http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/1956 Recent articles about David Garrard en-us Saturday, the Jaguars open the preseason against the Falcons. I believe that this year, even more than in the past, performance during the games will determine who starts and who makes the roster. Here are some guys to watch on Saturday. Quentin Groves - The rookie defensive end has shown a good burst in practice and several of the offensive linemen and fellow defensive linemen have given him good reviews. I want to see how he does when he can go "live" against the Falcons. James Wyche - With Derrick Harvey out, Wyche is the guy who has taken advantage of the opportunity. Maybe he's just a developmental guy, but maybe he's more than that. He can vault himself into the conversation this preseason. You can argue that he has the most to gain of any player in camp right now. Brian Williams - His switch to safety will be a topic all preseason. I'm not convinced that he has totally bought into it. I think he still thinks of himself as a cornerback. Maybe that's a good thing, but I'm going to see what kind of a difference his coverage skills make and if he can hold up physically as a strong safety. Matt Jones - He's looked better in camp (at time), than at any other time in his career. Did his off-season legal trouble serve as a wakeup call? I'm not convinced yet. Jones is scheduled to be arraigned August 11, so dealing with distractions is going to be a hurdle for him as well. Mike Walker - Quite simply, he's the most talented receiver the Jaguars have on the field right now. How will his knee hold up? Can he be the guy the Jags have been looking for since Jimmy Smith's retirement? Stay tuned. Cleo Lemon and Todd Bouman - I think its possible that the Jaguars will only keep two quarterbacks. One will, of course, be David Garrard. Lemon has been sporadic in camp. Bouman would have to do something special to unseat Lemon, but it is possible. If the Jaguars decide to go with three quarterbacks, you have to wonder where the other cuts will be made. Khalif Barnes and Richard Collier - Right now, Barnes has the edge. Collier didn't get down to the 330-335 pound range. Endurance could be an issue. Barnes says that he's always internally motivated. Maybe so. But I think he's been spurred on by Collier being declared a contender for the starting spot at left tackle. Drew Miller - The rookie from Florida looks like a practice squad candidate, but his technique is good and with Brad Meester likely out until October, Miller could wedge his way onto the roster as a backup. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:01:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302569 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302569 Tiered quarterback rankings for the 2008 fantasy football season. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:17:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301855 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301855 The AFC is a better division than the NFC and should be fun to watch. Many surprises to look out for. Just missed the cut: Denver Broncos (8-8): Jay Cutler is emerging as one of the leagues young stars but until I see more consistency from the defensive line they are not going anywhere. Tennessee Titans (9-7): Good team, but not good enough in a division that features the Jaguars and the Colts. Houston Texans (8-8): Another team on the rise that is being held back by lack of experience and health issues. Look for improvement in the future. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:13:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300950 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300950 This is a simple tournament style vote off. What you do here is vote for the best QB of the pair that is up at that time. This is a tournament so vote for the top paring first the next match up will begin after 15 total votes, then move to the next pairing and so on till the list is complete and then we start round two which I will post with the new match ups. Lets be friendly and honest here is the match up. The ones in CAPS are the winners of that match up and round. When you see a pairing with a CAPS winner move down to where there are two QB's in lower case letters and that is the one we will be voting on at that time. When the next round comes out it will be posted the same as this one but with round 2, then 3, then 4 and so on till we have our two SUPER BOWL QB's. Only vote for the one in session. Let's keep it friendly, anyone who votes I will add hopefully you will follow the pattern. and tell your friends we are here and lets make this fun for everyone. So tell a friend or favorite. Now in session is: Jason Campbell vs. T.Jackson. J.Campbell vs. T.Jackson --- J. CAMPBELL advances T.Romo vs. M.Hasselback --- T.Brady vs. P.Manning E.Manning vs. P.Rivers D.McNabb vs. C.Palmer V.Young vs. D. Anderson B.Rothlesburger vs. Trent Edwards J.Garcia vs. A.Rodgers K. Warner vs. J. Kitna R. Grossman vs. D. Garrard J. Cutler vs. J. Delhomme D. Brees