Jags Come Up Short in Test Run

In the end, the skills of the Jacksonville Jaguars couldn't quite come close to matching the will they so often spoke of.

All week long, the upstart Jags talked nonstop of their excitement in taking the field for their much anticipated battle against the Super Bowl defending champion Indianapolis Colts. The team spoke boastfully of how they viewed it as a barometer in gauging just how far they had come in closing the competitive gap that clearly exists between the two AFC South powers.

On Monday night, with more than 67,000 fans in attendance at Municipal Stadium and millions more looking on at home, the Jags had the chance to convince the world they were worthy. And convince people they did, as most observers walked away from the evening more assured than ever that the divide between the two teams may have never been greater.

Peyton Manning and crew were down right surgical in their 29-7 destruction and dissection of their would-be rivals. Yeah, yeah, I know the Jaguars lost quarterback David Garrard to an early second quarter ankle sprain, but by then the thrill born of the occasion may have already been gone for the Jags.

Behind Manning's pinpoint precision, the Colts jumped out to a 17-0 halftime cushion. Going 6-0 on the season and running their unbeaten streak to eleven straight seemed like a forgone conclusion.

"This was a gratifying win, a big win for us to get our first three AFC South games and have a victory when we're playing a team as hot as they were,” Colts coach Tony Dungy told the Indianapolis Star. And in achieving all that, the Colts also delivered a stern message to their somewhat cocky counterparts.

Be careful what you wish for; Indy seemed to be warning its rival, though they were words intended as much for all the league as they were the Jags. For despite all their dominance, some Colts players seem to be taking offense to all the praise and attention being given to the New England Patriots, the league's only other undefeated team.

"All that stuff about the Patriots, it's OK, all that talk is for the fans,” Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney told the Star. “Trust me, I know the Patriots are concerned about their next opponent (Washington at home) and so are we (Sunday at Carolina).”

As for the Jaguars, faced with their greatest level of adversity since coach Jack Del Rio's somewhat controversial decision to waive starting quarterback Byron Leftwich just days before the start of the record season, they must now hit the road for three consecutive road games.

Indeed, it could soon be deja vu all over again for the Jags in terms of having to withstand yet another gut-checking moment. If they learned anything at all from their last such encounter, they would be wise to know that talking a good game is quite different from actually playing one. 

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