What Jaguars Fans Learned In 2012

Well my fellow Jaguars fan, it may have been a rough season, but we made it to the end. Even though it was a disappointing season, we have to look at the bright side, at least we can learn from this year. Here’s just a few things I think we learned in 2o12.

 

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1. Blaine Gabbert is NOT the answer:

In case you were giving him the benefit of the doubt during his rookie season, I hope you learned your lesson.  While this may be a huge let down… At least everyone is aware of the issue & we can move forward. I better not see him sneak up the depth chart EVER again. While he may be right when he said during his post-season interview that he has not had the easiest time in the NFL considering his two years in the league consistent of an owner & coaching change plus a serious injury. However, in my opinion Gabbert is not starting QB quality.

 

2. The Jaguars without Maurice Jones Drew is as painful as we imagined:

If there’s one player Jaguars fans NEVER want to see go down, that’s MJD. He is the heart & soul of the Jags. Unfortunately, our worst nightmare came true this season & it was painful. If there was a shining light on the Jacksonville offense, it was MJD. Just one year ago, Mojo was the NFL leading rusher. Without him Jacksonville went from having the 12th ranked rushing game in 2011, to the 30th ranked rushing game in 2012.

 

3. (2-14) teams still have dedicated fans:

If you don’t believe me, check out the fan base on Twitter…. Or take a look at this picture from EverBank this season. Keep in mind, the Jaguars only won one home game this season.

 

4. People who hate on Jacksonville’s fan base are simple uneducated:

I hear about it all the time… “Aren’t all the Jaguars game blacked out”… “Are you two the only people in the stands”… “The Jags are going to LA” … Let me tell you how hard I laugh every time .. NOT. Let me shed a little light on this situation… Did you know that in 2012 Jacksonville had an average stadium attendance higher than teams like Pittsburgh, Chicago, & Detroit. In fact the Jaguars finished 20th in the attendance rankings for 2012. That means there’s 12 franchises that had less fans turn out this season than the 2-14 Jaguars.

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News From The Jungle: Jacksonville Prepares For The 2012 NFL Draft

With the NFL draft right around the corner things are heating up in Jacksonville.

Which is great considering people now have something else to talk about now that “he-who-should-not-be-mentioned” signed with the New York Jets.

Thank God. No pun intended.

Here are the top news stories circulating in Duval this week.

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Sporting News: Ugly cycle: Four desperate teams can’t misfire on top-10 picks

SB Nation: NFL Draft: Jaguars Looking To Draft A Defensive End?

NFL.com: Three-time Pro Bowl DT Stroud wants to play after missing year

Big Cat Country: Aaron Kampman Is Confident About Return

Florida Times-Union: Jaguars owner: Tim Tebow didn’t want to come to Jacksonville


It is Finished… Tebow is a Jet…

So glad that this guy is our #1...

The deal sending Tim Tebow to the Jets has been made Jaguars fans. Personally, I find this to be really good news after being scared into believing that Tebow would be a Jaguar. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Tebow the person and all of that, but he does not fit this team.

We all know how the Jaguars struggled in the passing game throughout much of last season. In an attempt to alleviate those problems the Jaguars have a completely rebuilt coaching staff that will be implementing a new, updated, pass-centric style of offense. Now in order to make that work, you need to either have or be grooming a quarterback that is going to throw the ball around consistently on a game to game basis.

Tebow is not that quarterback, not yet anyways. And that is beside the point. We drafted Blaine Gabbert (early in the first round) last year for the sole purpose of making this his team. What sense would it make to bring in another first round quarterback not even a year later?

Then factor in the mayhem that would ensue every time Gabbert had an incompletion or an interception. Remember what happened in Miami and Denver last season? Multiply that by 100 to get an idea of what would happen here.

