Despite the results from the first two games, it's always good to go to the team's home opener.  The weather was gorgeous.  For me there were a few bonuses.  The team offered a couple of tokens of appreciation for long time season ticket holders.  For 20 year STHs, they gave some very nice hats, black with the Jaguars head logo on the front.  Stitched on the left side was "20+ yrs," and on the back, "Season Ticket Member 20+ years."  STHs 15-19 years got something else (towels, I believe), and STHs 10-15 years got something else.  There was also the "Season ticket holder Hall of Fame" behind section 140.  There appeared to be two sections-the All Pro section (I believe for STHs with 15+ years), and the "Exclusive Founders Club" for 20 year STHs.  I searched the walls and there was my name!  If you are a long time season ticket holder, make your way to the east stands pregame to see the wall!  Finally, had a nice pregame chat with an old Baltimore Colts fan, who goes back to the Unitas days and continued to support the Colts even after the move.  He was knowledgeable about the history of the game and respectful of our fanbase and team.  I wish more fans were like that guy.

 

Anyway, FWIW, my thoughts on the game.

 

1.  From maybe the second series through the end of the first half, there more sustained boos of the home team than I've ever seen in my entire time as a STH.  Bortles chants-while not as organized as the "move those chains" chants-where obvious and loud enough.  While a small part of me felt a degree of sympathy for Henne, the fact is, he was standing in the way of progress.  With him, the team had all of two (2) first downs in the first half, with the second not coming until maybe 11 seconds before halftime.  That was as every bit as ugly a display of football as last week.

 

2.  What the hell happened to the defense?  While there did not appear to be as many players running completely uncovered as it appeared there were last week, there were more than enough blown coverages to turn the stomach of any Jaguars fan.  Moreover, as Bradley pointed out in the post game press conference, there were times plays COULD have and perhaps SHOULD have been made, but weren't.  A lot of the credit for that has to go to Luck and his incredible athleticism, but the defense has to start making plays again.  I know the defense got NO help from the offense in the first half, but sometimes the defense has to help itself.  This was supposed to be the strength of the team early on, but it has gotten progressively worse, giving up 27, 41, and 37 points.

 

3.  Rookie Watch

 

    A.  Blake Bortles-If you listened to the comments of the coaches this week, you got the sense Bortles was at least close to being ready.  Fisch said Bortles cold handle the mental part of the game, and Bradley indicated he wanted to put Bortles in with a chance to succeed.  Fortunately, the clamoring of the fans was finally answered, as the offensive ineptitude with Henne at the helm forced Bradley to make the switch at the half.  Immediately, he provided a palpable lift.  The play where he rolls to the left, pivots and reverses to avoid an unblocked lineman and hits the fullback (THE FULLBACK!!!!) perfectly some 20-25 yards down the right sideline was amazing on a lot of different levels.  Avoiding that rush was impressive in itself, but then keeping his eyes on the coverage and seeing the FB, and hitting him accurately on the move like that was more so.  Like he did during the preseason, Bortles didn't dink and dunk.  He continuously attacked downfield.  He showed excellent pocket presence, climbing the pocket on some plays, hanging in that extra split second to complete the throw while taking a hit on others, and scrambling away from trouble on still others.  Many detractors (Colts fans and otherwise) would say he put up his numbers in garbage time.  I do not buy that criticism completely.  While I harbor no illusions the Colts approached the second half defense in the same way they opened the game, they didn't play the entire second half in prevent.  They were in press coverage at least some of the time.  But if you insist they hung in prevent, the fact is he still hit big plays, as evidenced by the pass to the FB and the TD pass to Hurns.  No, the Colts likely did not game plan for Bortles, but Bortles got very few practice reps, either.  14-24, 223 yards, 2TDs and 2 Ints in one half-the first regular season action of his career, was impressive.  There are still questions to answer and tests to come, but this was a good start.

 

     B.  Marqise Lee-DNP

 

     C.  Allen Robinson-Caught 7 catches for 79 yards.  He showed some run after the catch ability on some catches and some good leaping ability on a couple of deep passes from Bortles.  I think he mistimed a couple of those jumps by a fraction of a second, but he showed some promise.  I think he could develop into a very good WR for the Jaguars.

 

     D.  Brandon Linder-seemed to do okay, but TBH I did not focus on him.  I want to watch him closely when I review.

 

     E.  Aaron Colvin-DNP

     F.  Telvin Smith-played but I don't recall him making a difference

     G.  Chris Smith-DNP

     H.  Luke Bowanko-had his first start at C, and like Linder, didn't really stand out as being bad, but I need to watch more closely.

 

     I.  Storm Johnson-DNP

     J.  Allen Hurns-Did not have a lot of catches, but scored a 68 yard TD.  More on him later

     K.  Marcel Jensen-got his first start at TE with the absence of Marcedes Lewis, and he had a catch.  But we saw one of the reasons he started the season on the practice squad on the flea flicker, as I think he missed a block.

 

4.  Right now, I salivate at the thought of a not too distant future with 4-5 WR sets with Allen Robinson, Cecil Shorts, Marqise Lee, Allen Hurns, and Ace Sanders, with Bortles throwing them the ball.  We need to get Lee healthy and to eliminate the mental errors on the routes, but that can be a strong group that can actually create some matchup problems for other teams for a change.  Hurns and Robinson have already shown more at this early stage than Reggie Williams, Matt Jones, and Ernest Wilford have at a similar stage of their career.

 

5.  Nice FG by Scobee.  Nice Firehouse sub because of it.

 

6.  The replay boards are clear, but I sure didn't see the Anger punt get tipped to negate what otherwise would have been at minimum a running into the kicker penalty.

