It’s terrible that it takes the passing and mourning the loss of a mutual friend to reconnect you with people who were integral parts of your life at one point. They drift away for various reasons but in this case, the death of Arnold Palmer brought a lot of people back into my life who […]
It was a pretty forgettable first quarter for the Jaguars against the Ravens. Two first downs, two penalties and a bunch of punts that moved the field position around a bit. The Jaguars got a couple of breaks thanks to Ravens mistakes but they looked sluggish and out of sync for the 5th quarter in […]
You know people won’t live forever but with Arnold Palmer you thought that might be possible. He lived life with such passion and spirit yet with a humility and grace that never wavered. Palmer battled several illnesses over the past two years and died today at age 87 of heart complications. Usually tucked in the […]
1. Attitude In the opening week against Green Bay, the season was full of promise. You could tell the week leading up to the game that the Jaguars had a new swagger, a new confidence in their roster and their ability. Despite losing to the Packers, they didn’t lose that in the days leading up […]
Even in the aftermath, there wasn’t anything to like in the Jaguars 38-14 loss to the Chargers on Sunday. Just about every phase of the game broke down leaving many more questions than answers from the coaches and the players. Head Coach Gus Bradley’s assessment was about the same. “We talk about the truth. There […]
1. Pass Rush Saying he didn’t let them ‘pin their ears back’ Gus Bradley gave the defensive line credit for their effort against Aaron Bradley last Sunday. Rodgers was able to sidestep the rush and get the ball down field, perhaps more effectively than any other quarterback in the league. This week, Phillip Rivers presents […]
Dark woods, understated lighting and plenty of glass greet you as you step inside the new Nona Blue Tavern in Ponte Vedra. International and PGA Tour player Graeme McDowell and his two partners opened the doors to their second restaurant on Wednesday, donating a check for $15,000 to Tom Coughlin and the Jay Fund, money […]
In recent years the breakdown of every Jaguars loss included some form of “We’re getting better, we’re getting closer” when you talked to the players and coaching staff. Not so after Sunday’s game against Green Bay. If there was one overriding emotion in the locker room it was anger. Even Head Coach Gus Bradley’s press […]
“Start fast, finish fast,” is how Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley described his philosophy going into the 2016 season. That would be a departure from the previous three years where the Jaguars are 1-10 in September. “We’re very aware of that,” linebacker Paul Posluszny said this week. “Start fast, start fast has been something we’ve […]
Jaguars: 4 to watch 4 1. Does the left side of the offensive line work? When he named Kelvin Beachum as the starting left tackle, Head Coach Gus Bradley admitted that it really wasn’t a competition. He awarded Beachum the job for his “body of work.” Yes, Beachum was an elite left tackle for the […]
On the surface it looks like a mismatch of a still-learning quarterback in the Jaguars Blake Bortles and a 12-year veteran Aaron Rodgers. But closer inspection shows a lot more similarities between the two quarterbacks and the receivers and running game they rely on. Bortles has spent the recent off-seasons working specifically on his quarterback […]
Looking over the 75 players who were vying for the 56 final roster spots on the 2016 Jaguars, Head Coach Gus Bradley declared this team “bigger, faster and stronger,” than teams he’s’ coached in Jacksonville in the past. “It’s an exciting time,” Bradley continued, talking about the cutting process. “We have some really good football […]
Each year when the NFL closes Regent Street in the shopping heart of London, they put on a fan fest that rivals the NFL Experience at the Super Bowl. There are obstacle courses, kicking demos (very popular) cheerleaders and a bunch of Jaguars fans. “We came over for a couple of weeks around the game […]
“I’m not a big fan of hope,” former Jaguars linebacker Tom McManus once said to me during an analysis of a game. Hope is a funny word when it comes to professional sports. On one hand fans can hope things go well. On the other, hope shouldn’t be a part of a coaching staff’s decision […]
I was surprised by Gus Bradley’s upbeat mood after the game Sunday night against Cincinnati. Sure, the second and third teams were competitive and won the game in the end but the starters looked miserable in the first half. Bradley is a very positive coach, so I asked him if it might be a good […]
If nothing else, the first half against the Bengals should have served as a giant wake up call for everybody associated with the Jaguars. “We played pretty bad at every position. When you play bad, you don’t score a lot of points,” quarterback Blake Bortles said in the second half. Players, coaches, front office people […]
Looking at the Jaguars through two preseason games and three weeks of training camp some things about the team are starting to take shape. 1) A year under his belt in the offensive system has helped Blake Bortles take command and get comfortable. They time spent in the offseason throwing to Allen Hurns and Allen […]
In February of this year when the Jaguars made a big splash unveiling their Shipyards project vision; Jaguars Owner Shad Khan said a renovation of the South End Zone could be completed before the 2016 football season began. While the project went through various design stages and permitting processes, that timeline got pushed back with […]
Whatever we watched last week against the Packers we watched the opposite this week against the Chargers. From the opening snap, Phillip Rivers and San Diego did whatever they wanted against the Jaguars on offense and defense, looking dominant in a 38-7 rout. For all of the tenacity last week against the Packers, the Jaguars […]
Just about all the talk, all the prep and all of they hype are behind them now. The re-tooled Jaguars will take the field on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers with new expectations. Last February I asked Owner Shad Khan what his expectation level would be for 2016 and he said, “Better than 5-11 […]
