I expect to see KO on kick off returns because the Jags were horrible on kick offs last year.  The longest return the team had was 43 yards and no touchdowns. The team does not need to have MoJo on kick off taking hits and risking fumbles. He needs to save his energy. KO can help Mike Thomas and be a great player and get the offense in good field position. The team did not even take one punt back to the house last year and they desperately need some players to make a difference and turn the game around to the Jags favor.

KO, if you want to get some more playing time when you suit up for the first time in Teal in September, make some special teams. You can assist Mike Thomas and Mike Sims-Walker in the offensive end as a speedy wide out and breakout receiver. The Jags made a great decision and hope you still have some of the Pro Bowl skills left in you because it will  be time to unleash them.

Its a frickin game of chance to determine which offense gets the first shot to score. Sudden death rules should not have an effect on the end of a game. 73% of NFL teams who won the toss won the game on the first possession. Yes, the job of the team that wins the toss is to get into FG range and score, but why doesn’t the defensive team get a shot. I really like college football OT rules because there is still a coin toss but you cant win the game on the first possession. Both teams get a shot to score and go for the win.  One rule that has to be addressed by the NFL players union and rules committee is a tie.

In the regular season, when neither team scores after 15 minutes in OT, the game is stopped and listed as a TIE. What a Joke. Let the teams play. There is no need for a tie and should not even be an option. In baseball, they play extra innings; in hockey and soccer, a shootout. Some players didn’t even know that there were ties. Go ask Eagles QB McNabb if he knew about ties. Keep playing the game until a winner is decided. It will lead to less frustration and altering of NFL tie-breaking procedures come playoff time.’

LETS GET THIS DONE AND CHANGE A FEW RULES AND EVERY GAME SHOULD HAVE A WINNER.

The biggest need for the offense was  a game breaking WR and that was why Holt was drafted. Unfortunately he was at the end of his career and never had one TD on the entire season. He had 63 catches but most were on quick hitch and crossing routes. He continually missed the biggest opportunity to make plays and to open up the running game for Jones-Drew.  Holt was supposed to increase ticket sales by making impressive plays but failed to do that as well. He missed three games on the season due to injury and also slowed down the offense. So far, Holt was not worth the one year deal.

But he did help out one player on the offense, Mike Sims-Walker.  He was able to show MSW how to make the big plays and also take some pressure off of him by occasionally getting double covered. Sims was the best WR threat, HANDS DOWN, with 7 TD in his 2nd year in the league. He opened up more running lanes for Jones-Drew and dominated the jump ball fade routes in the end zone. Would Mike have done as well on leading the WR’s without the influence of Holt?, Maybe but we will have to wait until next season to find out.

So, Was signing Holt a good decision? No, because he just did not have anything left in the tank at the end of his career. He was a good influence on future all star wide out, MSW, but he had ZERO touchdowns and that’s what separates good wide outs from great wide outs. Im glad that he was not resigned and the team wanted to go with a younger team and up and coming WR Mike Thomas. They need to draft some more play makers on the offensive side and the WR corps could use some bigger more physical wide outs.

Why Jason Pierre Paul is needed and his effect on the team?

Jags defense last year was 27th against the pass giving up over 235.9 yards per game. The biggest problem with the defense was ZERO pass rush. The team only sacked the opposing QB 14 times while Garrard was sacked 44 times. JPP will help out after leading USF last year with 5.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Also during the 2009 draft, the team only drafted one defensive lineman and that was a DT.  Derrick Harvey was the leading DE on the tean with two sacks during the season.  Pierre Paul is a big 6′6″ 260 lb lineman who is a great pickup and need for the team. Currently the Jags have eight DE on roster with Quentin Groves being the best one.

Why not draft Tebow for ticket sales?

Team owner Wayne Weaver wanted to reach out to local fans in order to increase sales by drafting Tebow. But since Wayne didnt make this decision on the pick and I did, they can forget seeing Superman. But JPP did play at USF in Tampa, which is a couple of hours away from Jax so that should increase ticket sales. The offense wasnt the problem but the defense was the bigger problem and that is another reason JPP will work. Jags lost to many close games last year and need to improve the defense. 

Note from Nate

I would like to thank everyone that follows TealPower.com for your support. If you disagree with my prediction or draft pick or have any comments, suggestions, please let me know. You can hit me up on Twitter N8NoleTealPower, or email me bign8bruce@gmail.com

Lets start with the center-QB snap exchange: During his collegiate days at Florida, he always took the snap in the shotgun. This wont work for every snap cause you open up room for the linebackers to get into open space and attack the running game. He also has a problem getting the snap from center due to lack of time doing it. During his last game in the Senior Bowl, he fumbled a few exchanges under center. The Jags defense is not good enough to stop good offenses on a short field and with the lack of pass rush look for more turnovers and interceptions. 

One thing you wont see, unless he has a nice health insurance policy,  is Tebow doing as many carries as he did in college. In many games, Tebow used the spread option and ran the ball. Tebow is very athletic but not very fast so he is not going to run over many NFL players. In a game in Gainesville, Tebow ran head on to S Eric Barry in the open field. I would love to see Tebow try that again a defense like the Ravens with big bruising players like LB Ray Lewis and SS Ed Reed. One thing he doesnt do is slide and if he doesnt, he will be hurt early and often.

One other notion is that other than at Florida, the offense will not go thru Tebow. The Jags offense is a run first based offense that goes thru Jones-Drew. I would not draft Tebow because it shows less confidence in Jones-Drew carrying the load and lose confidence in the organization. You have to have Jones-Drew and Garrard on the same page.

