The Jacksonville Jaguars must be confident of their roster going into 2012 as they elected to take Punter Bryan Anger with their 3rd round pick (no 70 overall). Don’t get us wrong Anger is a good punter but the 70th best payer in the draft? OK the Jags may save a few $ by starting him on his rookie salary, but was there no more obvious glaring holes in their roster? Anger would probably have been available in the 6th or even the 7th round had they not made this move.
Thursday Night Football Jags at Atlanta
Both Jacksonville and Atlanta are comming into this game after good wins, with both coming from behind. Then Jags were 14-0 down at one stage, before Maurice Jones-Drew got to work and his 4 TDs helped them to a season best 41-14 win. Atlanta also showed great battling qualities to come from 23-7 down against the Panthers scoring 24 unanswered second half points to run out 31-23 winners. Given the overall form of the two teams though this should be a fairly easy Atlanta win, and despite the Jaguars being able to shut down the passing game pretty well they will also have to stop Michael Turner on the ground and we cant see this happening. A further problem for Jacksonville is that they are not particularly endowed with receivers and rely on their running game, which could stutter against the Falcons much improved defense so points could be scarce.
Overall we dont see a lot of points in this one brobably below 30 total and we expect Atlanta to put themselves into pole position for a Wild Card with a 10-14 point win.
Blaine Gabbert Somewhat Eclipsed By Ryan Mallett
In what was admittedly only an exhibition game the Patriots 3rd round draft pick QB Ryan Mallett somewhat outshone the highly regarded Blaine Gabbert throwing a TD pass and throwing for 164 yards. Twelve completions from Nineteen also left him with an impressive debut QB rating of 108.2. He was also involved in 3 other TD scoring drives as New England piled up the points in a 47-12 win.
Gabbert who played the 1st half to be fair faced a few of the expected New England starters and he avoided turning the ball over. Finishing with 9 completions for 85 yards was not too bad considering it was his first outing and he will learn from this experience. He should get another chance although it wont be any easier when the Jags take on the Falcons on 19th August.
Blaine Gabbert likely to Start for Jags Against The Patriots
Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert has been given his first chance to impress in tonights opening Pre season game for the Jags and it is a great bplace to start away in New England. Jacksonville got a bit of a Bargain in our opinion when picking up Gabbert at no 10 and if he shows decent composure during what is largely a meaningless game he will at least propel himself into Jack Del Rio’s plans for the coming season.
Current No 1 David Garrard has a minor back injury and the Jags will take Luke McCown and and 39 year old Todd Bouman as backups.
2010 AFC South Seasons Prediction
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The AFC South has been a successful division for several years now, largely thanks to the Indianapolis Colts who have been the most consistent team in the NFL for many years. This year looks no different and it is possible that two teams will make the playoffs from the South, given they have the relatively easy AFC West to play in their conference games.
The Indianapolis Colts will be keen to put the disappointment of 2009 behind them,which included throwing away the chance of a perfect season to keep their players fresh only for them to lose in the Super Bowl. The curse of the Bowl losers is unlikely to strike them this year though and they look near certainties for a play off birth and should add the divisional title to their list of honours. Their schedule is similar in strength to last seasons and if they can successfullt negotiate a tough looking November run, which includes New England & San Diego they should be well placed for the wild cards at least.
The Squad looks no worse than last year despite a bit of a clear out in free agency however they have drafted to fill those holes and with the quality they have on offense they can afford the odd defensive slip. Running back looks like their main problem area however they managed to reach the Super Bowl ranked 32 in rush offense so that shouldn’t be a problem. The gap is closing between them and their rivals, however they should manage to retain the crown for at least another season.
The Houston Texans are still looking for their first play off berth and they came mighty close last season thanks to a best ever 9-7 season. They are quietly building a formidable squad and although their defensive secondary still looks weak in certain areas they look as good as any team in the AFC.
Andre Johnston is probably the best wide receiver in the NFL at the moment and he is building up a great relationship with QB Matt Schaub, himself a very under rated talent. They have drafted pretty well and Kareem Jackson should help alleviate the loss of Dunta Robinson, and the defensive line is stuffed with talent so they should have another good season.
I cant see Houston taking the division with their schedule however second place beckons again and a wild card is a distinct possibility.
The Tennessee Titanshad a dreadful start to their 2009 season losing their 1st 6 games ending with a humiliating 59-0 loss against New England. Then they finished withan 8-2 run in and going into their last two games even had a slim chance of a playoff berth. The loss of Albert Haynesworth hit them harder than many forecast and their defensive ranking colapsed from 7th in 2008 to 28th in 2009. This is the big worry and although they have drafted a lot of defensive talent I am not sure they will have an impact in 2010.
The Titans will pose a threat offensively and Chris Johnson should pile up the running yards but they don’t look good enough overall to threaten either the Colts or Texans.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are unlucky to be in such a strong division and although they will be a threat on the ground the rest of the squad looks distinctly average. They realised they need to upgrade their defense and have drafted 4 linemen with their 1st four picks. This will bode well for the future but will have virtually no impact in 2010. similarly their free agency moves look more like those of a rebuilding team than one looking to challenge for the division. If they can match last seasons 7 wins it will have been a good season for them.
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- Predicting the AFC South: Houston Texans Give Colts a Run for Their Money (bleacherreport.com)
