Seriously HBO? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that America could still use more Emmanuelle Chriqui. Source: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Who said we needed to get on Hard Knocks to get some exposure?  We’re just two games into the preseason, but there’s enough national chatter about the Jaguars to make HBO fully regret their decision not to put us on the air.  Since the beginning of the day on Monday, 10 Jaguars centered articles were written on ProFootballTalk.com (a fairly biased site for Jags ignorance/criticism).  10!!  I feel lucky when I get to read one or two a week, much less 10 in 2 days.   Why have the Jaguars become so attractive to the media recently?…

What is it about the 'stache that is so darn intriguing? Source: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

…Because we have all the makings of an incredibly compelling story.  We have a coming-of-age story developing (bring it Lombardi), we have scandal and deceit (I’m looking at you, Jones-Drew), we have incredibly intriguing characters (who is the man behind the mustache?), and now a historic metropolitan background (sorry Jacksonville, London has a clock more historic than you).  We have change, both the expected (Mularkey and co.) and the less expected (Rashad Jennings being an absolute boss).  We have exciting new characters (Blackmon , Branch), but even the familiar old ones seemed to have breathed in new life (Mike Thomas).  More importantly, this year in Jacksonville we have a true sense of possibility – a sense that the window of opportunity, though miniscule, is open… a sense that with the right circumstances, anything could happen… a sense that for the first time in five or so years, we truly have an uncertain trajectory.

Some of you readers (among you, my friends) may scoff and say the Jags are still a 6-10 team… and perhaps that is true.  But even if we bump the Jaguars up an extra win or two because of their incredibly productive (and meaningless) preseason play, we aren’t giving the Jaguars’ story enough credence by simply calling them an 8-8 team.  The tiny bit of fire they’ve shown their fans, and the NFL, is now in the realm of possibility.  Who in their right (non-biased) mind thought the Jaguars would be competitive in games against the Giants and Saints – even in the preseason?  Who even dreamed that Blaine would have a game with a completion percentage of over 80%?  If I told you before training camp started that the Jaguars might lose their best player – their only elite player and the guy that had been the face of their franchise for the last half decade or so – who among us would’ve thought that the Jaguars had even the slightest chance to be competitive?

This could be you by midseason. Source: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

This is the beauty of what the preseason has shown us – that while unlikely, great results are possible from a team that wasn’t even destined for mediocrity.  But at the same time, the flipside is just as likely – that an incredible preseason could be followed up by a humiliating, first-overall-pick-winning regular season.  For fans that are riding high after the last two wins, it’s not really as far off as it might seem now.  Think about the status of the team right now – so many key players that are injured or trying to come back from injury – both starting tackles, a starting guard, a starting defensive end, two starting cornerbacks, two starting linebackers, two starting defensive tackles (3 total).  And that doesn’t even include players the player holding out or the very real potential for these injuries to be long term and/or more injuries.

So what was HBO’s mistake?  Well, they clearly didn’t realize that the intriguing Dolphin stories seem to be centered in Peru, not Miami.  While this may have seemed counter-intuitive a few weeks ago, it certainly seems clear now – if you’re going to shoot a wildlife documentary in Florida, you should probably film it in Jacksonville.

- Zain Gowani

Some teams love to have the circus act (Read: The Dolphins Anybody hosting Hard Knocks) while others prefer the professional.  It doesn’t really seem to hurt the team’s actual revenue no matter who they suit up so long as they win every so often.  You need only look at the Bengals to see the truth of that statement.

The professional is one who completely avoids the circus, puts his head down, and works.  Rashad Jennings is doing just that in Jacksonville.  He hasn’t said much about Maurice Jones-Drew’s holdout but knows that the longer MJD is gone the more reps he gets and more of a chance he has to cement himself as a staple for the Jaguars offense.  Pocket Hercules may be “the man” but when the man is away, Jennings knows its his spot to lose.

Will the Gabbert to Jennings handoff become the norm for 2012? Source: US-Presswire

With a number of players holding out, requesting trades, or demanding new contracts a lot of players and agents overlook one or two simple little things: not all press is good press, and while you’re gone someone else is usurping your spot.  I’m not claiming that Jennings is intentionally trying to undermine Jones-Drew – he’s just doing his job and so far it seems like the team likes it.  Percy Harvin realized this pretty quickly after he left camp for all of a day.  Harvin’s job isn’t as secure as Jones-Drew’s, but even the greats get undermined sometimes.

Jennings has the ability to lead this offense.  I recently noted the poor winning percentage of the Jaguars with MJD taking the majority of the carries.  His winning percentage sits at 42%.  ESPN’s Paul Kuharsky also noted the phenomenon a few days later.  Would that percentage have changed significantly with someone else in the backfield?  I doubt it.  Either way, the Jags probably wouldn’t have made the playoffs.

I’m not advocating the Jags get rid of MJD.  But if his holdout continues into the season, I don’t think us Jaguars fans should be too upset and think our chances of winning have significantly decreased.  While Jennings didn’t play in 2011, his 5.5 yards per attempt in 2010 is impressive.  Considering he only got 84 attempts, he easily could have been a 1,000 yard back for the Jaguars.  He also presents a big target out of the backfield.  He pulled in 26 receptions for 223 yards in 2010 and a decent 8.6 yards per reception.  At 6’1″ 234 pounds his presence is powerful when running or receiving.

The statistics show that Jennings can do work.  Jennings was getting hot in 2010 and will be hot in 2012.  If MJD isn’t there, then when he returns he may be spelling Jennings.  And while that whole fiasco is being settled, Jennings is going to be a professional, put his head down, and do work.

- Luke N. Sims

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Source: US-Presswire

With HBO’s Hard Knocks featuring the Miami Dolphins this coming season, ex-Jaguars quarterback David Garrard will be battling it out with Matt Moore and rookie 8th pick Ryan Tannehill for the starting quarterback job in Miami.  Garrard has considerably more experience than Moore and is more polished than Tannehill.  With ex-Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin taking over the head coaching job in Miami, whomever can run a pass-first offense the best will get the nod.

Garrard was well liked during his four years starting for the Jaguars from 2007-2010.  His outstanding play in the 2007 season and development in 2008 had hope for the Jaguars and helped open the window for playoff success.  Unfortunately the window did not last long.  Garrard’s up and down play did not help, especially during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Garrard was always a stand up act with the Jaguars and could provide great guidance for the young quarterbacks in Miami, no matter whether he gets the starting job or not.  Blaine Gabbert could have done with more veteran guidance in his first season starting this past year, but Garrard was cut a week before the season started and Luke McCown did little more than provide polish in practice.

As Hard Knocks follows the inevitable quarterback battle developing in Miami, it will be fun to see the next stage in Garrard’s career develop.  I wish him all the best as he battles off the younger competitors- even when the Dolphins play the Jaguars on December 16th.

- Luke N. Sims

Feel free to leave comments on here or visit us at Facebook or Twitter!

You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims