The Tom Brady Fallout

After the uninspired performance against the Titans in Week 1, I was a bit worried that we were already losing crucial ground to our conference rivals. This feeling subsided after several contenders (Colts, Browns, Chargers) were all dropped by the end of the day. The most important development on Sunday was of course Brady's injury, which was ultimately an unfortunate thing to happen to someone who appears to be a decent guy. With that said, it will be great to have a wide-open race this year. If the Jaguars can get by the Bills on Sunday, then they'll have a lot of momentum for the Week 3 showdown in Indy at the new dome. Peyton does not look comfortable at all yet, and Ed Johnson's arrest and subsequent dismissal from the team will have a significant impact on their already precarious ability to stop the run. Being 2-1 will give us a huge advantage out of the gates in the division, and I've got to think that we can ultimately catch the Titans before mid-October. The Vince Young saga is a terrible omen and can't bode well for the season. Kerry Collins is a serviceable backup with a lot of experience, but he is not going to take the team deep into the playoffs. The Patriots still may very well win their division and make the playoffs, but a Brady-less team is far less threatening in January. The key for the Jaguars going forward, in my opinion, will be to win the division and snag one of the top two seeds. Having a bye is a huge advantage, as evidenced by our experience last year. After surviving the dogfight in Pittsburgh, our reward was flying to New England to play a team that spent the past week resting and waiting for a tired team to come to their stadium. It would also be a huge boost to the city to host a playoff game at JMS. If I had to guess now, I'd say that the division winners will be Jacksonville, New England, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, with Denver and Indianapolis taking the wildcards. If we can play at least one game at home, I'd really like our chances to compete with any of those teams, assuming that we can remain relatively injury free after our disastrous start.