Quick Thoughts – Jim Caldwell Fired 1/17/12
In one of the most obvious terminations of the year, Jim Caldwell was fired after the Colts’ 2-14 season. And I don’t want to hear about the general manager Ryan Grigson as a viable reason for Caldwell’s firing.
“Change sometimes isn’t always easy, but it’s part of this game, part of this league and part of the steps needed to get going in this new era of Colts football,” Grigson said at a televised news conference.
The Colts were absolutely pathetic. And not one current coach could’ve helped the situation. Vince Lombardi would’ve struggled with this team. It wasn’t solely on Caldwell. Maybe Jim Irsay needs to take a little bit of the blame. Maybe firing Pollian was Irsay really saying it was essentially his fault in the first place. The problem with the Colts is they never had a backup plan. For some reason they were all-in with Peyton Manning and they lost it all. Maybe Caldwell was never a good coach at all? Maybe Tony Dungy was better because of Peyton Manning? However, even outside of Manning, the defense was abysmal. Their defense was built to protect leads. There weren’t built to dominate four quarters of football, create turnovers and contribute to winning games.
It’s a tough subject to come up with a true answer of what really went wrong in Indianapolis this year. Personally, I think Irsay is an idiot. He had to have been smarter than this. Or maybe he wasn’t and Polian’s moves were never in question. It’s one of the most interesting total team collapses I’ve ever seen, and all contributed to the absence of Peyton Manning. Obviously the first reaction was to clean house. But maybe that wasn’t the healthy reaction to preserve a brighter future when the reality could’ve JUST been that Peyton was injured and out for the year. Sometimes “change” doesn’t really do what’s expected and instead you get something similar to the four-year aftermath of the Obama campaign, a lot of nothing.
Week 11 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
The Jacksonville Jaguars will play the dreadful Cleveland Browns this weekend. Colt McCoy will once again be asked to carry this team with no receivers, Peyton Hillis being hurt, and Josh Cribbs not able to be Josh Cribbs in the return game. Blaine Gabbert will have a golden chance to talk to a fellow, young quarterback and seek advicee on how to manage a team with little chance of winning from game to game. Maurice Jones-Drew is the one major star in this game that is healthy and should put up over 100 yards rushing. Blaine Gabbert will have a decent game as the Jaguars win by 7 on the road.
The Tennessee Titans are a very good Altanta Falcons team on the road this weekend. Matt Ryan is a lot better when playing indoors and thrives at home. Michael Turner should be able to put up some impressive numbers. This will helpget Julio Jones open and to continue to put points on the board. Matt Hasselbeck has done a good job running this offense with the loss of Kenny Britt and the lack of Chris Johnson all season long. I look for Tennessee to find its stride and define their identity as a team this game. However, Atlanta will be hungry after the OT loss to the Saints and bounce back to win by 10 at home.
The Indianapolis Colts will be having a hard test this weekend as they will do the impossible: Lose to the dreaded by week. Houston will watch and laugh from the sofa at this, but then remember they will be the Colts of this year with the loss of Matt Schaub as they will be one and done in the playoffs since the rest of the division is horrible and may not catch up.
Week 9 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
The Atlanta Falcons will travel to Indianapolis in what will be the least exciting game of a weekend filled with rivalry and good matchups. The Colts are continuing to build on their success to get Andrew Luck in the draft with their stellar 0-8 record. Curtis Painter is playing as good as can be considering the situation of so many injured key players with this roster. This team is also the third worst team in giving up points and start 0-8 in the history of the NFL and they will add to this statistic. Matt Ryan will torch this team for a season high in yards and touchdowns. Michael Turner will also run for 150+ yards against the weak run defense. Atlanta wins on the road by the score of 35 to 20.
The Cleveland Browns will play the high octane offense of the Houston Texans. The Texans control their own destiny with a stellar 3-0 start in the AFC South and look to continue to lead the Titans by one game in overall record. Matt Schaub has proven he can carry this team and win without Andre Johnson as a threat down the field. The Browns will be hurting with Peyton Hillis reinjuring his hamstring in practice Friday. The Texans are tough team to beat at home and will win by the score of 27 to 20.
