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The Jaguars have released 26-year old linebacker Alvin Bowen. Bowen played in 2 games for the Jaguars this season and he has 1 tackle. The signing of veteran linebacker Eric Alexander earlier this week pretty much doomed Bowen. He won’t be missed much, if at all, by the Jaguars.
The Jaguars have signed 28-year old linebacker Eric Alexander. Alexander played in 14 games for the Patriots last season and he had 12 tackles and 1 forced fumble. He has played in 44 games in his NFL career and he has 48 tackles and 1 forced fumble. Alexander should help the Jaguars out while providing depth at linebacker.
The Jaguars have released 31-year old TE Ernest Wilford. Wilford played in 1 game for the Jaguars this year and he caught 1 pass for 3 yards. He played in 80 games (44 starts) in six years with the Jags in which he has caught 153 passes for 2,120 yards (13.9 avg) with 15 TD grabs. The Jaguars are loaded at TE so they shouldn’t miss Wilford at all.
The Jaguars have claimed 26-year old QB Trent Edwards off waivers from the Bills. Edwards started the first two games this year for the Bills in which he completed 29 of 52 passes (55.8%) for 241 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (58.3 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 5 times for 24 yards (4.8 ypc) so far this year. Edwards has now played in 34 games in his NFL career and he has completed 535 of 878 passes (60.9%) for 5,739 yards with 25 TD passes and 27 INTs (76.8 QB Rating). He also has carried the ball 69 times for 296 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs. The Jaguars got lucky that Edwards got to them in waivers as they now have a capable backup in case David Garrard continues to struggle.
The Jaguars have signed 25-year old Keith Null to their practice squad. Null played in 4 games (all starts) as a rookie for the Rams last season and he completed 73 of 119 passes (61.3%) for 566 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (49.9 QB Rating). Null also carried the ball 5 times for 6 yards (1.2 ypc) last season for the Rams. The Rams were 0-4 in games started by Null last year. He will provide depth and little more for the Jaguars unless David Garrard and Todd Bouman both get hurt.
The Jaguars looked like they didn’t want to play yesterday and it showed on the scoreboard. David Garrard never had much of a chance in his game as he was sacked 6 times by the Eagles. David Garrard completed 13 of 30 passes for 105 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT. He also carried the ball 8 times for 23 yards (2.9 ypc) yesterday. Maurice Jones-Drew did his part as he carried the ball 22 times for 88 yards (4.0 ypc) in this game. The Jaguars finished up with 130 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 30 passes for 54 yards.
Safety Sean Considine (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and DT Terrance Knighton (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits) led the way for the Jags on D in this game. The Eagles finished up with 106 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 31 passes for 267 yards. The Jaguars are now 1-2 on the year.
The Jaguars are glad to be home this week even if it means chasing Michael Vick around for 3 hours this Sunday. The Jaguars are a different team at home and they have never lost (3-0) against the Eagles in team history. Here’s a look at the matchups in this game:
When the Jaguars have the ball: The Jaguars are likely going to pound the ball with Maurice Jones-Drew and Reshad Jennings on the ground against an Eagles D that is allowing 123.5 yards rushing per game and 4.2 ypc. After the Jags establish the running game look for them to start throwing the ball down the field off play action with David Garrard looking for Mike Sims-Walker and Mike Thomas. Garrard will also likely keep throwing the ball to TE Marcedes Lewis who is playing the best football of his NFL career right now.
When the Eagles have the ball: The Eagles will likely pass the ball more than they run against the Jaguars. The Eagles will likely be attacking CB David Jones no matter who he is covering and it’s likely to be Jeremy Maclin most of the day. The Jaguars must get a good pass rush and keep Michael Vick in the pocket. If they can keep Vick in the pocket most of the time they will have a great chance of winning this football game. The Jags can’t overplay the pass though or Lesean McCoy and Vick will hurt them running the ball.
PREDICTION: JAGUARS 27, EAGLES 24
26-year old starting TE Marcedes Lewis has not been much of a target in the passing game early in his career. In his first four years with the Jaguars he played in 62 games in which he caught 123 passes for 1,524 yards (12.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs. He has career highs of 41 catches, 518 yards receiving and 2 TD grabs coming into this year. But, David Garrard is looking for him a lot more in the passing game this year. Lewis has already caught 7 passes for 101 yards (14.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs this year in the first two games. If Lewis keeps up at this pace he’s going to smash his old career highs and he a key to the Jags’ passing offense.
The Jaguars have signed 38-year old QB Todd Bouman to replace the injured Luke McCown as David Garrard’s new backup QB. Bouman last played in 2007 for the Rams. He has played in 43 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 129 of 230 passes (56.1%) for 1,683 yards with 11 TD passes and 11 INTs (75.3 QB Rating). Bouman has also carried the ball 21 times for 86 yards (4.1 ypc) in his career. Bouman is 1-5 as a starting QB in his NFL career. Bouman will be absolutely no threat to David Garrard’s job like McCown could have been.
UPDATE: (10/5/2010) – The Jaguars have released Todd Bouman. With the recent additions of Trent Edwards and Keith Null the Jags didn’t have a need for Bouman anymore.
The Jaguars have lost backup QB Luke McCown for the rest of the year after he tore his right ACL against the Chargers yesterday. McCown completed 11 of 19 passes (57.9%) for 120 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (76.6 QB Rating) yesterday. He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards for the Jags this year. This sucks for the Jaguars who really don’t have anyone behind David Garrard right now.