Many of you old timers will remember Chris, who used to blog here under the name absurdpolitik. Chris was our resident Jaguars fan, giving us updates and insight on his team during the 2006 off-season. Chris was so annoying and so in your face about the Jags was so good and so well versed in writing about his beloved Jags that SB Nation decided to reward him with his own blog: Big Cat Country. We've seen other site contributors (like you gals and guys) have similar success, like DaBolts at Bolts From the Blue.

By the way, you will notice SB Nation does not have an IU, Purdue, Ball State, or Indiana State blog. Just saying.

Anyway, as per yearly tradition, Chris and I got to chat a bit about our teams and their twice a year grudge match. Here are five questions to Chris regarding Week 3:

BBS: With all the offensive line injuries for both our teams, I half expect the Jaguars and Colts to bring Tony Boseli and Tarik Glenn out of retirement just for this game. How have the o-line injuries affected Jacksonville's offense?

Chris: Frankly, it's shut down the entire "Jaguars style" of football. The Jaguars haven't been able to consistently block for Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, which, combined with our opponents tendency to put 8 or 9 men in the box, means that our running game goes nowhere. Without the running game, the play-action vanishes, and considering our lack of obvious threat in the receiving game, the Jaguars are forced to throw more often than they'd like. The team that was brutally powerful on the ground is now having to pass on 3rd and longs rather than running, running, and running their way across the field.

It's been a terrible two weeks if you're a fan of what the Jaguars did offensively last season.

BBS: I was chatting with TheSportsGuru the other night, and he said he thinks one of the reasons David Garrard has struggled these first two game is because teams have had a whole offseason to gameplan for him. Do you think there is some truth in that?

Chris: To an extent, yes. Having a season's worth of film helps. The bigger reason for his struggles is that without a running game, he's had to be "the guy" who makes the play, and at times he's forced a throw where he normally gets rid of the ball. I'm not throwing the offensive line under the bus because of their injury situation, but he's not getting much time in the pocket without pressure, so it's thrown his whole game off as well.

BBS: Speaking of you, me, and Guru, we still chuckle when we remember your face at the NFL Draft when we told you Jacksonville had traded up in the first round. Derrick Harvey's holdout was long and costly. How costly? How is he looking?

Chris: Harvey has an interception, Groves a sack and a forced fumble, and both have had good starts so far. Harvey has yet to dominate a game like we hoped, but he's shown versatility in being lined up at left and right end, he's flashed some speed on the edge, and he's not looking like a player who missed all of training camp. I don't know that he's much further behind than he would have been with a full camp under his belt. With Paul Spicer and Reggie Hayward performing well so far this season, Harvey's only had to perform as a situational player, something that helps cover up for his missed time.

BBS: What has new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams brought to the Jags defense? He is an upgrade over Mike Smith?

Chris: This is a bad time for that question. I've re-watched the last two games and the biggest difference between Mike Smith and Gregg Williams that I've seen is that on 3rd and long with Mike Smith meant rushing 4 and giving a quarterback all day to throw the ball for a first down. 3rd and long with Gregg Williams means all out blitz and letting a dump off or screen pass get the first down. In all seriousness, he brings the heat far more often than Smith, which is hard to watch for some of our more risk-adverse fans.

BBS: And finally, this is probably a must win for the Jaguars. It is a huge game for Indy as well, but if Jacksonville started 0-3, with two loses already in the division, that is a big hole to climb out of. What do the Jags need to do to beat Indy on Sunday?

Chris: Re-discover the style of offense that Jacksonville used to dominate teams last season. The Jaguars have to run the ball enough to open the passing game, convert 3rd downs, and win the time of possession battle. Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning, and the best defense to the Colt's offense is to keep them on the sideline for as long as possible. This needs to be a return to form game, as 0 and 3 would be an awfully big hole to crawl out of for this team.

As always, for more great blogging about the spotted kitties who call the city of Jacksonville home, please check out Big Cat Country. Big thanks to Chris for taking the time to exchange questions.

via Washington Post

It's always fun to speculate which team has done the most to unseat the Colts overlords of the AFC South. The reason it's fun is because the Titans, Jaguars, and Texans often go to such lengths to strengthen their teams each and every year only to get smacked down again and again by the Indy machine. As a result of their efforts, the Colts have gotten better and the collective improvement has made the AFC South the best division in football. Yes, I know the Giants won the Super Bowl and Dallas was 13-3 in 2007. Dallas also hasn't won a playoff game in 15 years, and the other NFC East playoff team (Washington) would get smoked by anyone in the AFC South, including a Sage Rosenfels-led Texans team. So please, spare me the NFC East talk. Yes, it's a good division; a GREAT division. It isn't the South.

