TruBlueCowboy
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So I live near Jacksonville these days, and it's all Jags, all the time on the local networks.
I'm watching their season preview tonight, and I think a lot of us have forgotten how good this team looked last year. They were on a roll at the end of the year, finished 12-4, and if not for the Leftwich/Garrard late season injury hustle, they might have gone further.
Their QB situation reminds me a lot of the ol' Aikman/Beuerlein fight before the Cowboys took off and won a couple of Super Bowls. Young Aikman gets injury benched for another relatively young backup, the team wins a bunch of games, fans are wondering if Aikman truly is the man, and the talk becomes louder after a disappointing Playoff stint. Of course, Aikman goes on to win it all the next year and everyone forgets we ever had that QB debate, but for those of you who remember, Aikman & Beuerlein looks a lot like Leftwich & Garrard.
We all talk about how the Cowboys have the potential to be the best NFL defense this year, well, the Jags fans feel the exact same way. I'm watching these fellas talk about their team, and they are some confident mofos. A lot of the free agents acquisitions were happy to join Jacksonville because Del Rio is a defensive coach and they were sick of the offensive gloryhounds on their old teams. (Peterson in Indy, Williams in Minnesota, etc.) And Jacksonville has just as much room to talk as the Cowboys. They have a better defensive line than us. They have some good linebackers. They have their hard hitting safety. We have better corners, but who needs better corners when you have Henderson and Stroud pushing up the middle? A player I've overlooked is Paul Spicer. Comes from a small IIA school and is a late bloomer, but their veteran find of a DE had 60+ QB pressures last year. Again, it goes back to having two of the best defensive tackles in the game, but this a unit that can destroy our biggest weakness, the offensive line and rock solid (as in when the pocket breaks down) Bledsoe.
On offense, Del Rio publicly stated that Leftwich will have a career year. Leftwich admitted he hates losing Jimmy Smith, but it's put up or shut up time for a lot of their talented young receivers like Matt Jones and Reggie Williams. Fred Taylor is twice the back of anyone we have, if he only stays healthy. Offensive line has some problems here and there, but they're a pretty decent unit with a mix of vets and young talent.
I look at the Cowboys and Jags as similar teams. Strong defenses that look to be the elite of the league, offenses with question marks. Leftwich and Bledsoe are similar QBs, only Leftwich hasn't hit his ceiling yet.
All I can say is we're lucky we are playing a team in a lil' bit of turmoil. Peterson will be out and watching their season preview, you can tell that hurts! A lot of the Jag defenders look up to that fella. Like I mentioned earlier, Leftwich is looking for his main man now that Jimmy Smith is gone and that will take several weeks to find. The Jags are also going to miss Greg Jones who looked pretty darn good in the preseason. He looked like he was finally overcoming that college injury before he suffered a setback, I thought Jacksonville had drafted a steal with him after watching his moves with that size, and no linger injury effects.
We could be watching a Super Bowl preview. You may not guess it by watching Jacksonville tomorrow, but as they come back from some of those unlucky early injuries, they're going to be a darn good team. Can't wait to watch tomorrow's game, should be a good early test!
I'm watching their season preview tonight, and I think a lot of us have forgotten how good this team looked last year. They were on a roll at the end of the year, finished 12-4, and if not for the Leftwich/Garrard late season injury hustle, they might have gone further.
Their QB situation reminds me a lot of the ol' Aikman/Beuerlein fight before the Cowboys took off and won a couple of Super Bowls. Young Aikman gets injury benched for another relatively young backup, the team wins a bunch of games, fans are wondering if Aikman truly is the man, and the talk becomes louder after a disappointing Playoff stint. Of course, Aikman goes on to win it all the next year and everyone forgets we ever had that QB debate, but for those of you who remember, Aikman & Beuerlein looks a lot like Leftwich & Garrard.
We all talk about how the Cowboys have the potential to be the best NFL defense this year, well, the Jags fans feel the exact same way. I'm watching these fellas talk about their team, and they are some confident mofos. A lot of the free agents acquisitions were happy to join Jacksonville because Del Rio is a defensive coach and they were sick of the offensive gloryhounds on their old teams. (Peterson in Indy, Williams in Minnesota, etc.) And Jacksonville has just as much room to talk as the Cowboys. They have a better defensive line than us. They have some good linebackers. They have their hard hitting safety. We have better corners, but who needs better corners when you have Henderson and Stroud pushing up the middle? A player I've overlooked is Paul Spicer. Comes from a small IIA school and is a late bloomer, but their veteran find of a DE had 60+ QB pressures last year. Again, it goes back to having two of the best defensive tackles in the game, but this a unit that can destroy our biggest weakness, the offensive line and rock solid (as in when the pocket breaks down) Bledsoe.
On offense, Del Rio publicly stated that Leftwich will have a career year. Leftwich admitted he hates losing Jimmy Smith, but it's put up or shut up time for a lot of their talented young receivers like Matt Jones and Reggie Williams. Fred Taylor is twice the back of anyone we have, if he only stays healthy. Offensive line has some problems here and there, but they're a pretty decent unit with a mix of vets and young talent.
I look at the Cowboys and Jags as similar teams. Strong defenses that look to be the elite of the league, offenses with question marks. Leftwich and Bledsoe are similar QBs, only Leftwich hasn't hit his ceiling yet.
All I can say is we're lucky we are playing a team in a lil' bit of turmoil. Peterson will be out and watching their season preview, you can tell that hurts! A lot of the Jag defenders look up to that fella. Like I mentioned earlier, Leftwich is looking for his main man now that Jimmy Smith is gone and that will take several weeks to find. The Jags are also going to miss Greg Jones who looked pretty darn good in the preseason. He looked like he was finally overcoming that college injury before he suffered a setback, I thought Jacksonville had drafted a steal with him after watching his moves with that size, and no linger injury effects.
We could be watching a Super Bowl preview. You may not guess it by watching Jacksonville tomorrow, but as they come back from some of those unlucky early injuries, they're going to be a darn good team. Can't wait to watch tomorrow's game, should be a good early test!
