Big Cat Country

Veterans talk to SB Nation about their favorite sports moments.

2012-05-25T20:07:01Z

Veterans talk to SB Nation about their favorite sports moments.

Jaguars Will Be Vegas Underdogs In 2012

2012-05-25T17:45:43Z

Shortly after the conclusion of Super Bowl XLVI in February, the odds for Super Bowl XLVII opened with the Jaguars at the very bottom of the league at 150-1. Three months later the Jaguars have upgraded the wide receiver position and hope to see offensive improvement, but it's still not particularly surprising to see them still at the bottom in the Vegas odds.

Cantor Gaming has released an over/under for each teams' 2012 win total and the Jaguars are, of course, at the very bottom of the list with an over/under of 5.5 games. A total that led Florida Times-Union writer, Vito Stellino, to tweet that the over is the "lock of the year."

It's easy to see where Stellino is coming from. While I'm not so much of a homer to throw out Super Bowl predictions for the Jaguars, they did win five games in 2011 and it's hard to imagine the team regressing at all. As Stellino says, the Jaguars will have a new coach and upgraded play at the wide receiver and quarterback position.

Regardless, it's clear that the national media and the oddsmakers perceive the Jaguars as one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Adrian Peterson May Or May Not Be Ready For Week 1 Against The Jaguars

2012-05-25T14:30:05Z

In 107 days the Jaguars will kick off the 2012 regular season at Mall of America Field in Minnesota. Previewing a game between two teams with entirely unset rosters and a full training camp yet to have even been started is somewhat pointless; however, one of the obvious stars for the Vikings who will, without question, be on the roster come that September 9 game is running back Adrian Peterson.

Whether or not he plays in that game though, is still very much in the air. On December 24 in the 2011 regular season, Peterson completely shredded his knee, tearing both his MCL and ACL along with lateral and medial meniscus damage. As Evan Silva of Rotoworld noted on Twitter, team doctors were convinced that the severity and timing of the injury would mean Peterson would have to start the 2012 season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

But being the physical freak that he is, Peterson has set his sights on being back for the Vikings season opener against the Jaguars and was reportedly back on the field a month ago, running wind sprints with his teammates four months post-operation...and beating them consistently.

Yes there will be plenty of other things going on between now and then that will certainly have a big impact on the season opener for the Vikings and Jaguars, but Adrian Peterson's recovery from injury is definitely something to keep an eye on. Because...hey why not?

Jacksonville Jaguars Roundup

2012-05-25T12:04:33Z

Message from ex-Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier hits home, Terrance Knighton says | jacksonville.com

Before the Jaguars’ Thursday practice — their last organized team activity practice before Memorial Day weekend — they heard from former Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier. Collier was partially paralyzed and had part of a leg amputated after suffering multiple gunshot wounds early one morning in 2008. He spoke to the team about choices. "We had a speaker this morning talking about doing things the right way when you’re out on the streets at night," Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey said. "… He did an outstanding job, and I thought it was very impactful for our football team to hear his story."

Jaguars DT Terrance Knighton takes another step toward being cleared | jacksonville.com

For the first time since having eye surgery last month, Jaguars defensive tackle Terrance Knighton was out at practice with his helmet on doing some drills. When we saw him walking off the field yesterday, his eye seemed slightly swollen. But it doesn't appear to be a concern for Knighton whose participation has steadily increased this week. He was still working off to the side, with fellow recovering defensive lineman John Chick, rather than with the rest of the defensive line. But this marks progress.

Deception and excitement

The excitement is palpable, with quotes to support it. Clint Session used the phrase "Greatest Show on Turf" recently, and though the veteran linebacker did add the caveat that the show was being compared to last year, his point was clear: The Jaguars’ offense? The one that ranked last in the NFL last season? It may be early, but it looks better. A lot better. Don’t just ask Session. Ask Derek Cox. Or Dawan Landry.

Inside the Jaguars, 05/24

Two weeks in, Blaine Gabbert is making progress. That’s the opinion of Jaguars Head Coach Mike Mularkey, who addressed Gabbert’s off-season progress Thursday following the sixth of 10 scheduled organized team activities practices at Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice Fields adjacent to EverBank Field. Mularkey said he is particularly impressed with the second-year quarterback’s ability to pick up an offense that is being installed as OTAs progress.