vs. M. Bulger J. Russell vs. M. Schuab Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:36:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300514 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300514 The Jaguars annual pre-season scrimmage has evolved into little more than a set of drills inside Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The 12,190 fans who attended Saturday night did get a little taste of what's to come. Especially from rookie defensive end Quentin Groves. Groves and the rest of the rookies were sporting new hair cuts, courtesy of some of the veterans. Groves had the letter "G" carved in the back of his head and had half of his beard shaved off. He took the hazing in stride, then disrupted the short scrimmage. "Offensively at the end, we couldn't do anything because Quentin Groves kept coming off the left side," Del Rio said of the rookie second round pick. "That was good to see. David Garrard led the offense on an efficient touchdown drive in his only work of the scrimmage. Garrard completed 4 of 5 passes, including a touchdown pass to Matt Jones. Del Rio has been cautious this year, more than normal. With high expectations for the team, reduced roster sizes without NFL Europa exemptions, and an experienced squad, the Jaguars have been less physical in camp this year, focusing more no the mental side of the game. So the next to last play of the scrimmage portion oft he evening was exactly what Del Rio wanted to avoid. As a mix of second and third teamers worked, rookie fullback Anthony Cotrone went down with a leg injury. Del Rio didn't have more specific information immediately following the scrimmage, but Cotrone was helped off the field and there is some concern that the injury could be a serious one. It's possible that a decision for a roster spot could have come down to Cotrone and fellow rookie Chauncey Washington. And just moments after Cotrone's injury, Washington took a hand-off, bounced to the outside, and out raced three defenders to the end zone. That was enough for Del Rio, who blew the horn ending the scrimmage, avoiding any other injuries. Injury Notes: Jack Del Rio got some good news on the injury front. Wide receiver Reggie Williams, who had his knee scoped, should be back before the end of the preseason, according to the head coach. Center Brad Meester, who had his injured biceps surgically repaired by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, could be back as soon as October. Until then, Dennis Norman will hold down the center spot. Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:12:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299894 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299894 The opening weekend of training camp has been rough on the Jaguars wide receivers. Free agent signee Jerry Porter is out of action, recovering from surgery to aid the healing of a troubling hamstring. Reggie Williams, who led the Jaguars with 10 touchdown catches last year, didn't make it through a full day of practice before his knee acted up, requiring a scope this week. Mike Walker, who has flashed star potential, is practicing on a limited basis. Matt Jones hasn't missed a practice, but his legal travails hover over him. Last year, despite David Garrard team record setting 102.2 quarterback rating, no Jaguars receiver caught as many as 50 passes or gained as much as 700 yards. And in the Jaguars' playoff loss in New England, Dennis Northcutt dropped two key passes, including one at the goal line that would have tied up the game in the second half. Room for improvement? You bet. One of the questions that will be answered this pre-season is whether the optimistic view of the Jaguars receivers is correct: will Porter return to form? Will Williams continue to show some of the promise that made him a top 10 pick once? Will former Viking Troy Williamson do the same? Can Walker's knee hold up long enough to give the Jaguars the impact receiver they haven't had since Jimmy Smith's retirement three years ago? Can Matt Jones overcome his pending legal issues and live up to his potential? If the Jaguars receivers are an improved bunch over last year, this could be the year that Jacksonville knocks the Colts off the AFC South throne, and in the process, becomes a Super Bowl contender. But what if the wide receivers don't improve. What if Porter doesn't come back from the surgery, if Williams stagnates, Walker struggles with his knee and Matt Jones is a non factor (for one reason or another)? If that happens, the Jaguars can hope for little better than a wild card chase, another road trip in the playoffs and another year waiting for the Colts to fall. The first public test for the receivers–at least those who are healthy–is Friday night at the team's annual scrimmage at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:44:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298973 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298973 As the preseason approaches, as well as many of your fantasy football drafts, it's time to write about some of the players that we recommend you target in your draft...players that most of the other owners in your league might not be thinking about (or even aware of). While making this list, I realized that a few of the players I wanted to include are not necessarily "sleeper" picks, so the list was expanded slightly to include players that are simply undervalued at their position, and that you should be able to pick up late in your draft. If you're in a keeper league, the young players on this list usually make for good pickups, with the hope that they can become stars in the future. Even if you're not in a keeper league though, the hope is that these players can help your team at some point in the season, if not immediately, so keep an eye on 'em! Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:49:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298603 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298603 Sleeper picks for the 2008 fantasy football season, including players like Aaron Rodgers, Chris Johnson, Zach Miller and more. Make sure to check it out before you draft your team this season! Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:52:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298576 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298576 As Tennessee Titan fans, we are pretty familiar with former first round QB Byron Leftwich. As a member of the Jaguars, the Titans faced "Lefty" on a routine basis. Last year, the Titans went against Leftwich during last season's victory over the Falcons. Later this week, the Titans will take another look at Leftwich, but this time, it won't be as an opposing player: he's visiting the Titans as a free agent in search of an employer. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:10:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298383 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298383 After hearing from folks around the country, I've come to realize that the Jaguars are poised to have more fans jumping on the bandwagon than at the start of any other season in franchise history. And while the bandwagon often carries with it a negative connotation (SEE fair-weather fans) for this team it can only be a good thing. With rumors swirling of the franchise's uncertain future in Jacksonville, fan and media attention is more important than ever. Training camp begins today so for all the undecided, here are three reasons you should seriously consider joining the Teal and Black Bus. After I've convinced you, next week I'll offer three reasons you may be in for a bumpy ride. WINNING: First of all, you should hop on board now cause this train just might go all the way to the Super Bowl. By definition, bandwagons follow a winner and this team is going to be just that. In 2007, the Jaguars displayed a winning mentality. The offense struggled at times while the defense was porous at others, yet they found a way to win on most weekends. Believe it or not, the inconsistent Jags won the games they were supposed to win, showing poise that they'd lacked from the turn of the century. In David Garrard, the team found their first legitimate star quarterback since the peak of Mark Brunell's career. Last January they nearly challenged the Pats for AFC supremacy, and might have pulled the upset if not for a couple dropped "touchdown" passes and an inability to get in Tom Brady's zip code. Heading into this season, it looks like they've only gotten better. EXCITEMENT: Bandwagoners are attracted by exciting teams, and while the bottom line is to win, it helps to do it in an exciting way. The receiving corps received a boost of speed with the acquisition of Jerry Porter from Oakland and Troy Williamson from Minnesota. While Porter will miss all of the pre-season to recover from hamstring surgery, if either he or fellow wideout Mike Walker (knee) can successfully rehabilitate and live up to expectations, the Jaguars will see an immediate improvement in the passing game. Speedsters Williamson and John Broussard also have the ability to stretch any defense. If the Jags' can produce a legitimate passing attack, that will only facilitate the running game; a very scary thought indeed. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew still have the ability to score on every touch and Garrard is certainly one of the most exciting quarterbacks to watch working with his feet. On defense this team brought in the aggressive Gregg Williams to direct the unit and he should have enough weapons to suit his attacking style of play. Explosive rookie ends Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves were drafted with one job: get to the quarterback. That's quite a burden on their young shoulders, but they should be aided by second-year players Reggie Nelson and Justin Durant, who figure to factor often in WIlliams' schemes to get pressure on the passer. This team should be fun to watch on both sides of the ball. COLLEGE AFFILIATION: If you're part of the Gator Nation it's hard not to be a Jaguar fan right now. Stars Fred Taylor and Mike Peterson both spent their college