Say goodbye to a division title! What a terrible evening it has been.

by rusty904 on Oct 5, 2008 9:28 PM PDT

We have the final injury report and it doesn't look to good for the Jaguars' secondary. Nelson and Florence are both out for the game, and although some had hoped Meester might be well enough to play, he isn't, and will miss again this week. I'd imagine almost everyone on the Steeler injury report will play except for those listed as "out" and maybe Frazier and Bailey (although I'd expect them to play). Players listed as "OUT" are not permitted to play. Doubtful indicates a 25% chance of playing, Questionable indicates a 50% chance to play, and probable means it is a virtual certainty the individual will see the field.

Ben Roethlisberger WILL start. He may not finish the game, but he'll start for his team. It would be really interesting to see Byron play against us though, I was always a fan of his, but he obviously couldn't cut it in Jacksonville for whatever reason(s).

How worried are you guys about Will James seeing significant playing time? It sure would be nice to have Scott Starks right about now, huh?

GO JAGS!

-Collin

Pittsburgh Steelers  at  Jacksonville Jaguars
Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
PIT
Nick Eason	DE	Groin	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Casey Hampton	DT	Groin	Out (Definitely Will Not Play)	Out
Brett Keisel	DE	Calf	Out (Definitely Will Not Play)	Out
Willie Parker	RB	Knee	Out (Definitely Will Not Play)	Out
Carey Davis	RB	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	Doubtful
Patrick Bailey	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate In Practice	Questionable
Andre Frazier	LB	Concussion	Did Not Participate In Practice	Questionable
Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Right Shoulder	Limited Participation in Practice	Questionable
Keyaron Fox	LB	Back	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
James Harrison	LB	Quadricep	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
Santonio Holmes	WR	Neck	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
Troy Polamalu	S	Quadricep	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
JAX
Drayton Florence	CB	Groin	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Reggie Nelson	S	Knee	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Brad Meester	C	Biceps	Limited Participation in Practice	Out
Chris Naeole	G	Knee	Limited Participation in Practice	Out
Justin Durant	LB	Groin	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
Reggie Hayward	DE	Hamstring	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
Tony McDaniel	DT	Biceps	Full Participation in Practice	Probable
Rashean Mathis	CB	Shin	Limited Participation in Practice	Probable

Our first installment of "Ideal Scenario" games didn't go as we'd have liked, so we'll hope for better luck this week.

WRAP-UP OF LAST WEEK'S KEY AFC MATCH-UPS

1. Chiefs slaughtered the Broncos... Not Ideal

2. Jets demoralized Cardinals... Not Ideal

3. Titans won...NEVER IDEAL

4. Chargers beat Oakland after the Raiders completed their textbook 4th quarter meltdown. Not Ideal

5. Buffalo Won... IDEAL!!! That was the single bright spot of this week's scenario because we need them to win their division so we are not in competition with them for a wild-card birth as they own the tie-breaker against us.

6. Baltimore Lost to the Steelers... Not Ideal, but Pittsburgh is in disarray after that win. They are battered and their O-line just lost the equivalent of our Vince Manuwai in Kendall Simmons. He was their right guard and was stout against the pass rush and could over power all but the best. They are hurting badly.

Cleveland beat Cincy... A tree just fell in the forest, but no one was around...

THIS WEEK'S KEY AFC MATCH-UPS

Titans at Ravens : We want a Titan loss, as if that wasn't obvious already.

Chiefs at Panthers : In AFC vs NFC match-ups, always root for the NFC unless it's a team we want to win their division.

Colts at Texans : Put a stake in 'em Houston, the dynasty that never was, is no more... ponder that

Chargers at Dolphins : We want a San-Diego loss. They need to fall behind before they get healthy, they could be a direct competitor for a wild-card spot, unless they overtake the Broncos; a possibility if the Broncos lose this week and lose to us the following week.