The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Nashville to play the Titans in a game many would not have thought would be a high profile game this year. The surprising second place Cincinnati Bengals look to try and get ahead of the Ravens and Steelers who play each other this weekend. Andy Dalton has turned into a capable quarterback to lead this team with Cedrick Benson running the ball. AJ Green has had moments of greatness but has appeared average at best most of the time. The Titans are still winning without Chris Johnson performing well. I feel that the Bengals are just a young and hungry team that will take give Tennessee a run for their money this weekend. The Bengals will win this game 24 to 21.
Week 8 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
The Indianapolis Colts will travel to play the Tennessee Titans for an important AFC South matchup. This game is important for the Titans to keep pace with the Houston Texans after being blown out 41-7 by a Texans team that didn’t have Andre Johnson playing. The Titans need this win so they will not go 0-3 in divisional play and hope to catch up with Houston. I feel this will be yet another let down for Colts fans as Curtis “wish I had been a” Painter will play well but not have the ability to lead this team to victory. He just doesn’t have that “IT” factor and killing instinct Peyton Manning has. Chris Johnson should put up monster numbers of at least 150 yards rushing with this horrid run defense. Tennessee will win 31 to 16 at home.
The Houston Texans will be coming off a huge win against the Tennessee Titans to play the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. The Houston Texans could go on to be 3-0 in divisional play with a win this weekend and could almost guarantee their first AFC South crown with making it near impossible for the Titans to overcome even with a win against the Colts Sunday to make them 1-2 in divisional play. I think we will finally see the Texans get that killer edge they have lacked and go for the kill this weekend. Matt Schaub has proven he can win big without Andre Johnson to throw to and the Texans’ run game is scary at times for opponents. Houston will win this game 35 to 18.
Week 7 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
The Indianapolis Colts will travel to New Orleans to play the Saints in what usually is a highly anticipated game of high octane offenses. However, the only allure this game has is those who have Drew Brees on their fantasy team can expect him to almost single handedly win this week for them. Curtis Painter will stand about as much of a chance to keep up with Brees as Seth MacFarlane has with coming up with something the Simpsons haven’t already done. Curtis Painter will play progressively better as he has every game. Drew Brees will throw for 300+ yards and 4 touchdowns as the Saints win at home 35 to 17.
The Houston Texans will play the Tennessee Titans for an early lead at first place in the division. The lack of media attention and hype for this game shows you just how much Peyton Manning means to the AFC South. Matt Hasselbeck has played as well as I expected to help rejuvenate the Titans offense this year. The Texans will have a hard time opening up the field without the threat of Andre Johnson down the field. This will allow the Titans to concentrate on Arian Foster and to use Chris Johnson to eat up clock and slow down the Texans offense. I feel that Tennessee will win this game at home by the score of 20 to 14.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football this week. This is going to be an extremely one sided game that will have people flipping over to watch House, WWE Monday Night Raw, or even some cooking show on as long as it’s anything but this game. Only the hardcore Ravens fanguy is going to be sitting and watch this with some wings and beer. Joe Flacco and Ray Rice should put up some impressive numbers against the weak defense the Jaguars are running. Maurice Jones-Drew will once again play the Jags version of Barry Sanders carrying a terrible team, but show that one man just isn’t enough to win a game. The Ravens will win this game by the score of 38 to 16.
Week 6 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
The Indianapolis Colts will play on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are not as good or average as their 3-2 record would imply. However the Colts 0-5 record is a very accurate reflection of a team plagued by injury and led by an inexperienced quarterback in Curtis Painter. The last two weeks he has showed promise on the field and has put up some impressive numbers. Curtis Painter has not been able to drive this team down the field to win a game in the final minutes the last two tries he’s had. I look for this game to be very similar to the last two. The Colts will be within distance of winning the game when the Bengals running game behind Cedric Benson will explode to life and steal victory out of the jaws of defeat. Colts lose on the road by 7.
The abysmal Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to Heinz Field to play the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the game I originally thought Blaine Gabbert would make his first start for the Jaguars against. I feel he is going to take quite a few hits with this rough and aggressive Steelers defense led by Troy Palomalu. Maurice Jones-Drew will try hard but only be able to rack up close to 50 yards at most in the run game. Ben Roethlisburger will have a field day with the weak secondary of the Jaguars. Pittsburgh will win this game by 17.
The unpredictable Houston Texans will travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens. I look for this Ravens defense to be hungry and to go after Matt Schaub hard this game. Andre Johnson will still be out recovering from injury and this is just going to make it easier for the Ravens defense to blitz more. Arian Foster will have a tough time running against this defense. Look for Joe Flacco and the all mighty uni-brow to manage the game as well as he has with checkdowns and hand offs to ray rice all evening. The Ravens will win this game at home by 12.
The Tennessee Titans will play host to the dreaded bye week. Look to them to get rested up and come up with a game plan to improve the pass game with the absence of Kenny Britt.
Week 5 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
Kansas City will travel and play the Indianapolis Colts after picking up a come from behind win against the pitiful Minnesota Vikings. Wow how the Vikings, Colts, and even the Chiefs from last year have fallen from greatness. Unfortunately for KC they are the only one that have no excuse because they didn’t lose a superstar quarterback. I look for Curtis Painter to improve from his performance last week and play even better at home since Peyton Manning is going to be on the sidelines talking to him. I feel that the Chiefs are even more abysmal then the Colts right now. Kansas City is not the running threat they used to be known for so they will only be average against the horrible Colts run defense. Despite all the key injuries the Colts have on offense and defense they will win this very low scoring game 20 to 13.
Tennessee will play Pittsburgh at Heinz Field this weekend. I feel the absence of Kenny Britt due to injury will play a big role in this game. Chris Johnson finally found his groove and had a good game last weekend but with the Steeler s defense always being good at stopping the run I don’t see a repeat happening. This game will depend on Matt Hasselbeck playing well with the limited options he has. The Steelers have been the proverbial rollercoaster team this year with being up and down and winning and losing games you wouldn’t expect the end result from so far. I see Ben Roethlisbuger avenging an embarrassing home loss to the Texans from last week and Steelers win by a final of 28 to 17.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will play the Cincinnati Bengals at home in what will be yet another battle of the rookie quarterbacks this season. I feel that yet again the Jags will fall short in the matchup of rookie quarterbacks simply because you know what to expect from them. Blaine Gabbert will be average or slightly better jus the same as Andy Dalton from the Bengals. The Jaguars will try to run the ball well with Maurice Jones-Drew and that will determine how the games for them. The same can be said with Cedric Benson for the Bengals and their offense. These two teams are so identical yet the difference is in the receiving core. We KNOW what to expect from the Jags receivers as compared to the Bengals who depend heavily on AJ Green so I’m giving the Jaguars a rare vote of confidence as they win 20 to 17.
The Oakland Raiders travel to Houston to play a highly emotional game this weekend. The loss of Al Davis passing away on Saturday will be felt all across the league. The fact that every game will have a moment of silence for him before they start is a tribute to how much he meant to the sport. I feel that these two high octane offenses will be firing on all cylinders and it shall be a high scoring game. I have to give the x-factor advantage to the Raiders in emotion and the fact that their running backs have been healthier and more consistent then the Texans. I think that the Raiders will win this game on the road 35 to 30.
Week 4 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
The AFC South was almost as predictable as the rest of the NFL was unpredictable in week 3. I was 4-0 my first time ever on my picks with the division. I found myself shocked to see the Indianapolis Colts with the near upset at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I truly felt this game was going to be a slaughter that only Steelers fans would have enjoyed but was proven quite wrong. The only thing that was more surprising was the Buffalo Bills come from behind down by 21 to upset the New England Patriots.
The New Orleans Saints will make the short trip to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars. I do not look at this to be a good game at all for the Jags. I feel that the Saints will be able to slow down Maurice Jones-Drew and make Blaine Gabbert have to step up and make plays. I don’t think Gabbert has had enough time to gain chemistry with his teammates and there will probably be as many 3 and outs by the Jaguars as there are empty seats in their stadium. The Saints fans only having to make a short trip are who will actually buy tickets for this blowout. Drew Brees will throw easily for 4 touchdowns and 300+ yards in this game despite how “tough” Jacksonville always is. I pick the Saints to win on the road 35 to 13.
