It's Official: Manning Out vs. Texans

Written by Shane Clemons on .

I don't like to rejoice in injury, and I won't. I would rather have the Jaguars win the AFC South with Peyton Manning leading the Colts, but that possibility would seem to be diminishing, at least in some capacity. Adam Schefter is reporting via Twitter that Peyton Manning is now listed, officially, as "out" against the Houston Texans:

"Not surprising but now official: Colts QB Peyton Manning out week 1 versus the Texans."

It's true that it's not a surprising development, but I wasn't sure I'd ever see the day where he didn't play because of injury. Truly a dark day for Colts fans everywhere.

Garrard gets the axe

Written by John McGrath on .

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The Jacksonville jaguars have made it official, David Garrard is gone. Axed, cut, dropped, pushed out the door, booted, released and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.  I said it was going to happen 2 weeks ago.  I hinted at it 3 weeks ago.  It should come as no surprise to any Jaguars fan.  Do you remember what happened to Leftwhich?  Same thing.  Del Rio swears that his starter during camp will still be the starter week 1, then c-ya later Byron.  Jack did the same thing just last week when asked about Garrard.  I saw it coming.  I warned you all.  Now the axe-man has cometh.  Off with his head. And suprise, suprise.....McCown is now the starter.  No offense to anybody, but you had to be blind not to see this coming.   No way they were gonna pay Dave 8 million to keep playing like his was in the preseason.  Garrard stunk up the whole place with his lame play.  Not only that but he was starting to throw his teammates under the bus when confronted about his inability to make simple throws.  Why do you think that the O-line seemed to allow him to get pummeled , but when Gabbert or McCown entered the game they rarely got sacked?  Why do you think that they never went over to help him up afterward either?  The players knew that Garrard wasn't the answer and that his time was up. A player was asked if they had lost confidence in Garrard as their QB, to which he replied "There wasn't any confidence to be lost".  Enough said.

Garrard Out as Quarterback

Written by Shane Clemons on .

Jay Glazer is reporting via Twitter that the Jaguars are cutting David Garrard in favor of Luke McCown:

"I'm reporting the Jaguars today have informed starting QB David Garrard they are releasing him! Luke McKown will start opener! Shocker!!!"

This Given Sunday Launched

Written by Shane Clemons on .

Your's truly is leading Bloguin's new NFL blog:

"I'd like to take a moment to welcome everyone to Bloguin's newest NFL blog, This Given Sunday. I, as some of you may know, am Shane Clemons, and I run The Jaggernaut. I am joined by Daniel Wilson, as my co-managing editor, Lawrence Dushenski, Anthony Brown, Will Horton, Daniel Eliesen, and Cody Strahm. Together, we hope to bring you the best possible NFL coverage in one place. I know it's a bit cliche, but we mean it.

Here's some of the links that will enhance your experience here at This Given Sunday. First, you can register a LiveFyre account. That's our comments system, and doing so will help us build a great community. The next thing you can do, if you use Twitter, is follow @ThisGivenSunday, where you'll get links to new articles with great insight and stimulating discussion. You can also follow our writers on twitter by clicking the links in the staff box on the right.

That's all I've got for everyone. Power rankings will be posted this afternoon, and we should be rolling out some great articles today as well. Thanks for reading."

The Peyton Effect

Written by John McGrath on .

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Colts fans everywhere are in a state of shock.  Jaguars fans everywhere are having a party.  Indianaplois Colts QB Peyton Manning is out indefinately due to his injured neck, which might require a 2nd surgery to fix.  A second surgery also means a second rehab.  Peyton could miss alot more than just the season opener.  This leaves the door wide open for the Jaguars to claim the AFC South division title.  The Jags need to start fast & finish strong this season to win the division.  The Texans look to be pretty good this year, if Foster can repeat as the NFL's best rusher.  The Titans have resigned Chris Johnson, which improves their chances.  But Jacksonville is the most improved of the 3 teams trying to wrestle the title away from the Colts.  The Jaguars defense has been greatly improved & the offense just needs to gel a bit more & get healthy in order to become a formidable team.  The Jaguars were in contention late into last season & should be again this year.  Peyton's problems increase Jacksonville's chances ten-fold.  

Simply The Best

Written by John McGrath on .

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Fred Taylor was, is and always will be quite simply the best Jacksonville Jaguar player ever.  Freddy T holds more team records than anybody else.  He is ranked 15th all-time in rushing in the history of the NFL.  He has been to the pro bowl & will be enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame someday in my opinion.  He will undoubtedly be inducted into the Jaguars ring of Honor at Everbank field soon.  Fred has been the face of the franchise & their main offensive weapon as well during his 11 years with the team.  He has 11,695 total rushing yards in his career.  He maintained a 4.6 yards per carry throughout his career as well ( NFL great Jim Brown had a 5.2 average).  He amassed 66 career TDs while only fumbling 8 times in his entire 13 year NFL career.   He has 290 total receptions for 2,384 yards & 8 TD catches.  He has the record for the longest TD run in NFL playoff history, 90 yards against the Dolphins in 1999.  His first play in the NFL was a 52 yard TD against the Ravens.  He is respected by top players, coaches, GMs & fans across the NFL.  All that and he is also a very classy, humble man.  Many people call him one of the nicest people you could ever know.   He didn't talk trash on the field, but let his plays define him as one of the greatest players ever, not just in Jacksonville, but in the entire NFL.  He is known for his speed, strength, agility & for being a mentor to younger players entering the league. 

Manning Out Indefinitely?

Written by Shane Clemons on .

Adam Stites at Big Cat Country is citing a report from an Indianapolis radio host that goes by JMV that Peyton Manning's neck injury may be worse than once thought. According to JMV, Manning has to have another neck surgery, and is out indefinitely. Combine that report with Jim Irsay's recent tweets (these compiled by Nate Dunlevy of 18to88):

"Weather forecast ever changing...ominous storm clouds gathering...it never rains under my umbrella....

There was the Rams-K Warner Sup year./ There was Patriot 2001-Brady Sup.year.--- Every year. is interesting n unpredictable in NFL!!!!

This ain't a dream no more...it's the real thing..give me a second,let me get it 2gether, just got 2 pick myself up off the floor

Got 2 code the darkness...prepare u 4 an alternative journey

No quarter?NONE ASKED!We made a promise,we swore we'd always remember,no retreat,no surrender;like soldiers in a winter's nite,a vow 2defend

Stampedblue and Jon Bauges/random or silly tweets,they r not..ur not hearing what I'm saying..riddle n codes r done4a reason,but it's there

It's BETWEEN the lines,you will find...what you can only find here"

Such a development certainly changes the dynamics of the division. I'll update this post as soon as I know more, if there's more to know.

Update: Bill Polian told SI's Peter King, "I don’t know anything about that. I honestly don’t,"

Update (10:25 PM): Via Adam Schefter on Twitter, "Filed to ESPN from : Peyton Manning is being revaluated by several doctors bc of slow progress. No other procedure planned now."