Yes, yes, oh my god yes!

Here it is, almost two full days later and the game still hasn’t completly sunk in for me.  It’s hard to believe that these are the same Jaguars just two weeks removed from the throttling Arizona laid down, but as I breathe, I keep checking the scores and by god, it still says 37-17 Jaguars.

There is no way to say it other than the Jags simply put on a clinic on Sunday.  The game wasn’t even as close as the final score will have you believe as the Jags dominated ever facet of the game before a couple last ditch drives from Tennessee finally produced points.

Some observations:

Wide receiver is fixed.  With the emergence of Mike Sims-Walker as a legitimate number one target, Torry Holt still being a reliable option over the middle, and the sheer genius of the use of Mike Thomas, (more on this later) gone are the days of watching balls drop through over-paid draft picks’ hands like bricks.  David Garrard finally looks like a star quarterback worthy of his contract out there because – well, his balls are being caught.

Speaking of David Garrard, he’s playing the best football of his life right now.  He looks like a commander of the offense, he takes shots down the field, he has good pocket presence, he is absolutely fearless when it comes to taking hits.  Essentially, he’s making Del Rio look awfully smart for going with him in 2007, and he’s paying back that contract with his play right now.  I’ll be honest, in the draft I was really hoping to land Mark Sanchez, but David is playing at a pro-bowl level right now.  And I love it.

Oh man, were those Jaguar tight ends making plays down the seam?  Marcedes Lewis finally seems to have found the hands we supposedly drafted him for, and we all knew Ernest Wilford could catch.  Give Zach Miller a little more time to develop, and a position that was one of embarrassment for the Jags last year (sorry Estandia and Angulo) could turn into one of strength.

Our linebackers are really good.  Watching Daryl, Clint and Justin out there is like watching three men sharing one brain.  It’s a shame these guys play in Jacksonville.  Plug them in a higher market team, they would be on every highlight reel.  Have you noticed no one has been stretching the field on us with the running game?  Yeah.

The pass rush still needs work.  I wasn’t a big fan of the Derrick Harvey trade from day one, and I won’t use the dreaded ‘bust’ tag this early in his career, but he hasn’t done much of anything to put my mind at ease.  We have guys that are monster run-stuffers at the line of scrimmage, but so far no one has stepped up as that premier pass rusher.

Derek Cox is the real deal.  We all knew he would be picked on all year being a starting rookie corner, so of course he’s been beat a few times, but the kid doesn’t quit, and he positively flies to the ball on almost every play.

Dirk Koetter pencil-spanked Jeff Fischer and his defense this week.  The brilliant use of Mike Thomas on the reverse and screen game really stretched the field, and it really started to feel like we could run whatever play we wanted.

Future or no, it’s going to be hard to justify handing the job back to Eugene Monroe once he returns from illness.  Not saying I don’t love Monroe, he was my favorite player in the draft, and I thought the Jags were probably the luckiest team in the top 10 to be able to land him, but he still has to adjust to playing with his hand on the ground.  Tra Thomas obviously does not.  Ask Kyle Vanden Bosch.

But man, all the technical stuff aside, didn’t that win feel good?  Couldn’t you just feel the frustration from the Titans’ sideline as they looked on, aghast that the Jaguars, whom they had made a mockery of for so many years were squeezing the last realistic bit of life from their playoff hopes?  This is the kind of win that can get a young, ascending team on a roll.  If Mel Tucker can just find a way to get to the quarterback (easier said than done, I know.  That’s why he’s a defensive coordinator, and I blog) the sky is the limit for this team.  And you know the best part?  This is not on borrowed time.  We are a young team that is only going to get better as the year goes on, and I think we have proven that we can at least be competitive at any level.

Bring on the ‘hawks, baby.