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The 2009 Jacksonville Jaguar Game-by-Game Season Preview: Part Two

Published: June 1, 2009

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Week’s One through Five were tough for the Jacksonville Jaguars as seen in Part One of The 2009 Jacksonville Jaguar Game-by-Game Season Preview. So far the Jaguars have faced the 2008 Superbowl runner-up Arizona Cardinals, a formidable west coast NFC Seattle team on the rebound, as well as all of their AFC South divisional counterparts.

Before previewing the next five weeks, what did we learn during the first part of Jacksonville’s schedule?

By this point, we should really see what kind of team the Jaguars will be in 2009. Two avenues we should really be able to focus on is the offensive line and the secondary.

The additions of Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton should be providing substantial holes for Maurice Jones-Drew to run through. If this is not happening, the Jaguars are most likely not on the positive side of .500 by this point.

The secondary has also been greatly tested thus far. Facing the passing attacks of Payton Manning, Kurt Warner, and Matt Hasslebeck in the first few weeks really allowed us to see what the secondary is made of.

We have also been able to see the Jaguar corners line up against wideouts such as Reggie Wayne, Larry Fitzgerald, TJ Houshmanzadeh, and Andre Johnson. Has Rashean Mathis rebounded his play to reflect his 2006 Pro Bowl year?

How has rookie corner Derek Cox responded to the NFL coming from the small school of William and Mary? How has free agent acquisition Sean Considine responded to his new team? We will know the answers to these questions by this point.

Now onto Week Six:

Week Six: St. Louis Rams, Home

Week Six presents Jacksonville with their most winnable game on paper thus far. Coming off of a 2-14 year, the Rams made good moves in the offseason, but nothing that reflects a “win now” approach.

It seems the Rams are building for the future selecting OT Jason Smith with the No. 2 overall pick and following up by taking MLB James Laurinaitis at pick 35. As a matter of fact, three out of the first four picks were defensive players. For a team that struggled scoring points, the lack of play-makers was not addressed in this years draft.

This game also presents a great storyline featuring current Jaguar wide receiver Torry Holt. Holt spent the first 10 years of his expected Hall of Fame NFL career in St. Louis and will be facing-off against his former team for the first time.

Overall, stopping the Ram’s will highly depend on the defensive line and their ability to slow down Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson. If Jacksonville can contain Jackson to 50 or 60 yards rushing, the Jags should walk away with a nice home win. Look for Torry Holt to have a big day against his former team.

 

Week Seven: Bye Week

There’s no time to sit back and relax during the bye week for Jacksonville. The AFC South divisional title is on the line and the Jaguars will have to play the Tennessee Titans once again Week Eight.

We should have a solid idea of the team’s structure and depth chart by the bye week. The Jaguars will be anxious to see how Torry Holt’s knees are holding up and how the absence of Fred Taylor is effecting the running game.

If the Jaguars want to make it to the playoffs, it is imperative that they are playing .500 ball at this point.

 

Week Eight: Tennessee Titans, Away

By Week Eight last year, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a record of 3-4 and had already lost once to the undefeated Tennessee Titans. They played them once again in Week 11 and lost for a second consecutive time.

This year might provide a different scenario. It’s highly unlikely that the Titans will once again be undefeated by this point and most Tennessee fans and beat writers aren’t so sure that Kerry Collins will be the starting QB by Week Eight.

Collins did just enough last year to keep their team on the winning track. However, he never really showed that he still has staying power as a starting NFL quarterback. Now after signing an extension, I’m not convinced he will once again catch the fire in the bottle needed to keep his job.

Tennessee drafted Vince Young in 2006 to be the franchise quarterback for a reason, not to sit on a bench collecting millions.

Might we see Vince Young suiting up against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Eight? I think it’s more likely then some may believe.

Remember, Jacksonville knocked Vince out of the regular season opener in 2008 and he never made it back into the starting lineup. Does anyone smell revenge?

 

Week Nine: Kansas City Chiefs, Home

The last time these two teams met was in the 2006 season and resulted in the Jaguars winning 17-7. Jacksonville actually shut out the Chiefs until the final seconds of the fourth quarter when Sammy Parker caught the Chiefs only touchdown of the game.

A lot has changed on the Chief’s roster since that game in ’06. On that day, the leading passer for Kansas City was Damon Huard and their leading receiver was Tony Gonzalez, neither of which currently play for the Kansas City.

The new Chiefs are led by trade recipient QB Matt Cassel who led the Brady-less Patriots to an impressive 11-5 record in 2008. However, Scott Pioli did nothing in the draft to help protect his new quarterback.

Knowing that the Chiefs surrendered 37 sacks last year, the Jaguars’ young defensive ends will really be trying to put on a show and prove to everyone why Jacksonville spent their first two draft picks in 2008 on defensive ends.

Once again however, the Jaguars’ secondary will be tested in the new shotgun style offense that the Chiefs will be expected to run this year.

 

Week 10: New York Jets, Away

The end of the 2008 season didn’t leave the New York Jets with a pleasant taste in their mouth. In the last five games, they went 1-4 with their alleged savior Brett Favre throwing nine interceptions and only two touchdowns.

With Favre out of the way, for now, the Jets look to rebound with the new face of the franchise, Mark Sanchez leading the way.

The last time these two teams met was in Jacksonville in 2006. That year the Jaguars embarrassed the Jets with a 41-0 win. As a matter of fact, the Jets are a mere 2-5 when playing against the Jaguars with their last win coming in 1998.

New York has lost five consecutive games versus the Jags and this year should prove to be no different. Even though the Jets attempted to improve with the additions of a new franchise QB, there are still major holes needing to be filled including the hole left by cut WR Laveranues Coles.

If the trend continues and Jacksonville wins once again, expect this game to really boost the confidence of the Jaguars as they start reaching the home stretch of the season.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for Part Three of the 2009 Jacksonville Jaguar Game-by-Game Season Preview.