I will soon be on the clock with my pick for the FanBall NFL Draft so stay tuned.

Rashean Mathis, Jags starting CB only played in 10 games last season due to a groin injury. In those six games that he missed, the team went 3-3 with two losses combining for 10 pts. Rashean and Derek Cox combined for seven of the teams 15 interceptions. Rashean is the island defender where he can be left alone with the opposing teams best WR and hold his own. He matched up against tough wide outs like Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, and Larry Fitzgerald and slowed them down giving the rest of the secondary a big boost and aided on lock down of the running game.

These two CB’s had to carry the secondary because there was ZERO pass rush from the DL. In way too many games, opposing QB’s just stood in the pocket and had zero pass rush. If this team ever wants to return to the playoffs, they have to have a pass rush in order for Cox and Mathis to be able to make interceptions and force turnovers to give Garrard and MoJo a chance.

FANBALL MOCK DRAFT

In the next few weeks while we are counting down to the NFL draft, Fanball.com will be having a Mock Draft for the 1st round. Jaguars will have the 11th pick by a coin flip loss to the Chicago Bears so be in store for that and thanks to all for following TealPower.com.

My next TealPower.com award goes to the Offensive Player who made the best contribution on the Offensive side of the fiedl whether it be by TD’s, receptions, carries, blocks, etc. This years offensive MVP is obvious but the best playmaker the Jaguars have and that is Maurice Jones-Drew.

He did very well  in his first year as starting RB. His past three seasons he has been the backup to former Jags rushing leader Fred Taylor who was released this year. Jones-Drew lead the NFL for most of the year with 15 rushing TD’s. He only lost 1 fumble this year and put the ball on the ground only twice and that was very impressive with 312 rushing attempts. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry with the longest 80 rushing yard TD against the Tennessee Titans.  

I would love to let everyone know the biggest weakness of Jones-Drew but with his small but strong stature its hard. One thing the team will need to address in the upcoming draft or free agency will be a backup RB. Later in the year, Jones-Drew was injured and the team had no reliable backup to assist and aid the passing attack. Rashad Jennings carried the ball for 39 carries as a Rookie but will have to get more carries or need a bigger back. The team should give the ball to FB Greg Jones to pound the LB’s and open up play action passing.

MoJo, you did a great job as the starting RB this year and making the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately you only got two carries in the game but you hit the end zone and helped the AFC win the game. Great 4th year as a  Jag and good luck next year Pinball.

In 2008, MSW started in only one game and had only 16 catches for 217 yards in his rookie season. He made the significant “Improvement” by starting in 14 games, making 63 receptions for 869 yards and 7 TD’s and being the best WR the team has. Tory Holt was signed to help the  team and lead a young veteran WR corps, but Mike eventually took over making consistent plays on 15 yard hitch routes on the outside. He was able to use his 6′2″ height and get the jump balls on David Garrard’s fade routes in the red zone.

One improvement that Mike needs to work on is his discipline. He missed the road game in Seattle for violation of team rules. Now the team did lose to Seattle 41-0 but Sims-Walker might have made an impact on the offensive end and kept Seattle off the field on offense. Sims-Walker did have a great season and continues to be the ONLY offensive WR who can make the big play. No doubt he deserved the Most Improved Player Award.

Shout Out

I would like to give a shout out to Fanball.com correspondent for the NY Jets Joe Caparoso who helped with the Teal Power.com inspiration for this awards.

After a big Cribbs return, Garrard hits OchoStinko for a big gain with 5 seconds left but Carpenter misses the go-ahead Fg. Tie score 17-17, HALFTIME. Jags stats at Halftime: Garrard 2 0f 5 for 35 yards. Jones-Drew was named to his 1st Pro Bowl and hasnt had any touches yet.

1st AFC drive of 2nd Half, Garrard with a TD pass to Viincent Jackson for 48 yards to tie the game at 24.  On the AFC’s next position, Jones-Drew gets his chance on the field. After a seven yard carry in the redzone, He runs off tackle and scores on a 4 yard carry to give the AFC a 31-24 lead. After scoring, he did a sideline interview and mentioned the fun of him, Garrard, Greg Jones, Sims-Walker, Lewis and Holt but ended it early to be on kickoff coverage. Garrard eclipsed the 100 passing mark on the drive and has now thrown for for 183 yards and 1 TD.

Jags Final Stats: Garrard  8014 passing for 183 yards and 1 TD. Jones-Drew: 5 carries for 30 yards and 1 TD.

Defensive Stats

Nelson began his career in 07 with 5 interceptions but this season he had zero. He is not that big of a threat like Darrelle Revis of the Jets is where he will take any pass to the house. He only had five pass break ups the entire season and didn’t even force one fumble. Yes, he is a S and they dont get many stats, but S Ed Reed of the Ravens had 3 Int and forced 3 fumbles. The team needs to release Reggie of his contract and use the four million difference and pursue some help on the DE or save it for the 1st round draft pick.

He also tries to hard for a “decleater” hit and misses a lot of tackles. I don’t mind trying for the big hit sometimes but you have to hold your lane and make the play or you cost your team a lot of points and yards.  In the home game against the Colts, the team had the lead when Reggie Wayne ran right by Nelson for a 64 yard TD. Reggie took a lot of bad angle and should have used the sideline to his advantage and forced Wayne outside, but fundamentals and execution gave Wayne the end zone.

Reggie will maybe get one more chance with the hiring of a new DL Coach in Joe Cullen to give the opposing QB’s some pressure. The Jags need a big playmaker on defense and have got to improve on basic plays. Reggie has got to play like a 1st round draft pick or might be back on the bus to Gainesville.