After a minor medical scare that had me in the ER until 11, I offer my apologies for the delay in getting this out.  Fortunately, tests show all is okay with me.  My hats off to the staff at Shands.  They all epitomized professionalism.

That aside, today seemed to be a throwback to years past on a lot of different levels.  The team wore teal jerseys at home, and the combination of teal jerseys and black pants.  The Jaguars alumni were present, as guys we cheered as many as 22 years ago were on hand.  This was the first time we watched a first place team of our own at midseason in ages.  Here are my thoughts.

1.  The sparse attendance was embarrassing.  We now have a team that is tied for first place.  We have a team that tends to blow teams out when we win.  The fans who were there were engaged.  Seeing the wave there in the 4th quarter during a win was another throwback to a bygone era.  I sincerely hope the team keeps winning, and maybe by our three game home stretch, we could give our first place Jaguars a true home field advantage.

2.  The Bengals said before the game they believed Fournette could beat them, but they didn't think Bortles could.  Welp, the Bengals are the second opponent to employ that strategy and lose.  Bortles played a very good game, and seemed to execute the game plan very well.  If he continues to play like this, teams will take that S out of the box and open things up for Fournette, and the Jaguars will be the better for it.

3.  Speaking of Fournette, I was disappointed to learn he was inactive for the game, and someone irritated and relieved to learn why.  However, seeing the running game perform as they did against a good Bengals defense made me proud.

4.  The Bengals have almost always been among the teams that I like.  However, their display of shoving and cheap shots and apparent woofing after the play was reminiscent of the worst of Jeff Fisher teams.  What, is he on the Bengals' coaching staff now?!?  At the game, I could tell Ramsey and Green were talking smack much of the time.  When I saw the fight, my thoughts were either that Green deliberately tried to get Ramsey thrown out, or that he did it because Ramsey was shutting him down and he got mad.  Either way, that was not a good display by the Bengals, either of football or of sportsmanship.

5.  I thought the Jaguars' defense played a heckuva game.  They did not force a turnover, but they wound up getting good pressure on Dalton and shut down the run.  To be honest, it should have been a shut out, and likely would have been had the two guys in the secondary not collided and missed the Bengals' TE Kroft.

6.  Though I am glad Myers is gone, I owe him an apology.  I noticed that the Jaguars turned off the video boards when he attempted FGs.  I thought that was excludinve to him, but today I saw them do the same thing for Lambo.  Those boards must be a distraction.  Speaking of special teams, they came through in fine style today.  Aside from Lambo's perfect performance, the kick coverage was good.  But most importantly, Mickens had the game clinching punt return for a TD.  This is the level of play the Jaguars need to continue to see from special teams in order to make the postseason.

7.  Rookie Watch

• Leonard Fournette-DNP
  
• Cam Robinson-played despite injuring his ankle against Indy.  Held up pretty well against a good DE in Michael Johnson.
  
• Dawaune Smoot-Played, but he did not stand out to me.
  
• DeDe Westbrook-was disappointed to learn he was not active.
  
• Blair Brown-played and made a special teams tackle
  
• Jalen Myrick-Got good playing time in the second half after Ramsey was thrown out.  Provided good coverage on a deep pass.
  
• Keelan Cole-Arguably had his best game as a Jaguar.  The one handed catch he made was highlight worthy and bailed Bortles out of a bad throw.  He looked like he would have a monster game.  If he continues to improve, our offense will be so much better.
  

8.  it was good to see Marcell Dareus in the lineup.  On his first play, it seems like Mixon had a nice run in his gap, but after that he looked very good and seemed enthusiastic.  I look forward to him making more of an impact.

9.  The offense played a hell of a game.  The offense held the ball for over forty (40) minutes.  They did not have a single three and out, and also had a 95 yard drive, and also had a 15 play drive.  After the fights, etc., I wanted them to score at the end of the game.

10.  Bottom line-  This team got a lot of monkeys off their backs today.  They showed they could stop the run.  They showed they could pass the ball (and run for that matter) when teams are stacked with 8 in the box.  They won their first home game since December 24.  They won back to back games for the first time in a while.  They are two games over .500 for the first time in ages.  They broke a 4 game losing streak to the Bengals.  That is very good to see.  Now, we need to get that Phillip Rivers monkey gone, too.  On to beat the Bolts.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Thanks Bullseye, great write up as always.

Glad to hear you are ok.

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glad you are ok

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Bullseye, you make great points as usual except for I disagree with you on the homefield situation and this is coming from a loyal season ticket holder. This team lost a lot of credibility and Equity with this fan base based on their subpar performances over a 10 year span, in addition to an unattractive home schedule for drawing away fans and most importantly, the boycott of the NFL team because many people are in their feelings with the kneeling of the national anthem it's all coming to a head when it come to Fan attendance. However, it's not just like that here it's attendance issues all over the NFL except for the traditionally good franchises with big markets.