Bills at Cardinals : The Bills at 5-0?!? That would be best because we don't want to compete for a wild-card with them without the tiebreaker.

Bucs at Broncos : If the Broncos lose this week and we beat them then that's ok because we'll own the tie breaker against them in a bid for a wild-card spot. If they lose this week and then beat us, that's really bad; we'd lose the tie-breaker and most likely be in direct competition with them for a wild-card spot. If they win and San Diego loses, that's IDEAL for our playoff scenario.

Patriots at 49ers : Root for the NFC, we want Beel Beelichick's team to fall far, far behind.

WEDNESDAY INJURY UPDATE:

Below is the Wednesday injury report, don't be too frightened... Unless you're a Steeler fan, in which case you should be afraid... be very afraid.

A slug-fest on Monday night that one could only describe as grueling, took place between Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Two Pittsburgh players are done for the year now, their 1st round pick Mendenhall, and their stalwart RG Kendall Simmons. Simmons is a bigger loss; he is too good to be replaced, thus a drop-off in run and pass blocking is inevitable for the Steeler offensive line. Hopefully we'll blitz a little less.

Defensively, Pittsburgh is without their star nose tackle, Casey Hampton. One of their starting defensive ends, Keisel, is also out of the game due to an injured calf. These two men are fixtures against the run and without them, the Steelers will likely HAVE to commit 8 or 9 to stopping the run. That means Troy Polamalu (related to Jaguars RB coach Kennedy Pola) will be on the line of scrimmage, and not back intercepting passes!

Harvey and Groves will have to show us something this week. Hayward should likely play, but if he's hampered, he'll likely see limited action. Hopefully we'll see Justin Durant make his triumphant return, along with Reggie Nelson. I haven't heard about Florence's injury, if anyone knows anything... let us know.

-Collin

VS
Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
PIT
Patrick Bailey	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Carey Davis	RB	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Nick Eason	DE	Groin	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Keyaron Fox	LB	Back	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Andre Frazier	LB	Concussion	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
James Harrison	LB	Quadricep	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Troy Polamalu	S	Quadricep	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Right Shoulder	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Marvel Smith	T	Not Injury Related	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Hines Ward	WR	Not Injury Related	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Santonio Holmes	WR	Neck	Limited Participation in Practice	--
Casey Hampton	DT	Groin	Out (Definitely Will Not Play)	--
Brett Keisel	DE	Calf	Out (Definitely Will Not Play)	--
Willie Parker	RB	Knee	Out (Definitely Will Not Play)	--
JAX
Drayton Florence	CB	Groin	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Reggie Nelson	S	Knee	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Justin Durant	LB	Groin	Full Participation in Practice	--
Tony McDaniel	DT	Biceps	Full Participation in Practice	--
Reggie Hayward	DE	Hamstring	Limited Participation in Practice	--
Rashean Mathis	CB	Shin	Limited Participation in Practice	--
Brad Meester	C	Biceps	Limited Participation in Practice	--
Chris Naeole	G	Knee	Limited Participation in Practice	--

Wow... An exciting game indeed Jag fans. We needed this one, and we got it. We also learned some valuable things, one of them being the fact that our kicker is an undead vampire. We've all had our suspicions for years that he might be, everyone was just waiting for him to come out of the closet (so to speak). Well, it looks like this is his year because he's blown the closet door off it's hinges.

He's a recluse and leaves his sideline-coffin only to suck the life, nay, the very soul out of opposing teams. He's like a vengeful spirit of sorts, powered by the the disbelief of Duval County that stemmed from an 0-2 start, and has poured out his wrath over Indy and Houston... Will Pittsburgh be next?

