Quote:I agree....I hope the fan base that is gung ho right now is also smart enough to realize this, too.
We are on the upswing, but 2015 is the year that I really expect to see a serious playoff push.
I'm hoping the fans aren't short sighted enough to say things like "oh see, same old Jaguars" if we happen to start out slow again this season, because we very well might.
Fans will have every right to take a short sighted view as there is no assurance of anything regarding 2015. I'm amazed at how many posts there have been which take it as a given that 2015 will see "a serious playoff push." God knows I hope so but I sure don't take it as a given.
I've been preaching the Jaguars gospel to friends and co-workers for years. Usually to halfhearted responses. People want something to get excited about, but they are not ready to take it on faith. The truly excited and fired up are the "easy sells" - people like us, who have season tickets, keep up with the Jags on a daily basis and are going to attend and/or watch games no matter what.
The average, casual fan is ready to be convinced - but they need something tangible in order to take that next step.
Quote:We can "hope" for it. I know the odds of it happening are not very good but what were the odds the Bengals went 9-7 and made the playoffs with Dalton as their QB? I'm not saying we will make the playoffs but crazier things have happened.
I am very realistic and I think we are a 7 win team but having a couple lucky bounces here and there wouldn't hurt.,
It could happen. But its an extreme long shot. We'll need major things to break in our favor. Like Andrew Luck breaking a leg.
No [BLEEP]. We've been saying this for only the past 6 months.
While I agree the texans will play better who is gonna play QB for them? I really think that's gonna hold them back.
Quote:While I agree the texans will play better who is gonna play QB for them? I really think that's gonna hold them back.
That doesn't seem to be stopping people here from thinking the Jaguars will be better than last season, and we don't have JJ Watt and Clowney.
Quote:We can "hope" for it. I know the odds of it happening are not very good but what were the odds the Bengals went 9-7 and made the playoffs with Dalton as their QB? I'm not saying we will make the playoffs but crazier things have happened.
I am very realistic and I think we are a 7 win team but having a couple lucky bounces here and there wouldn't hurt.,
Well shoot, I "hope" for it too.....difference is, when/ if it doesn't happen, I'm smart enough to realize that it was a longshot and that 2015 is the year we really should expect to make the run.
I fear some of the "fans" out there might take such a short sighted view of this and sky is falling mindset if we happen to not reach their "playoff" hopes for 2014, when in reality there wasn't a good chance for that anyway.
Quote:Well shoot, I "hope" for it too.....difference is, when/ if it doesn't happen, I'm smart enough to realize that it was a longshot and that 2015 is the year we really should expect to make the run.
I fear some of the "fans" out there might take such a short sighted view of this and sky is falling mindset if we happen to not reach their "playoff" hopes for 2014, when in reality there wasn't a good chance for that anyway.
It's amusing that you're afraid that fans will take a "the sky is falling" attitude regarding 2014 while you're taking a "rainbows and unicorns" attitude toward 2015.
Who has history and reality to fall back on?
It's
May, 2014 and you are chastising "fans" about not recognizing the glories of 2015 that are sure to come. Who's being delusional?
The Texans will not be winning 8 games with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB, I can guarantee you of that. I fully expect the four games against Houston/Tennessee to be among the most winnable all year.
Quote:It's amusing that you're afraid that fans will take a "the sky is falling" attitude regarding 2014 while you're taking a "rainbows and unicorns" attitude toward 2015.
Who has history and reality to fall back on?
It's May, 2014 and you are chastising "fans" about not recognizing the glories of 2015 that are sure to come. Who's being delusional?
Brian, when a team is in a rebuilding stage like we are, it usually takes a few years for a playoff type season to be realized. Especially when the franchise QB isn't expected to make much of an impact during his rookie year, but he is expected to be the full season starter by 2015.
Quote:The Texans will not be winning 8 games with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB, I can guarantee you of that. I fully expect the four games against Houston/Tennessee to be among the most winnable all year.
Agreed I see the Texans slipping back into the cellar where they belong
Quote:I don't think we will ever be in the same category as GB or Pit but i do believe we are on our way to great things.
Why not? Those rookie camp #'s dictate a trend that if continued will not doubt be that way.
Quote:I don't think we will ever be in the same category as GB or Pit but i do believe we are on our way to great things.
why not dude,really why not
Quote:The excitement's there, no doubt. But, it was there with the ALL IN campaign, too... And what came out of that was a 2-14 season. Jaguars fans have bought into the hype before and been burned. GB and Pittsburgh also do not have to contend with college football fever the way Jax does. I don't see us ever becoming a one-horse town, but we can become a big player for years to come, and Vic said it best...
"Just win, baby."
In the grand scheme of things, even with it being a football crazed area (me included), the big picture is that it is a football town first and foremost. Football rules. College or Pros, doesn't matter here.
