Unlike in 2005, when the Jacksonville Jaguars backed into the NFL playoffs only to get smoked by the New England Patriots in the first round, this Jaguar team is storming through the AFC on a mission. After that 28-3 pounding the Patriots laid on Jacksonville, the Jags were supposed to redeem themselves last season but faltered in December by losing their final 3 games and were forced to watch the playoffs on TV.

What a difference a year makes.

Going into the 2007 season, 5^th year quarterback Byron Leftwich was expected to be back under center for the Jaguars. However, Coach Jack Del Rio surprisingly cut Leftwich and anointed backup David Garrard the starter. When this first happened and caught the league by surprise it was questioned frequently by NFL analysts. Now there is not one expert second guessing Del Rio’s decision. “To make a decision this bold requires some strong conviction, and I have that…I believe David is our guy,” said Del Rio. “He’s proven to be a playmaker for us. He can be a threat both throwing and running it for us.” Garrard proved his coach made the right decision, while silencing his critics at the same time by throwing for 18 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions the entire season. He finished third in the NFL with a 102.2 quarterback rating and has become known around the league as one of the top game managing quarterbacks in the NFL because of his ability to keep the ball away from the opponent.

In order for Garrard to be effective tonight he will need another solid and productive game from his running backs. Pro Bowler Fred Taylor and his counterpart Maurice Jones-Drew will look to repeat their performances from week 15 against the Steelers. It has been well documented about what the two of them combined to do in that wintry grudge match. Taylor exploded for 147 yards on 25 carries and the decisive 12 yard touchdown with less than 2 minutes in the 4^th quarter. The Jaguars captain and franchise player will need to set the tone again in order for the rest of the offense to be effective. The Steelers will be again without the services of their top defensive lineman Aaron Smith so Taylor and MJD will be seeing an 8 man box from the Pittsburgh defense frequently tonight. This should set up the play action pass for Garrard and play into his favor. He likes to spread the ball around to all of his receivers, especially the resurgent Reggie Williams who is showing why the Jaguars took him in the first round a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately for the Steelers they are missing important starters on the other side of the line as well. Their two starting tackles (Max Starks and Marvel Smith) are both out for the game and will obviously weaken the Steelers protection of Big Ben. Jacksonville got to Roethlisberger 5 times in their win in the regular season and with the addition of defensive end Reggie Hayward for tonight it could be more of the same. The Steelers biggest injury without question is their All Pro running back Willie Parker, who suffered a broken leg against the Rams in week 16. “Fast Willie” ran for 100 yards against the Jaguars defense in week 15 and his replacement, Najeh Davenport, is suitable but nowhere near the home run threat that Parker possesses.

With all of the major injuries that Pittsburgh has and the style of football that the Jaguars play, it could be a major advantage for Jacksonville as the attempt to become the first team in history to defeat the Steelers twice in one season in The Steel City.

Congratulations to Fred Taylor as yesterday he was announced Offensive Player of the Month for the AFC in December. It marked the first time in Taylor’s ten year career that he has been chosen for this award and also the first Jaguar to win the award since wide receiver Jimmy Smith was picked in 1999. Taylor ignited the top ranked rushing offense in the AFC. And in December he proved why, by racking up 494 rushing yards on 64 carries to go along with 3 touchdowns.

Taylor averaged a league high 123.5 yards per game in the season’s coldest month including 5 consecutive 100 yard games. The defining game for Taylor and his team came in week 15 when Jacksonville went to Pittsburgh and eked out a hard fought win. Taylor set the tone by running for 147 tough yards and the deciding touchdown run of 12 yards with less than 2 minutes left in regulation.

With Taylor winning the Offensive Player of the Month award, it marked the first time this season that a New England Patriot did not. Quarterback Tom Brady won the award for the first two months of the regular season and his main target Randy Moss won the honor in November. If Freddy can continue his resurgence tomorrow night in the wild card round of the AFC playoffs then there is a good chance Taylor will be showcasing his ability in front of Brady, Moss and the rest of New England at Gillette Stadium. However, the Jaguars will have to get past the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night in the most anticipated first round game in the NFL. The Jags will need Taylor to be at his best as it will be a physical football game that will be decided by the effectiveness of the run by Jacksonville.