Twice already this season he's shown us that he's an ice cold killer. Something he wasn't even close to being during his rookie year. NFLN did a "Hard Knocks" Training camp show focused on the Jaguars a number of years ago and a particular scene sticks out in my mind. The Vets all wanted the new rookie kicker to sing "Stand By Me" during lunch. Scobee was too scared to do it, and I remember thinking the he doesn't have the resolve to become a big time kicker. Times have changed now and he's transformed from the nervous rookie he was all those years ago, into an emotionless, dark, foreboding figure. Now, the mere utterance of his name elicits fear among his foes... Scobee... Watch out for him lurking along the sidelines this week, he loves night games... ;)

Moving On...

Matt Schaub looked like a superstar (as all Texan QB's do against Jacksonville). Why this happens, I don't know. Overall line play was average on the defensive line, which has got to improve. Everyone has been paid, and we need some production. We are bringing way too many corner blitzes in my opinion. I saw a play last week where we brought both cornerbacks on blitzes, and still didn't get to Schaub. I'm all for aggression, but that's borderline carelessness.

The real problem though, is our linebacker corp. They all seem to be struggling to grasp the system, although Darryl Smith and Clint Ingram are clearly outplaying Mike Peterson. Mike P is still the vocal leader of the defense, but he needs to bring his play in line with his leadership role. I think that Drayton Florence is finally starting to play well consistently, and I thought he had a nice game last week. I will say that Will James is not cutting it. Clive Owens (Texan TE) torched him last game. I say put B. Williams at nickel and let Sensabaugh stay at SS all the time. I think it is tough right now with all the injuries, we need Nelson back and Mathis to play at 100%.

Offensively, Matt Jones completed his transition from bust-to-Wilford this week. He has become a sure handed and solid route runner, just like Ernest was during his tenure. He's blocking, using his body to shield defenders from the ball, securing the ball well (no fumbles), making sharp cuts, and has even improved his hand usage and quickness. I can't say enough about how well he's getting off the line at the snap. He's using his size and his hands to keep from being re-routed on press coverage's, a major reason we've seen him covered soft so often. He's finally figured out how to use his size to beat press coverage, that is a major plus in any receiver's repertoire.

David Garrard is playing like David Garrard again. He is showing you why he's the highest paid player on the team. Precise passing, solid running, no mistakes. The Offensive line is finally showing some real cohesion. Give alot of credit to Andy Heck (click for bio). He's got our replacement players filling in well and seems to have coached up a nice young guard in Uche Nwari. Uche is playing at a very high level and once the line has it's fearless leader back, Dennis Norman will fill out the other guard position and this unit will again be a strength.

Joey "Delicious" Decamilis (click for bio) should get a game ball for how well the entire Special Teams unit played. Great kick coverage, above average returns, a game changing fake punt touchdown, and give him credit for the development of Adam Podlesh in only his second season. "Delicious" has got his unit flying to the ball every down they compete, and his ability to out-scheme opposing coaches has proven to be invaluable (onside kick, fake-punt). Talk about a coaching gem!

Enjoy .500 Jaguar Fans, we've earned it... We've got a tough one coming this week though, a huge game for both teams...

-Collin

Since our beloved Jags have given themselves a chance to make a playoff run this season, I thought I’d give you guys a hand with the best case scenario for the Jags to make the playoffs each week. Our chances at a wildcard spot are likely unless we suffer a complete collapse, or Kerry Collins goes down. The Titans are beastly this season, and I for one am completely shocked. I never thought they’d stand a chance with VY, however, without him they seem to be legitimate contenders.

If the Titans win the division, which seems like a real possibility right now, we will be again playing for a Wild Card spot. So, I’ll base each week’s best case scenario on us battling for a Wild Card until we overtake the division.

Ideally, we want clear cut winners of each division and clear cut losers, no hard fought battles for any AFC division title (besides the AFC South). Because that’s the case, I’ll outline each team we want to dominate their division. You should root for these teams each week if you’re so inclined.

AFC North – Baltimore Ravens: This whole division is upside down, and we get to play every team in it… Starting with the Steelers in 2 weeks. Root for the Ravens each week to take a commanding lead.

