Jags 3, Bears 41: A Tale of Two Halves Part I
By Luke Sims
It’s always tough to lose a blowout. It’s hard on us fans, whether watching it on TV or in the stands, and it’s tough on the players as their supports file out of the stadium with their heads hung low. It’s never a good feeling. However, there is always something to take away from the game and right now it looks like there is a lot to be gleaned…at least from the first half.
The game against the Chicago Bears was a big game for the Jaguars. The score doesn’t indicate it, but the team had a shot to do something this Sunday against a very strong contender. It all changed after the two minute warning in the first half though.
Before the half, the Jaguars had been able to put together some nice drives, the defense was being far more stout than it has been so far this season, and the offense was clicking like we haven’t seen since week one. Gabbert looked good, was throwing for over 50%, didn’t have an interception, and the receivers seemed to be able to catch the ball. The team was winning the time of possession battle and the offensive line was able to hold up against a strong front seven. The only troubling statistic was Maurice Jones-Drew’s three yards per rush, but he even made up for that with a 20 yarder in the first quarter.
What did we learn?
- Cecil Shorts can be a good receiver when he wants to be
- Justin Blackmon is starting to come out of his shell
- Blaine Gabbert is good when let loose (talking about the first half here)
- The defense can play well (at least for two quarters)
- Derek Cox is easily the best defensive back on the team
This team needs to realize that in order to win football games, they need to be competitive the entire game. While the first half looked good for the team on Sunday, tomorrow we’ll look at how and why the second half broke down and turned this game from a close contest into an atrocity.
– Luke N. Sims
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