It's been a while...

...well its been a while since I've posted (Thanksgiving, laziness, job that pays, yada, yada)

...but it's also been a while since the Jaguars have been leading a division this late in the season (since 1999 and that was the AFC Central).

Some thoughts...

Jags dominated. I honestly can't remember the last time the Jags were able to impose their will on a team the way they did in the first half of the game. First thing that pops to mind is when the Jags ran all over the Colts in 2006. I was elated afterwards. They were 8-5. Unfortunately, the Jags somehow lost three straight to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs. The Colts won the Super Bowl. I'd say there have been better seasons to be Jags fans.

Judging by yesterday, I have to think Jeff Fisher wants out of Tennessee and I can't blame him. Why stay around and deal with Vince Young and ol' Bud Adams? Go somewhere else, collect your cool 7 million, or god knows how much he'll get paid, and leave the AFC South (please, please leave the AFC South). He'll probably end up going to Houston, which is actually pretty terrifying. The idea of the Titans offseason being smothered in turmoil is pretty enticing to me. I truly hope Adams is given a significant amount of sway over who their next head coach is. And why shouldn't he? It's his team, he's 87, do something awesome like hire Wade Phillips, or coach the team yourself, Bud. You know more than these young whippersnappers. That's why the Titan's have Vince Young. Otherwise, they would have done something silly like draft D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Wouldn't want any Pro Bowl offensive lineman? (OK, so that's probably not fair. They probably would have drafted Matt Leinart or something. But this is the Titans and I prefer to direct as much of my irrationality at them as I can).

Off Tennessee, and back to yesterday's game...

Everyone get off of Scobee's back. Yes, he technically missed two field goals. The blocked one wasn't his fault. Seriously. I don't know a ton about field goal protection but when the guy breaks through the middle of the line and is three yards behind the center, it's not the kicker's fault. Vic didn't help this by saying it was a low kick, which was probably true, but 48 yard field goals have to be kicked low, and when a guy is standing in the backfield it doesn't really matter. Jags are lucky the ball still got across the line of scrimmage. The second field goal was from 49 yards. Not a chip shot and it hit the post. One more inch and he's not bizarrely responsible for almost letting the Titans back into it.

I thought the play calling was really interesting. Obviously they were confident they could run the ball but after all the play calling criticism last week, which focused generally on needing more running, I wonder if there was a little "you want run, you get run" aspect to this. Dirk Koetter really is a quality offensive coordinator. I'll make a mini-prediction. Gene Smith gets him a few more weapons on offense. He becomes a head coach again, either in college or the NFL. I really like it though that a guy who is "a passing guy" can run the ball when that's what his personnel calls for, which really was the case yesterday. I didn't think about it before the game but really there was no other choice but to run the ball. Garrard's wrist is hurt. He didn't show too many effects and he was still able to throw the ball but I think they wanted to limit his exposure to being sacked. Also, Mike Sims-Walker was out. We can mix it up pretty well without him, and Zach Miller is looking like quite the fine football player, but Sims-Walker makes plays no one else at this point is going to make. Unfortunately, I think he's a guy who needs to be close to 100% healthy to be effective. It'll be interesting to see if they bring him back next year, or what kind of market there is for him. With him out and Garrard's wrist I think the emphasis (seems like too small a word when your 12 play opening drive features 11 runs) on running was inevitable. That said, I didn't see it coming.

The Jags have played better in the first half of their last two games than they did in the second half. This means fans potentially get to read two things ad nauseum 1) The Jags lack killer instinct. and 2) The coaching staff isn't making the right adjustments (or something to that effect). These things could be true but most likely they are not. I personally don't think there is anything such as killer instinct. Is it possible the Jags weren't as focused for the second half as they were to start the game? Potentially but that's human nature. More likely, the Titan's started out flat. They were embarrassed (as they should be) and they committed to a better effort in the second half. While it would be nice if the Jags could take their game to a higher level (Note: It would always be nice if the Jags could take their game to a higher level), truth is, it's much more likely the Titans were going to come out and play closer to their ability level, which I'd say is approximately the same as the Jags. The difference between these two teams is one is dealing with a lot of off the field crap (Where are Vince Young's shoulder pads?) while the Jags are fairly stable. With the Giants, they also came out and played at about their ability level in the 2nd half last week. Unfortunately, that ability level is probably a category above the Jaguars, and thus we couldn't hang on. As for "adjustments", NFL locker rooms are kinda crazy, yeah coaches probably have a moment to think things over but you don't put in 120 hour work weeks to mix it up on the fly in 15 minutes.

Some perspective, at least four times this season this team has been absolutely dominated. After losing their best defensive player, their biggest issue suddenly is letting teams creep back into the game. What Jaguars fan wouldn't have taken this trade a month ago? Fans should keep demanding their team gets better. We're insatiable. We always want more. This season has been a sweet ride though. The Jags control their own destiny and do so in a way that seems much more legitimate than at this point a year ago, when they did so for the wild card. Putting a more secure hold on professional football in Jacksonville seems possible (Two more non-blackouts please). We have Gene Smith. Jags fans are lucky. We should appreciate these moments.

Finally, a quick thought on Del Rio. To be honest, I was done with this guy. I think most Jags fans were. We were frustrated and even if, like me, you thought he was an average coach, you wanted better than average. Well, he deserves some credit. He's probably had subpar talent for a number of years. He taken a lot of abuse. People questioning him about college jobs in the parking lot and all kinds of other silliness. He deserves an apology. If they collapse this year I think he still probably gets fired but assuming they don't and he doesn't, Jags fans should be happy. They've got a guy who captains the ship much better than a lot of more heralded guys do. Also, I really like the style he aspires to (and I'm not talking about the suits). He always gets back to "run the ball, stop the run" and while it probably leaves us fighting the current of the NFL, I think its a style that Jacksonville can really embrace. Our teal color doesn't lend itself to toughness but his style does. I'm glad we can kick some ass.

-Q