by Tom Weppel
The Jaguars come off a nice home win over the Chargers and now, at 7-3, they will host a Buffalo Bill squad that simply got hammered by the best team in the NFL, 56-10. Jacksonville gave us a good showing last week. David Garrard was productive in his first action since injuring his ankle a few weeks ago. The ground game was workmanlike. And the passing game seemed to come around, too. That was a surprise, more so than anything else.
We also saw a Defense that did their job, although they will now have to play without LB Mike Peterson and CB Rashean Mathis, two of their top playmakers. We’ll see how that affects their play. For this game coming up on Sunday, I believe it will be tough to sell out the stadium, which means that once again the Blackout Rule will be in effect. It’s a shame that’s going to be the case. I guess there aren’t enough people in Jacksonville that have enough money to buy enough tickets! Is this a poor town? Are people simply saving money for Christmas?
What’s it going to take for this city to sell out the game? And its not only the market, but it’s the outlying areas as well, that don’t do enough to support a Jaguar franchise that currently has one of the best records in the NFL.
Of course, I also blame the Jaguars franchise for a) not doing a better job of marketing their team, and b) not doing a better job in creating better character amongst the team, as we have all seen in previous unlawful situations. But by and large, there isn’t a total appreciation in the market to have an NFL franchise playing in this town, which, for all intents, I guess is NOT the most progressive city in the land.
So, what’s it gonna TAKE, people? I’m curious. The Bills are not a bad squad. It should be a fun game to take in and enjoy. Most people that go to the game seem to be having a good time. I invite you to check it out.
It seems the NFL can now be looked upon as the New England Patriots and then everyone else! The Pats are so dominant in their play, it’s almost a joke for any other team in the League to even come close to giving them a challenge. You simply must give them credit for what has been built up in Foxboro. While things can still happen, such as drastic injuries to key guys, or a total collapse, the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl and they are going to win it. You can watch them crush the Eagles on Sunday night.
In the NFC, it looks like its going to come down to the Packers and Cowboys, who both played on Thanksgiving Day. I’m sure ESPN would give anything to trade out their Miami/Pittsburgh game on Monday Night. Who on Earth is interested in watching that contest? You gotta be KIDDING me! It is entirely possible the Dolphins could go 0-16 this year. I say that, knowing the ‘Fins have three home games left against decent opponents. To go winless for an entire season would be one WILD accomplishment! Wouldn’t THAT be something!
This weekend should certainly be a rather interesting one for college football. There are a slew of games played which carry significance in various respects. On the local interest level, we have Florida State heading to Gainesville to face the Gators. The Seminoles are an decent team, and my feeling is Florida should be able to handle FSU nicely.
Georgia goes to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech, where they should get a challenge, but in the end, prevail. And Miami will head up North to face Boston College, where they will get hammered one more time this season. Too bad the Hurricanes can’t go play Notre Dame!
Then we go around the country for some other interesting tilts. Virginia Tech will play the Cavaliers of Virginia, with the winner then coming to the ACC Championship here in Jacksonville. I can tell you that the ACC and the guys here are rooting for the Hokies, as they tend to travel stronger en masse than the Cavs. A Boston College/UVa match up would be alittle boring, actually.
There are other traditional rumbles, such as Clemson and South Carolina, and then you have Auburn hosting the rather mediocre Alabama Crimson Tide. Both games carry no other significance, other than local bragging rights. But in both cases, that means a lot. Nationally, the last two unbeaten schools will have tough challenges. Kansas will play Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, while Hawaii will host Boise State. It would be very possible to see both teams lose those games. A Kansas loss to the Tigers would be a crushing blow to their Cinderella season. Of course, while I say all this, we have seen that a) there have been way too many upsets in College Football this year, b) nothing should be considered a shock at all anymore, and c) there is still no clue as to who the hell is gonna play for the BCS Championship! Enjoy!
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Lonnie Marts, Eugene Chung, Artis Gilmore, and Ron Duguay on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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