Oh, and let’s not forget when Gabbert threw screen passes into the ground, on purpose, and some fans took that as him not being able to see the field, or not wanting to stay in the pocket and take a hit. News flash; if the quarterback holds on to the ball on the screen play that would more than likely result in a penalty because the linemen go to block downfield. That is illegal if the quarterback has not thrown the ball.

But we need not worry about that now. The Jaguars have their guy, and now Tebow gets to go to New York to battle Mark Sanchez for the starting job. In all honestly, I think he has a good chance to take over up there. But down here, not so much. He would have to beat out Chad Henne for second and then Blaine for first. I’m sorry but that wouldn’t happen.

But of course those Gator fans and whatnot would be screaming for him to play. Would the Jaguars use Tebow in another area of the game to appease that group of fans? Sure. Would it actually appease them? Not a chance.

Hey, maybe Shahid Khan wanted to show that we would at least attempt to get the guy. He’s a crafty businessman, so I’m under the impression that he knew what he was doing. That was still a pretty close call though, for my liking anyway.

But that is all behind us now. Time to go wait on this draft.

Go Jaguars!


Tebow in Jacksonville? Just Say No…

This is Blaine Gabbert. His arm, not Tebow's legs, will help this franchise succeed.

These are my quick thoughts on the whole Tebow-to-Jacksonville ‘thing’ (it is a bulleted list because I feel that the Jaguars will have to dodge the same over and over again).

  • We already have our guy, Blaine Gabbert.
    • Can we at least give Blaine a full offseason with a playbook that has audibles and a passing scheme before we cast him away?
  • Last time I checked, Tebow still had trouble throwing to his left.
  • I want to see my team air it out for a good 40-45 times a game someday, and this would not be the way to go.
  • My gut tells me that Tebow in Jacksonville would amount to less ticket sales than anything else.
    • The Jaguars don’t need help selling tickets in the first place, so doing something to appease a small portion of the fan-base as opposed to doing something in the sole effort in winning in ludicrous.

Short, sweet, and straight to the point. Am I right? Of course I am. But you can still weigh in if you want to.

 


Oh Man, Oh Man, Oh Manning

One decision. That’s all Manning had to do today. Make one decision that would shake up the 2012 off season.

Is signing Manning a sign the Broncos will trade Tebow? Will they keep him around to mentor the mediocre QB? If Denver decides to trade Tebow where will he go?

And that brings us back to unmentionable topic of Tebow being traded to Jacksonville.

Oh my. Are we really back here… again?

This is just great! Compliments of Pinterest user, Sportsgooru.

Are the rumors yet again swirling around the US that Tebow is heading to Jacksonville? WHEN WILL IT END?!

I mean the franchise didn’t draft him in the first place. Has showed no interested since. And just signed veteran QB Chad Henne last week. When they were fully aware that Manning may head to Denver.

What else does it take people?!

Sure one can make the argument that Tebow will sell tickets. Debatable, but that’s a different day.

Well why can’t Tebow sell tickets in Tampa or Miami? Both of those cities are struggling more than Jacksonville. Both teams are in need of a “leader” or “quarterback”. Why can’t the rumors start spreading about those franchises?

Regardless of whether or not Jacksonville does sign Tebow… (I just vomited as I typed that)… Can the speculation just end until there’s actually something solid tok go on?

If Khan was really that interested I’m sure he would’ve expressed it better than signing Henne last week.

Which brings me to the next topic…

Please explain to me why there’s a new rumor the Gene Smith will be parting with the team after the draft?

Did the person who started this “breaking news story” miss the 3 year extension he received just a few months ago? Not to mention that if Khan wanted him out… he’d be out well before the most important event of the off season.

Alright now I just feel like I’m ranting. Bottom line, let’s put an end to the rumor mill circling Jacksonville.

On a positive note, who else is excited that Manning will finally be out of the AFC South!? I mean one season was a treat but this is a dream come true.

Regardless of his recent surgeries, you have to admit he is a legendary quarterback & not having to face him twice a year is a blessing.