CJ Stroud hosts Jacksonville in Houston

JT: Man, the importance of this game, at this point in the season, can not be overstated

I just listened to the Outdoors Show on 92.5 with Jeff Lageman and it got me thinking about sitting in a tree again, this time in Fla. What, with the snakes and mosquitos and wild boars and gators and spiders and all things in Florida that can easily kill me while waiting for a teeny tiny warm weather, suntanned, Bold City buck to walk by? Who would do such a thing? But Lags has got me thinking about it. They painted a pretty good picture of Florida venison with their stories this morning. Then, after shaking off the craziness of risking my life in a death match against some 25 ft. invasive snake species just to pack my freezer with some ground deer meat to mix with my dogs dry Purina meals (he’s a bit spoiled), I decided to wrap my head around some football. It is rivalry weekend after all, and the battle of the back-ups will be happening down in Gainesville tonight. Florida v. Fla State is a huge game for both the rebuilding Gators (need a win to become bowl eligible) and the undefeated Noles (need a win to stay alive in the college football playoffs). Before that game we have Michigan against Ohio State (a classic matchup of two undefeateds this year). Just because of the relationship to the Jaguars and Trent Baalke’s drafting ability I feel the need to bring up the fact that Aidan Hutchinson will be on the Michigan sideline as an honorary captain (or guest or coach. I forget what they called him). Ironically enough the other honorary Michigan NFL player on their sideline today is Chad Henne, a QB with ties to the Jags. He has two Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs, one of which was handed to him by last years Jaguars defense (it hurts to even bring up that 99 yard touchdown drive he orchestrated while Pat Mahomes was sidelined with an ankle injury). Speaking of “Pats,” I just watched Pat McAfee correctly answer a trivia question about who QB’d the Gators the last time an unranked UF beat a ranked and undefeated FSU (Chris Leak in 2004 btw). Everyone was shocked that McAfee answered it correctly, and so quickly. It prompted McAfee to exclaim that he’s not such a “dipshit” after all. On live TV. Yes, on live TV Patty Mac dropped a four letter word. Frankly, I’m shocked that it has taken this long. His podcast (first of all can we even call podcasts, podcasts anymore? I mean they are televised and video recorded, and YouTube’d and talk show formatted and really anything but actual podcasts now. Second of all do we have to have a second of all in order to have a first of all?) Anyway, Pat Mac’s podcast is not censored at all, so for him to jump onto ESPN’s Game Day and NOT curse with every other word is impressive. With such an unexpectedly amazing intro paragraph like the one above, it’s time to talk some Jags.

This game is HUGE-MONGOUS. As 45 would have said, this game is “YUGE". Yuge for both the Texans and the Jags. Houston’s only shot at making the playoffs, in our humble opinion, is winning the AFC South and they are currently sitting one game behind the division leading Jaguars. On the flip side, JAX needs to keep Houston at bay to set up a solid two game lead and cruise to the playoffs as AFC South division champs. Plus, you can’t let a rookie QB beat you twice. It’s a matter of pride for this Jaguars pride. Do Jaguars live in prides? Just lions? Nobody really knows. This animal is such a mystery. What isn’t a mystery is if Stroud and his high powered offense successfully hold the Jags and their stout defense at bay then Houston leads the division by a half game (due to a sweep of JAX) and if Jacksonville does what they are supposed to do and takes care of business in Houston then as stated above, they will lead the division by two games and short of Trevor going down (bite your tongue), we will be in the playoffs. So what do we have working in our favor and what is maybe not so much good for JAX?

The Jags will be missing shut down cornerback Tyson Campbell. This is huge (the word of the day evidently. Paul Reubens would be proud). Stroud and the Texans receivers room are some of the best in the NFL. Tank Dell, Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson, John Metchie III, and old man Robert Woods are really really good. The Texans will be missing Noah Brown however, and he has been up and coming over the past several games. Needless to say Houston is stacked at wide receiver, so missing Tyson Campbell with a stubborn hammie injury is frustrating for Jaguars fans. If I am going to give you a negative, I will also give you a positive, it’s my new mantra. Nothing but glass half full here on JaguarsTalk. That in mind, while we are missing #32 and they have a ton of young WR talent, we (the Jaguars) have something they do not, and something we didn’t have when we first played Houston. JAX has big play Zay. I just keep picturing Jack peeking his head through the hotel room door exclaiming “Here’s Johnny!” Look, even if ya’ll don’t appreciate fine American horror cinema you can appreciate the fact that Zay Jones, whether he catches a pass all game or not, opens up the field for the rest of the crew, especially #0. If Zay is in the game, Calvin Ridley is open downfield. #7 demands respect, respect demands coverage, coverage leaves one-on-ones, one-on-ones means Rid gets fed. You get the point (probably because I literally just spelled it out for you). Zay makes that much of a difference (see last weeks game against the Titans).