years playing in the Swamp, as did Nelson and Harvey. A fifth Gator, DE Jeremy Mincey, will be hoping for a roster spot as he sits out training camp on the PUP list. On top of that, this team has a decidedly Floridian flavor with RB Greg Jones, WR Mike Walker, and CBs Trae Williams and Rashean Mathis representing FSU, UCF, USF, and Bethune-Cookman respectively. Add DBs Jamaal Fudge and Drayton Florence to the list that grew up in Florida and you truly have Florida's team. College fans out in LA might want to keep an eye on the little stat-machine, Jones-Drew, as well as his Bruin counterpart TE Marcedes Lewis, who figures to play an even more prominent role this season. And their cross-town rivals will be interested in following the two USC products picked up by the Jags in the later rounds of this year's draft. Trojans LB Thomas Williams and RB Chauncey Washington will be battling to impress head coach, and fellow USC-alum, Jack Del Rio to secure a place on the team. Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:16:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296615 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296615 All American Fantasy Sports Entertainmnet has officially launched our Fantasy Football game called The All American Touchdown Derby! It's only $9.99 per entry and we'll be giving away over $7,500 in cash & material prizes throughout the entire 2008 NFL season! Key Features of our game: Over $7,500 in Prizes Pick 10 NFL QB's Most Touchdowns THROWN Wins TD's Updated Daily Free Expert QB Analysis Free Fantasy Football Advice Quarterly Contests Betus.Com Give Aways Fun To Play! Sig Up Deadline: 9/7/2008 Be sure to tell all your friends, family & co-workers about the most exciting Fantasy Football Games this 2008 NFL season! Sign Up Today at: http://www.passitdeep.com/ The All American Touchdown Derby Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:38:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295911 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295911 The Football Consigliere's takes and in depth look of the 2008 NFL Quarterback Class! Click on this link to go directly to The All American Touchdown Derby for a chance to win over $5,000 in Cash & Material Prizes all season long! www.passitdeep.com Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:36:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292815 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292815 Whats your favorite fantasy football line up? Okay all you BARKERS in the YARD....This is your KEEPER League Team, You've been in this league for 4 years now... Needless to say, you can only keep 10 of your 20 players. You've won the Championship Game 3 of the last 4 years, so everyone is out to get your this year. So all you YARDBARKERS, you are the owners and can only keep 10 players from the team below who would you keep? And who does the YARD cut and why? Can the YARD put a competitive team together? Can you win it all? As teams of the league let their players go, we will ask the YARD what player they want to fill the positions players that the YARD cut. We will then post the updated team with the new player the YARD's team picked up. We will continue this until the YARD's team is complete. Here is the YARDBARKERS KEEPER TEAM: QB: Donovan McNabb, David Garrard and Trent Edwards RB: Adrian Peterson (both AP's - Minn and Chicago), Maurice Jones-Drew, Edgerrin James, Earnest Graham WR: Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Dwayne Bowe , Bernard Berrian, Anthony Gonzalez, Amani Toomer TE: Kellen Winslow and Vernon Davis K: Mason Crosby and Josh Scobee D/ST: Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:03:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292191 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292191 To continue the fantasy definition series, we'll take a look at the divisions between fantasy quarterbacks. After nailing down the difference between running backs, understanding the definition of a QB1 versus a QB2 could make or break your fantasy team. Every winning fantasy team has at least one QB1 on the roster -- sometimes two. That's pretty much a given. We'll break down the quarterback position into QB1s and QB2s, but sadly, QB3s don't really exist except maybe in Canada or the arena league. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:31:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291289 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291289 How to Spot A Fantasy Football Sleeper is a knack that could make or break your fantasy team. Daniel Kalles gives all you fantasy owners a "How To" locate and find fantasy sleepers and plenty of time to exam the players you feel could be sleepers this season. Best of luck this season. As Daniel Kalles, The first thing you need to know about finding a "sleeper" is figuring out what a sleeper is. Many people will have many different explanations as to what a sleeper really is, where to find them and how important they are, but they will pretty much agree that a sleeper is someone who doesn't