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Good points Bullseye. Glad to hear you are ok

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Our defense is so awesome. Ramsey truly shuts down his side of the field. Bouye does too. I knew once we jumped out to 10-0 we would win.

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Great write up, I'm glad you're in good health and aren't we ALL in good spirits after yesterday's game!!

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Great post as usual, Bullseye. Glad to hear you're okay. Take care of yourself.

About Marcell Dareus. I'm pretty sure he was only in the game for 8 plays, but he was credited with 3 tackles and drew a holding penalty on another play. I'd be really interested to see how many plays each defensive lineman played yesterday, but I don't know where to find that. I know Dareus is going to be a huge help with the rotation, keeping guys fresh for the stretch run.

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Glad to hear you're okay, Bullseye. One thing that stood out to me in this game is the surprising amount of depth we have. The next man up mentality seems to be strong. In part, that can be attributed to team cohesion. It's amazing how much has changed in one year.

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After a minor medical scare that had me in the ER until 11, I offer my apologies for the delay in getting this out.  Fortunately, tests show all is okay with me.  My hats off to the staff at Shands.  They all epitomized professionalism.

That aside, today seemed to be a throwback to years past on a lot of different levels.  The team wore teal jerseys at home, and the combination of teal jerseys and black pants.  The Jaguars alumni were present, as guys we cheered as many as 22 years ago were on hand.  This was the first time we watched a first place team of our own at midseason in ages.  Here are my thoughts.

1.  The sparse attendance was embarrassing.  We now have a team that is tied for first place.  We have a team that tends to blow teams out when we win.  The fans who were there were engaged.  Seeing the wave there in the 4th quarter during a win was another throwback to a bygone era.  I sincerely hope the team keeps winning, and maybe by our three game home stretch, we could give our first place Jaguars a true home field advantage.

2.  The Bengals said before the game they believed Fournette could beat them, but they didn't think Bortles could.  Welp, the Bengals are the second opponent to employ that strategy and lose.  Bortles played a very good game, and seemed to execute the game plan very well.  If he continues to play like this, teams will take that S out of the box and open things up for Fournette, and the Jaguars will be the better for it.

3.  Speaking of Fournette, I was disappointed to learn he was inactive for the game, and someone irritated and relieved to learn why.  However, seeing the running game perform as they did against a good Bengals defense made me proud.

4.  The Bengals have almost always been among the teams that I like.  However, their display of shoving and cheap shots and apparent woofing after the play was reminiscent of the worst of Jeff Fisher teams.  What, is he on the Bengals' coaching staff now?!?  At the game, I could tell Ramsey and Green were talking smack much of the time.  When I saw the fight, my thoughts were either that Green deliberately tried to get Ramsey thrown out, or that he did it because Ramsey was shutting him down and he got mad.  Either way, that was not a good display by the Bengals, either of football or of sportsmanship.

5.  I thought the Jaguars' defense played a heckuva game.  They did not force a turnover, but they wound up getting good pressure on Dalton and shut down the run.  To be honest, it should have been a shut out, and likely would have been had the two guys in the secondary not collided and missed the Bengals' TE Kroft.

6.  Though I am glad Myers is gone, I owe him an apology.  I noticed that the Jaguars turned off the video boards when he attempted FGs.  I thought that was excludinve to him, but today I saw them do the same thing for Lambo.  Those boards must be a distraction.  Speaking of special teams, they came through in fine style today.  Aside from Lambo's perfect performance, the kick coverage was good.  But most importantly, Mickens had the game clinching punt return for a TD.  This is the level of play the Jaguars need to continue to see from special teams in order to make the postseason.

7.  Rookie Watch

• Leonard Fournette-DNP
  
• Cam Robinson-played despite injuring his ankle against Indy.  Held up pretty well against a good DE in Michael Johnson.
  
• Dawaune Smoot-Played, but he did not stand out to me.
  
• DeDe Westbrook-was disappointed to learn he was not active.
  
• Blair Brown-played and made a special teams tackle
  
• Jalen Myrick-Got good playing time in the second half after Ramsey was thrown out.  Provided good coverage on a deep pass.
  
• Keelan Cole-Arguably had his best game as a Jaguar.  The one handed catch he made was highlight worthy and bailed Bortles out of a bad throw.  He looked like he would have a monster game.  If he continues to improve, our offense will be so much better.
  

8.  it was good to see Marcell Dareus in the lineup.  On his first play, it seems like Mixon had a nice run in his gap, but after that he looked very good and seemed enthusiastic.  I look forward to him making more of an impact.

