Jaguars' season in review
Feb. 12, 2008
Overview: The hot seat of head coach Jack Del Rio became considerably cooler after the surprising success of the 2007 Jaguars. Perhaps no personnel decision in the league turned out better than Del Rio’s decision to cut ties with QB Byron Leftwich and forge ahead with David Garrard. Behind Garrard’s brilliant quarterbacking and a thumping running game, the offense emerged as a top-flight unit while the defense did enough to help out. There’s no shame in ending the season in Foxborough in the divisional playoff round.
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Date
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Opponent
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Spread
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Result
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09/09/07
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Tennessee
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-8
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10-13
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09/16/07
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Atlanta
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-10
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13-7
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09/23/07
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at Denver
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+3½
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23-14
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BYE WEEK
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10/07/07
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at Kansas City
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-2
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17-7
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10/14/07
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Houston
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-6½
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37-17
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10/22/07
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Indianapolis
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+3
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7-29
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10/28/07
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at Tampa Bay
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+3½
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24-23
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11/04/07
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at New Orleans
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+3½
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24-41
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11/11/07
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at Tennessee
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+4½
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28-13
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11/18/07
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San Diego
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-3
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24-17
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11/25/07
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Buffalo
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-9
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36-14
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12/02/07
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at Indianapolis
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+7
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25-28
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12/09/07
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Carolina
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-11
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37-6
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12/16/07
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at Pittsburgh
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+3
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29-22
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12/23/07
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Oakland
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-14
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49-11
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12/30/07
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at Houston
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+7
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28-42
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01/05/08
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at Pittsburgh
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-3
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31-29
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01/12/08
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at New England
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+13½
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20-31
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Team MVP: It has to be Garrard. A middling receiving corps devoid of any vertical threats rendered the passing attack fairly conservative, but few quarterbacks did a more efficient job of distributing the football and moving the chains. Garrard’s in line for a hefty contract extension after his breakout campaign.
Biggest surprise: We all suspected the running game would be good; we just didn’t expect it to be this good. Only the Vikings rushed for more yards in the regular season, as the two-headed RB monster of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew gashed most opposing defenses, especially in the season’s second half. Taylor rightfully earned himself a trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, the first of his standout career.
Biggest disappointment: DTs John Henderson and Marcus Stroud were believed to be arguably the league’s most dominating tackle tandem. But neither operated with his standard success in ’07, in part because neither was fully healthy. The pair didn’t demand double-teams as they traditionally had, which had the ripple effect of slowing down the Jaguars’ defensive ends.
Offseason outlook: Signing Garrard and Del Rio to long-term extensions figure to be key moves, but the Jags have numerous other areas of concern in making sure they continue their newfound success. Chief among them are bolstering their defensive line and finding a vertical threat in the passing game. Football doesn’t take precedence in the beach town of Jacksonville, but if the Jaguars get a few more pieces in place, this team could develop into the pride of the city.
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