Taylor wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without middle linebacker Mike Peterson for this Saturday’s wild card Playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Peterson has missed the last 6 games with a broken hand but has not been ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs, should the jags advance in the tournament. In the most anticipated playoff matchup of the weekend, it’s actually the Steelers who are decimated by injuries, which could propel the Jaguars to New England next week.

Veteran Offensive Linemen Max Starks and Marvel Smith will be out for this game. Safety Troy Polamalu and return specialist Allen Rossum are questionable but are expected to play. Jacksonville however, will get a huge boost on the defensive line as Reggie Hayward will be making his return on Saturday.

Without star running back Willie Parker, the Steelers will turn to Najeh Davenport to carry the load on offense. The Jaguars, who boast the league’s 11th ranked run defense, should be able to contain Davenport and force Ben Roethlisberger to win the game with his arm. With that said, the Jacksonville secondary which has improved throughout the course of the season should be able to get enough pressure on Big Ben to force errant throws. As the defense did in week 14 against the bulky quarterback by sacking Big Ben 5 times, look for more of the same this time around because of the injury factor. Subtract two of the Steelers top linemen and add in Reggie Hayward on the defensive line and it could be a field day for the Jacksonville defense.

Tomorrow I will have an in depth preview for the game and break down what the Jaguars need to do to beat Pittsburgh for the 2nd time this year.

After the first half, the Jaguars are up big over the Raiders 28-3. Capitalizing on two interceptions by JaMarcus Russell and another big day for the Jacksonville offense, the Jaguars have blown this game open. The Jags could have taken a 35-3 lead into the locker room but David Garrard threw his 3rd interception of the season at the Oakland 2 yard line. Earlier in the game Garrard hit Greg Jones for a 2 yard touchdown but this time he was picked off. Fred Taylor of course is having another monster game. On just 4 carries, he has 72 yards including a 62 yard touchdown run on the team’s opening drive. His counterpart, MJD, has also put up big numbers in the first two quarters. The human bowling ball has 26 yards on 3 carries with a touchdown scamper of 14 yards. He also is the team’s leading receiver so far with 4 receptions for 78 yards. The defense is playing solid as usual and will look to reek more havoc in the second half.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to lock up a playoff berth this Sunday at ALLTELL Stadium against the 4-10 Oakland Raiders. With a win, the Jags (10-4) automatically clinch one of the wild card spots in the clustered AFC. The Jaguars right now are one of, if not the hottest team in the conference. Coming off their gigantic win last week in the snow in Pittsburgh the Jags will look to pound the ball on the ground again with their dynamic duo.

Boasting the second best rushing attack in the NFL, the Jaguars will hopefully continue to do what they have done all year. That is, let Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew ware down the opposing defense and then watch David Garrard pick apart the secondary. The second best rushing team in the league will go head to head with the league’s second worst rushing defense. The Jaguars have been smashing their opponents in the mouth on both sides of the ball all season long. Look for more of the same this Sunday.

 The Raiders number one overall pick, quarterback JaMarcus Russell might get the start this Sunday but it is unconfirmed as of Friday. “How it will play out, I don’t know that,” head coach Lane Kiffin said on Thursday. “But both guys will play and hopefully JaMarcus will play for an extended period of time.” The other quarterback he is referring to is Josh McCown, who has started most of the season for Oakland. Whoever the quarterback is, look for the Jags defensive line to get to him often this week as they did against Big Ben last week in Pittsburgh.

The Jaguars are heavy favorites this week, as they should be. Analysts across the country are finally starting to notice this team and give them respect. Look for the Jags to be hungry on Sunday as a playoff berth is in reach. Taylor and MoJo should have field days on the Oakland defense and Garrard will continue to get the job done under center. The Jaguars offense scored 29 points in the terrible weather last week against one of the best defenses in the NFL, Jacksonville will have an easy time with the lowly Raiders in what should be a blowout win.

Prediction: Jacksonville 38, Oakland 10.

