| Randolph Charlotin. 10th January, 2008 - 3:04 pm
 As good as it felt for the Jaguars to become the first team to beat the Steelers twice at home in the same season, the team was elated to learn that lifetime Jag, running back Fred Taylor, was added to the Pro Bowl roster. It is the first time Taylor has been honored with the trip to Hawaii in his 10-year career. Taylor waited a long time for this honor.
But before Honolulu, Taylor and the Jaguars must go to New England and give the undefeated Patriots their first loss of the season. To do that, Jacksonville will have to beat the Pats at home, something the Jags have not done in their history.
Sure they beat the Patriots in the playoffs before. That was in 1998, but N.E. was the road team in that contest. Jacksonville’s other match-ups with the Pats didn’t end well.
The first encounter was during Jacksonville’s second season in team history. In 1996, they pulled off upsets of Buffalo and Denver to reach the AFC Championship. In a competitive battle, Jaguars' quarterback Mark Brunell was picked off in the endzone to thwart a possible game-tying score. On the final meaningful offensive drive, running back James Stewart was stripped of the ball by linebacker Chris Slade. The fumble was recovered by corner back Otis Smith and returned for a touchdown.
These teams crossed paths most recently in the Wild Card round in 2005, but what happened the week before was insulting. Many believed the Patriots intentionally lost their season finale to a very beat-able Miami Dolphins' team in order to face Jacksonville in the first round instead of Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. The Jags could had made the Pats pay but instead lost handily. The signature moment was the short pass from QB Tom Brady to TE Benjamin Watson that became a 63-yard score because Watson broke two tackles, and a third defender bounced off Watson as he raced down the sideline.
Avoiding another humbling experience starts with David Garrard. Another 9-for-21 performance won’t cut it. Against the best offense in the league, Garrard must be efficient and keep drives rolling. The more ball control the better, because Jacksonville doesn’t want to give the Pats the ball too often.
The other key will be the running game. The backfield of Taylor and RB Maurice Jones-Drew must keep churning out tough yardage to keep the chains moving. The Patriots had trouble stopping some quality running backs (Baltimore’s Willis McGahee, Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker, Indianapolis’ Joseph Addai). Jacksonville should find out early how well New England’s defense can handle a two-headed attack.
Jacksonville can’t settle for field goals, either. The Jags’ defense is good, but no team has been able to stop the Patriots' offense. As much has been said about New England’s generous defensive numbers, they are still fourth in points allowed with an average of 17.1 per game. If Jacksonville starts exchanging field goals for touchdowns, the game could get out of hand very quickly.
Or in the case of Seattle, the game was literally handed over, or more specifically, thrown away. By now the clip of the 2004 overtime coin toss between the Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers has been replayed for the 984th time. Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck’s declaration of, “We want the ball, and we’re going to score!” has been burned into our memory. And Hasselbeck’s three-step drop and throw straight into Green Bay cornerback Mike McKenzie’s gut for a pick-six is a part of playoff lore.
First things first, Hasselbeck needs to shut up. There’s nothing wrong with confidence and believing you and your team is going to win. Just don’t make it public. Dealing with the repercussions when your boast backfires and having to answer to it, even years later, is beyond annoying.
The key for Seattle is simple: win the turnover battle. Both Hasselbeck and Washington’s Todd Collins threw two interceptions each, but the difference was the Seahawks returned both picks for scores. Seattle’s offense will have their problems going against the active Green Bay front seven and secondary. If the defense can give the O assistance, the Seahawks could beat the Packers in the playoffs for the first time in club history.
Randolph Charlotin can be contacted at lordrc@netzero.net |
