5 Questions with the Jaguars

Time again for another round of 5 Questions With... The Jaguars! Chris over at Big Cat Country was good enough to trade questions with us this week. You can find my answers to his questions on the Redskins here. Head over there, get a login and represent for the Redskins.

Over at Hogs Haven, Skin Patrol has also exchanged 5 questions with Big Cat Country. Head over there, check out his questions and drop a comment.

And without further Adu, on to this week's questions.

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Curly R: The Redskins have been soft on pass defense, and won't have Shawn Springs back this week either. Leftwich is sharing the wealth in the passing game. What's your take on that matchup? Do you think the Jaguars' receiving corps is performing like last year's?

Big Cat Country: I think the Jags have a much better WR Corps than last year because the Jimmy Smith (as much as I love him) crutch is gone. Byron has to spread the ball around because we have three guys in Matt Jones, Ernest Wilford and Reggie Williams who can emerge as our number one WR. Right now Jones has the edge, but Reggie is showing that he's not a flop for an 11th overall pick. I think our WR's have a height and speed advantage over the Skin's DB's, but they are a young group that can be tricked and drawn into bad situations.


Curly R: I know you guys wish you could have Brunell back, but alas, his 7.1 yards per attempt are all ours. What will be the Jacksonville strategy to handle the Redskins' offense?

Big Cat Country: Consistent Pressure on Brunell, make him beat us with his arm and shut down the run. You can throw 22 passes in a row against the Texans, but I assure you , our defense is astronomically better than our AFC South buddies in Texas. Jags play to shut down the run and make teams one dimensional. Darius and Grant, Williams and Mathis, they can do some damage in to a Passing Game, especially after our D-Line and Linebackers keep Portis in Funny Character Mode.


Curly R: I read in the Washington Post Wednesday that Wayne Weaver has tarped over 9100 seats in the stadium from lack of demand, and that the Jaguars are struggling to break even. How far would Weaver have to cut prices to sell the place out? What's your take on the ownership and the team's financial health?

Big Cat Country: Wayne Weaver loves Northeast Florida. What you have to remember is that Alltel Stadium also hosts the "Largest Cocktail Party" in the college football world. The "Gator Bowl", for one game, has larger attendance than most NFL games do as an average game. Our stadium as its designed for the Gator Bowl is too large for a market our size for 16 weeks of NFL football, therefore Wayne Weaver decided to cover seats. What this does is make our Jags play in an arena the appropriate size for their market. Wayne's prices are at the league average and we consistently break even. The problem isn't that we're not making money, it's the general problem of small market teams keeping up with the big market ones in player and coach salaries. The Jags financial state is fine, we're a profitable team for Wayne. If he were to sell the team, there is an ownership group in the wings that is intended to keep the team in Jacksonville. Also, this is the first year we have a waiting list for season tickets, and the amount of people on the list is 2 times larger than the amount of covered seats. It's supply and demand, if we lower supply of seats, demand and price for seats increases.


Curly R: Ok, so it's a pretty bitter rivalry with the Colts. After last season's game at Indianapolis, Jaguars players were complaining about Colts' defenders going after Leftwich's knees. After last Sunday's game, the Coach Del Rio himself accused the Colts' players of vaulting illegally on field goals and of head-slapping, Deacon Jones style. Are the Colts getting the Michael Jordan treatment at home, or is the Jaguars organization just taking out frustration over being good but still stuck behind the Colts?

Big Cat Country: It's their frustration toward the Colts, absolutely. We are a better team. We are a young team with a younger staff and we make mistakes. Sometimes we air out that frustration publicly and that causes problems from time to time. The Colts like to claim that they are such a clean and well managed team that does not make mistakes, which any close viewing of tape can illustrate its clear faults. Like any playoff game for example. I think the Colts have risen to such a level of talent and fanbase for being in the middle of Indiana that there must certainly be a financial interest in their success, but I don't like to think that the league conspires to rig things. If they did, the Redskins, Cowboys, and other huge market teams would win every year. Parity, I think, is proof that there is not a larger "scam" to rig games.


Curly R: The Jaguars are looking good, winning two good games and statistically outplaying the Colts in losing. The Jaguars could be as good as last season, but so could the Colts. Can the Jaguars get over the top this season? How do you see this division shaking out?

Big Cat Country: If the Jaguars can keep their poise, I think they can beat any team in the league. The only team that can beat the Jags is themselves. Stupid penalties and mistakes cost them, but it's rare that they are outplayed. It's been rare for the last two seasons, but this year looks like we've got it together. I think that Jacksonville and Indy will play close all year long, both of us sweeping the Titans and the Texans, so it'll come down to the next game we play in December at Alltel Stadium to decide the division. I see the playoffs for Jacksonville, but I'd like to think we can win the division this year.


Curly R BONUS QUESTION: The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the Jaguars take in barely half the total revenue of the Redskins. How come all that money doesn't buy the Redskins a better team?

Big Cat Country: Because I think that the Skins are too willing to sacrifice draft picks and the future on buying high priced free agents now. Jacksonville tried that from 99-01 and we ended up in salary cap hell for a few years. If the new CBA had not passed, you might have experienced that for yourself. I think you spend the money in the wrong way. You bought three identical wide receivers in ARE, Lloyd, and David Patten. You could run some sort of super sexy spread offense, but still have questions in QB. You can't tell me that a 36 year old QB is the answer. I see too much emphasis on winning today and you lose games because it's the wrong answer. Jacksonville built its offense through the draft and buys a few free agents on Defense, but even then we don't ever buy players over 28 years old. We keep more jars on the shelf than any team in the league. You cannot buy a Super Bowl, you can only develop it over time.

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I think he's right about that last part.

Thanks to Chris at Big Cat Country for taking time out to answer our questions. Head over to his site for my take on his questions, and get ready for a big game on Sunday!