All Pro defensive tackle Marcus Stroud was placed on IR yesterday by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stroud said he had a bad bone bruise on his ankle (the same ankle he had surgery on in the off season) and would be out 6-8 weeks, ending his season. For Stroud, it was a difficult season, including a month long suspension from the NFL because of violating the league’s anabolic steroids and related substances policy.

Nevertheless, Stroud and line mate John Henderson make up one of, if not the strongest defensive tackle tandem in the league. In the nine games Stroud played in 2007 he recorded 22 tackles to go along with 3 sacks. The 7 year veteran out of Georgia will be sorely missed, especially this Sunday when the Jags have to shut down Willie Parker of the Steelers.

Eight year veteran defensive lineman Rob Meier will fill in for Stroud for the remainder of the season. Meier has pretty impressive numbers for a backup so far by piling up 20 tackles and 2.5 sacks this year. Although Meier is a good option to have for Jack Del Rio, he does not bring the same presence as the Pro Bowler Stroud. Look for Pittsburgh to run early with Parker and Najeh Davenport to try and exploit the Jaguars weakened defensive line.

What more does Fred Taylor have to do to get to Honolulu? The franchise running back has yet again put up stellar numbers but continues to get overlooked. Taylor is in his 10th year, all with the Jaguars since being drafted 9th overall in 1997. This is the same draft class that produced Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson and Randy Moss to name a few. The former Florida Gator has been putting up big numbers since he was a rookie but never got the attention from around the league to make the Pro Bowl.

Taylor does not get the recognition across the league the same way running backs like Ladanian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson get because of a few factors. One of course is the market differences. LT plays for a popular Chargers team in San Diego. “The market thing, we all know how that works,” Taylor said. “I’ve just got to play a little bit better. We’ll see what happens. I’ve got a lot of juice left in my legs. Right now, I think I’ve made a late push.” The Chargers have a longer and more accomplished franchise then Jacksonville and LT is the top back in the NFL. Larry Johnson has had a couple big breakout seasons since he took over as the starting running back in Kansas City for Priest Holmes.

In the late 90’s and at the beginning of the new century, Taylor was known around the league as a feature runner. He did get some attention but somehow never got to the Pro Bowl. He was routinely compared with Eddie George of the Titans, Edgerrin James of the Colts, Corey Dillon of the Bengals and Curtis Martin. They were the top running backs of the AFC year in and year out but for whatever reason; one of them always got the nod over Taylor for a trip to Hawaii. “A lot of it is timing,” he said. “I’ve put up Pro Bowl numbers over the years and . . . for a three-or-four year window, if I had been in the NFC, maybe I would have been in the Pro Bowl several years.”

This year Taylor came into the season with second year phenom Maurice Jones-Drew expected to see an increased workload after having an incredible rookie season last year. MJD has put up impressive numbers again so far this year with 8 touchdowns and a 4.5 rushing average but it’s the veteran Taylor who has about 50 more carries at this point.

Taylor has taken it upon himself to be the leader of the team. His stats speak for themselves, Taylor has 944 yards on 191 carries for a 4.9 rushing average with 3 touchdown runs of 4, 50 and 80 yards respectively. The 80 yarder he broke on Sunday set a franchise long in the regular season (Taylor also has the postseason record with a 90 yard run against the dolphins in 1999, this is also an NFL playoff record.) To go along with the rushing stats, Taylor has caught 9 passes for 68 yards this season. Up until last week Fred was the only captain on the team (most teams have 3). Coach Jack Del Rio recently appointed his quarterback David Garrard and defensive end Paul Spicer the 2nd and 3rd team captains. Taylor has always been a leader on this team but the past two seasons he has been almost completely healthy and can lead by example on the field more because of it. The whole Pro Bowl ordeal does not seem to matter that much to Taylor, he just wants to win. On ESPNEWS Tuesday he said, “I know the team is gonna depend on me so I’m gonna try my best to help us make that late push.” At 32 years old, the window for winning a championship and making his inaugural visit to The Aloha State is shrinking each year but Taylor says, “We’ll see. I plan on running until the wheels fall off.”

The Pro Bowl voting ended today and the rosters will be announced next Tuesday. Lets hope the guy who has carried this franchise from the bottom up to the top over the past decade can finally get his chance at what he deserves, a trip to Honolulu.

