One day left until the 2012 season kicks off, starting with the Jaguars first day of training camp.

FINALLY. There’s excitement in the air for NFL fans, as they know it’s only a matter of time before they can stop the pain & suffering they’ve felt since February. At this point I’m just excited that football season has finally returned.

With that being said, here are the Top 10 Things I’m Most Excited about for the 2012 season. (Please note these are in no particular order.)

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1. Blaine Gabbert

Oh poor Blaine Gabbert. It’s no secret at this point, to ANYONE, that Gabbert’s rookie season wasn’t ideal. When drafted he was under the assumption that he would have a year to learn & grow as a backup to David Garrard. However, he should know that in life nothing goes according to plan & the NFL will be no different.

The franchise made a bold decision to go with Gabbert as the starter for the 2011 season. In his debut season he threw for 2,214 yards with 12 TDs & … wait for it 11 INTs. Ouch. That left him with a 50.8% passer rating & the 32nd QB in the league.

Alright, that’s a rough way to start out your NFL career. Luckily for Gabbert, he has a year under his belt & is ready for round 2.

One of the most important factors that critics forget about Gabbert is that it wasn’t ENTIRELY his fault the first season went poorly. What do you expect? He is a ROOKIE.

That’s the point in the argument that someone jumps in & points out how well other rookie QBs did last season. Cue: “What about Cam Newton & Andy Dalton?”

What about them? So they had a successful & unbelievable rookie season. Not to mention I don’t remember seeing Steve Smith or AJ Greene running down the field in a teal uniform. There was not a single WR on the field that even compared to the WR support that Newton & Dalton had on their turf.

Let’s remember that Gabbert was dealing with Mike Sims-Walker & Jason Hill as his WRs. Which brings me to point #2.

» Continue reading “Roaring Black & Teal’s Top 10 For The 2012 Season”

Well we’re in week 11 now, which means that your next few matchups could be the difference in your FF team making the playoffs or not. And though I’m not an expert, or all that knowledgeable, about fantasy football, I would like to gloat for a moment. One of my teams has a remarkable, astounding, league-leading 8-2 record. My other team is underachieving at 5-5, but that’s still respectable.

Well lets get into the stats and opinions and have a quick fantasy football update for week 11 (don’t worry, I don’t play using the same strategy that the Philadelphia Eagles used in the offseason. Too soon?).

(All information gathered from espn.com and nfl.com, but not necessarily in that order)

Teams that have a bye this week:

-Houston Texans

-Indianapolis Colts

-New Orleans Saints

-Pittsburgh Steelers

(Make sure you remember to substitute for players who have a bye. I’ve made this mistake a few times myself. Usually it’s an awesome thing to be like me, but not in this case)

Key Injuries:

Below I’ve noted some key injuries that I noticed coming across the wires this week. If I missed any feel free to let me know. We’re all in this together, unless you happen to be an opponent of mine.

-Matt Cassel (QB, Kansas City Chiefs): Out against the Patriots

-Matt Schaub (QB, Houston Texans): More than likely done for the year

-Michael Vick (QB, Philadelphia Eagles): Did not practice Thursday

-Knowshon Moreno (RB, Denver Broncos): Done for the year

-Jeremy Maclin (WR, Philadelphia Eagles): Did not practice Thursday

What position do I expect to have a good week?

Tight end. At the top you have Witten, Gronkowski, and Hernandez. But I expect a lot of production this week, mainly because of mismatches with opposing linebacking corps. This week you could see a few extra points in this slot (pending on who you have of course). Not only that, but I expect more dinking and dunking this week. I also like Greg Olsen and Jermichael Finley this week.

What defenses do I feel bad for?

-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Green Bay Packers)

-Washington Redskins (vs. Dallas Cowboys)

-Arizona Cardinals (vs. San Francisco 49ers)

-San Diego Chargers (vs. Chicago Bears)

-Kansas City Chiefs (vs. New England Patriots)

Top 3 Weekly Projections by Position (from nfl.com) and what I disagree with:

Disclaimer: If I am wrong, and you for some reason changed your lineup, it happens. I mean, get over it. No, I mean, I apologize. Really, I do.

Quarterbacks

-Aaron Rodgers (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

-Tom Brady (vs. Kansas City Chiefs)

-Cam Newton (vs. Detroit Lions) – moderately disagree

Running Backs

-Frank Gore (vs. Arizona Cardinals) – watch for injury

-Ray Rice (vs. Cincinnati Bengals) – strongly disagree

-Lesean McCoy (vs. New York Giants) – moderately disagree

Wide Receivers

-Calvin Johnson (vs. Carolina Panthers)

-Steve Smith (vs. Detroit Panthers)

-Greg Jennings (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Defenses

-San Francisco 49ers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)

-Detroit Lions (vs. Carolina Panthers) – watch for the points they allow

-Green Bay Packers (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

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EJ is a contributor to Roaring Black & Teal. Make sure to follow him on Twitter. These are just things he has noticed about Fantasy Football in Week 11. If you want something more added feel free to comment. Thanks for reading.

The Jaguars are finally ready to be back in Duval for this weekend’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints. There is quite a few new stories from Jacksonville this week as they prepare for their first home game since Week One.  

·         One last discussion on the final play of last week’s game versus the Carolina Panthers. Jack Del Rio took the blame but in reality it was him & Center Brad Meester that should’ve been prepared to snap the ball. Surprisingly, rookie Blaine Gabbert was the only one trying to make that happen. Read more on EPSN’s AFC South Blog.

·         Things didn’t go as plan last week at Bank of America field. There are some areas in need of improvement; starting with special teams. JDR said he would make sure the team is prepared for next week. Read more about Jacksonville.com.

