Week 8 Preview

 

Meet the Jaguars

Considered to be a dark horse candidate for the AFC, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be rolling into Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. The Jaguars find themselves at a 3-3 record and have been plagued by inconsistency so far in 2006. After two impressive wins against Dallas and Pittsburgh at home, the Jags went on the road and lost two straight against Indianapolis and Washington. Following that, the Jags returned home and destroyed the New York Jets but then following a bye went on the road and were embarrassed by the Houston Texans in a 27-7 loss. The Jaguars are 0-3 on the road this year and gunning for a wild card. This game is slated to be a big one for the Jags as they try to reverse their losing ways on the road and try to make a push for a wild card spot in the AFC.

 

The Jaguars are led by coach Jack Del Rio and have assembled an entire team of non-marquee players. While the Jaguars do not have any big name super stars, they have many capable players on all sides of the ball that makes the Jags a tricky team to beat. The Jaguars and Eagles have faced off twice since the Jaguars joined the league, with the Jaguars winning both games, most recently in 2002 when they defeated the Eagles 28-25. This is the Jaguars first trip to Philadelphia in their franchise history.

 

Following their tough loss in Houston last week, the Jaguars will be hungry to rebound and prove their critics wrong. On offense, QB Byron Leftwich is coming off an ankle injury sustained in Week 7. Coach Del Rio had back up QB David Garrard taking reps at practice just in case Leftwich is unable to go. It is looking however, that Leftwich will play. Also on offense, the Jags have a speedy playmaking RB in Fred Taylor and two tall possession receivers in Matt Jones and Ernest Wilford measuring up at 6’6’’ and 6’4’’ respectively. There is a potential QB controversy in Jacksonville as Leftwich is hurt and also immobile. The choice of Garrard or Leftwich will be a gametime decision.

 

On defense, the Jags have shown lots of promise in their efforts shutting out both the Steelers and the Jets. However, the Jacksonville defense is very banged up. Veteran CB Terry Cousin is listed as out for the game with a groin injury and DT Marcus Stroud listed as doubtful with an ankle injury. The Jags still have many great players on defense that will be hungry to avenge their loss against Houston. At CB, the Jags have one of the most underrated CBs in Rashean Mathis and the Jags have what at times can be a fierce pass rush.

 

What to watch for on Sunday

This is the Eagles last game before their bye week. QB Donovan McNabb has stated that he thinks the Eagles should be 7-0 instead of 4-3. All of the Eagles losses have come on the final play of the game and have left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. The Eagles will be playing with nothing to lose on Sunday in a game that could very well determine their playoff destiny as their second half schedule is very tough. WR Donte Stallworth, who has missed several games with a nagging hamstring injury is expected to be back in uniform for this game. For the Jags, they will also be playing with a sense of desperation. They are winless on the road this year and will be looking to avoid dropping below .500. Look for these teams to come out hungry and fired up as both teams have several things to play off in week 8.

 

When the Eagles have the ball

Despite some second half magic against Tampa Bay last week, QB Donovan McNabb has to improve upon his own performance. Last week McNabb threw three interceptions with two of them going for touchdowns. McNabb will have to keep his eye on Rashean Mathis all day. Mathis is a player with great speed and vertical ability. Look for McNabb to spread the field and use Brian Westbrook a lot to keep the Jaguars defense off guard and on their toes. The addition of Stallworth gives McNabb one more option to throw the ball to and can only help the Eagles passing attack. It is vital that the Eagles do not commit any turnovers. This means McNabb can’t throw interceptions and his receivers/backs have to protect the ball. The Jaguars D is great at creating turnovers and capitalizing on said turnovers.

 

The Jaguars have had trouble getting pressure in recent weeks after doing a great job against Pittsburgh and Dallas. If McNabb and the offense are going to be productive today, the offensive line needs to continue its good work. RG Shaun Andrews is having a pro-bowl caliber year, but was injured following the Tampa Bay game. Andrews is expected to play and he will be very important in protecting McNabb and creating holes for Westbrook.

 

When the Jaguars have the Ball

First and foremost, the Eagles have to develop a consistent defense. The Eagles played lights out against Tampa Bay only allowing 6 points, but were unable to stop themselves from allowing big plays when they came up or from making dumb penalties. Even though this sounds redundant it is absolutely true. The Eagles need to get as much pressure as they possibly can on Leftwich/Garraud. In their past two losses, the Eagles have not been getting to the QB and it has made their defense a lot easier to manipulate. Look for Jim Johnson to have his guys fired up for this game. The impact players of Trent Cole, Darren Howard, Jeremiah Trotter, and Brian Dawkins will all be counted on to make plays.

 

The linebackers and secondary will have an interesting task ahead of them on Sunday. It is up to the linebackers to stop Fred Taylor from having a good day on the ground and the undersized Eagles secondary will have to get physical to prevent those big receivers in Jones and Wilford from making plays. These two groups are certainly up to the task and are more than capable of stopping the Jacksonville offense. Again though, the word is consistency. This defense needs to get pressure, create turnovers, and make havoc for the Jags or they will be run all over the field.

 

Special Teams

Both the Eagles and the Jaguars have a lot of improvement needed to special teams. The Eagles have had issues with kick coverage and kick returning all year and so have the Jaguars. Dexter Wynn is still slated to take kicks for the Eagles, though you may see Ryan Moats or maybe Reno Mahe back there as well. The Jaguars have Maurice Jones-Drew returning their kicks. Jones-Drew is a small guy with great speed and the Eagles have to make sure they get down to the field to keep him from busting off a great return. Both teams have accurate and respectable kickers with Josh Scobee for the Jags and David Akers for the Eagles.