It’s probably a lot easier to be a contrarian to the Patriots march towards destiny. However, I think the Jaguars will not only cover the 11 points Vegas is giving them, but they will also spring the upset on the Patriots. The primary reason I see this happening is the diversity of their offensive and special teams attach. The obvious pick is MJD, the bowling ball with legs, who is countered by Fred Taylor; he of the horrendous hamstring in the 90s and sudden rebirth now. However, in addition, the Jaguars wide receiver corp has quietly put together solid enough performances to create balance in the offensive attack. Throw in the escapability of David Garrard and you’ve got a very dangerous football team. If the Jaguars are going to win this game as I am predicting, they will need MJD to break at least one big play, Fred Taylor to crack 100 yards and the Jaguars receivers to not drop Garrard passes. If Garrard can get time to either make his passes or make something happen with his legs, the upset is there for the taking. The Patriots are playing both with an intensity and fire to go undefeated. At the same time they are playing with a big, far bullseye on their back. They’re not going to be able to waltz through any of their potential playoff matchups and will have to bring their A-game to the table. The Jaguars did everything they could to blow that Steelers game and I’m hoping they got that out of their system.

by David Fucillo of Niners Nation, an SB Nation NFL blog about the San Francisco 49ers
Posted on January 8th, 2008 10:58 PM