Quote:Love how it all went from "A UF college town that would never support an NFL team" to "The only show in town, I think the momentum we are gaining can grow exponentially., "..
generation jag has finally grown up and this old cat is sooooooooooooooooooooo stoked that it is here
Quote:Brian, when a team is in a rebuilding stage like we are, it usually takes a few years for a playoff type season to be realized. Especially when the franchise QB isn't expected to make much of an impact during his rookie year, but he is expected to be the full season starter by 2015.
Well Michael, that was some terrific insight there.
So you're saying the QB playing in effect his rookie season in 2015, as well as the rookies we draft for 2015, will assure of "a run deep into the playoffs"?
Gotcha.
Quote:Well Michael, that was some terrific insight there.
So you're saying the QB playing in effect his rookie season in 2015, as well as the rookies we draft for 2015, will assure of "a run deep into the playoffs"?
Gotcha.
THat along with the rookie/ UDFA classes from 2013/ 2014 being ready to make that next step. Yep.
And I didn't say "run "deep" into the playoffs by 2015...but a playoff berth, yes. That should be the expectation. Teams don't always make a deep run in their first year making the playoffs. It can happen, but I'd be thrilled with a single playoff victory in 2015.
Quote:Peter King @SI_PeterKing May 19
RT @imbillmcneal: What does it say that #Jags had 6,200 fans at rookie minicamp practice? ... Great news. Jax could be sleeping giant soon.
After 20 years of developing the fan base here in Jax, does anyone else feel like the franchise is on the cusp of finally making huge strides towards being in the same category as the Green Bay's and Pittsburgh's in terms of being an NFL city? Since the Jaguars are the only show in town, I think the momentum we are gaining can grow exponentially.
Huge strides? I think we're headed in the right direction, and we are starting to get the attention of those outside of the market that the fan base here isn't nearly as bad as they've portrayed it to be over the years. I think we actually have a very loyal core fan base that simply needed time to mature to the point where those who had other loyalties when the team was awarded to the city have been replaced by the kids who grew up in a world where there was always Jaguars football, for better or for worse.
The problem here has always been the perception more than the reality. The kinds of fluctuations we've seen with ticket sales and such are the same cyclical things other markets have seen. It is just more pronounced here because of the market size, and because of that, the big shots in the mainstream media look at Jacksonville as an afterthought. They act almost amazed that the fans could possibly be excited about the Jaguars when the reality is the fans have always been here waiting for something to get excited about.
We've been through a pretty tough stretch. Things have improved, and should continue to do so. Eventually, blurbs like this about the fan base will simply go away.
I think the Texans are going to have some issues transitioning from Wade Phillip's 1 gap 3-4 into Romeo Crennel's 2 gap 3-4. JJ Watt is going to be more of a block absorber than he's used to. Let's see how he holds up over 16 games.
I don't know what kind of "strides" the Jags are going to take from year to year. I do know they finished out the second half of 2013 as a .500 team in their final 8 games. I know I saw continual improvement over the course of the season in the defense's grasp of Bradley's system, the OL in the zone blocking scheme and the QB play once they put the Gabbert experiment behind them for good and Henne got more playing time in Jedd's offense. I also know this offseason they've acquired a lot of necessary talent upgrades and depth at positions that were desperately needing them. Notably OG, RB, DL, WR and SLB. I also know they have about $30 million of unused cap dry powder for future years. I definitely think the arrow is pointed up.
Quote:I think the Texans are going to have some issues transitioning from Wade Wilson's 1 gap 3-4 into Romeo Crennel's 2 gap 3-4. JJ Watt is going to be more of a block absorber than he's used to. Let's see how he holds up over 16 games.
I don't know what kind of "strides" the Jags are going to take from year to year. I do know they finished out the second half of the season of the season as a .500 team once the defense started to grasp the defense, the zone blocking scheme and once they put the Gabbert experiment behind them for good and Henne got more playing time in Jedd's offense. I also know this off season they've acquired a lot of necessary talent upgrades at positions that were desperately needing them in the offseason. Notably OG, RB, DL, WR, SLB. I definitely think the arrow is pointed up.
The team was .500 because it faced a bunch of other bottom feeders and was really fortunate in some of those games.
I think the Jaguars will be a better team this year but could still only win 4 or 5 games.
Quote:The team was .500 because it faced a bunch of other bottom feeders and was really fortunate in some of those games.
5 of those 8 games were division opponent matchups, which are the same "bottomfeeders" they'll face 6 times this year. The Jags also had to play the NFC West and the AFC West on the schedule last year, the two toughest divisions in the NFL. 6 of the 8 teams in those divisons finished over .500, including 5 playoff teams. Including the Superbowl Winner, and the likely 2nd best team in the NFL. That also includes the 10-6 Cardinals who couldn't get into the playoffs. The Jags were hardly "fortunate" last year.
I don't know how much better the AFC North and NFC East are going to be from this year to last, but they only had 2 out o the 8 teams combined finish over .500. I would be pretty shocked if the Jaguars schedule is nearly as hard next year.