AFC East – Buffalo Bills: They own the tiebreaker against us and we don’t want a Wild Card battle to come down between us and them… We need them to handily win their division.

AFC West – Broncos: I really don’t have any confidence in this team’s ability, but I love their coach. Shanahan has got these guys playing well and Cutler seems to be a long-term answer, although he’s no Elway. Ideally they continue to dominate their division, which is weak besides San Diego. Thankfully we don’t play San Diego this year, however, I really can’t see this division NOT being competitive. Ideally, though the Broncos run away with the title. However, we play them later in the season, so if we beat them it’ll be ok if they don’t claim the title as long as our record is as good as or better than theirs.

AFC South – Jaguars…

This week’s key match-ups based on this scenario:

1. Denver @ Kansas City – Root for Denver to move to 4-0 and thereby take a commanding lead in the division.
2. Arizona @ NY Jets – Always root for the NFC when they play an AFC team as a rule of thumb. In this case, root for them as long as it isn’t a team we want to win their division.
3. Minnesota @ Tennessee – The Titans MUST be stopped… Hopefully Jared Allen gives Kerry Collins constant harassment. We want VY back at the helm!
4. San Diego @ Oakland – Root for the Raiders to pull out a victory… they’ll collapse soon enough… it’s inevitable.
5. Buffalo @ St. Louis – The Bills need to handily win their division
6. Baltimore @ Pittsburgh – We want the Ravens to do what the Eagles did to the Steelers last week… Soften them up a bit for us… who am I kidding, we want the Ravens to flat out pummel them!
7. Cleveland VS. Cincy – Both teams are horrible and neither has a real chance at success this year, root for whomever you please, or better yet, don't even watch this train wreck!

-Collin

The current division standings are below...

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Status Report
	OUT	LB Justin Durant (groin), C Brad Meester (biceps), G Chris Naeole (knee), WR Troy Williamson (thigh)
	QUESTIONABLE	WR Jerry Porter (hamstring)
	PROBABLE	RB Maurice Jones-Drew (ankle), RB Fred Taylor (toe), CB Brian Williams (toe)
Practice Report
	DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
	Wednesday	LB Justin Durant (groin), RB Maurice Jones-Drew (ankle), WR Troy Williamson (thigh)
	Thursday	LB Justin Durant (groin), WR Troy Williamson (thigh)
	Friday	LB Justin Durant (groin), WR Troy Williamson (thigh)
	LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
	Wednesday	C Brad Meester (biceps), G Chris Naeole (knee), RB Fred Taylor (toe), CB Brian Williams (toe)
	Thursday	RB Maurice Jones-Drew (ankle), C Brad Meester (biceps),G Chris Naeole (knee), WR Jerry Porter (hamstring)
	Friday	C Brad Meester (biceps), G Chris Naeole (knee), WR Jerry Porter (hamstring)
	FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
	Thursday	RB Fred Taylor (toe), CB Brian Williams (toe)
	Friday	RB Maurice Jones-Drew (ankle), RB Fred Taylor (toe), CB Brian Williams (toe)
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Status Report
	OUT	G Mike Pollak (knee), CB Bob Sanders (ankle, Knee), TE Jacob Tamme (ankle), T Tony Ugoh (groin, Knee)
	QUESTIONABLE	DT Keyunta Dawson (ankle), CB Matt Giordano (back),DT Daniel Muir (knee)
	PROBABLE	CB Marlin Jackson (hip)
Practice Report
	DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
	Wednesday	RB Joseph Addai (not injury related), DT Keyunta Dawson (ankle), DE Dwight Freeney (not injury related), WR Roy Hall (knee) ,CB Tim Jennings (not injury related), DT Daniel Muir (knee),G Mike Pollak (knee), CB Bob Sanders (ankle, Knee), TE Jacob Tamme (ankle), T Tony Ugoh (groin)
	Thursday	DT Keyunta Dawson (ankle), CB Matt Giordano (back), WR Roy Hall (knee), DT Daniel Muir (knee), G Mike Pollak (knee), CB Bob Sanders (ankle, Knee), TE Jacob Tamme (ankle), T Tony Ugoh (groin)
	Friday	CB Matt Giordano (back), WR Roy Hall (knee), WR Marvin Harrison (not injury related), G Mike Pollak (knee),CB Bob Sanders (ankle, Knee), TE Jacob Tamme (ankle),T Tony Ugoh (groin)
	LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
	Thursday	CB Marlin Jackson (hip)
	FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
	Thursday	RB Joseph Addai (not injury related), DE Dwight Freeney (not injury related), CB Tim Jennings (not injury related)
	Friday	DT Keyunta Dawson (ankle), CB Marlin Jackson (hip), DT Daniel Muir (knee)