have a big name, probably doesn't start, hasn't put up big numbers in the past, who now might have a chance to have a breakout season and be a difference maker on your team. Sleepers are usually either late round draft picks or waiver-wire pick-ups who went undrafted. Now how to spot sleepers, when to draft them, and how long you wait until you believe they are actually worth putting in your lineup are all a little different. Having one of the few sleepers who pan out and be a worthy starter can make the difference in winning your league or not winning. No one starts off the season knowing which sleeper will for sure breakout; all you can do is try and draft one or two and hope that a couple of things fall your way and your sleeper goes from nobody to somebody just like that. It's very hard to go into the draft focused on the guys who will be drafted in the later rounds, but the truth is many drafts are won in the later rounds. If you can have a good draft from top to bottom, it will help you down the line; having a deep team will help you in the event of an injury or to make trades. It's not very difficult to draft players in the first bunch of rounds, guys like Alexander, Tomlinson, Owens, Moss, these players have a history, they have done it before, we can look at their numbers and see where they should be drafted, but a sleeper is different. Most sleepers haven't played enough to accumulate enough stats to make decisions on, so you have to take a small sample (if one exists) to figure out who might be the sleepers of this year's draft. There are many different places and ways to find sleepers. One way is to look for 2nd or 3rd year players who had a chance to play near the end of the year before. At the end of most seasons, the teams out of the playoff hunt will look at some young players, giving them starts and letting veterans sit out. Watching these players can sometimes give you a hint into who might be a good sleeper the next season, if they play a good game or two. Look at Willie Parker who was undrafted out of college and was sitting on the bench in 2004 when the Steelers went 15-1. In the last game of the season, once they had already clinched home field advantage, they decided to rest veteran running back Jerome Bettis, and see what Parker could do. He went into Buffalo, on a cold January Sunday, to face the hottest team in football. The Bills were looking to get a victory and a spot in the playoffs. Well, Parker gained 102 yards on only 19 carries, to help the Steelers win the game, and give anyone who was actually paying attention to this Steelers backup a 1200 yards rusher out of nowhere in 2005. Now this doesn't mean things will always work out for you, but it's a good way of finding a sleeper. Another way of finding a sleeper is to watch the player and coach movement in the off-season, and see which players have been put in situations where they might be able to break out, with the help of certain coaches and their philosophies. A player who might have been going downhill in his career, or hasn't been able to find his way yet might be able to change that by being on a team whose system better suits their abilities. Koren Robinson is a good example. He's a former 1st round pick of the Seahawks, and while he had a couple of solid seasons with them (78 for 1240 yards and 5 TD's in 2002), he was let go at the end of 2004 because of off-field and poor behavior issues. He latched on to the Vikings as their top return man and part time WR. During the off-season they hired new head coach Brad Childress, who brings with him his West Coast offense, and they traded Nate Burleson, leaving the spot of #1 WR open. With those and many other changes the Vikings made on offense, they go into the season looking for players to step up and be leaders. Robinson has a good chance of doing that because he is a step ahead of most of the other WR's because he played in the West Coast offense while in Seattle. He could be in for a very big season. While all this looks good and could very well happen, many times it doesn't, and guys like Robinson will always be picked up for his potential, but might never realize it, because he can't control his other issues. These are just a couple of the many ways to find a sleeper. So, make sure to always pay attention to injury situations, and follow closely what players are doing at training camp. Doing this can help you find many sleepers. Lastly, don't forget that you can still find sleepers after the draft in the first couple of weeks of the season. If you see a player break out and do better then expected, don't sit on the sidelines and watch - make an effort to pick them up and see if they can sustain that output. Or if you know that a starting player has any injury at all, make sure you're the one to get anyone who might back that player up, because once a player goes down, whoever takes over can be a real steal. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:24:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290094 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290094