JACKSONVILLE OFFENSE: Gus Bradley is fine with sabotaging his 2014 season, apparently. With the Colts 0-2 and two impending games against the Texans coming up, Jacksonville had a very rare opportunity to be competitive for the divisional title this year. All Bradley had to do was start Blake Bortles, much like his former mentor, Pete Carroll, went with a rookie (Russell Wilson) over a crappy veteran (Matt Flynn) in Seattle. Bortles proved that he was ready after a brilliant preseason, but Bradley has foolishly and stubbornly stuck with Chad Henne, rendering his team irrelevant in 2014.


You have to wonder if the Jaguar players are going to quit on Bradley (or if they already have). Bradley is essentially saying the Jaguars can't compete now, so Bortles may as well sit. How do the other players feel about that? They're being told they're not good enough, which has to be depressing.


Jacksonville is certainly not good enough with Henne. He is pure garbage. Blame the offensive line all you want - and it's not very good - but some of those 10 sacks were Henne's fault because he failed to recognize blitzes and held on to the ball too long. The Colts don't have much of a pass rush, but even they'll be able to put heat on Henne. And unlike Monday night, they won't have a quick running back on the other side slipping through tackles. Toby Gerhart is slow and hobbled, so I wouldn't expect him to generate much yardage.


INDIANAPOLIS OFFENSE: The Jaguars do get a bit of good news this week in John Cyprien returning to the lineup. Cyprien is the best Jacksonville defensive back by a mile, and it was not a coincidence that the Eagles began scoring in the season opener once Cyprien left with a concussion. However, it's difficult to imagine Cyrpien covering up all of Jacksonville's coverage problems. There were Redskins open on every single play last week, so it wasn't surprising that Kirk Cousins was so dominant.


If Cousins was able to dissect the Jaguars, I don't see why Luck couldn't either. Jacksonville can try to rattle Luck by putting pressure on him, but the athletic quarterback will once again be able to use his legs to move the chains.


The Colts should be able to run the ball as well - Jacksonville is 16th in YPC - but their fans will be hoping for Ahmad Bradshaw to handle the bulk of the workload. I have no clue what the hell Pep Hamilton was thinking by A) feeding Trent Richardson the ball on two of three plays during the final offensive drive and B) using Richardson over Ahmad Bradshaw when the latter is clearly better and more reliable. I'd say Monday night could serve as a signal to the Colts that they have to utilize Bradshaw more often, but I'm not sure Hamilton is smart enough to recognize that. Besides, there could be pressure from the inept general manager to use Richardson after he squandered a first-round pick on him exactly 364 days ago.


RECAP: I LOVE the Jaguars this week! Just kidding. Jacksonville is poisonous, so I won't be betting on them anytime soon. That could change if Bortles takes the field, but that would require Bradley not being completely inept.


I'm going to take the Colts for a few units, actually. I still love Luck off a loss (we were robbed of four units by incompetent and/or crooked refs), and 0-2 playoff teams have a great track record of covering. It helps that teams that lost as home favorites by 1-3 points tend to rebound the following week as road favorites.


This is also a fade of the Jaguars. As mentioned, it seems like the players have quit on Bradley. He's essentially telling them that they're not good enough to win now; they're not worth risking a precious rookie quarterback prospect over. That has to be highly depressing. Nice job motivating your team, Gus.

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I do not agree with the team quitting on Bradley, but it is confusing that Bortles is not starting. Tomorrow will show how this is season is actually going to be. You had a semi-close loss against the Eagles and then a complete blowout against Washington. If the Jags do not rebound tomorrow and show some flashes, the season is all but gone for competing in the AFC South.

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Hard to argue with that. Gerhart was basically the guaranteed starter when he signed on the dotted line. Bowanko was always the best center on the roster and McClendon got the start because he's been in the league longer.

 

I feel like the whole competition mantra from every coach is just BS. It's something they say so fans can believe the team will always have the best players on the field, even when it's not the case.

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I don't know how you could watched the Washington game, without atleast thinking, it was possible the team may have given up on Gus.


I believe this is why we will see Blake in the 2nd half regardless of the score.

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The jaguars have been inept since the first half of the Philly game. They've looked defeated and clearly can't take a punch and bounce back. Hopefully this week will look different.

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We've been through much worse than what happened last week. 

 

Still embarrassing  though.

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I'm sure we'll be as lifeless as ever, at home or not.

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No pain, no gain.

Hopefully they'll foot the bill to get some hot chicks in the pools, give us something to watch after the game gets out of hand.  

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^ Creep LOL, jk.

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It just sounds like they are sticking to the plan they have been talking about since the draft. Nothing new going on.

 

Some people just can't except what was explained to them a long time ago.

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Spot on analysis if you ask me.

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It just sounds like they are sticking to the plan they have been talking about since the draft. Nothing new going on.


Some people just can't except what was explained to them a long time ago.

