Let me begin by extending my hopes that everyone got through Irma unscathed, and that my thoughts are with those not so fortunate. By almost any conceivable measure, this was a horrible storm that has caused suffering to many many people in Florida and the Caribbean. It makes the main point of my post ironically and hopelessly trivial by comparison.
As a season ticket holder since the inaugural year, I've been fortunate enough to witness most of the key moments i Jaguars history. i was there when we saw the old Gator Bowl officially complete its transition into Jacksonville Municipal Stadium with the first home preseason game. I was there when Boyz II Men sang the national anthem before the first regular season game in team history. I was there to see us upset the Steelers for the first home win in team history. Though I could not bear to watch, I was there for Morten's miss.
However, I was also witness to perhaps the darkest on field moment in team history-the AFC Championship game loss to the tacks in the 1999 season. I label that the darkest on field moment in team history because not only did it deny the team their first Super Bowl berth, but the team has largely been in a franchise funk for the most part since then. In the seventeen years since, the team has had all of three (3) winning seasons, only two of which resulted in the playoffs. Those seasons were a decade ago. We have seen a string of losing seasons more readily associated with expansion teams. We've had teams less talented than that 1995 expansion team. While the specter of franchise relocation was largely dodged, the fan base's collective morale was at rock bottom for the last few years.
However, there are signs things are beginning to turn around for the Jaguars. When the team finally fired Bradley and named Marrone interim head coach, the tacks were on a roll and seemed on their way to a playoff berth. However, the Jaguars rose up, playing their best game of the past few years, our beloved Jaguars knocked Mariota out of the game, throttled the tacks, and ended their playoff run. Eventually Marrone hhad the interim tag removed and became head coach. Even though his ascent to head coach and the retention of most of the staff was met with derision by losing weary fans wanting a fresh start, the team continued to work to improve. They added Calais Campbell and barry Church in free agency and Leonard Fournette and Cam robinson in the draft. But the fan base still had to be sold, and the preseason did nothing to convince many fans that we were headed in the right direction. Yesterday's dominating performance against our nemesis the Texans went a long way in restoring fan confidence in the team. They dominated the trenches in both sides of the ball, protected the ball offensively and forced four turnovers and had ten sacks defensively.
What makes this time so critical? We are talking about a week 2 regular season game here. Isn't this whole post a bit of hyperbole or exaggeration? What makes this so important is that we have a chance to seize complete control of the division based upon the schedule and the weaknesses of the other teams in the division. Houston is battered. They have two inexperienced QBs and a horrible offensive line missing their best OL, LT Duane Brown, who is continuing his holdout. On top of that, they are depleted at WR and TE. They are on the road in a short week going up to Cincinnati. They could very easily be 0-2, with a week three game at New England to follow. Indy was talent challenged even with Andrew Luck. Luck is not healthy and there is no telling when he will return, if at all. His substitutes did not fare well yesterday, getting waxed by the Rams 46-9. The undermanned Colts host Arizona, a generally well regarded team. They could easily start 0-2 or 0-3 if Cleveland continues the tough play they showed against the Steelers. Oh yeah, week four they go to Seattle. However, the real stranglehold on the division is predicated by Sunday's game against the tacks. If we can beat the tacks this Sunday, we'll have a two game lead on the entire division, and Tennessee follows the game against us with a home game against Seattle. They could easily start 0-3.
A 2-0 start for us opens the door for a lot of possibilities. A 2-0 start followed by .500 ball the rest of the way gives the team its first winning season since 2007. We have played the Ravens tough the last two times we played them, even with substandard coaching, running, run blocking, and pass rush. I like our chances against the Ravens in London. If we beat the Ravens and the tacks in weeks 2-3, we could have a 3 game lead in the division. While that does not guarantee anything in a sixteen game regular season, a three game lead in a division with the other teams having the deficiencies they have will be a formidable deficit to overcome. With a cushion of three games, Jaguars fans can actually have hope for relevance past September 30. For the first time in seemingly forever, Jaguars fans will no longer be reduced to reviewing mock drafts in October. A division crown and a home playoff game become realistic possibilities. Fan confidence and enthusiasm are restored.
We can't allow Tennessee to ruin our hopes again.
All of the good things I listed above won't happen with a loss.
It starts with beating the tacks.
Let's do it, Jaguars!!!
Worst to 1st. Curse Reversed!
