The first preseason game is always exciting for me, even after 20 years.  It's football after a LONG offseason.  It's the first look at the team in game action, including the rookies.  But there are several reasons to be excited now.  My thoughts...

 

1.  I remember seeing the revamped Gator Bowl-renamed Jacksonville Municipal Stadium-twenty years ago at the first preseason game.  It was brand new and shiny, and the envy of most teams in the league.  It was so much better than the rickety old Gator Bowl.  As the years have gone by, the old gal formerly known as Alltel is now amongst the oldest stadiums in the league.  But after numerous "electronic surgeries," (escalators, ribbons, new locker room) she is still capable of taking your breath away.  The new video boards are freaking awesome!  Often, it is divided into thirds-any one of them standing alone seems larger than the old video board.  Taken together, it is amazing.  It is especially striking when all three show one large image.  It is also amazing to see the board show the same play from three different angles. The picture is as sharp as any HDTV, and the difference in sharpness and contrast between these boards and the old boards is as sharp as you remember when you switch from standard to HDTV.  The team and city have succeeded in bringing the home viewing experience to the stadium and improving upon it.  Many times I found myself watching the screens instead of the field.  Another unexpected thing were the additional ribbon scoreboards added to each end zone.  Combined, the video boards give the stadium a more intimate and cozier, enclosed feel.  It gave me the strongest "my stadium is better than your stadium" vibe since 1996 or so, and enormous relief the city councilmen who voted against the stadium lease back in 1993 did not prevail.

 

2.  All offseason, many have expressed concern about the state of the OL.  Today, the first team OL lived down to the expectations.  Too many runs were blown up far into the backfield, and the line surrendered too many pressures. 

 

3.  While I am on the subject of the OL, we all want the offense to resemble last year's Denver team.  What we don't want is the similarities to be to Denver's Super Bowl offensive performance.  Those two horrible shotgun snaps-one of which knocked the team out of scoring range-were disastrous, mitigated only by the recovery of the ball.

 

4.  However, I am thrilled to see the defense's performance tonight.  They provided constant pressure on the QB.  Clemons gave more proof he still has stuff left in the tank.  SenDerrick Marks was dominant and all over the place.  Bryant solidified the point of attack against the run.  Even Alualu got a sack and a forced fumble.  Guy's interception return for a TD was fun to see.  Cyprien had a very good run support keeping outside leverage/contain.  The defense allowed Tampa's starters only 15 yards of offense.  I know it's the first week of the preseason, but it appears the defense is bringing back the nasty.

 

5.  As someone who started watching NFL football in the 1970s, I cringe at the changes that have taken physical defense out of the game to a large degree, though I know it is to protect against concussions.  It is what it is...but not necessarily what it SHOULD be.  If you are going to have rules on the books against blows to the head...enforce them.  The failure to throw a flag on the hit on Bortles at the end of the first half is inexcusable.  He was sliding and surrendered himself on the play.  The guy hit him clearly in the helmet.  It was clear as day on the videoboards.  If anyone even thought of hitting Manning or Brady like that, they would have been penalized and fined.  Bortles deserves that protection, too.

 

6.  It has been a long long time since I've had to explain the very basic fundamentals of football to someone, but I found myself in that exact position in the second half, when a security guard asked me whether there is an automatic change of possession between quarters, or if the drive continues. She was also mystified at the concept of the first down and punting.  She was a fan of "Jerrard" because he ran around, and even asked whether the team should sign Tebow to sell tickets. I didn't think I'd ever hear any more of that.  Bless her heart...she was willing to learn...but she was the walking embodiment of football ignorance.

 

7.  Rookie Watch

 

     A.  Blake Bortles-Let's address the elephant in the room.  It became a lot easier for the start Bortles now crowd to advance their arguments.  The crowd was energized when he entered the game, and the team seemed to be as well.  I was impressed.  He attacked down field, often opting for passes further downfield when he had open guys underneath.  I saw him turn his head and scan the field on numerous occasions. looking off defenders.  He showed good accuracy and the ability to throw on the move.  He was also tough, shaking off a sack and the aforementioned blow to the head right before halftime.  His numbers would have been better, but suffered from three drops by my count, two by Brown.  It wasn't just that Bortles looked good, but he looked better-considerably so-than Henne.  I know he went against second teamers.  But he also played with second teamers.  Furthermore, the Henne led offense played into the second quarter, which means he went against second and third teamers too, and he still didn't get anything done.  I still think Bortles should sit early, but if this disparity in performance continues, it'll be  harder to convince people that is the right strategy.

 

     B.  Marqise Lee-I was disappointed that he did not have a catch.  I do not know if I can blame him though.  I did not watch him exclusively throughout his routes to see if he separated from coverage, nor do I know what the progressions were.

 

     C.  Allen Robinson-DNP

     D.  Brandon Linder-did not stand out, but I would like to re-watch the game to study him.

     E.  Roosevelt Colvin-DNP

     F.  Telvin Smith-was quite active tonight.  He was in on tackles, including on special teams, had a pass defense, and threw a key block on Winston Guy's INT.  I was impressed.

 

     G.  Chris Smith-He was a major factor tonight.  He had a sack and forced fumble and other pressures.  He had an offsides penalty, but that seemed more out of aggressiveness more than a mental error.  He looked like he could have been called a couple of other times.  But to me, that shows me he has a great jump off the ball, and anticipates the snap  better than any defensive end we've had since Brackens.

 

     H.  Luke Bowanko-didn't study him much, but I noticed there were no disastrous shotgun snaps from him, so that's good.

 

     I.  Storm Johnson-had some very nice runs, though he hesitated some outside.

 

    J.  Deandre Coleman-Made his presence known tonight.  He had a nice run stuff after a one yard gain, showed some very good hustle chasing down a pass play over the middle from behind, and got a pressure/hit on the QB, forcing a bad pass.  I think he helped himself more than any undrafted rookie.

 

     K.  Allan Hurns-also helped himself tremendously tonight.  He had some very nice catches of Bortles passes.

 

8.     I heard Denard Robinson had put on weight to be sturdier running the ball, especially inside.  It is good to see he didn't lost any of his burst.  He was impressive on his TD run.

 

9.    Really sucks that another WR went down.  Hope he and Stupar are not seriously injured, and hope everyone else avoided injury.

 

10.   Bottom line:  I left this game thinking this is a stronger organization and a better team than it was last year.  In the year we celebrate 20 years of Jaguars' football, it is exciting to see such promise on display tonight.

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