Official Texans @ Jaguars Game Thread, 9/16/2012
 

The Texans travel to Jacksonville this Sunday to take on the always scrappy Jags in an early game. Texans are coming off a victory, 30-10 over the Miami Dophins in their season opener. It's a division game and these are always hard fought contests despite the records or reputations.

The Jags were in Minnesota last weekend where they lost in OT to the Vikings, 26-23. Look for QB Blaine Gabbert to target Cecil Shorts, Laurent Robinson, Marcedes Lewis and rookie Justin Blackmon in the passing game while mixing in Maurice Jones-Drew as a checkdown guy and rusher.

TV = CBS (Channel 11 local) 12 noon Sunday

Announcers = Marv Albert, Rich Gannon

The line = Texans by 7 to 8.5

I am hoping that this is not a trap game.

You mean looking ahead to Peyton and the Broncos ? Maybe but Sunday's game was such a lackluster effort that I'd hope for a bounce-back effort vs a division rival like the Jags this weekend ?
BTW went back and watched my recording of Sundays game and Newton didn't play badly at all, atleast in terms of keeping Wake at bay. Kinda hard to evaluate his run-blocking since so much of the Texans' rushing game went to the left.

MJD never makes me comfortable and Blackmon can be a beast. Still, I don't think their defense is as stout as it was under Del Gutter. I think we'll put up some points. Gabbert is someone we can pressure.

I think week 2 is a bit early for a "trap" game. These guys aren't that knicked up or tired yet, and the press hasn't gotten any heavier after beating the Fins.

Jacksonville is a bad football team.

We will roll.

If there are no turnovers, it could be a close game. MJD running the ball and the Jags defense could give them the edge in Time of Possession. So we have to be efficient when we have the ball and score TDs. If we get into a FG battle, this won't be a 20-pt blowout.

how is mjd and their defense likely to give them the edge in time of possession anymore than arian foster and the texans defense giving it to the texans?

last time i checked the texans defense was far better than the jags, and while mjd was the rushing leader last year, arian foster wasn't far off.

Hags trying to boost ticket sales..... Pretty smart by the parts guy. $20 is more than $0, and they need all the help they can get. Don't understand why some owners don't get that.

A new ticket promotion: For $20 each you can buy up to four seats to a Jaguars home game on a Saturday. Sunday an hour before kickoff, you turn in your certificate and get random, non-premium seats, likely singles. It’s a coin toss where you’ll wind up, so the team is calling it the Coin Toss Ticket promotion.

http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-...d-df90273a10ee

Roy said it COULD give them the top advantage. And if we don't score and put some pressure on them to keep up, they absolutely COULD patiently hurt us with the running game inside and play keep away.

of course it could. the arizona cardinals could beat the patriots this weekend if they can control the ball and keep brady out of the endzone.

to me it read like the thought it is likely it will happen. if he is just saying something COULD happen if everythign goes right for the other team, that could be said for just about every matchup.

and i am not saying that mjd won't have a good game, i think he will. my issue was with the overall point of the post, and the fact that talking about football is more fun than working.

I agree wholeheartedly with your last statement.

As for Roy's statement, I'd say the jags controlling the clock is reasonable but not likely.

Mularkey: "The count for Maurice will go up". MJD will start v. Houston. -- Adam Schein (@AdamSchein)

My point was, The Dolphins last week started out with success against our Texans. R. Bush was getting pretty good traction. Foster was being held in check and we were not overwhelming an inferior team. If I were The Jags, I'd use that as my gameplan and hope the Texans don't create turnovers. By staying patient with the run, they could limit the Texans's possessions & opportunities to turn the game into a blowout. MJD is a better RB than Bush, and I would not want to expose Gabbert.

Exactly. This is the blueprint for how the Jags have a chance to win it late.

That said, I don't think they are a good enough team to survive 60 minutes with us. I don't think they can execute (avoid turnovers, negative plays, and penalites) in a way that lets them stay patient with the run. Plus, at some point I think they will break down defensively and once they fall behind, they will start to feel the pressure to score and the run game becomes marginalized. Especially since they do not look nearly as stout defensively this year as last.

I really don't know that anyone but SF has the personell and coaching to take advantage for a full game of what we saw the Dolphins take advantage of for a quarter.

gotcha. i am with you now.

oh, and the jags will be missing one, if not two of their starting offensive linemen. one being their starting RT

I would be concerned that they would be cannabalizing their current ticket sales though. Why pay $70 for a seat when I could wait and do this coin toss thing?

Its only 500 tix, and mostly singles (according to the article). IE tix that would normally go unsold.

They don't have any ticket sales, I think that's the point. They close off half the freaking stadium.

I can see why, though. When I think Skynyrdville I think myriad entertainment options.

My thought is that the Texans lose one or two division road games this year, so I'm thinking the Jags surprise us with something like a 17-14 score Sunday in FLA. Sure hope I'm wrong about this, but MJD is a far better back than Reggie Bush ever dreamed about being and he's always given us fits, it's the Jags
2012 home-opener, and Gabbert has gotta have a respectible performance one of these days.
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