Brad Meester is practicing in a limited capacity again, here's hoping against hope that he's back for the game against the Texans!

Other notable injuries include the Colt's offensive and defensive lines... Jeff Saturday will be making his return to the field against the Jaguars, which means the Colts will at least know there blocking responsibilities this week as Jeff is responsible for calling out blitzers. However, the Colt's offensive line is without Tony Ugoh and Mike Pollack, if our shiny new defensive ends are gonna make a splash, this will be the week to do so. Our defensive front four clearly have an advantage over the Colt's stable of back-ups... I'm not saying we'll go all "Tenneesee" on their asses and lodge 7 sacks, but I'd anticipate we're gonna try... I think if we can put Peyton down at least 4 times, we'll win. Once he's rattled he'll make mistakes like he always does... like any QB would (Garrard did too).

Fred and MJD are going to be back and at full strength to boot! Bob Sanders is out and the Colts DT's are banged up... This WILL be the week to attack the interior of their defense. Jerry Porter is listed as questionable, but don't fret. I expect to see him on the field despite Del Rio's assertion he's not likely to play. I can see right through this scheme, the Jags NEED this win and I'd call this gamesmanship on JDR's part. We've seen Beel Beelichick (thanks Cartman) pull this stunt on almost a weekly basis and there have been no reprecussions. I'd suspect that now you're seeing Jack do the same. We need every advantage we can get, and a surprisingly quick Porter would constitute a clear advantage over a team that game-planned against a power run strike all week.

I'm calling it now... Jerry Porter WILL play, you can take that to the bank. If he doesn't get on the field then we all need to hit the panic button because that means his hammy is alot worse than anyone anticipated... something that could be chronic and hamper the rest of his career... can you say bust? Like I said though... I don't buy a bit of the story that JDR is selling, Porter is gonna play, and he'll play well.

Dwight Freeney seems to have regained a bit of his form and doesn't seem to be slowed by his lisfranc surgery. He's already lodged 2 sacks this season, so expect him to bring the heat like he always does. Look for us to max-protect some again this week, but that won't be such a detriment if a superb route runner like Porter is on the field.

Remember fans... we need to sell out next week's game regardless of the outcome this week... Stanley Drunkenmiller's offer to buy the Pittsburgh Steelers fell thorough, so he may look to purchase the "Steelers of the South" from Wayne Weaver. Mr. Weaver may be more entitled to sell if we're still getting games blacked out, so buy those tickets!

-Collin

Well, he had a cool name, but apparently that wasn't enough to keep a job. Chad Slaughter has been cut by the Jaguars today and his roster spot was relinquished to D'Juan Woods, a fan-favorite rookie who had made the practice squad this season. I suspect we'll see Woods on the active 45 man roster tomorrow, why else make this move now.

The coaches like the kid's work ethic and he's got sure hands... The best case scenario for him would be a possession reciever a'la Ernest Wilford. He doesn't have deep speed, but Woods makes up for it by being an excellent route runner (for a rookie), and catching everything thrown his way. It'll be interesting to see how he performs in his first live action regular season game.

-Collin