The Tennessee Titans will face the Cleveland Browns at home. The Browns are a team that is making steady progress just as you would expect with them rebuilding and having Colt McCoy at the helm. The Titans are wise enough to be sure to nullify the Josh Cribbs factor in this matchup. I feel Matt Hasselbeck will show another strong, veteran performance. Chris Johnson is going to struggle some more still but should improve slightly with the Brown’s struggling defense. The Titans are going to miss Kenny Britt this week and it will probably come down to Rob Bironas making some clutch field goals to win this game. Titans will come out on top and win by a late field goal with the final score being 18 to 15.
Monday Night Football will probably lose a lot of casual viewers just like Sunday Night Football did last week with the Indianapolis Colts playing. I know that a Manning-less Colts team playing against the Steelers just had a lot of people choose to watch something else despite the fact that it turned out to be a fantastic game. I feel that somehow we will get the same thing this week. Tampa Bay has been struggling this year and this will probably be Curtis Painter’s first start. Having Peyton Manning to do the play calling from the box will help this team out just like it did last week. However, both offenses are going to struggle and the Colts defense just will not be able to do the same as they did last weekend. The Buccaneers will win a tough game at home by the score of 24 to 20.
The most interesting matchup this weekend will be when Pittsburgh travels to Houston to play the Texans. It’s hard to believe that the Texans have been the more predictable and consistent team than the Steelers have this year. I believe this will be the Steelers “on game” after last weekend they seemed off and allowed Indy’s defense to outplay them the entire game. Troy Palomalu will be a nightmare and get to Matt Schaub a lot in this game. Ben Roethlisburger will have a better game and check down to Heath Miller a lot to make the Texans defense tighten up. Rashard Mendenhall should be able to run well and help the Steelers keep the ball out of the hands of the fast paced Houston Texans. Steelers will win this game 27 to 17.
Week 3 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
I will finally give the Houston Texans some credit. They earned a very great win against a physical and tough team in the Miami Dolphins. Matt Hasselbeck showed up like I had thought he would in my initial overall season predictions with the upset against Baltimore. And it would be to no surprise if he continues to improve upon that Baltimore performance as he learns the system. Kerry Collins looked better but the Colts lost a game I felt was 1 of about 4 or 5 winnable games this season. Especially considering how tremendously horrible they are without Peyton Manning the entire season.
The first game I want to highlight is the Houston Texans against the New Orleans Saints. I will use this game as a test to see if the Texans really have arrived this season. The Saints are a highly talented team led by a man who is going to put up 300+ passing yards on the Texans. Should be interesting to see if rookie Mark Ingraam can continue to run the ball well. Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson are going to make some big plays to make this a shootout type of game. However, the Texans will have Arian Foster at less than 100% or not at all in this game. I will once again go against the Texans because it is very hard to win on the road in New Orleans. Saints will win this game 35 to 30.
Denver at Tennessee will be an interesting matchup. We will probably see Tebow go deep, and by that I mean see him run down the field to try and make the catch instead of tossing it. It is ridiculous that he is being put out on the field for anything besides quarterback just to appease some fans. I look for Matt Hasselbeck to continue to play well and Chris Johnson to finally get into the groove of things. Kyle Orton will have a turnover or two and at least he will be on the road and not having to deal having as many fans chanting “We want Tebow!” The Titans will win this game 24 to 20.
Pittsburgh will play at Indianapolis on Sunday Night Football this weekend. Normally this would be a highly anticipated matchup and many shows with their season premiers would suffer because of it. However, Seth Macfarlane must be ecstatic to know that is not the case with the loss of Peyton Manning in the equation and Family Guy will get a boost in ratings from casual fans not wanting to watch this game. People might even watch the Cleveland Show because only Steelers fans are going to enjoy the slaughtering that is going to be taking place on NBC. This game will not even be close and look for that one Pittsburgh Fan Guy to be getting drunk and talking about how great the Steelers are and going to the Superbowl because of how bad they spank the Colts. Pittsburgh wins in dominating fashion by the score of 35 to 9.
The most exciting game of the weekend I think will be the battle of rookie quarterbacks when the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to play the Carolina Panthers. I’m not surprised the Gabbert experiment has already begun when I had only gave Luke McCown one or two more games before this would happen. Cam Newton has shocked and surprised everyone with his play so far this season. If it wasn’t for the evil four letter words devotion and unshaken love for Tom Brady and his performance then Cam Newton would be the headlines right now. The Panthers are scary right now and they could have easily been 2-0 instead of 0-2 if they had only one or two less mistakes in some key situations. This game will come down to Cam Newton driving the ball down the field near the end of the game again. He has more playing time and experience with his teammates so I think the Panthers finally get their first win in the Newton era by the score of 24 to 17.
