draft day status. FYI, Johnson had his second 100 yard game in three weeks today (and a score) for the Chiefs as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 27-20. So, maybe there's some hope for him as well...
As for the rest of L.T's football game, the Chargers defense kept the Raiders in check pretty much all day. Raider QB Daunte Culpepper was sacked six times, threw two interceptions and also lost a crucial fumble in the red-zone as the first half ended. His lone highlight on the day was completing a touchdown pass to Zach Miller with 5:18 to go in the game. The highly-touted Raider running game was non-existant all day long, mustering only 53 yards on 22 carries. The only other Raider score came on a very bad misfire by Charger QB Philip Rivers with seven minutes to go in the second quarter. With the Chargers driving, Rivers tried to force a ball down the left side and instead was intercepted by Thomas Howard who returned the ball 66 yards for the Raiders first score of the game. At 3-3, the Chargers are now tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West division lead.
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With only 14 yards on five carries late in the first half in today's game against the Houston Texans, it appeared this was going to be another long day for Jones-Drew, but with 2:30 to go in the first half, he rambled 27 yards on a play to help set up a 37-yard field goal by John Carney. The Jaguars took a 10-6 halftime lead.
The game was still very much in doubt as the third quarter wound down. The Jaguars had a 16-9 lead, and Jones-Drew, for the most part, had been ignored in the offense. With 1:30 to go in that frame, he only had touched the ball nine times on offense: two receptions for 34 yards, and seven rushes for 47 yards...
As the third quarter ended though, Jones-Drew FINALLY was allowed to become more involved in the Jaguar offense... a four-yard rush, followed by a 25-yard pass from David Garrard closed out the quarter. The fourth quarter opened with a Garrard pass to Jones-Drew for no gain. He then gained 10 yards and a first down with a run to the left side, setting up a first and goal. Two plays later, Jones-Drew cruised into the end zone with an easy 7-yard run to the right to give the Jaguars a 23-9 lead.
Houston nearly drove the length of the field with their next possession, but quarterback Matt Schaub was sacked, forcing a fumble. Daryl Smith of the Jaguars picked up the loose ball and rambled 77 yards for another score to make it a 30-9 game with 8:55 to play. Schaub was intercepted on his next possession, setting the stage up for Jones-Drew again. The Jaguars took over at their own 27 yard line. They handed the ball to Jones-Drew on the first play of the drive for no gain... Garrard then passed to Michael Lewis for a 16 yard gain to give the Jaguars anothe fresh set of downs... Then, just like last week, Jones-Drew broke the big one... a 57 yard scamper down the right side with 5:48 to go in the game made the Jags lead 37-9.
In a little less than 11 minutes, Jones-Drew had touched the ball seven times, accumulating 103 yards and two scores... making those of us who have stuck with him on their fantasy teams like me VERY happy!!! The commentators doing the game gave him the ultimate compliment today, comparing his moves to the great Barry Sanders. At only 5'7" tall and with his shiftyness and ability to break the big play seemingly at any time, I think those comparisons just might be valid... Even with his big day, he only touched the ball 16 times on offense today. With what he's done the past two weekends, you wonder just what kind of numbers he would put up if given say 25-30 touches a week? I can only hope! In the meantime, the Jaguars ended up cruising to their fourth straight win, with the final result being 37-17.
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One guy who doesn't have ANY problems getting touches is LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers. To be precise, he ended up with 27 touches today in the Chargers game against the much-improved Oakland Raiders... What did he do with those touches, you may ask? Well, one look at the box score is pretty much all you need to see:
Q1 9:24 SD TD Tomlinson rushed up the middle for 3 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 7-0
Q1 6:51 SD TD Tomlinson rushed to the left for 27 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 14-0
Q3 9:42 SD TD Tomlinson rushed to the left for 13 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 21-7
Q4 2:52 SD TD Tomlinson rushed to the right for 41 yard gain (Kaeding made PAT) 28-14
Yes, there's a reason why L.T. goes #1 year after year in fantasy league drafts, and the above only tells part of the story. Yes, he scored FOUR touchdowns in the Chargers 28-14 win over the Raiders today, but he ended up accumulating some REALLY gaudy numbers on the day: 24 rushes for 199 yards, 3 receptions for 16 yards. In a typical league this day would give you 44 fantasy points... yes, that's a lot!!! With the other consensus top five overall fantasy picks (Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Shawn Alexander, Frank Gore) disappointing their owners a lot so far, it's good to see at least one of the big five guys starting to live up to his reputation and lofty draft day status. FYI, Johnson had his second 100 yard game in three weeks today (and a score) for the Chiefs as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 27-20. So, maybe there's some hope for him as well...
As for the rest of L.T's football game, the Chargers defense kept the Raiders in check pretty much all day. Raider QB Daunte Culpepper was sacked six times, threw two interceptions and also lost a crucial fumble in the red-zone as the first half ended. His lone highlight on the day was completing a touchdown pass to Zach Miller with 5:18 to go in the game. The highly-touted Raider running game was non-existant all day long, mustering only 53 yards on 22 carries. The only other Raider score came on a very bad misfire by Charger QB Philip Rivers with seven minutes to go in the second quarter. With the Chargers driving, Rivers tried to force a ball down the left side and instead was intercepted by Thomas Howard who returned the ball 66 yards for the Raiders first score of the game. At 3-3, the Chargers are now tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West division lead.
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