This has all of the makings to be a very entertaining game. Houston has a decent running game averaging about as many yards as ETN. Houston has a good tight end (5 TDs this year), JAX has Engram (though he has yet to find the end zone). I feel that Devin Lloyd, Cisco, Jenkins, Oluokon and whomever else defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell decides to throw at Dalton Schultz (Texan’s Tight End), will perform pretty well. Lloyd, folks, has had one hell of a sophomore season. He has been a pretty damn dominant inside linebacker. Oluokon, well, he is the greatest tackler to ever play the game of football, past, present, or future (too much? I think not). Speaking of good players, might I just say, without quite tipping my cap to GM Trent Baalke just yet, because I do think he could have selected better in many instances, that Travon Walker is very quietly, ever so softly, having a solidly good year at outside linebacker. He is “glowing up” as you moronic kids say these days because you refuse to use words that already exist in the English language. Maybe, having an already fully developed mode of proper communication is just too easy for you brainiacs. Wise beyond your years you are (dripping with sarcasm).

Houston is sitting at 6-4 and has lost to some pretty bad teams. The Carolina Panthers, who lie awake at night wishing they weren’t such idiots and had instead selected CJ Stroud with their number one draft pick. They probably also wish they hadn’t shipped the best running back in the history of the world, Christian McCaffrey, to SF. They actually have a lot of things, that, rightfully so, keep them up at night. I will say this, I watched the NFL combine and I watched Stroud throw right next to AR and Will Levis and he outshined them both. He was toe to toe with Richardson on the long bombs and his accuracy was spot on. Stroud towers over Bryce Young, who looks like the child on “take your kid to work day,” when standing next to him. What was Carolina thinking? I said then, and have been proven correct at this point, that CJ Stroud should have gone #1. And yes, I also did not want him in the AFC South. I am trying to be humble, it’s just that the frequency of my correctness makes it’s so darn difficult. Houston also lost to ATL. That’s not a good team at all. The Jags actually set themselves straight with a win against Atlanta in London. The Jags, on the other hand, have lost to some really good teams, SF, KC, and yes, these very same Houston Texans. Sitting at 7-3, your Jaguars have a very tough road ahead of them, softened slightly by some major injuries to some major quarterbacks and one major tight end (If you know, you know, but if you don’t, that means you didn’t read my last column, and like the freaky looking character made famous by Damon Wayans on “In Living Color,” Homey D. Clown, I too, don’t play that. Would you like some more commas in your sentences?). All of this to say that the Jags win the games they are supposed to win. But they were supposed to win against Houston in week two, you say. Jacksonville took them lightly. That won’t happen today. Both teams are reasonably healthy (minus Campbell and also DaVon Hamilton for JAX). Also, I guess you can count the fact that Tank Bigsby is healthy and dressing for the game as another negative for Jacksonville. Please, for the love of god, there is no reason to see #4 on the field today, unless it’s in trash time of a blowout victory for the Jags, in which case I’d welcome turnover Tank to the field of play.

If we aren’t seeing a theme in this column it’s probably because I’m horrible at organizing my thoughts. The theme is that these two teams are very equally matched and should produce a tight and exciting game. I think that the difference will be in what Mike Caldwell can draw up to confuse CJ Stroud. “Order Up” for many blitzes and stunts please. A nickel blitz (or three) w/Herndon, as well as letting Cisco and Jenkins off leash so those absolute dawgs can eat, will also be much appreciated. Montaric Brown will beed a big game too in place of Tyson C. Essentially the Jaguars defense will need to do everything they’ve done in every game this season with the exception of the game against these very same Houston Texans (and also the San Francisco 49ers, but for effect it just sounds better if we reference only the Texans. If the narrative doesn’t fit, just tweak it a bit. Didn’t former Buffalo Bills running back, Orenthal James, say something like that?). I think, offensively, the Jaguars found themselves last week against Tennessee. Now the Titans defense ain’t the greatest, but it isn’t the worst either. The Jags and Texans both have explosive offenses so this game will come down to which team’s defense wants it more. I expect the game to be won by the Jags front seven. Caldwell needs to scheme like never before this season, as this is the biggest game of the year with the biggest playoff implications. If the Jaguars front seven can pressure Stroud enough to relieve stress from the JAX defensive backs, then Jacksonville wins a close game against a very good, up and coming, young, Houston Texans team. I expect a coming out party for Walker and for J.A. to continue his dominant contract year. Stroud can’t complete passes when he’s on his back. I’d also say that long, slow offensive drives would be a good gameplay for JAX in order to keep Houston’s prolific offense off the field and allow our defense to rest. Frankly though, that isn’t how the Jags call their offense. Jacksonville is going to be firing on all cylinders on their O today, so let’s hope the JAX D put in their cardio. Give us your thoughts in the comment section below.