Entries by Sam Kouvaris

Jaguars Playing Today, Thinking About Tomorrow

In the week that Jaguars Owner Shad Khan announced that Gus Bradley would be back for 2016 as the Head Coach, the organization’s focus was split between playing Houston and what to expect next year. “If they’re cleared, they’ll play,” Bradley said when asked about putting players in the game Sunday. Neither Telvin Smith nor […]

Jaguars Lose To Texans, Work To Do

Having been in Shad Khan’s box during a game, I know what a fan he is. When they showed him in the box at Houston during the first half a couple of guys were chatting him up with Mark Lamping’s wife sitting in front of him smiling and watching the game. CBS never did go […]

Khan: Win Next Year

I don’t think you can call Jaguars Owner Shad Khan’s statement today a vote of confidence for Head Coach Gus Bradley but I don’t think it’s an ultimatum either. The message though is very clear: Win next year. With 12 wins in three years, the expectations are that in year four, Bradley and General Manager […]

Bradley Not Going Anywhere

It’s the only time I’ve ever seen Gus Bradley short with an answer in a press conference situation. When he’s asked about his job security, it’s a question he doesn’t want to hear or address. So when he was asked on Monday if he’d rather know his future in Jacksonville before coaching in the final […]

Brees, Precision Beat Jaguars

I ran into a well-respected media member this week in Jacksonville who greeted me with a smile and a handshake saying, “I’m ready for it to be over.” Everybody gets to that point during the season, and although the Jaguars were technically still in the playoff hunt, my colleague had seen enough. At some points […]

Sunday Update /Jaguars Still Motivated?

Sunday AM Update: Reports this morning say Drew Brees will play for the Saints despite only practicing on a limited basis Friday. Brees has a heel problem with a torn plantar fascia but apparently will start. “It hurts to walk. It has its challenges,” Brees said earlier this week. “But we’ve come up with a […]

Jaguars: Third Down Could Fix Slow Starts

Much like he did earlier in the season when the Jaguars were struggling in the red zone, Head Coach Gus Bradley has spent some extra time in practice on third down this week. On both offense and defense. “I just think again it’ll be an area of emphasis,” Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson said at his […]

Bradley: Back to Basics

In his comments right after the loss to the Falcons on Sunday, Head Coach Gus Bradley said “this stings” and “we’ll look at it but there are a lot of plays we left out there.” After looking at it, Bradley thought the same thing. Lots of opportunities lost. “Right now all that is on my […]

Jaguars: One Mistake

Having not thrown an interception in two games and nearly two quarters, Blake Bortles throw at the end of the first half against the Falcons dashed the Jaguars hopes to get back in the game. It turned out to be the one mistake the Jaguars made in a one possession game that cost them a […]

Falcons A Good Test For The Jaguars

You couldn’t have picked an almost perfect team for the Jaguars to play this week besides the Atlanta Falcons. Coming off their big 51-16 win over their division rival Indianapolis, the Jaguars are favored against an Atlanta team that has struggled, losing 7 of 8 games and six straight. But it doesn’t mean they’re a […]

Grier To Transfer From Florida

Still serving a suspension for using a banned substance, Gators quarterback Will Grier has decided to transfer from the University of Florida for what Head Coach Jim McElwain calls a “fresh start.” Here’s the official comment from McElwain. “Will came to me about exploring his options to transfer. We will support him and help him […]

Julius Thomas Paying Dividends

One thing that’s changed with the Jaguars offense is the production from Julius Thomas at tight end. Thomas’ injury in the preseason slowed what the Jaguars were hoping he could provide to Blake Bortles and the offensive production but in the second half of the season it’s been just what they hoped for. “I think […]

Bradley: “Tremendous Message”

In his nearly three full seasons as the Jaguars Head Coach, Gus Bradley has talked about “how it looks” and “playing together,” “keeping it tight” and “finishing.” Against the Colts on Sunday, it must have looked right to Bradley because the Jaguars did all of those things and more. A 51-16 victory was some validation […]

Jaguars Find Momentum, Rout Colts

Scoring on offense, defense and special teams for the first time since 2011, the Jaguars routed the Indianapolis Colts 51-16 at home for their 5th win of the year on Sunday. The 51 points is a regular season team record behind the 62 scored in the playoffs against Miami in 2000. For 28 minutes, the […]

Jaguars: 2016 Starts Now

“Our goal is to be at our best. We weren’t at our best today.” That’s a comment we’ve heard from Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley a half a dozen times this year as his team has bounced around to a 4-8 record. Three-quarters of the season is gone and the Jaguars have been a different […]

Despite Losing, Jaguars Still “Together”

In the week following the loss to Tennessee, Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley was searching for answers just like anybody else. Having acknowledged that his team is having trouble getting to the quarterback no matter what they’ve tried with different packages, Bradley says they’re taking things back to the beginning. “I think that you do […]

Long Drive King At Home In Jacksonville

“It’s a combination of things,” Jeremy Easterly said when asked about hitting the golf ball a long way. But the simplest answer: Swing fast. Easterly was clear about the distinction between “swing hard” and “swing fast” and he’s all about the speed of the swing. At 6’3″ and 255 pounds, Easterly looks the part of […]

Jaguars Mistakes Doom Them Vs. Titans

Perhaps the most frustrating things for Jaguars fans and maybe even the coaching staff is they don’t know which team will show up on any given Sunday. Young, developing teams need to have a personality and build it. The Jaguars have never done that consistently. For most of this year they could count on the […]

Jaguars/Titans: A Glimpse Ahead

While thankfully talk of the post-season has faded since last week’s loss to the Chargers, the Jaguars five remaining games will give them a glimpse to the future and a chance to put some numbers up that show they’re an improving team. Facing the Titans today, they have a chance to win their 4th game […]

