The Jacksonville Jaguars cut five players on Tuesday to trim down to the required 75 man roster. Two veteran players, Isaac Smolko (TE) and John Broussard (WR) were among the five cut. The other three, Alex Boston (DE), Clyde Edwards (WR) and Jeron Harvey (WR) were rookies.

If you look at the positions these guys played, you can pretty much gather why they were cut even without seeing them play. Smolko was a career practice squad guy who got signed and cut by the Jaguars more than once. He was also one of eight tight ends that the Jaguars had collected. The same can be said about Broussard who had been tettering on the edge for quite some time. Even with Broussard, Edwards and J. Harvey getting the ax, the Jaguars have seven wide receivers on their current roster. There was talk of Matt Jones being one of the guys who was booted until his outstanding preseason performance. That is when it became obvious that Broussard was going to be the one to go.

The Jaguars have until August 30th to slim their roster down to the traditional 53 man roster we know and love. Several players will be playing for their job in the final preseason game against the Washington Redskins tomorrow night.

For example, Del Rio likes to keep only two quarterbacks around so that draws into question Todd Bouman’s performance over the preseason. Bouman played well against Miami, scoring us the only two touchdowns we got that night. He may have earned himself a bench spot at third string, especially if he plays particularly well against Washington.

Wide receiver, as mentioned above, is bloated at seven. Reggie Williams, Dennis Northcutt, Matt Jones and Mike Walker have all but guaranteed themselves a spot on the roster. Jerry Porter, with his large contract, will also make the roster despite not playing due to injury. Will Del Rio want to keep a sixth one around? Troy Williamson probably hopes so.

There are other bubble guys that are looking to fill up back up spots. Jamaal Fudge (a Jacksonville native) and Pierson Prioleau (the guy who made game saving plays in both the Tampa Bay and Atlanta games) are battling at defensive back. Uche Nwaneri and Tutan Reyes are looking to fill in Brad Meester’s spot as he recovers.

This is what preseason is about. This is what makes it interesting. Some people enjoy freaking out about the first stringer’s performance but that isn’t really the story. It is about these bubble guys who are fighting desperately to get a job doing what they love to do. It is about finding those guys who are the undrafted break out players. It is its own excitement.

Woohoo!

Harvey will get $17.175 million in guaranteed money, $23.8 million in base package and $33.4 million in max package, including incentives and escalators.

Jaguars fans everywhere (even the ones like me who rush to the computer lab between classes instead of getting lunch) give a great sigh of relief and a “finally“. 

Walking into the stands at Raymond James stadium, I could only think one thing: “Man, if we lose I am going to look extremely silly.” Well, actually, that is a lie. The only thing I could really concentrate on was “Holy moly these stairs are steep oh god I am going to fall” as I walked into the upper deck. Seriously, Tampa. Those seats are scary.

Being a fan of the opposing team was a weird feeling. There was no hiding who we were with because the teal jerseys stuck out among all the red and there was a sort of friendship among us Jaguar fans, even though we had never met. In fact, my boyfriend and I were waiting for the gates to open when an older gentleman in a nice suit and a Jaguar hat came up to talk to us. We talked for a bit and he told us he was the father of fifth round pick Thomas Williams. That was pretty awesome. We also saw who we thought was Mike Walker’s family.

However, the fun came when the game started (mostly because I was able to ignore how high up we were oh god). I was feeling rather critical of the team after last week’s game against the Dolphins but they did not disappoint.

On the Bucs first try down the field, Earnest Graham fumbled on third and one. Reggie Hawyard, who had been out due to injury, forced the fumble and Paul Spicer scooped it up. Because of good special teams and great defense, the Jaguars found themselves on the 23 yard line. The short drive resulted in a field goal after Garrard’s pass to Reggie Williams was short at the five yard line.

On the Bucs second time with the football, Jeff Garcia threw a terrible pass into Reggie Nelson’s hands. After a Justin Durant flag, the Jaguars found themselves once again close to the end zone. After a Fred Taylor run and a Matt Jones first down, Garrard threw the ball to Dennis Northcutt for the touchdown.

After the Bucs punted the ball away, it was time to judge the offense’s real ability. After all, getting the ball close to the 20 yard line made it pretty easy to score. Now they were on their own 21 yard line. Now they had to drive it down the field. However, the Jaguars went three and out after Troy Williamson dropped the ball and Garrard got sacked.