·         Of all the things not going right for the Jags this season, there is one thing that is. Maurice. Jones. Drew. Many speculated that after his knee surgery at the end of last season, he would not be able to carry the load this year. Read more about his success this season on Jaguars.com.

·         A key piece missing from the field is Aaron Kampman. Will he rejoin the Jaguars this week? Check it out on Tania Ganguli’s Blog, that highlights this week’s injury report.

·         In Week 3 the Jagaurs managed to stop the Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton. Will the Jaguars defense be able to hold all star QB Drew Brees in Week 4? Read more on SBNation.

·         As if Josh Scobee wasn’t my favorite player, this story just added more bonus points. It’s so great to see NFL players give back to their community. Read more about Scobee’s charitably on Jacksonville.com.

 Corinna is the senior reporter for the Jacksonville Jaguars & a contributor for Aerys Offsides. Follow me on Twitter @RoarBlackNTeal or on Facebook.

Alright Jags Fans… BUCKLE UP… This is going to be a bumpy ride this season. There will be highs & there will be lows. As we found out today, just like last week, the lows are going to be hard to watch. Today’s game really was hard to watch, not just because they fell to the Panthers 16-10; it was due to the monsoon that took place during the game.  The players were sliding, the field was filled with puddles, mini waterfalls appeared in the stands, and the cameras were drenched.

Well we knew when Jack Del Rio announced that Blaine Gabbert would be the starter in this week’s game that it was going to come with a few rookie mistakes. For the second week in a row on Jacksonville’s first possession the defense scored a safety upon sacking the quarterback. It started off rough but Blaine Gabbert managed to turn it around when he threw a 36 yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas to end the first half.  The Jaguars went into half time leading 10-5.

Neither team put points on the board during the 3rd quarter after the Jags Punter Matt Turk fumbled a snap giving the Panthers the ball in field goal range.  The Panther’s kicker Olindo Mare kicked a 32 yard field goal. With 4:20 left in the 4th quarter Carolina’s rookie quarterback Cam Newton managed to throw his first touchdown pass of the game with a 26 yard pass to TE Greg Olsen.

Speaking of Cam Newton, I’m sure you’ve heard the hype that during his first two games he recorded 400+ passing yards. The Jaguars defense held him to 158 passing yards, only completed 18 of 34 passes with one touchdown. Fellow rookie QB Blaine Gabbert recorded 12 of 21 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.

Jacksonville’s running back Maurice Jones Drew had his best game of the season, recording a season high of 122 yards on 24 carries. He rushed for more yards than the Panthers offense, 128-107.

After the game Jack Del Rio stated during an interview:

“We can’t dwell back on it. This one hurts more than last week, because we had the game in control and let it slip out of our hands.”

 You are correct Jack, but don’t forget it also hurt more because it was the second week in a row we lost! Not to mention in the last two games the offense has only put 13 points up.

Like I said, highs & lows;  highs & lows. Luckily it’s only week 3. Next week is not going to get an easier, the Jaguars host the N.O. Saints. Drew Brees has been looking nice this season, but then again so did Cam Newton before facing the Jags.

Like I said before… Buckle up, it’s going to be a rough season. Bandwagon fans, if we have any, you might as well jump off right now.

Jacksonville Jaguars

VS

Carolina Panthers

September 25th @ 1:00pm

Bank of America Stadium

Sunday will be the day most Jags fans have been anticipating since April. The Jaguars first round draft pick, Blaine Gabbert, will take the field for his debut NFL career start. NFL fans across the nation will be watching to see which of the rookie quarterbacks will take home the “W” for their team. At Missouri, Blaine Gabbert has an 18-8 record as the starting QB, with 6,822 yards & 40 TDs.  Cam Newton has had successful start in Carolina after being the #1 overall draft pick in April. In his first two games Newton is 52 for 83 with 3 touchdowns & four interceptions. However the Panthers are still (0-2). The Jaguars have no lost back to back road games to start the season since 2006.

This will be the 5^th meeting between the Panthers & Jaguars, with Jacksonville taking the win in their last meeting. Only 9 players remain on the Jaguars roster since the last meeting during the 2007 season. Head coach Jack Del Rio spent the 2002 season with the Panthers as the defensive coordinator before taking the head coaching job in Jacksonville. The Panthers QB coach, Mike Shula, spent the 2007-2010 season in Jacksonville at the same position.

Since this is Gabbert’s first NFL start, running back Maurice Jones Drew plans to be the main target for the Jaguars offense on Sunday. In MJD’s last five road games, he has averaged 113.6 yards. Jones Drew has been unsuccessful in scoring a rushing touchdown on the road since the 2009 season versus the New York Jets. He hopes to turn that around in week 3 versus the Panthers rush defense that tends to suffer against top NFL running backs.  

MJD is not the only player looking to have a big game on Sunday; Rashean Mathis recorded 20 of his 30 career interceptions while on the road.  The Jaguars defense is currently ranked 5^th in the NFL & they have only allowed 287.5 total yards per game this season. The Jaguars have allowed 3.2 yards on 45 carries in the first two games.

With all the hype surrounding Cam Newton, it seems other Carolina players have been put on the back burner. WR Steve Smith has recorded 334 receiving yards, 45 catches for 686 yards with 5 TDs in his past eight home games versus an AFC opponent. Carolina RB Jonathan Stewart has 124.8 rushing yards in his last five home games.

I’m anticipating Sunday’s game just to see a new era in Jaguars football. In an interview this week Blaine Gabbert was questioned about how he feels about starting in Sunday’s game.

“I’m just focused on winning,” he said. “I’m excited, I’m anxious to go out there & start my first NFL game. Not many 21 year olds can say they have done that. I’m ready to go.”

Now that’s the winning attitude I want to hear! All the studying the playbook on his iPad while sitting in the La-Z-Boy is about the pay off for Gabbert.