A “Speed” Friday For The Jaguars

It was a bit of a different Friday for the Jaguars as they finish up their preparations to play the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Sunday. Usually Friday is a walk-thru, instructional and very coach oriented. Instead, Head Coach Gus Bradley said the team addressed some specific things they saw in the game against San […]

Mariota vs. Jaguars Defense

If you want to consider most everything else on both teams being equal, it could come down to quarterback play this week for the Jaguars against the Titans. As the number two pick out of Oregon, Marcus Mariota is a true rookie. Blake Bortles is in the middle of his second year in the league. […]

Bell and JU: A Messy Split

At JU, the dynamic wasn’t working between Head Football Coach Kerwin Bell and the current university president Tim Cost. Bell had been hired by the previous administration and was asked to build the program with a long-term eye on stepping it up into a different conference and offering scholarships. He approached his job every day […]

Twenty-two Years Ago Today: The Jaguars Are Born

It was a cold morning in Chicago , November 30, 1993. I had watched ABC News Nightline the previous evening with Wayne Weaver, then of 9 West shoe fame, and now the new face of Touchdown Jacksonville! Nightline spent a segment on NFL expansion, outlining how Charlotte had secured a franchise in October and how […]

Rivers Beats Jaguars, 31-25

Quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. That’s what the NFL is about and looking for their 3rd win in a row and 5th overall, the Jaguars ran into one of the elite signal-callers in the game. Phillip Rivers put on a clinic, using the Jaguars defense as his plaything throwing four touchdown passes in a 31-19 win by […]

Richt Fired: Who’s Next?

After 15 years as the head coach, Mark Richt was fired on Sunday at the University of Georgia. The school president said Richt would have an opportunity to stay on the staff in Athens but that’s doubtful, considering Richt’s resume. From playing at the University of Miami to Bobby Bowden’s coordinator at FSU, Richt was […]

Jaguars/Chargers Preview: All About Rivers

It was pretty competitive last year in San Diego in the first half for the Jaguars against the Chargers. But despite being down by only three, 17-14 going to the locker room, the Jaguars couldn’t muster any offense in the second half and lost, 33-14 falling to 0-4. On a regular basis in the last […]

Bradley Likes The Improvement

It’s a bit of a strange week for the Jaguars coming back from a weekend off and also having Thanksgiving in the middle of the workweek. Head Coach Gus Bradley let his team off over the weekend following the win over Tennessee, and gave the players Monday off before bringing them in for a full […]

Bortles: “The pieces are there”

As our guest on Jaguars All-Access Monday Night, Quarterback Blake Bortles was his usual complimentary self when talking about his success, giving credit to his teammates. That continued in a rare Tuesday interview at the stadium. When talking about the running game, Bortles could not have been more positive about the offensive line or running […]

Bradley Day After: Keep it Tight

After a win, it’s easy to pick things apart and look at certain situations where it could have been better. When you lose, it’s much more difficult. So on Friday, less than 15 hours after beating Tennessee, Head Coach Gus Bradley was willing to talk about his teams failings in the red zone, something that’s […]

Jaguars Beat Titans, Win Back To Back Games

There’s something out of sync with Blake Bortles since the bye week. Despite throwing for more than 380 yards against the Jets, his mechanics look more like last year than the preseason. His “arm technique” is just that, a lot of arm. When he came back in training camp, you could see him turn his […]

Jaguars With A Chance Tonight

Against the Titans tonight, the Jaguars might be a little depleted because of injury but that’s part of the NFL this time of year. The “color rush” uniforms worn by both teams will provide a story line, but this will be a chance for the Jaguars to “ignore the noise,” all of the distractions that […]

Marks Out: Jaguars Short Week

Starting out with the bad news, the Jaguars put Sen’Derrick Marks on Injured reserve on Tuesday ending his season. After working his way back from a torn ACL suffered at the end of last year, Marks was playing an integral part for the interior of the Jaguars defensive line. “Your heart goes out to him […]

Breaks Fall Jaguars Way In Win Over Ravens

Coming into the game against the Ravens I was asked to appear on a few radio shows in Baltimore. While both teams were 2-6 through eight games, most of the talk in Baltimore was about injuries and under performance by their defense. They had all kinds of reasons that their 2-6 record was very different […]

Bradley: Spirit? Good, Play? Not Good Enough

It was another Monday at the stadium with Gus Bradley after a Jaguars loss. In the past two years, the tone was different because the Jaguars weren’t even in most of the games the lost. This year, it’s usually one possession or two that makes the difference between winning or losing. Even in the Jaguars […]

Same Mistakes, Same Result: Jaguars Lose to Jets

Some of the same problems that have popped up in the recent past showed themselves in the Jaguars effort early in the game on the road against the Jets. Bad field position, bad special teams play and inconsistent offense, including some key drops gave the Jets momentum and the lead. After a good three and […]

Healthy, Jaguars Looking For A Road Win

There was an odd situation at Jaguars practice this week: injuries didn’t dictate who could play. “It’s the first time I’ve looked out on the practice field away from our field and there was no one out there,” Head Coach Gus Bradley said. “That’s a good feeling, to see guys get reps and the number […]

Jaguars “Bonus Monday”

After their win in London, the Jaguars bye week came at just the right time according to head coach Gus Bradley. Not just to recover from the trip to the UK, but to get more players healthy and look forward to the second half of the season. “Bonus Monday,” Bradley called it after practice. The […]

Jaguars Bye Week: Honest Talk

There are some subtle changes to the bye week for the Jaguars players although Gus Bradley wouldn’t outline them specifically. He did say he didn’t “want guys to go home and run hill sprints with their personal trainers” but outside of that, stay out of trouble, clear your mind and be ready for the second […]