As the Bucs drove down the field to their own endzone, Garcia threw another pick to Reggie Nelson. Honestly, as a fan in the stands, it was hard not to laugh a little. Unfortunately, my laughter was soon stopped as Garrard threw an interception to Ronde Barber.

Finally, in the second quarter, the Bucs drove down the field without a turnover and Garcia threw to Michael Clayton for the touchdown. After a Jaguar punt, they looked like they were going to score again until their kicker missed a field goal and the time ran out on the first half.

After the half, the Jaguars came out swinging. The first string offense drove down the field for a Garrard to Marcedes Lewis touchdown. It helped that Dennis Northcutt got a first down and then Tampa got a flag for roughing the passer. After that play, the second string offense (except the line) and defense came in.

The game slowed down a lot as the starters left the field. Cleo Lemon got to work behind the first string offensive line so the Jaguars could take a real look at him. Scobee kicked for another field goal. Trae Williams intercepted a ball.

The game came to a complete hault when Tampa’s Antoine Cash sustained a neck injury. Every player for both teams came out on the field to gather around him. I think that was good. Not only did it show respect but it had the added bonus of keeping the media out. He was taken off the field in a stretcher. It looked serious but recent reports say that he has been released from the hospital and that it is not as bad as it could have been.

Afterward, Scobee kicked for another field goal and were up by six. The Bucs drove down the field, in the last seconds looking like they wanted to score but a tackle by Trae Williams ended the game at Tampa’s 11 yard line.

It was a good, exciting game for a preseason game. Unfortunately, the pass game is still looking weak but the defense and special teams came out strong. They showed what they needed to after the Miami loss.

Hey, hey Tampa Bay Fay is here to ruin your day.

My boyfriend and I made the trip down here, fleeing early in the morning from the on coming tropical storm.  We’ve spent two days at a dreary Busch Gardens, getting constant updates about Jacksonville’s status. For instance, jaksonville.com has clips of my neighborhood where people are getting around in boats. Hoorah for living on the second floor!

However, tonight is the reason we came down here. Tonight is the Jaguars game. Tonight we are entering enemy waters to watch our team take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I am thrilled.

The Story: The Jaguars first stringers have to prove themselves after the embarassment that was their loss to the Dolphins.

The Players: The Jaguars are getting back two very important Reggies: Williams and Hayward. They play on different sides of the ball but they are both critical to the team and have been out due to injuries.

The Players To Watch: All of the first stringers are on trial after last week’s fiasco and there are many questions fans will be asking themselves. Can the offensive line block to give Garrard enough time to throw the ball accurately? Can the defensive line stop the run? Will Mike Walker continue to show improvement? How will Reggie Williams fair after being out for so long? Can the defense stop those dink and dunk passes that both Joey Harrington and Chad Pennington tore us apart with?

The Can They Do It Agains: Well, Brian Witherspoon was nursing a sprained ankle last I heard so I have no idea if he’ll be returning for us. Paul Spicer was the one guy who actually came out and played last week an I have no doubt that he will do it again this week.

The Prediction: The Jaguars first stringers must show life or the season will be put into serious doubt. I am sure Del Rio gave them a big talking to after the game last week and that they will come out swinging. This game is up in the air to me because I have no idea how strong the Buccaneers third stringers are. However, because the Jaguars first stringers should be playing with all their might I am going to give the edge to the Jags.

The story that is eating up the sports blogosphere is about the website “Women Against Fantasy Sports“. Since most football bloggers are male, there is a lot of whining on their part about how this site is just silly because they need their hobbies too, honey!

Here is an example of one of the stories from WAFS:

It’s Saturday afternoon and I am just arriving home from work. Usually the house is in a little disarray but nothing quite prepared me for this.
I opened up the front door and get a warm jumpy welcome from the dogs and notice a trail of fluff leading into the family room. I follow the trail and walk in to…well words just can’t describe…mostly because I am still speechless… but maybe a “minefield”? There is crap EVERYWHERE! The girls have decided that they wanted to play with every toy they have…at the same time…and of course the only way to do that is to empty the shelves, drawers and cabinets… build a fort to play them in…grab snacks from the kitchen ….and proceed to leave drops of milk and whatever else all around the room. AWESOME.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“He’s in the office”
I walk in and there it is. I knew it was coming - I just didn’t realize it was that soon. There he is, still in his pajama bottoms…two computers on, going from one screen to the next, rubbing his hair like he is about to come up with some theory that will save the world. “Honey! Do you think I should play a hurt Adrian Peterson or Kevin Jones with a good matchup… ” I gave him the look…the “REALLY? Are you kidding me?” look, rolled my eyes and walked away.
I can’t wait to see the kitchen…

Yes. How dare a woman expect her husband to make sure the house doesn’t get destroyed while she is at work! That is just completely unreasonable!

