The Sports Guru

7-9, 2nd Place AFC South

Projected Schedule W/L
Dallas            (L)
Pittsburgh      (W)
@Indianapolis(L)
@Washington (L)
NY Jets          (W)
@Houtson      (L)
@Philadelphia (L)
Tennessee      (W)
Houston          (W)
NY Giants        (W)
@Buffalo         (W)
@Miami          (L)
Indianapolis    (L)
@Tennessee   (L)
New England  (W)
@Kansas City (L)

There have been 90 Wild Card teams in the NFL since 1990 when the NFL adopted the 12 team playoff format.  Only a dozen have had 12 wins in a season, including the 2005 Jacksonville Jaguars.  They seemed prime and ready to go into New England on Wild Card Weekend and give the Pats a run for their money.  Instead, the were spanked 28-3 in a game that wasn’t even that close.  So it was back to the drawing board for the Jags, who will be hard pressed to win 10 games this season.  The Jags will play the schedule of a 12 win team and have some major holes that need fixed before the season starts.

Team Strengths – Jack Del Rio is as good as it gets as a young coach in the NFL.  A former player, Del Rio isn;t far removed from lacing them up himself and reminds me a lot of Jeff Fisher when he became head coach of the then Houston Oilers.  He has alot of passion and is very knowledgeable about the game and how to lead a football team.  On the field there are some bright spots as well.  Fred Taylor, when healthy, is one of the best runners in football.  Health has been an issue and continues to be as Taylor has tweaked his groin early in camp.  On defense, Mike Peterson is one of the best Linebackers in the league no one knows about.  Donovan Darius, who is recovering from an injury himself, is a solid safety, but how he returns from the ACL injury suffered last season will be key to the Jag’s success.

Team Weaknesses - The team’s all-time leading receiver, Jimmy Smith, retired during the off-season leaving Del Rio big time depth issues at receiver.  Matt Jones, a converted quarterback, will be looked upon to make big plays downfield in the passing game.  Jones is nursing an injury himself, but if healty has the tools to get down field.  The Offensive Line had a miserable campaign in 2005, culminating with a 6-sack performance in the playoff loss to New England.  This is the season that quarerback Byron Leftwich needs to become a consistent signal caller.


Best Case Scenario – Matt Jones becomes a worthy replacement for Smith.  Former Vikings Head Coach Mike Tice, brought in to fix the O-Line issues, gets the unit to play to it’s potential.  They are able to keep Leftwich healthy and up-right.  Fred Taylor manages to stay on the field long enough to have that break out season everyone keeps waiting for.  The defense continues to improve and Darius returns from his injury to be a force in the secondary.  Jags could win 10 games and get back to the playoffs.

Worst Case Scenario – By week 3 Del Rio is on the phone begging Smith to come back.  Taylor has a typical season, only able to play in about half of the Jag’s games.  Leftwich continues to tread water, with no progress in his development.  Playing the tougher schedule the Jags take a giant step backwards, leading  to alk of Del Rio and Leftwich’s quetionable future with the team.


My Opinion –  Even before the loss of Smith the Jags needed more playmakers on offense.  They addressed some of this by drafting Marcedes Lewis and Maurice Drew, both out of UCLA.  Lewis, a Tight End, is going to be looked on to be the safety valve Leftwich needs.  Drew, a running back, might be small in stature(5-7) but might be the explosive, change of pace back the Jags need.  With Tice on baord the O-Line should be improved.  Leftwich has to show that heading into his 4th season he is going to be the long term solution at quarterback.  There is no questioning his toughness, but the team played very well with David Girard and I have some questions about Leftwich as a leader.  The defense is goin to be stout again, but without a proven threat on offense, and a much tougher schedule in 2006, the Jags are going to go backwards this season.  Like Fisher in Tennessee, a bad season could be the end of Del Rio in Jacksonville, but he wouldn’t be out of work long. 

This entry was posted on Monday, August 7th, 2006 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Broncos/NFL, 2006 NFL Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.