Week 2 Thoughts and Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
Opening week in the NFL can be summed up in one word: unpredictable. Who would have thought the Ravens would destroy the Steelers 35 to 7? Did anyone think Cam Newton would come out and pass for over 400 yards in his NFL debut? Who would have thought that after trading their one consistent player in Lee Evans that the Bills would march into Kansas City and blow the Chiefs out of the water? No one ever goes into Arrowhead Stadium and decimates the Chiefs, much less the Bills. I felt like I’ve stumbled into the twilight zone or an alternate dimension considering the outcomes in week 1.
The first game I want to take a look at is the Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans. Chris Johnson was talking about needing to find his groove in order to get back to running successfully. This will not be the game he accomplishes that with how well the Raven’s defense is playing. Baltimore will be pumped and looking to keep momentum from the dominating performance they had against the Steelers. I look for Ray Rice to once again put up some numbers and the Ravens to have a big advantage in time of possession. Matt Hasselback played decent last week but he needs Chris Johnson to run more than 9 times for 24 yards to help open the field up. I think the Ravens will win on the road 27 to 13.
The Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the New York Jets will probably be the biggest blowout of the four games the AFC South plays this weekend. Mark Sanchez stepped up and played phenomenal in the comeback against the Dallas Cowboys at home last week. The Jets were able to be effective in the passing game which was something always highly questionable. The Jets will get back to what they do best and run the ball hard this weekend. The Jaguars surprised me with how they successfully ran the ball and upset the Tennessee Titans last week. Luke McCown put up the numbers I figured he would. The Jaguars are in for a world of trouble considering Jets defense will tighten up after Tony Romo threw for 346 against them last week. I look for Darrelle Revis and company to get a couple interceptions and get to McCown often in this game. The Jets fly away in this game at home 33 to 10.
The Houston Texans battling the Miami Dolphins will be the best AFC South game to watch this weekend. The Texans made me eat some crow on thinking they were just average without Arian Foster when they still thoroughly dominated the Colts last weekend. The Texans finally sensed weakness and went for the kill, which is something they’ve desperately needed for the last few years. Matt Schaub should be able to keep the Dolphins defense honest with Andre Johnson. However, I don’t think they will be able to run the ball as effectively this week. The Texans will need their quarterback to make some plays to win this game in Miami. The next surprise was with how well Chad Henne played against the New England Patriots. The addition of Reggie Bush really helped the Dolphins maintain possession and I look to him to perform even better in this matchup. This game has the makings to be a shootout like it was last week for the Dolphins. The Houston Texans will be able to maintain some momentum from week 1 yet fall short in this game. The Miami Dolphins will win their home opener 35 to 31.
The Indianapolis Colts play the Cleveland Browns in Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend. Every team in the league can smell the blood in the water and are seizing their chance to get a piece of the Colts this year. You could tell that as soon as the Colts took their first snap without Peyton Manning they all gave up. Kerry Collins was able to convert on only one third down conversion the entire game and they allowed someone to run for over 100 yards. Collins needs more time to learn this complicated offense and the offensive line needs more games under their belt to improve. Losing Gary Brackett certainly doesn’t help the defensive side of the ball this weekend. The Cleveland Browns are lucky in that the Madden Curse apparently hit the wrong Peyton this year. Peyton Hillis looked pretty good along with Colt McCoy and Josh Cribbs. However, outside of those three the Browns really have not been impressive and lost to a Cincinnati team that is transitioning to the future. The last three meetings between the Colts and Browns have all been low scoring games where neither team put up more than 12 points on the board. Pat McAfee will neutralize the Cribbs factor with the new kickoff rules and make the Browns start on the 20. Some would say it’s going to take something as powerful as the Madden Curse to help the Colts win a game this season, however, the Colts will win this game at home 16 to 14.