9.  The offense played a hell of a game.  The offense held the ball for over forty (40) minutes.  They did not have a single three and out, and also had a 95 yard drive, and also had a 15 play drive.  After the fights, etc., I wanted them to score at the end of the game.

10.  Bottom line-  This team got a lot of monkeys off their backs today.  They showed they could stop the run.  They showed they could pass the ball (and run for that matter) when teams are stacked with 8 in the box.  They won their first home game since December 24.  They won back to back games for the first time in a while.  They are two games over .500 for the first time in ages.  They broke a 4 game losing streak to the Bengals.  That is very good to see.  Now, we need to get that Phillip Rivers monkey gone, too.  On to beat the Bolts.

Great write up here. I think the stands will fill in with more consistent winning. Home wins have been sparse so I honestly don’t blame people for not showing up. I think this Jags team has a bright future and hope it can exorcise a few more demons this season.

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Glad you are ok Bullseye!

As for attendance, I am curious to see how it is this coming weekend with the "official" boycott in full effect. I have several friends that are all in on the boycott. With each win I see their resolve starting to fade however since this Sunday is Veteran's Day I believe attendance will be sparse again this weekend.

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Original Season Ticket Holder - Retired  1995 - 2020


At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.
 

Glad you are ok Bullseye!  

As for attendance, I am curious to see how it is this coming weekend with the "official" boycott in full effect.  I have several friends that are all in on the boycott.  With each win I see their resolve starting to fade however since this Sunday is Veteran's Day I believe attendance will be sparse again this weekend.

If they aren't showing up at this point, those fans are lost for life. If they keep winning they will make new fans though. A playoff run will make fans out of people that never cared before.

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Glad you're well. Take care of yourself, Bullseye.

Agreed on all points.

I too was disappointed that Westbrook wasn't active, but Mickens showed us why they aren't in a rush to get him out there on ST. Cole and Lee were consistently open on offense too.
Nonetheless - I look forward to seeing one more dynamic target for #5 out there.


I was a little disappointed there were as many empty seats as there were also, but I think we'll see those slowly fill in a bit as this home stand wears on.

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Great post as usual, Bullseye.  Glad to hear you're okay.  Take care of yourself.  

About Marcell Dareus.  I'm pretty sure he was only in the game for 8 plays, but he was credited with 3 tackles and drew a holding penalty on another play.  I'd be really interested to see how many plays each defensive lineman played yesterday, but I don't know where to find that.  I know Dareus is going to be a huge help with the rotation, keeping guys fresh for the stretch run.

I read on Twitter that Dareus was in for 12 plays.

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What happened to Generation Jaguar? Kids born when the team was born are 21+ years old now making their own money. In theory, there should really be a waiting list to get tickets. What happened? Even before the political stuff, I am a little surprised we are having these attendance problems.

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Great post as usual, Bullseye.  Glad to hear you're okay.  Take care of yourself.  

About Marcell Dareus.  I'm pretty sure he was only in the game for 8 plays, but he was credited with 3 tackles and drew a holding penalty on another play.  I'd be really interested to see how many plays each defensive lineman played yesterday, but I don't know where to find that.  I know Dareus is going to be a huge help with the rotation, keeping guys fresh for the stretch run.

I read on Twitter that Dareus was in for 12 plays.

I have read that, too, so that may be right.

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I'm glad you're ok, Bullseye. I always look forward to reading your take on the games...

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Great to hear you are well first and foremost. I have personal experience with Shands. They ARE good people. Second, being in North Carolina with limited access, I enjoy your weekly write ups. Even with the boycott in effect, I feel that the 60K in attendance in a military town is a pretty good showing for a team that is in a tie for division lead in September. Take care of yourself and I look forward to your eventual playoff game impressions!

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“Motivation alone is not enough.  If you have an idiot and you motivate him,now you have a motivated idiot.” Jim Rohn

 

What happened to Generation Jaguar? Kids born when the team was born are 21+ years old now making their own money. In theory, there should really be a waiting list to get tickets. What happened? Even before the political stuff, I am a little surprised we are having these attendance problems.

Didn't you give up your tickets?

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

 

 

What happened to Generation Jaguar? Kids born when the team was born are 21+ years old now making their own money. In theory, there should really be a waiting list to get tickets. What happened? Even before the political stuff, I am a little surprised we are having these attendance problems.

Didn't you give up your tickets?

Touche. I see what you did there. Season tickets. Yes, gave them up. Individual tickets, no. Yesterday is first game I haven't gone to. I have young kids who aren't old enough to go to games yet, so season tickets make no sense financially and logistically for another couple of years for me. 

I was 18 when the Jags came here and was never really an NFL fan before that, so it was a priority for me to be a ticket holder throughout college and after. 

All I am saying is I am a little surprised that more kids who wore Jaguar onsies aren't season ticket holders.

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