After yet another tight and disappointing loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars will need to rebound with a win this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at ALLTELL Stadium. The 5-7 Panthers are surprisingly good on the road, possessing a 4-2 record away from Raleigh. This will be an interesting game to watch because Vinny Testaverde has played beyond expectations so far this season. Everyone knows that the jaguars run defense is among the tops in the league so if the secondary, led by rookie safety Reggie Nelson, can shut down Testaverde and his two main receiving threats Steve Smith and Drew Carter, then DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams should have a very difficult time running the ball.

            In week 13 the Jaguars went to Indy to take on the first place Colts in what was labeled as the second biggest game of the week. Thursday’s Packers/Cowboys got the spotlight but the AFC South match up stole the show. Led by David Garrard, the first year full time starting quarterback came into the game yet to throw an interception this season. That changed late in the fourth quarter on Sunday but nonetheless Garrard put in yet another impressive performance, throwing for two touchdowns as the Jaguars tried to thwart the Colts. As it has been the last 7 years or so, Peyton Manning was Peyton Manning. After a couple sub-par games in the past couple of weeks, Peyton got back on track by throwing 4 touchdowns, including a back breaking 14 yard toss to Dallas Clark on 3^rd and goal from the 14 with 6 seconds left in the half. That gave Indy a 21-7 lead going into halftime and they never looked back

            Garrard and Jaguar icon Fred Taylor would not let this game get away after Manning’s late touchdown pass. Taylor, who passed the 10,000 rushing yard milestone against the Titans a few weeks ago, had another big game. Taylor ran for 104 yards and his counterpart Maurice Jones-Drew picked up 52 yards and a score. At the beginning of the season the consensus was that the jaguars were a running team. Built solely on the tandem of the veteran Taylor and the sophomore phenom MJD, the jags were not expecting to get yards through the air.

            Oh has that changed.

            Garrard has the 2^nd highest QB rating in the AFC behind Tom Brady at 104.7; he has 11 touchdown throws compared to the one interception and he missed 3 games after getting hurt in the Monday Night game against the Colts in week 7. Stereotyped as strictly a “running” quarterback Garrard has proved all of his doubters wrong and continues to improve every Sunday. Does he have what it takes to be successful in the playoffs? Only time will tell, but the Jags currently lead the AFC wild card and hold tiebreakers over San Diego, Tennessee and Cleveland going into week 14. Hopefully Head Coach Jack Del Rio keeps the players on the right track after losing the close game to the Colts. After last years terrible collapse, losing the last 3 games of the season to finish 8-8 and on the outside of the playoff picture, Jacksonville should have learned their lesson and be prepared to finish this season strong.

            The schedule plays well for the jags to finish the year. After Sundays home game against the diminished Panthers, the jags travel to West Pennsylvania to battle their rivals from Pittsburgh. It’s a shame that these two teams don’t get the chance to play twice a year anymore because of the reshaping of the divisions. The Steelers and Jaguars had many great battles through the years but now must settle playing once a year. Last year the Jaguars stifled Big Ben and the Pittsburgh offense on Monday Night Football and shut out the Steelers 9-0 in a defensive showcase from both teams. This year the Jags are led by rookie Safety Reggie Nelson. The former Florida Gator has 4 interceptions to match his Safety partner Sammy Knight who has quietly put together a very nice and productive season from the Strong Safety position. Don’t forget about Pro Bowl Cornerback Reshean Mathis who continues to do his thing and shut down the other team’s top receiver every week.

            The end of the season has the Jaguars playing the lowly Oakland Raiders at home and the improving Houston Texans on the road in Week 17. Realistically, the Jaguars should be able to win 3 out of the 4 remaining games on paper and match up well against the Steelers. The Steelers game is very winnable and will be a fun game to watch. But if the Jags want to put themselves in position to play Pittsburgh without the added pressure of needing a win to make the playoffs then they must take care of business this week against the Panthers at home.

My name is Paul and I will be writing about your Jacksonville Jaguars from this point on. It has been an impressive season so far for the Jags in hopes of returning to the AFC Playoffs after missing out last year. Stay tuned for a complete recap of Sunday’s tough loss to the Colts.