There are numerous examples talking about how the women are neglected for the fantasy sports and the sports blogosphere is making it seem like the ladies are going “PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEE” which obviously isn’t the case with the above story.

Now, my boyfriend does fantasy football and some how it does not interfere with our love life. Most women can be left alone for two hours while their man drafts. We’re not all the crazy psycho ladies that the sports bloggers are making us out to be. Most of us just roll our eyes when you complain about how Brian Westbrook ruined your game by not going for the touchdown.

Here is the facts, guys: after the draft there is no need to spend hours analyzing this and that. Sure, trade away some players that are hurt or useless. That takes, what? Five minutes? And that is on dial up. The thing about it is this… your players are set and the game is on. There is nothing you can do now. You don’t need to track your game on your cell phone while your out showing your lady a good time. In a way, it is pretty disrespectful. Actually. It is completely disrespectful.

I am not saying you can’t go check your standings if you two are just chilling out on the couch channel surfing. I am saying that if you’re out of the house and your pulling up the internet on your cell phone or abandoning your honeymoon to check your stats it may be you that has the problem, not your lady.

And yeah, that honeymoon story is on there too:

We had just barely entered the honeymoon suite when my new husband URGENTLY had to go find an internet connection.

At first he tried to disguise it (as many FS Addicts do)… “I have to check what time our flight leaves… and I need to make sure I got a confirmation for our hotel in Seattle… It’s fine honey, I’ll be a half an hour tops… I just want to make sure everything is perfect for the second leg of our honeymoon…”

I didn’t really understand why he couldn’t check on these things over the phone, but I let him go anyway…silly me… I was a FS newlywed… I had no idea what I was dealing with…

Two and a half hours later… my new husband returned… to his extremely frustrated wife! I kept probing long enough to find out that he was about to miss the deadline for getting his Fantasy Football teams set up… and heaven forbid he had the same line-up as last week when one of his bench players could have scored him an extra 2 points… then he had to reply to a post… someone joked about one of his players on the blog section… he had to defend his honor, right?!? Uh-huh… I guess that answers the age-old question…

Of course, it must be the ladies fault. Here are some comments left on the blogs discussing this

Im gonna make a very serious comment here. Your man probably spends all that time on fantasy sports sites because you dont suck his cock enough. THATS THE QUALITY TIME HE’S LOOKING FOR!!! If he is choosing between talking to your dumbass or fantasy sports, you lose every time. If you suck his cock, he’ll come running back. Its that fucking easy.

That chink needs to learn to keep her fucking yap shut!!

well….a couple of nuts up her ass would probably do the trick…..

well….that and a ball-gag

Oh silly me. I thought we were here for emotional as well as psychical fulfillment. I am sorry, I forgot we were just holes that you come to went you want to stick your penis in something warm. I am just so naive teehee!

And some more random ones from here:

“Widows” is such a hard term. I prefer “sandwich makers”.

W.A.F.S. = We Are Fat Shrews

Two months out of the year? Haven’t these cunts heard of fantasy NASCAR and golf?

Those are some pretty busted women on the website. Have they ever considered that might be the reason why no one is spending time with them?

Our own fansiders have gotten into it too. From Atlanta:

The reason this woman is against fantasy sports is because her husband found something more interesting to him than watching the style network and talking about how Oprah is getting fat….. again.

Even when WAFS speaks back, sort of bemused:

I was perusing some of the sites that were obviously WAY too offended by what we are doing over here. Well I guess the fear of getting women away from the sandwich making has really struck a nerve. Listen guys…RELAX. Think of it as a positive. Now you don’t have to pretend you don’t see the eyes rolling back into your loved ones head…maybe now she will get out enough frustration on our site that she will be more relaxed when you get to bed (if you are picking up what I am putting down). If you think about it, it’s really a win-win situation. Lighten up and let the ladies have a little fun. Now don’t you think you better get back to the computer…it’s almost time to start another draft…

This is their first response:

I think you’ve gotten me to see the light… let me go see if I can register MASITC.com.

What is that you ask? Men Against Sex In The City… i’m so sick of my fiance having a hobby that doesn’t involve me. She’s so damn selfish.