 

7.  Good to see Cecil Shorts return.

 

8.  Bottom line  I don't think I have ever felt this good about a team in the immediate aftermath of such a blowout loss at home, and based upon what I've seen and heard from other fans, I'm not alone in that sentiment.  That's one of the manifestations of the Bortles effect-hope amongst Jaguars fans.  This team still has lots of problems and challenges ahead.  Next week's game against San Diego is a daunting task.  But the team is getting experience and it appears to be getting healthier.  I could see this team being reasonably competitive if the offense can have early success and give the defense some help, and winning within the next 2-3 weeks.

 

 

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Bullseye I always enjoy these sensible reviews.

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Cool info about the wall I like the teams effort to recognize the fans loyalty.


Also spot on completely different feel after this loss knowing the bortles era has begun.

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Great post. Glad to see the organization take care of its fans. I believe we have a reason to watch games again. The future is finally here.

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Bullseye I always enjoy these sensible reviews.

Thank you very much.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Cool info about the wall I like the teams effort to recognize the fans loyalty.


Also spot on completely different feel after this loss knowing the bortles era has begun.

The wall wasn't what I envisioned (thinking an engraved bronze plaque thing), but it is still well done and a nice tribute.

 

I never imagined having my name as a part of the stadium, and I'm honored.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Great post. Glad to see the organization take care of its fans. I believe we have a reason to watch games again. The future is finally here.

I just cant wait until this team wins again.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Look at how bad Carolinas defense looked last night, while Newton and the offense struggled to convert 3rd downs and sustain drives.

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No commercial messages in sigs

It sucks that I missed the Bortles debut... I got called into work. However, it gives us all a reason to watch. The future of this franchise is now in the development stage. I'd much rather Bortles take his bumps and bruises this year. He will make a lot of mistakes, but by the start of next season, getting bortles time now will pay dividends.

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I stopped counting after the first four 3-and-outs. A good defense is a good offense, and I think if Bortles is able to move the ball and keep our defense on the bench, we won't be as exasperated and get smoked. Sometimes with Henne, it feels like we're playing 45 minutes of "How many points can you put up on the Jags." Bortles should move our offense well. Maybe win a few time of possession games along the way.

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Nice post dude, and thanks for the info on the wall. Definitely going to see if my Dad's name is on the wall, would be real awesome. And I'm Jr. so I guess you can say I'll be looking for my name on the wall :teehee:

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60% of the time, It works Everytime...



 

"Moo doze chainz" "Moo doze chainz"  has to go.... it makes us sound like ignorant inner city lowlifes.

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I ain't no monkey... I'm an ape.

"Moo doze chainz" "Moo doze chainz"  has to go.... it makes us sound like ignorant inner city lowlifes.

 

No it doesn't.  Why does something fun have to be picked apart?  Would you prefer to rip off incomplete or something?  The stadium looks better than 2/3 of the other teams.  I like the bank better than some of the newer construction.  The overhead shots on TV looked really nice.  They did a great job with the deck rearrangements.  It has really helped with the traping effect that was there for the past few years.

 

Watching BB play felt like watching football again.  This team has a long way to go but it is nice to finally move on.  I almost feel bad for Henne but then I remember the size of his paycheck.  BB needs to work on learning from the coaches film and reviewing his mistakes.  I feel good that this week will be very productive for him.

 

All I can say is thank goodness Bortels Era has arrived.  The Orlando affiliate will push the games on to my TV more.  I'm not there yet on being able to jump back into season tickets.  I am hopeful that I can do that soon.

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Birth of the Franchise - November 30, 1993
Death of the Franchise - November 29, 2011

Fans deserve better. Thanks for all the good times too many are in the past.

No it doesn't.  Why does something fun have to be picked apart?  Would you prefer to rip off incomplete or something?  The stadium looks better than 2/3 of the other teams.  I like the bank better than some of the newer construction.  The overhead shots on TV looked really nice.  They did a great job with the deck rearrangements.  It has really helped with the traping effect that was there for the past few years.

 

Watching BB play felt like watching football again.  This team has a long way to go but it is nice to finally move on.  I almost feel bad for Henne but then I remember the size of his paycheck.  BB needs to work on learning from the coaches film and reviewing his mistakes.  I feel good that this week will be very productive for him.

 

All I can say is thank goodness Bortels Era has arrived.  The Orlando affiliate will push the games on to my TV more.  I'm not there yet on being able to jump back into season tickets.  I am hopeful that I can do that soon.

The only thing I dislike about that chant is if we have a half or a whole game like the first half yesterday, those chants seem awfully hollow, especially when "set up" by the PA announcer.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

P.S.  Also nice to see Denard Robinsin get more touches.  I can't wait until we can sustain drives and get the running game going.  The offense will really take off then.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

When Bortles was inserted and the chanting started, Henne died a little on the inside. You could see it on his face.

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When Bortles was inserted and the chanting started, Henne died a little on the inside. You could see it on his face.

It was kind of sad to see.



Yes, the guy sucks, but I'm sure he's playing to the best of HIS abilities...

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

It was kind of sad to see.



Yes, the guy sucks, but I'm sure he's playing to the best of HIS abilities...

Well...now he's NOT playing.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

It's human to feel bad for Henne, but he's a professional that knew this would happen.


He extended his contract knowing he's not "the guy" and he is behaving like a true pro.

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@Bullseye -- Good write-up. 

 

Regarding #4, I look forward to Bortles and the WRs getting together in the offseason (on their own) to conduct workouts a la Russell Wilson and Payton Manning have done in the past.  The experience they gain over the next 13 games should benefit them in their offseason training.

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