IMPORTANT: No More Oklahoma Drill

2012-05-24T21:04:13Z

Jaguars HC Mike Mularkey says no Oklahoma Drill at training camp moving forward. Will cover a bit more in Inside Jaguars later today, but...
— John Oehser (@JohnOehser) May 24, 2012

basically Mularkey said he didn't like the drill when he was a player in Pittsburgh and doesn't plan to run it anymore.. So, there's that.
— John Oehser (@JohnOehser) May 24, 2012

What say you?

Poll

Do you agree with doing away with the Oklahoma Drill?

NFL Wants Wireless For All Fans

2012-05-24T21:00:05Z

There are some NFL owners meetings going on this week, which means everyone is all in one place, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. One of the things the NFL is looking to do soon is make the game day experience better for the fans, which is always a good thing.

One of the ideas is to make wifi accessible to all fans in the stadium.

"We believe that it is important to get technology into our stadiums," Goodell said at a press conference on Tuesday. "We have made the point repeatedly that the experience at home is outstanding, and we have to compete with that in some fashion by making sure that we create the same kind of environment in our stadiums and create the same kind of technology. ...

"We want to make sure our fans, when they come into stadiums, don't have to shut down."

I'm sure most of you have felt the frustration of trying to send a text or tweet from the stands, only to have the cell signal jammed with 50,000 cell phones. This would be a much welcomed addition.

Blaine Gabbert's Footwork Already Improving

2012-05-24T18:43:11Z

We all know one of the big issues with quarterback Blaine Gabbert is his footwork in the pocket. Gabbert doesn't always seem to set his feet when he throws, can take a bad stride, and/or doesn't keep his shoulders level. He's been working with the coaching staff this season on working out those kinks, because we've seen when he does it right he can make some great throws.

Gabbert has been drilling keeping his shoulders level in his drop back and throw. At times last year he would dip his shoulder when throwing the ball which effects accuracy. Gabbert has also seemed to already correct something in his stride, as noted by color analyst Jeff Lageman on Jaguars This Week Wednesday night.

Shockingly enough, Gabbert is improving as he has time to work on the mechanical flaws the coaches want fixed. Imagine that?

Paul Kuharksy of ESPN.com was able to talk to Jaguars offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski a bit about some of Gabbert's flaws and what they can correct.

"Fundamentally, there were some times last year in his drops when he was getting a little bit long with his footwork and getting a little too fast," Bratkowski told Kuharksy. "So what we've tried to do is get him to slow his feet down just a little bit, take shorter steps and stand taller in the pocket.

"Those are some things we identified when we first looked at him, and he's improving on those things out there right now. You can see him carrying it into the actual plays we're running in team situations."

Bratkowski worked heavily with former Cincinnati Bengals and now current Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer early in his development, and one of the big things they worked on was balance in the pocket. That seems to be an area Gabbert is already improving.

"The biggest thing all the quarterbacks are working on is just calming our feet down, staying in the pocket, not getting too long, not taking too long of a drop," Gabbert told Kuharksy.

Kuharsky also notes that the team was been replacing some of the 7-on-7 passing skeleton drills with team drills, so that Gabbert has to deal with the rush and arms around him as he's trying to throw the football.

You can read Paul Kuharsky's full report on Gabbert already improving on the ESPN AFC South Blog here. Coincidentally, he just happened to publish this as I was typing this up. I suggest reading it, because it's very good.

Justin Blackmon, Andre Branch Begin Contract Negotiations

2012-05-24T16:00:46Z

Some NFL teams already have their entire rookie classes under contract already and others have just begun rolling in the contracts. The Jacksonville Jaguars on the other hand haven't signed any draft picks to a contract yet, but should be doing so rather soon. The team has opened up negotiations with first-round pick Justing Blackmon and second-round pick Andre Branch according to a report by Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union.

Talks that have started include, but aren't limited to, first-round draft pick Justin Blackmon, who was the fifth overall selection, and second-round pick Andre Branch. Negotiations with Branch's agent had made progress by Wednesday.

Now that negotiations have started, it should move rather quickly thanks to the new CBA and the rookie wage scale. Justin Blackmon's deal might take a little longer than normal, as only Top 10 draft picks signed are Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon ~~Hill~~ Gilmore and Carolina Panthers Luke Kuechly. Typically you don't want to set the baseline for the contract in the Top 10, so it's possible Blackmon's deal won't come until another Top 10 pick signs.