No, the Jacksonville Jaguars are not going to the Super Bowl this year, but they do have champions on the roster. Maurice Jones-Drew finished the season as the league’s leading rushing. He also ended the season in style as he rushed for 169 yards in the home/season finale against the Colts.

It has definitely been a long season for the Jaguars (5-11), but the job that Maurice Jones-Drew and his blockers did this season was outstanding.

And this was not the only feat that he accomplished by the conclusion of this game. His 1,606 yards on the year bested a franchise record, previously held by the great Fred Taylor, for rushing yards in a season.

So with that I want to leave you with two quick thoughts…

• Maurice Jones-Drew made the Pro Bowl (as a running back) this season, but isn’t a starter (even though he led the league in rushing). The starter is Ray Rice, who ran for almost 250 yards less than Jones-Drew. Let’s not throw in the fact that the Jaguars had THE worst offense this season. But why isn’t he starting over Rice? Someone please explain.
• CHA-CHING! That’s the only sound that I can think of hearing when a running back averages 100 yards rushing per game for the season.

The 2012 Pro Bowl roster was announced last night on the NFL network. It should be no surprise that Maurice Jones Drew will represent the Jaguars in the 2012 Pro Bowl.

With only 136 yards left, MJD has the opportunity to surpass Fred Taylor’s single-season franchise record of 1,572 rushing yards set in the 2003 season.

After all the 5′ 7″, 208 lbs running back does account for 46.5% of the Jaguars total offense. If you’ve ever watched a Jaguars game you would know that he is the only consistent offensive player on the field.

With one game left in the 2011 regular season, MJD is the current NFL leading rusher. During his record breaking season he has accumulated 1,437 yards on 318 rushes.

Jones-Drew will be the first player in franchise history to finish in the top three in the NFL in rushing yards.

Even though the Jaguars have had a tough 2011 season & only accumulated 4 wins to date, fans were hoping at least a few other Jacksonville players would make the list.

Kicker Josh Scobee was hoping to make his first pro bowl appearance this year. However the position of place kicker was filled by Sebastian Janikowski (OAK) for the AFC team.

MLB Paul Posluszny had a phenominal season in Jacksonville, but Ravens star LB Ray Lewis was selected for the AFC. Another player that fans were hoping to see in the pro bowl was fullback Greg Jones.

Maurice Jones-Drew was voted into the Pro Bowl for his third appearance alongside AFC running backs Ray Rice (BAL) & Arian Foster (HOU) by fans, coaches & players. The 3 running backs representing the NFC are LeSean McCoy (PHI), Matt Forte (CHI) & Frank Gore (SF).

The 2012 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 29 and televised live on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Do you have another Jacksonville player in mind that you wanted to see make the pro bowl? Tweet me at @RoarBlackNTeal.

Aren't we all just hoping to win a game?

“Playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?” No, I am not kidding you my Jim Mora enthused reader.

But that’s enough about me. I hope that your seasons have turned out well. Just not as well as mine (did I type that out loud?). So as we approach the meat of the NFL’s week 15 schedule, let’s take a quick look at a few players who should do well.

Rankings gathered from nfl.com. Asterisks denote the players/defenses that I’m keeping an eye on. 

 QB:

• D. Brees, NO
• A. Rodgers, GB
• T. Brady, NE
• E. Manning, NYG*

 RB:

• A. Foster, HOU
• R. Rice, BAL
• C. Johnson, TEN
• M. Bush, OAK*

 WR:

• W. Welker, NE
• C. Johnson, DET
• H. Nicks, NYG
• V. Cruz, NYG*

TE:

• R. Gronkowski, NE
• J. Graham, NO
• J. Witten, DAL
• O. Daniels, Hou*

 DEF:

• Green Bay Packers
• Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions
• San Francisco 49ers*

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)

* * *

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.

Whew! What a win! I am still pumped from the Jaguars victory last night on Monday Night Football. It’s about time the rest of America sees the Jaguars in a positive light. Here’s a breakdown of last night’s game tied in with the usually Twitter Tuesday.  

Not only was Monday night’s 12-7 victory over the Ravens a huge win for the organization, Blaine Gabbert finally earned his first career win! Gabbert completed nine of 20 pass attempts for 93 yards; he may have endured 4 sacks during the game but didn’t have any major errors.

Without a doubt the MVP was last night’s game was Josh Scobee. After nailing 4 field goals, 3 of which were for 50+ yards, there is no way anyone could disagree. Scobee is the most clutch player on the roster. Whenever he is on the field, Jaguars fan can feel assured he is there to get the job done.

Last night’s win over the Ravens can largely be attributed to Jacksonville’s stellar performance from their defense. Holding the Ravens to no first downs & only 16 total yards in the first half, they showed America that they were here to win on MNF. The defense forced Joe Flacco to finish the game with 21 completions of 38 passes for 137 yards; and held star running back Ray Rice to 28 rushing yards. Rashean Mathis recorded the Jags first fumble recovery of the season, after Rice fumbled the ball.

For the first time since week 1, the Jaguars seemed to click on Monday. Not for everyone though. Maurice Jones Drew’s performance was less than desirable. MJD only recorded 105 yards, but he managed to put up his fair share of fumbles. Luckily of his 3 fumbles only one resulted in a turnover.

The win for the Jaguars was just what their season needed to get back on track. With a win in Houston next week the Jaguars will be back in the running for the AFC South Division Champs!

Next week the Jaguars hope to continue their win streak when they travel to Houston to take on the Texans. Following Week 8, the Jags will head into bye week. Before Monday there were rumors that Wayne Weaver would relieve head coach Jack Del Rio of his responsibilities if they hadn’t turned things around. Only time will tell if things are really “turned around”; or if JDR still could be unemployed in the upcoming weeks. It would seem unlikely at this point that the organization would risk a mid season coaching change; especially after a huge win on MNF.