Down Goes Peyton! Down Goes Peyton!

Hmmm, biggest win for Jags since 2007 (at least) and I re-start blogging. I am either a big bandwagon jumper or lazy (I've been watching I swear). Anyway, here's my thoughts

1) As good as this feels now, if the Jags go 4-12 or 5-11, I don't think it'll matter much. That said, it feels really good and I can't remember ever being more proud of a Del Rio coached team.

2) Seriously, what the hell is going on with Derek Cox? I mean, yeah he had a bad game against Denver but David Jones is not good. He's certainly confident but I actually think he is kind of a shabby corner. In an odd way though I sort of trust the coaching staff on this one. when something seems this obvious to fans there always seems to be something we don't know about. I hope Derek Cox gets back on track though.

3) Speaking of WTFs, um...Mike Sims-Walker, where are you? I don't know what's going on here but the ceiling for this offense is pretty low if he doesn't take a step forward.

4) So the secondary has been bad, really bad, a borderline joke but I actually don't think Rashean Mathis has played too poorly. He got beat on the Maclin touchdown at the end of the first half against the Eagles, and that was bad no doubt, but otherwise big plays seem to be going to the other side. Unfortunately, it might just be that the right side is so weak, why attempt throwing at Mathis? A simple comparison of Reggie Wayne vs Austin Collie's stats from this past weekend illustrates my point well. Wayne had 15 catches for 196 yards, Collie had 5 catches for 39 yards with a TD. It appeared Gerald Alexander was responsible for Collie on the TD as well but only the coaches know that for sure. In any case I think Mathis isn't getting his due and if the Jags could lock up the RCB their secondary play would improve considerably.

5) Interesting stat all things considered: Mo-Jo's 322 rushing yards are a career high through 4 games. Interesting considering consensus is he's had a slow start. I imagine that is mostly fantasy blowback for the lack of TDs but my lying eyes do tell me he's lacking burst and the less than ideal 3.9 yards a carry backs that up. Hopefully, the little tank that could gets those yards a little easier from now on. He's clearly hobbled though

6) A really quiet day for Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. I was way too absorbed in the game to watch Monroe and Britton closely but hopefully their play was as stellar as Freeney and Mathis' was quiet.

7) So we all love to hate on Shack Harris, and rightfully so, but lets point out that the 2006 draft yielded Marcedes Lewis and Mo-Jo (and of course nothing else, but quiet I'm making a point). Those two, and possibly Daryl Smith, are the only players the Jags have who are currently one of the 5 to 10 best at their position in the NFL. Which is to say, that the Jags potentially have a distinct talent advantage there thanks to Mr. Harris. They scored three of the four touchdowns yesterday so, while I'm glad you're gone, thanks for not leaving the cupboard totally bare Shack.

8) Where do we go from here? A quick run down of the schedule seems to indicate a long way to go. When it first came out it looked as if the 1st qtr of the season was going to be the most difficult, and it may still be, but there's little place to look for relief. The next four are the Bills, Titans, Chiefs and Cowboys. We need to win at least two of those games and I think the Bills are feistier than Jags fans give them credit for. After that we still have two games against the division leading Texans, another game against the Colts and Titans, throw in the Redskins and Giants, neither of whom are slouches. The easiest games in the final stretch appear to be the Raiders and Browns but it wasn't too long ago the Jags were considered finished and its the NFL, so yeah, we got a ways to go...

A final note: I hope this season lives up to the potential this game allows it to. I'm a cynical, awful person to watch football games with and this one brought me to the edge of tears yesterday (hell, it's doing it right now). This one really felt special. God, it was amazing.

-Q