Jaguars Defeat Broncos – Game Impressions

It was hot at the stadium but the crowd was huge and loud and ready for their Jaguars.  Josh McDaniels put Tim Tebow in early and nothing happened. The crowd went on it’s own way of rooting for the Jaguars. It was uneventful and not worthy of all the hype this week.

My initial impressions are that the Jaguars are who we thought they were. They were evenly matched with the Broncos, maybe a bit better. Special Teams won the game. Over and over, as you saw, they did amazing things. Let’s focus on them for a moment.

Special Teams.

The new punter was really good. His name is Adam Podlesh but he is not to be confused with the Adam Podlesh we had on the team last year. This new Podlesh guy can kick the ball. He angled it beautifully or hit inside the five. Guess who, in a matter of fact manner, was always in a position to down the ball? Kaseem Osgood. Wow, what he contributed today.

Josh Scobee was perfect. His kickoffs were rarely returned and he was dead on for his field goal.

Tiquan Underwood and the return game was stunning and they put David and the offense in a position to play half court all day long.  I don’t think we would have won this game without the field position battle coming out so lopsided in our favor. Tiquan must have averaged over 35 yards a return. Mike Thomas was very good as well. No Fumbles!!!  Indianapolis didn’t solve their problems on special teams by getting rid of Russ Pernell.  It was great watching the special teams today.

Defensive Line.

We said the pressure was beginning to return and it did. Kyle Orton, especially in the last quarter, had an urgency about him. He was not relaxed at all in the pocket. Do you like Aaron Kampman? I do. Do you like Alualu? I do. Even Derrick Harvey was smacking Kyle Orton around. Did you like the batted down balls? Did you like how the defensive line made a statement today? I did. It was a strong statement and it looks to be developing even better.

Defensive Secondary.

We said the secondary was our risk and it was. The key to victory was when Jack yanked Derek Cox out in the third quarter and replaced him with David Jones. Derek Cox was picked on badly. When they threw at him, they not only completed it, but Derek wasn’t able to make the tackle. I think he lost his starting role today.

But the safeties played ok. The passes were toward the sides and not over the middle. Anthony Smith was ok and Sean Considine was ok. I didn’t anyone run away from the Jaguars today. The Broncos broke off some big plays, but the majority of them were long completions. There wasn’t much short catches and long runs after the catch. That was good.

Offensive Line.

I need to look at the pictures but David had time. He looked comfortable during pass plays. Then, when we were able to rip off runs up the middle? Was I surprised. We ran left, we ran right and we ran up the middle.  I think the offensive line exceeded my expectations.

Receivers.

I’m sorry for this, but I told you to start Marcedes Lewis on your fantasy team. He was fantastic today. Keseem Osgood got a touchdown?! Wow. Mike Walker was a non-factor except for blocking. He was there in the play even if he didn’t get the ball. The Jaguars receivers played unselfish football today. Mike Thomas caught some balls and Mathews played as well. David missed him but it was a tight throw.  I think the Denver strength is their defensive secondary and they gave up three touchdowns by air today. That surprised me.

Running.

Nothing broke open big, but the running was wonderful. To those that thought Greg Jones was on the way out, watch this game. He took out two guys once to spring a run to the right. Greg Jones was a secret weapon and Maurice benefited. Maurice was typical Maurice except I didn’t see any pancake blocks. We ran really well especially up the middle.

Quarterback.

I don’t know Davids rating but he had three touchdowns, no interceptions and a couple of hundred yards I think. That is usually good for a nice QB rating. David did the QB keeper and got a critical third down, so he did it with his arm and legs today. David was good today. He is not a win it by himself type of QB, but I would take this performance every week.

Coaching.

I don’t always get Dirk Koetter and the play on fourth and one didn’t look strong but overall I saw no real coaching errors. I thought they played the game well, had the team prepared and called a good offensive and defensive game.  I thought it was fine.

Overall.

I think this Jaguar team started out great. I think they are better than last year. They did give up 360 yards of offense and a good chunk of that was at Derek Cox. They need a second corner to reduce some of those plays. But overall, this is a team that can get better but already looked good.

How did you see it?

– Terry O’Brien