Even with the South being so strong in 2007, I personally think most of the AFC South teams got better this off-season, with the exception of the Titans (more on them later). Aside from the AFC South having some of the best teams in football, they also have the best team bloggers in football. I'll freely admit that I am the agitator in our blogger division. Rarely do you see Jimmy writing articles about how Bob Sanders can't stay healthy, or Tim typing stories about how Indy's special teams play sucks. However, you are sure to see me writing a post either insulting Vince Young or criticizing the stupid draft moves of Gary Kubiak. I wouldn't do this if I didn't feel that guys like Tim, Chris, and Jimmy would not immediately call me "idiot" are debunk my claims with intelligent points with just a pinch of homerism. This is why we do what we do.

This is team blogging.

In this case, I think the Texans and Jaguars have bettered themselves since last season, with the Titans noticeably getting worse in the talent department. However, despite the changes (good or bad), none of these teams have done enough to unseat the Colts, who themselves have made great moves to shore up their weaknesses.

The off-season fad is to say the Jaguars have finally done enough to unseat Indy. Even AOL has found a writer who thinks the additions of WR Jerry Porter, CB Drayton Florence, WR Troy Williamson, and draft day additions like DE Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves are enough to knock off a Colts team that has beaten the Jaguars 5 of the last 6 times. Indeed, even the football guru himself, John Clayton, thought the Jaguars had an impressive run in free agency.

Did getting Drayton Florence (#29) help push the Jags over the Colts?

Photo via www.nctimes.com

While the Jaguars are much improved, it is important to note that so are the Colts. New Era Scouting's Dave Gardner has an article up talking about how the Colts are, quietly (per usual), shaping into the best team in football talent-wise.

The Colts could have kept the same roster from last season and still made it to the playoffs. With all the skill positions in place on offense (they’ll be fine with or without Marvin Harrison), and an excellent back seven on defense, they were in place to win at least ten games. However, as they prepare for the first season in a new stadium, it should be ready to host more than just the eight regular season games.

Not long ago, I wrote about how the Jaguars do not have a single area of their team that is better than Indy's. Chris at Big Cat responded, disagreeing with my take and offering little rebuttal in terms of substance.

I'll grant Quarterback, I'll even concede the offensive line and Tight Ends.  But to say that the Colts have better Linebackers, Defensive Line, and Secondary than the Jaguars is an ignorant statement.  The Jaguars use their linebackers a little differently than the Colts do in the "Dungy 2", and really can't be compared directly.  The combination of Durrant, Ingram, Peterson, and Smith give the Jaguars three guys who can play every combination of linebacker spots, the speed to play sideline to sideline, and a nasty hard hitting attitude.  I'd take our bench linebacker over any of the Colts starters.  Remember, the biggest knock on the Jaguars pass rushers is that they're young.  None of our guys are coming off of a Lis Franc, like Mr. Freeney.

I'm happy Chris thinks so much of his new secondary, but when the Jaguars have a Defensive Player of the Year-type guy in their defensive backfield, they can say their secondary is better than Indy's. Maybe. Bob Sanders and Antoine Bethea are the best safety tandem in football. Sanders won the DPOY and Bethea went to the Pro Bowl (and unlike other Pro Bowl safeties, Bethea is pretty good). And the corners, Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden, started every single game last season.

The result? The Colts had the #2 pass defense in football, allowing an average of 5.9 yards per competition with 16 TDs and 22 INTs. QB had an average rating of 73 against Indy. This entire DB unit will be back in 2008, and with the added depth of second year man Dante Hughes. Until the Jags have a secondary that produces like this, saying they are better is nonsense. Utter nonsense.

And they can say whatever they want about their LBers, but the fact is the Colts LBers define speed and hard hitting. They also have tremendous depth. 2007 rookie Clint Session was amazing, and with all three starting LBers coming back this unit is better than Jacksonville's. We also have yet to see what Philip Wheeler will bring to the equation. Indy's linebackers do an excellent job dropping into zones and making plays, and are very active in stopping the run.

The DE argument is silly. Freeney is recovering extremely well from his foot surgery and Robert Mathis is better than both Harvey and Groves. The younger guys may one day develop into great rushers, but we're not talking about two or three years from now. We're talking 2008, and the Colts will get even better in that area if they sign Rosevelt Colvin. Indy also drafted Marcus Howard, who is faster than both Freeney and Mathis.

So, I see little change in the AFC South. The Colts are still the most talented team in the division with the best coaches and front office personnel. I recognize that AFC South teams like the Jags have made significant moves to get better, and better they are. But it isn't enough. The Colts did not just sit ideally by. I realize this is boring to media hacks who are desperate for a story line, but the bottom line is Indy is still great, and the other AFC South teams still have not caught up.