Sticking to a plan doesn't make the plan a good plan...

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Watching the FSU-Clemson game reminded me how much an effective QB can change everything. Without Winston, FSU looked terrible, not only on offense, but defense as well. Could Bortles change the entire motivational environment of the Jaguars? I don't know.....let's find out. We're undefeated in the AFC South.....we've still got a chance. Beating the Clots could be the turning point for us.

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It just sounds like they are sticking to the plan they have been talking about since the draft. Nothing new going on.


Some people just can't except what was explained to them a long time ago.

Good points. It will be interesting to see what happens and what decisions Bradley makes going forward. Their are several assumptions people seem to be making that are probably not valid.


#1 Bradley is going to sit Bortles all year.


What Bradley and Caldwell have said is that Bortles will sit until he's "ready". Since they're the ones who watch him in practice and analyze the tapes every day. They'll know when that is. Could be next year, could be next game.


#2 Bradley is mailing the season in.


Not even worth commenting on.


#3 Since Bortles looked great against mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers in preseason, he will look the same way against 1st stringers in the regular season.


Highly unlikely. He is a rookie afterall. He's obviously very gifted but he showed a tendency to throw into coverage in the preseason. I expect him to throw a relatively high number of INTs until he gets experience. Let's all remember to keep our expectations reasonable when he does get out there. This isn't a strong point for Jacksonville fans.

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I'm condescending. That means I talk down to you.

Good points. It will be interesting to see what happens and what decisions Bradley makes going forward. Their are several assumptions people seem to be making that are probably not valid.

#1 Bradley is going to sit Bortles all year.

What Bradley and Caldwell have said is that Bortles will sit until he's "ready". Since they're the ones who watch him in practice and analyze the tapes every day. They'll know when that is. Could be next year, could be next game.

#2 Bradley is mailing the season in.

Not even worth commenting on.

#3 Since Bortles looked great against mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers in preseason, he will look the same way against 1st stringers in the regular season.

Highly unlikely. He is a rookie afterall. He's obviously very gifted but he showed a tendency to throw into coverage in the preseason. I expect him to throw a relatively high number of INTs until he gets experience. Let's all remember to keep our expectations reasonable when he does get out there. This isn't a strong point for Jacksonville fans.

I remember a 2 minute drill against Detroit against #1's that led to a FG. We will ignore that one though.

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Bortles isn't competing against Henne he's competing against his own readiness. Is he ready to lead a team that is this young and making this many mistakes? No! Get in in your heads. That being said, If Shorts, Brown and Taylor all play today it may be as good a time as any IF and only if our offense isn't getting it done AND the game is still winnable.

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I remember a 2 minute drill against Detroit against #1's that led to a FG. We will ignore that one though.

 Then you also remember that they were playing coverage most of the drive and he almost got picked, so what's your point?:

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Bortles isn't competing against Henne he's competing against his own readiness. Is he ready to lead a team that is this young and making this many mistakes? No! Get in in your heads. That being said, If Shorts, Brown and Taylor all play today it may be as good a time as any IF and only if our offense isn't getting it done AND the game is still winnable.

Gus, get off the boards and get your team prepared.

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Funny watching all these clowns drown in their own misery. Herp, derp...I knows better then football people herps and derps. put  BB5 in, he magical. he can play the o-line, defense and receivers he's so good. Bortles be magic. After the game he is going to go over to the mayo clinic and cure cancer.

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Looking to troll? Don't bother, we supply our own.

 

 

It just sounds like they are sticking to the plan they have been talking about since the draft. Nothing new going on.

 

Some people just can't except what was explained to them a long time ago.

 

I actually and beginning to take exception to what the plan was originally.  We were told that Bortles had a lot to work on.  His "mechanics" needed fixing.  And by mechanics, it looks like they meant his footwork, cuz his throwing motion from waste up looked good to me. 

 

Also, a smart manager or coach, re-evaluates and re-assessing constantly based on new facts that are recieved.  I wonder if they are just being pig-headed at this point and ignoring progress based on the statements they said prior to pre-season...  If so, that's poor leadership.

 

Bortles isn't competing against Henne he's competing against his own readiness. Is he ready to lead a team that is this young and making this many mistakes? No! Get in in your heads. That being said, If Shorts, Brown and Taylor all play today it may be as good a time as any IF and only if our offense isn't getting it done AND the game is still winnable.

 

OK, this meme has been used for a while, and at first I just accepted it and moved on.  But now, as I try to analyze the statement, I realize it makes NO sense.

 

This isn't golf.  This is football.  Of course you are competing against those that are taking away your playing time.  Yes, as a rookie in training camp and in pre-season, he was "competing" against himself in terms of working on things the coaches felt were his weaknesses.

 

But now it's the regular season.  He's competing with Henne to see who the better QB is for Sundays.  He's no longer in the off-season.  It's time to let the best player play.  

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