AFC South 2011 Predictions
by Matt Broylsie
AFC South Correspondent – Broylsie@hotmail.com
This is going to be yet another unpredictable year in the AFC South. Every team in the division is drooling at the chance of getting an early win/loss advantage against the Colts with the possibility of not knowing how long Peyton Manning will be sidelined. The major problem with every team in this division is when they have had a grip on the division they have always let it slip away instead of go for the kill. We will see if at least one of these teams have learned their lessons.
Here are my predictions on how the AFC South will fare this year as I look at each teams schedule individually:
Indianapolis Colts - The Indianapolis Colts are sticking firm to their belief they have over the years in that it’s “next man up.” They have never faced the challenge of injury without Peyton Manning leading them through it but Kerry Collins will help this team go 2-2 if Manning is to miss 4 games at max. The advantage they have is that extra week to heal and get timing down to finish a mostly easy schedule other than New England or Baltimore to finish of their divisional games as the Colts always do late in the season. I think they finish 4-2 to end the season 10-6. They might win one or two more if Manning misses less but a record of 10-6 is the realistic and best possible outcome for this team that is good at facing adversity.
Indianapolis Colts 10-6
Houston Texans - Next up is the team year after year everyone seems to dream about taking over the division. Yes I am talking about the looks good on paper but underachieve on the field Houston Texans. Isn’t the definition of insanity to repeat the same thing over and over but expecting a different result? For years the Texans have done the same things and maybe Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator might be enough of a change to end this cycle of insanity for Houston. But they are going to go 5-5 if lucky and 4-2 with the hard schedule they start out with against teams like Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Miami. I can even see Oakland and Tennessee giving them a run for their money. Playing Atlanta, Indianapolis with a healthy Peyton Manning and Tennessee in season finale hoping for a playoff berth will be the end of the Gary Kubiak era that many Texans fans have felt a long time would get them through that state of mediocrity.
Houston Texans 8-8
Tennessee Titans - The Tennessee Titans are the team I find the most intriguing this year. I feel weary that they may get to a slow start with the fact that Chris Johnson held out for so long and didn’t practice with the team. However, he knows the system and the plays so I think after a hit or two he will get back into the flow of things since it’s not like he was slouching on a couch doing absolutely nothing. The addition of Matt Hasselbeck makes this team very dangerous and increases their potential by a lot. He adds the abilities of consistency and managing a game like Kerry Collins did for them but with a bit more talent and availability to make big plays. No longer will Titans fans be gulping or ordering another pitcher of beer to drown their sorrows at hearing that Rusty “Trombone” Smith will be taking the snaps like they thought after departures of Kerry Collins and Vince Young. I can see this team finishing 3 and 2 before the bye with an upset on Pittsburgh with how well both teams have played since the stomping of the dreaded towel incited a bit of a rivalry between the two that media outlets have to CONSTANTLY bring back up even though Albert Haynesworth is long gone from the team. I see the Titans going 7 and 4 to finish 10-6 and tied with the Colts for an overall record.
Tennessee Titans 10-6
Jacksonville Jaguars - Last but very least we will discuss the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am still dumbfounded by the timing of dropping David Garrard from the roster. I think if anything it would have made more sense to drop him before he took away from some of the first team snaps that Luke McCown would’ve needed earlier in preseason anyway. I strongly see this team just making a move to keep being the bottom of the league in value worth so they get the best bid for a potential move to Los Angeles. I can see them trying to slip out in the middle of the night like the Colts organization did. The only difference is the residents of Jacksonville aren’t going to be upset unlike they were in Baltimore. This team will go 1-3 under a proven second string quarterback in McCown against the tough competition. He will start losing against Cincinnati which will bring in the Blaine Gabbert era. It will be OK for Gabbert to lose this game and the next against Pittsburgh because he’s the rookie taking his hits and learning on the fly as they finish 2 and 6 before the bye week. I can see them maybe getting an upset somehow but will finish the rest of the season identical to the start to end their season at 4-12, thus ending the tenure of coach Jack Del Rio.
Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12
The quagmire I am left with is who is crowned the AFC South Divisional Champ with the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans finishing with identical records at 10-6. I feel that with the Colts final 3 games being against all 3 divisional opponents, both head to head matches between these two games coming later in the season, and a highly motivated, healthy, and competitive Peyton Manning will sweep those games and take the AFC South Crown by Head to Head or Divisional Record over the Tennessee Titans.
