I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I did an in-depth analysis of the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers game from last week for This Given Sunday:

"On the drive, Newton made every play he was asked to. He showed that he's not just a running quarterback. He made all the throws, and he made them with precision.

On the ensuing kick-off, the Packers promptly fumbled the ball away, giving it back to the Panthers in terrific field position. This is where the first cracks in the Panthers' foundation began to appear. They weren't able to push their advantage to 14 points. Instead, they settled for a 20 yard field goal. Normally, I wouldn't criticize a call to kick a field goal making the score 10-0, but this is the Panthers against the Packers. One of these teams will play meaningful football in December, and it isn't the Panthers. There's no reason to not go for the touchdown. More on this later.

The Packers' first real possession was an uneventful 5 play drive that handed the ball quickly back to Cam Newton and the Panthers. At this point in the game, I was thinking, "Okay, so when do we get to see the real Packers?" As it turned out, they were just about to make their appearance."

As part of an effort to bring you the best Jaguars coverage possible, we'll be giving you a link drop on a semi-regular basis. Enjoy:

Going with the kid - The O-Zone on jaguars.com
I expect the Jaguars to play similar to what their style mostly has been in recent seasons – i.e., to emphasize the run and look for plays in the passing game to supplement that. Gabbert has a bigger arm than any quarterback who ever has played for the Jaguars, so you’ll see passes at times you’ve never seen from a Jaguars quarterback, but he may not yet be ready to throw it all over the field 75 percent of the time.

AFC South Blog - ESPN
Sunday we find out a bit about how strong the foundation is, and we get our first indication about how equipped Gabbert is to play well early. If his defense can fare a lot better than the Panthers' first two opponents have against Newton, that would be a big help, too.

Del Rio: "It's time for Blaine to be our starting quarterback." - Big Cat Country
Jack Del Rio made mention that the move to Gabbert doesn't change his outlook for the 2011 season, and said the team needed a spark on offense and that they think Gabbert can provide that. Gabbert also told the media he was allowed to audible when asked, a good sign that he knows the playbook.

Blaine Gabbert to Start Week 3 vs. Carolina, Cam Newton - Black and Teal
A lot changes in 10 days. After looking efficient in the home opener against Tennessee, McCown showed how bad things can get against the New York Jets, throwing for less than 33% accuracy, 59 yards, 3.1 yards/attempt, and 4 (ugly) interceptions. That convinced Jack Del Rio and Co. to give rookie Blaine Gabbert the starting nod for this coming weekend in what is sure to be a high-profile showdown between two top rookie quarterbacks from the 2011 Draft Class.

If Jack's going to go...why not now? | Jaguars Blog
Struggling teams usually have problems with locker room morale, mostly due to the losing.  Players get frustrated because they feel like there’s very little hope and they have no idea what’s coming next.  With Del Rio at the helm all year, the players will definitely realize their coach is a lame duck and potentially tune out at some point during the season.

The Blaine Train cometh.  The chosen one has arrived.  Get your ticket, get on board, find your seat & enjoy the ride.  A new era has begun.  There is no going back now.  Del Rio has made the decision we've all been waiting for.  Blaine Gabbert is now the starting QB for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  He clearly gives this team the best chance at winning.  I thought that they'd give McCown one more chance to redeem himself, but apparently 4 picks in 1 game was enough.  Mccown had his chance to lead this team & he failed in epic style.  Time to give Gabbert the keys.  This is Blane's team now.  There is no taking him out now that he's in the driver's seat.  Win or lose, Blaine is the man.    I, like many fans would rather watch Gabbert lead the team (rookie mistakes and all) than watch McCown fall flat on his face again.  I'm curious to see how he grows into the role.  I want to watch him as his transformation form rookie QB to elite NFL QB.  He has the tools, he has the look, he has the skills & now he has the chance.

In case you missed it, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be starting rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert this weekend against the Carolina Panthers. I first heard of the news from Alfie Crow citing "sources." The report was later confirmed by Tania Ganguli via Twitter:

The move is a little surprising to me. I know that McCown had a terrible game agains the Jets, but I expected them to give him at least one game to redeem himself. Regardless of my feelings towards the move, this is the direction of the Jaguars, and I'll support the move.

Since most of my readers are also readers of Big Cat Country, I want to give a shout out to Alfie Crow. He's been saying that the Jaguars should just start the rookie, and that's the conclusion the team has come to.

For my part, I fully believed that Garrard was going to be the starter throughout the 2011 season, and the move to cut him surprised me. Now, this move is even more surprising. It's not that I couldn't foresee it. I truly thought that Gabbert would have a full year to sit and watch. Instead, he'll be the next rookie to get thrown in the water. It's sink or swim time.