So basically if you don’t enjoy your man dwindling away countless hours looking at stats of big burly men:

You’re fat.
You’re stupid.
You’re a shrew.
You’re ugly.
You should be seen and not heard.
There’s nothing interesting about you.
All you’re good for is sex.
Oh, and making sandwiches.

That is why your man is with you and don’t you ever forget! Who are you to say that you don’t like one of their hobbies! Who are you to disagree with them! You’re just here because they want you here, not because they love you. You’re just so selfish for wanting to spend time with a man who you think cares about you. So unreasonable, you ladies. I guess you guys just can’t help it. You are ladies after all. Too many emotions get in the way of rational thoughts.

We also can’t forget the women who have found a nice niche in the sports world. Women, who want to stay in the cool zone of “that awesome girl who likes sports — you’re so much cooler than those other women who don’t get it” or (dare I say it?) “you’re one of the good ones” have even gone after WAFS:

You girls need to get a life. It is the complaining and starting of websites like this that put women in a bad light. I am married and play in a fantasy league with my husband and both our families. Nothing could turn him on more. Not only has my knowledge of the most popular game in the country increased ten fold but I get to brag as I beat my husband, his brother, and most importantly my mother-in-law. If your husbands and boyfriends and spending all their free time on fantasy football, don’t blame the game…blame yourself!

I think that response, out of all of them, has me floored. Yes. How dare… a woman… not enjoy… her husbands… hobby? How dare she complain about something her loved one does that annoys her? Oh sorry, wait, no. You’re the perfect wife. You have it figured out. My bad.

There is no requirement that says you have to get yourself into your guy’s hobbies to spend time with them. It is sad state of affairs if the only way you can see them is if you take on their interests. It means they don’t know what it is like to balance a relationship in their own lives and that is not their lady’s fault.

And even if it is all in jest, how could people not read what they write and not see how a woman can be completely turned off by the sports world? I am pretty disgusted myself.

Oh, Fay (are we really on F already?). You reminded me of what it is to be a Floridian during hurricane season.  Why did I think my trip down to Tampa to see the Jaguars play would be safe? How could I possibly thought that planning far ahead was a good idea for a trip down south during hurricane season? These last two years have lulled me into a false sense of security. However, I have lived here all my life. I have no excuse.

Don’t get me wrong, hurricanes don’t scare me. They actually excite me. You know those crazy looking people who go down to the beaches when the hurricane is about to make land? That is me. Or it would be me if Jacksonville didn’t scare off hurricanes. We just get lots of rain, waves and days off from school. Hurricane paaaaaaarty, guys!

The local news media is going nuts. You can almost feel how excited they are to not be talking about murders in the ghetto. They are out in full force at gas stations, Wal*Marts, grocrey stores. Look at all these people going crazy buying up batteries and water! Last night the local news interviewed a woman who had Jacksonville all over her who said, “We prepare for the best… the best and hope for the best” I liked the pause that she took to think about if she got the phrase right. She didn’t. Why does the news media interview people like that? I think it is just a giant troll on the entire city.

I guess I wouldn’t really care about this storm in a typical situation. In fact, since I am subcontracted to work for the city, my work got cancelled (paaaaaarty)! However, the idea of tromping around Tampa in little left overs of Fay is not exciting. Especially when my tickets to Busch Gardens and the Jaguars/Tampa preseason game are already paid for. Oh yes, please! Please, sky! Open up on me and drench me as I watch a preseason game! Please! I would absolutely love you to do that! Wait. No. I don’t want that at all.

At least misery loves company.

With the shock of the preseason loss to the Dolphins fully dispersed in the fan psyche, the number one story in Jaguar news is back to Derrick Harvey’s holdout. God, how I wish it wasn’t the number one story.  I dream of typing the headline “Harvey Holdout Over — Derrick Harvey Signed For More Than The Jaguars Wanted But Less Than What He Wanted”. I feel like I could teach a college level course on this stuff now. “Sports 3214 — The Wonders of Compromise and Negotiation.” I’m not entirely sure it if it would be a business or drama class - eeesh.

Anyway, negotiations are so close fans can taste it. Posters on the message boards have been predicting a Harvey settlement since preseason games began. They have gotten to the point of anger. For instance, this comment by forum poster DUVALJAX:

Just sign already you greedy . big headed d bag. You got drafted by a good team right by where you went to college and still got offered millons of dollars to play football! be thankful for it and not sit out all camp because you as* wants more. you havent proved shi*. You need a reality check. Sign the dotted line we wasted are whole draft to get YOU, be blessed you can be in the nfl.

