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5 Reasons The Jacksonville Jaguars will rule the AFC South
If you are a huge fan of underdogs in the NFL, it may be time to find another team because the Jacksonville Jaguars are now favored to win the AFC South in 2016. You may feel puzzled as I say this, but as you view the following reasons, you may find yourself nodding in agreement. If you are shaking your head in disgust, it can only mean one thing. You are a fan of one of the other three AFC South teams
#5 Texans have some growing to do
The Houston Texans had a pretty good draft and a solid offseason but even the pickup of Brock Osweiler is not going to be enough to help this team secure the South. They will need at least a year to get chemistry between a QB who has only played 7 NFL games in his career, new RB Lamar Miller, star WR DeAndre Hopkins and the other rookie WRs (Will Fuller and Braxton Miller). There are just too many new shiny pieces to this puzzle for head coach Bill O’Brien to put to a scheme that works for all parties involved, before the start of the season.
#4 Face it! The Colts Suck!
The Indianapolis Colts had a great Draft according to Bucky Brooks, but who is going to come in and make an immediate impact other than first round center Ryan Kelly? This team allowed 47-TDs last year, ranking them 25th in all of football. Did they do much, other than go after Clemson Safety T.J. Green to fix that? NO! Additionally, they’re expecting Frank Gore to shoulder the load on the ground? No offense, this guy has been awesome and has a great work ethic but he is too long in the tooth to be shouldering the load. Him just missing the 1000-yd mark is proof of a slight drop-off. ESPN even had this to say:
“…The Colts did very little to add to their backfield, leaving Gore in a potential every-down role. The additions of first-round C Ryan Kelly and third-round OT Le’Raven Clark and return of Andrew Luck to full health will help loosen things up for Gore.”
Without much turnover, I believe this team will finish third in the South.
#3 Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson NUFF SAID!!
These are guys who just know what to do after the catch. Their combined 24 TDs from 2015 speak to this. One has been revealed so far on the top 100 players list for a reason and is only getting better. There is not a corner in the division that can consistently hold Hurns and Robinson. Some of you will be yelling VONTAE DAVIS and JONATHAN JOSEPH to the top of your lungs, however with Hurns, Robinson and Julius Thomas all healthy, this squad is going to continue to put up the points.
#2 The Jacksonville D
This Unit was so bad in 2015 they could have simply stayed on the bench for the same result. I am not sure what is going on in the front office, but the team has made some bold moves this offseason. Signing Malik Jackson was the first of those many bold moves and then shoring up the secondary with the best CB in college football in Jalen Ramsey (yes, I know he just got hurt) is a huge improvement. Adding Veteran Tashaun Gipson and former first-round pick Prince Amukamara helps a great deal as well. Not only did they get first-round talent in the first round they got a first-round talent in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft in UCLA’s Myles Jack. There has been controversy over his knee, but I am in full belief this guy will be worth the gamble. As long as Monte Kiffin (76 YEARS OLD) doesn’t kill over before deploying his Tampa-2 Style defense on the team, this unit is going to be solid.
#1 Blake Bortles
I have said this before, and I’ll say it again. Derek Carr and Blake Bortles will run this league, in a few years. Bortles has all of the intangibles to be the biggest star in this league. He has constantly drawn comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger but I believe he is more accurate with intermediate passing. I have never seen a more confident passer in the pocket. This young man had 37 TDs (2 rushing) on the 2015 season and will probably open it up for more in 2016.
Add all of these factors to a pretty good stable of RBs in Chris Ivory, T.J. Yeldon and Denard Robinson and you might as well (in the words of Dennis Green) “crown their ***” right now!
Tune in as Jermaine Lockett chimes in on the NFL Draft briefly in his latest podcast. He did terrible in his MOCK Draft. He owns it here. Sorry for leading y’all down the wrong path.
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