Even though I'm surprised, I have confidence in Gabbert's ability to lead this team in picking up some wins. The Jaguars are playing the Panthers this weekend, and that defense is the perfect opponent for Gabbert. He won't be asked to do too much. He'll simply be asked to be a game manager, much as McCown was against the Titans.

Gabbert will get his first major challenge the following week against the Saints. That game will be a difficult game for the Jaguars to win. Let's face it. This team shouldn't beat the Saints. They'll then move on to the Bengals, another game I think Gabbert can manage well and win.

The immediate outlook is hazy. It's hard to tell how Gabbert will do in his first NFL start, and fans should expect a lot of growing pains. Look, this guy is the guy. If he under-performs, fans have no one to call for. You can't just pull the 10th pick of the draft after a couple of bad outings. Regardless of whether he flashes greatness or looks like a bust, this is the guy for the rest of the season. Period. There's no going back. The schedule does Gabbert some favors early on, but it gets rough down the road. I truly think the Jaguars could contend for a playoff birth, but for that to happen, Gabbert has to grow up very, very quickly.

I just took a trip over to the conference standings at NFL.com, and this is what we have as of week 2:

First off, I want to get everyone in a good mood, so; take a look at the bottom of the chart. The Colts are dead last in the AFC. If there was ever a great consolation prize for a Colts hater living in Indiana such as myself, it's seeing the Colts in last place for the conference with little or no hope for improvement.

Now, let's move onto the Jaguars.

I know it's early, but let's lay out how the playoffs would look if the season ended after just 2 weeks. The Patriots, Texans, Raiders, and Ravens would win their divisions. The Jets and the Bills would be the AFC wild-card teams. The Jaguars would be the first team left out. So, the Jaguars are coming off of an ass kicking handed to them by the Jets, but they're still right there. Oh, you mean a team is still in contention after just 2 weeks? Yes. Duh. Everyone knows that.

The point of this article isn't to point out that the Jaguars are barely outside of the playoffs right now. I'll avoid that until after the bye week. After 2 weeks, that's asinine. My point is that the Jaguars are in the thick of a lot of good teams. Given the Jaguars next 3 games, I think it's likely they'll be 3-2 going into week 6. Guess what. 7th place is about where they'll be at that time as well.

The Jaguars will have to pull out a couple of tough wins down the road, especially against the Ravens and the Steelers, but given the happenings of the first 2 weeks, I think those are winnable games. I know I sound like an old record, but just put the Jets game behind you. It's week 2. Things will get better, and if they don't, we can still look forward to beating the Colts a couple of times this season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have not had a "BIG-TIME" WR since the great Jimmy smith retired.  They have not had a WR with his combination of speed, size and hands.  J-Smooth could get separation, use his body to block the defender, blow right by a defender or jump above them to bring in the ball.  He constantly made great catches seem ordinary. He was the definition of a "go to" receiver.  He took over games with his ability.  He dominated defenses.  No WR since has had that type of impact for the Jaguars.  The Jaguars need to find a Jimmy-type receiver (or two)for Gabbert to throw to if they want to contend year after year. 

Every team that's ever experienced long streaks of winning seasons have fans like this. Spoiled fans are the result of such streaks, and this article is exactly what I'm talking about. It should also make you feel better about the Jaguars' season.

"Fans pay money they don't always have for a winning product. And, as we have consistently been told by the owner, the front office, and the coaches for years, the expectations in Indy are for winning. Nothing else. This isn't Detroit, Houston, Tampa Bay, or Jacksonville, where fan expectations are measured in the team not sucking as much as fans think it will.

In Indy, expectations are for greatness. That's what we're all paying for, at least.

Coming into this year, the expectations weren't for Andrew Luck in 2012. I understand that Peyton's injury was not planned for, but part of the reason fans are mad is because it probably should have been planned for.

I guess my point in this rant is to say that we, as fans, have been conditioned and encouraged to have high expectations. When those expectations aren't met, when they fall so short that it seems laughable to have had them in the first place, I don't think it's correct to blame the fans for having those expectations, or to dismiss them as not being 'realistic.' Once you start doing that, it just alienates them further, breeding more resentment.

Again, fans pay for winning football. When they don't get it, teams and owners shouldn't expect fans to show up. It's just that simple. Nothing personal, mind you.

Just business."

Since the writer is probably from Indiana, my home state, I feel obligated to tell you that I know plenty of intelligent Hoosiers that aren't pieces of crap. Most, in fact, are good people, but this article just makes me shake my head.