GO JAGSSSS

SCREW HARVEY

Ahhh, NFL fans. I didn’t even have to go further than the first page of the message board to find that. I knew there would be one.

However, it is not just fans dispensing advice. Paul Spicer and Rashean Mathis have entered their two cents as well:

“From what I heard, they’re a million away,” Spicer said, referring to media reports. “If you’re a million away, the only guy who benefits is the agent.

“Take that,” Spicer advised Harvey. “Tell your agent I’m tired of sitting at home. It’s time to put the toys away, be a man and get down to business.”

“He’s got to take care of home,” Mathis said. “We’re here waiting on him.”

I think the most encouraging thing is that they are a million away from settling on a deal and that the veterans are telling him to get his butt in gear. A win in Tampa and Harvey being signed would definitely put an extra kick into this fan’s step.

The first stringers of Jacksonville walked out onto the field of The Jack… completely unready and unwilling to be there.

On the offensive side of the ball, our first legitimate first down (as in, not the one given to us by defensive pass interference) was after almost ten minutes had passed in the first half. The first tme we actually got close to scoring (five minutes into the second half) Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled the ball into the endzone, resulting in a touchback for Miami. We were left scoreless until the fourth quarter.

The defensive side of the ball was no better. Their quarterbacks picked us apart with dink and dunk passes and parted our defensive line like the red sea. There was absolutely no pressure on Henne or Pennington. Last week I found myself saying, “Man, Matt Ryan looked good against us” and this week “Man, Chad Henne looked good against us” and I am wondering to myself if that is what the defense is good for: making rookie quarterbacks feel good about themselves.

To quote from Vic’s in-game blog:

8/16/08 at 9:09 PM

Much will be written and said about the failure of the offense tonight, but it’s the other side of the ball that has me concerned.

However, it was not all bad. Troy Williamson played for a few downs but wasn’t given a chance to prove himself. Mike Walker looked a lot better this time around. I haven’t gotten a chance to look at Walker’s touchdown catch that was taken away from him but other than that he didn’t screw up.

To quote Vic again:

8/16/08 at 9:40 PM

Lemon to Walker for a first down. I’m OK with Walker tonight. He’s getting into the flow. He’s showing his upside.

Todd Bouman almost led the team to a comeback and put 14 points on the board in the fourth. Also, Brian Witherspoon looks like he got himself a job as a returner.

Del Rio pretty much felt the same way as most fans did in his post game interview:

Del Rio is usually able to find the positives in all situations, but it was a struggle for him following the loss to the Dolphins. He settled for no injuries, few penalties and the play of Bouman.

“Those are your positives,” he said.

I knew that our third stringers were better than most team’s third stringers and that it why I assumed we would win. I was right in that respect. Our third stringers put 14 points on the board, making us not look as silly when people only see the gameday scores.

To Miami’s credit, they looked like a team who was ready to succeed. My dad, who grew up a Dolphins fan, said he was happy to see the Dolphins performing better this year. He also commented that the people from last year’s team should have been taken out and shot for wearing their uniforms and sucking so hard at the same time. They have a future in Chad Henne. How he lasted until the second round is a wonder. You go, Miami.

It is a pretty dreary day outside. I feel like the weather should be happy as I am that there’s is football tonight. Gimme sunshine Sunshine State!

The Story: Cleo Lemon is playing in this game against his old team! So is Ernest Wilford! After talking to Brian it seems like we have the better player, believe it or not. Wilford not being good for them breaks my heart though.

The Players: Derrick Harvey isn’t signed. Boo.

The Players To Watch: It seems like our entire Wide Receiving Corps is hurt so this is Mike Walker, Dennis Northcutt and Matt Jones’s time to shine. Hopefully David Garrard will help them shine by showing the ability throw some bombs.

The Can They Do it Agains: Brian Witherspoon was an amazing punt returner last game with speed that kills. Greg Jones also had an amazing game on the ground. Reggie Nelson bit on a play that resulted in a touchdown but other than that he looked fantastic. Mkristo Bruce also looked good.

The Prediction: The stadium will be empty if it rains. The Jaguars seem to have more depth than the Dolphins and in preseason that is all that matters. Plus, I beat them in Madden and if I can beat some one in Madden they must stink.