by Tom Weppel
They say a win is a win, no matter how you do it. And that’s the way a lot of people are looking at the victory by the Jaguars last weekend at home against the beleaguered Falcons. The Jaguars didn’t play that well on Offense, they had a number of penalties, and they only scored 13 points. But they won.
And so now, at 1-1, the Jags head to the Rockies to play the Broncos, a team that sits at 2-0 thanks to two tight games that ended with winning field goals by Jason Elam. On Offense, it seems the Jags have a lot of parts to play with, meaning they got players with talent, yet they are all not on the same page. The Line has not been blocking consistently. The running and passing are here-and-there, and point production is suspect. Coordinator Dirk Koetter must put everybody together to come out with a good product that can produce, while the Defense continues to gel and get back to what we had been used to seeing last season.
They will have a stern test against them when they play a Broncos squad that has played better than average, although not great. RB Travis Henry has been running well, and the Jags are familiar with him, from his days with the Titans. WR Javon Walker has also been a bright spot, catching a lot of balls from QB Jay Cutler. As always, there will be a sellout crowd in Denver for the Broncos. This is a tough place to play, but the Jags have a shot at winning this game if they can take care of business. We shall see.
Of the 2-0 teams playing, the two most surprising are the Houston Texans and the Detroit Lions. Neither team has done well the past few seasons, yet both have come through with wins to show possibilities of a good season. This weekend the Texans will host the tough Colts. It will give us a very good idea as to what Houston has to play with. The key for them will be the play of Matt Shaub, the QB they picked up from the Falcons. Schaub has played well so far, but he has a tough task going up against a stingy Colt Defense.
The Lions will head to Philly to play a nasty Eagle squad, and so we’ll get to see what Detroit can come out with in their own right. QB Jon Kitna has done well at the helm of the Lion Defense. Also, the 2-0 Cowboys continue on the road when they travel to Chicago to face the nasty Bears, a team who is great on Defense, yet only mediocre on Offense. Rex Gossman continues to hear loads of criticism on his play. We’ll see what he can bring against the ‘Boys.
Well, well, well. The Florida Gators gave us a very nice exhibition of playing last weekend in their thumping of the Tennessee Volunteers. Gator fans in the area certainly are pleased with what has occurred so far, and they are also happy with local product Tim Tebow, in his flashes of offensive prowess. This weekend the Gators head to Mississippi to take on the Rebels. This shouldn’t be too tough of a contest, although we’ve seen this season that many teams can get upset if they don’t take care of their business, as has been the case with Michigan and Auburn.
Meanwhile, the Georgia Bulldogs will go into the depths of Bryant-Denny Stadium to play an Alabama squad that is riding high after their exuberant defeat of the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tide is on a roll, without question, and this contest will certainly be exciting to watch. Georgia would love to come out on top in this one, to get back into the swing of the top of the SEC. In other SEC scraps this weekend, Steve Spurrier takes his South Carolina Gamecocks into the Bayou Country to face the top-ranked LSU Tigers, while the surprising Kentucky Wildcats head to Arkansas.
Around the nation, we see that Michigan beat Notre Dame handily last weekend. Now the Wolverines will host the Penn State Nittany Lions, a team that seems to be pretty strong in their own right. This should be an interesting game, just to see where each school stands with their squad. The Irish, on the other hand, are looking at a dismal season, as they host the Spartans of Michigan St. Charlie Weis is in serious trouble and it is quite possible, if his team continues their play at this level, that they could be 0-8 within a few months, and that, my friends, would be a nasty thing, especially to the boys at NBC, who MUST televise all this.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Lonnie Marts, Eugene Chung, Artis Gilmore, and Ron Duguay on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
