Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Lane Rizzardini
- Edited by Marc Caviglia

The AFC South has been rather easy to predict since its creation in 2002. The Indianapolis Colts have won the division seven out of nine years, with the Tennessee Titans winning it the other two times. The Titans are a bit off the radar now with a new head coach and no suitable quarterback to speak of. The other two members, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, have failed to get over the hump despite having promising pieces in place. The Texans are in a much better place than the Jaguars to make a run with an electric offense, but are held back by one of the worst defenses in the league. It is of course the Colts and Peyton Manning who seem to continue getting richer, especially if they can bring back all of their walking wounded. With Matt Schaub and the Texans the only team capable of contending with Indy in 2011, the AFC South shows how important the quarterback position is in the National Football League.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Despite being one of the weakest teams in the division on paper, the Jacksonville Jaguars managed an 8-8 record and a second place finish to the Indianapolis Colts last season. The record doesn’t really tell the story, as the season wasn’t as good as the .500 winning percentage would suggest. Their offense runs primarily through running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who battled knee problems for a second consecutive 1,300 yard season. Yards don’t score points though, and with the poor play of quarterback David Garrard and total flop of a year for 2009 breakout-wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker the team finished in the bottom half of the league in points scored. If it wasn’t for this amazing play to sink the division-rival Houston Texans in Week 10, the Jaguars would have not been a .500 football team in 2010.

 
TEAM STRENGTHS

1. They Call Him MJD — Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 1,324 yards in 14 games in 2010 and essentially carried the team on his back for most of the year despite a bum knee that troubled him all season. He was truly heroic the second half of the season, rushing for over 100 yards in six consecutive weeks until finally shutting it down the last two games of the year. He will again be essential to the team’s success in 2011.

2. Mike Thomas — In the bizarre absence of good play from Mike Sims-Walker, it was sophomore wide receiver Mike Thomas who shined at times when the team needed him most and finished with 820 receiving yards. He is a good young talent that the team will need to build around if they want to stay afloat in the division. Thomas won’t beat you downfield often, however his sure hands and skills as a possession receiver will allow the passing game to have a reliable option.

3. Marcedes Lewis — Jones-Drew moved the chains, but it was tight end Marcedes Lewis who put together his first complete season in the NFL and emerged as one of the top players at his position in the AFC. Lewis finished the season with 10 touchdowns and he benefited from being Garrard’s favorite and only target in the red zone.

TEAM NEEDS

1. MJD To Be 100 Percent Healthy — Jones-Drew was able to play through it for most of the year, but at season’s end it was revealed that Maurice Jones-Drew’s had a torn meniscus and that his knee joint was essentially “bone-on-bone.” That said, he has spent the 2011 offseason resting, rehabbing and it’s reported that he will be good to go once the lockout ends. Knee injures are troubling for running backs and this has a lot of people nervous as to how effective he will be going forward. His health is paramount to the team’s success next season.

2. Get to the Quarterback - The Jaguars tied for second to last in the NFL in sacks last year, a horrible statistic that needs to be remedied if they want to have any success on defense. They couldn’t find any consistency at the ends, with three different players drawing starts and one of them, Murray State product Austen Lane, recorded zero sacks in nine starts. That is simply not going to cut it in a division with quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub.

3. Keep Teams Out of the End Zone - Due in some part to the problem illustrated above, the Jaguars allowed the third-most touchdowns in the league. The defensive line was basically a revolving door in the red zone and the secondary simply couldn’t stop opposing receivers from doing whatever they wanted, giving up 12.7 yards per reception, tied for No. 29 in the NFL. The entire defense needs a shakeup and with its best player, middle linebacker Kirk Morrison, becoming an unrestricted free agent this offseason there is a lot of work to do in Jacksonville.

AFC SOUTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  HOU  |  IND  |  JAC  |  TEN   (click to view)

AFC NORTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  BAL  |  CIN  |  CLE  |  PIT  (click to view)

AFC WEST NEEDS BY TEAM:  DEN  |  KC  |  OAK  |  SD  (click to view)

NFC EAST NEEDS BY TEAM:  DAL  |  NYG  |  PHI  |  WAS    (click to view)

NFC SOUTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  ATL  |  CAR  |  NO  |  TB    (click to view)

NFC NORTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  CHI  |  DET  |  GB  |  MIN    (click to view)

NFC WEST NEEDS BY TEAM:  ARI  |  STL  |  SF  |  SEA    (click to view)

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