He’s a third year pro but perhaps more importantly, it’s Blake Bortles’ second year in the same offensive system. It’s allowed the Jaguars quarterback to be more in command and take a bigger leadership role. “Yeah, I think so, definitely. If I wasn’t then it would be pretty disappointing,” he said after Tuesday’s practice in […]
As the focus for the Jaguars concentrates on their improvement on the field, the backdrop at the stadium continues to be hammering and building as workers race against the calendar to have improvements done before the season starts. “That extra week in August because our first preseason game is on the road is a big […]
As they continue to work toward bringing in “neutral site” college football games. JaxSports has found a willing partner in Florida State University. FSU is scheduled to play Boise State in a home-and-home series in 2019 and 2020 but talks are progressing to bring that game to Jacksonville to open the season. “Florida State is […]
As a concept, it seems pretty simple: All living things need air to grow. But for Glen Black, it was a brainstorm in college that led to a growing business based on that concept. Black is the President of Air2G2 by GT Air Inject, a Jacksonville company with connections all around the world. While a […]
It might have been a “game week” of preparation but even as hard as they try, the players and coaches admit the third preseason game is different than the rest but still nothing like the regular season. “Fact finding” is how Head Coach Gus Bradley characterized his goal for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati. The Jaguars, […]
There’s never been a question about Jimmy Smith’s on-field greatness. Smith is one of just three players to play more than ten seasons for the Jaguars, from 1995-2005, and still owns 11 team records 10 years after his retirement in 2006. But how to you honor a player during his much-publicized struggle with drug addition […]
“It’s not the end, but it’s a new beginning.” It was with that statement that former Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith summed up his thoughts about being the latest player to be invited to join The Pride of the Jaguars. Smith’s statistics are gaudy by any measure of wide receivers in the NFL and outsized when […]
When the owner says it’s time to win, it’s time to win. And while he didn’t use those specific words today, Jaguars Owner Shad Khan clearly has high expectations for his team in 2016. “Absolutely, I can’t wait,” Khan said when I asked him if he was excited about the start of training camp next […]
It’s been a pretty dramatic transformation in the Jaguars locker room over the last four years. As much as General Manager Dave Caldwell has been looking for talent as he builds the roster, he’s been vetting players’ personalities as well. There’s a certain type of player that can work inside a team with Head Coach […]
For those of you who have followed by journey since my stem-cell surgery in November, first I want to say thank you. Somebody asks me about my knee, the procedure, the braces I wore or my rehab everyday, and I appreciate it. Since the stem-cell procedure is so new in the US, the experts are […]
He’s certainly no stranger to the stadium but it took an assignment from the NFL Network to get former Jaguars running back Maurice Jones Drew back on the Jaguars practice field. “Getting a feel for the team,” Jones Drew responded when asked what brought him to town. The network wants him to have a good […]
When he first arrived on the University of Florida campus in 1976, Jeremy Foley thought he had made a mistake. “I drove down here from New Hampshire with my dad and got out of the car,” he said in Gainesville on Tuesday formally announcing his retirement as Athletic Director effective October 1st. “It was 4000 […]
Looking for that blend of veterans and youth going into the 2016 season, the Jaguars are counting on Sen’Derrick Marks to return from injury, back to his Pro Bowl form. Marks returned for the final OTA on Friday, a little ahead of schedule. “That is what is good about our staff,” Marks said after practice. […]
It’s a “feel good” story for the Jaguars and their players. You can add anybody who ever overcame adversity to that list as well. Third-year wide receiver Allen Hurns, who made the team with his work ethic and performance as an undrafted free-agent signed a $40 million, 4-year contract with the team yesterday, rewarding him […]
You might think this time of year would be tedious for a veteran like Julius Thomas. But after missing last year’s training camp and trying to get involved with the Jaguars offense as the season progressed, he says these OTA’s for the Jaguars are important. “This is probably the biggest time of the year for […]
During his time on the PGA Tour, Hale Irwin had a reputation as a fierce competitor. It helped him to three U.S. Open titles but it also meant he was respected and sometimes feared by his peers. Irwin shot a final round 69 at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham on Sunday, just a few days […]
In his fourth year as the Jaguars head coach, Gus Bradley is pretty much done creating a culture. You could tell from his opening statement after the first OTA of 2016. “I would say a good start, not a great start,” is how he started. “I thought there were some things, but I kind of […]
About the first dozen people I told that Jalen Ramsey had a tear in his meniscus had the same reaction: “Come on! Really? Are the Jaguars snake bit?” It’s easy to draw that conclusion after last year’s injury to Dante Fowler and the just plain old bad luck the Jaguars have had in the last […]
It might have looked like a calm “walkabout” but Jason Day said it was anything but before the final round of the 2016 Players. “I told Ellie earlier this morning, this is probably the most nervous I’ve been before a tournament round,” he recounted after finishing at -15 and recording his seventh victory in his […]
It was a blistering pace that he couldn’t possibly keep up but it was clear Rory McIlroy brought his ‘A’ game for the second round of THE PLAYERS. Starting on the back nine where he’s had tremendous success, Mcilroy birdied the first four holes and went birdie-eagle at 15 and 16 to shoot 29 on […]
