LSU's Jordan Jefferson eyes starting job

LSU's Jordan Jefferson is back, and he'd also like to have his starting job back.

It's a storyline that will certainly be worth watching as the No. 1 Tigers go through the rest of this season.

Jefferson was quick to point out that he and Jarrett Lee have a good relationship, and Jefferson praised Lee for the job he's done in leading the Tigers to a 5-0 record.

[+] Enlarge Derick E. Hingle/US PresswireJordan Jefferson saw his first action of the season last Saturday against Kentucky.Still, Jefferson said it was a "personal goal" of his to reclaim the starting job.

"I am going to do whatever it takes to get there," said Jefferson, adding that the main thing is what's important for the team.

It's clear that LSU coach Les Miles is extremely loyal to Jefferson, who was sent into the game to score the Tigers' first touchdown in their 35-7 win over Kentucky last Saturday. Miles said it was an easy decision to play Jefferson so early.

The harder decision for Miles will come on down the road if LSU isn't moving the ball as well on offense and struggling to score points in a game. How quick will Miles' trigger be with Lee? Moreover, if Miles does have a quick trigger, what effect will that have on Lee?

Having not played or practiced with the team for more than a month, Jefferson is almost certainly rusty. He's never been a real precise passer anyway, so it may take him a while to get his timing back.

That said, Jefferson has strong support among his teammates, who are genuinely happy that he's back. And the truth is that he's probably been punished enough (four games), when you consider that his charge was dropped to a misdemeanor by a grand jury. Most college football players who are arrested and charged with a misdemeanor get a game or two suspension, and in some locales, they don't have to sit at all.

Either way, it's been a delicate situation from the outset, one that has divided the Baton Rouge community in a lot ways. It's also a situation that could get even more delicate within the team depending on how Miles handles things.

Already, Miles has lashed out at the fans who booed Jefferson when he went into the game last Saturday. The boos were loud enough that Jefferson and several of his teammates acknowledged hearing them.

Jefferson very wisely wrote it off as fans being emotional, but Miles wasn't as quick to let the fans off that easily.

"Jordan Jefferson didn't have a choice. I sent him in the game, OK," Miles said. "When he went into the game, he'd already served a four-game suspension. He'd been through quite a lot, and it appears to me that this thing is going to be a misdemeanor, not unlike a lot of the people in the stands who possibly had similar run-ins with the law, OK. Well, I suspect that they didn't get penalized nearly as significantly as this guy.

"You'd like to think maybe that when he went onto the field that he was kind of easing some of those days where he wondered if he'd ever be back, and so I wanted to get him on the field as fast as I could because, you see, I like Jordan Jefferson, and I think a mistake was made. And it's not one that he'll repeat."

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Starting QBs: Dusty Kiel, Max Shortell

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Del Rio not ready to name Jaguars’ starting QB

Published: September 19th, 2011 | Tags: Jack Del Rio, Blaine Gabbert, Bryon Leftwich, David Garrard, Luke McCown

Should Luke McCown‘s errors open the door for an early start to the Blaine Gabbert era?

That is a question facing Jack Del Rio, who had barely sat down for his Monday news conference when the queries about his uncertain QB situation began.

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McCown struggled mightily Sunday against the Jets, throwing nearly as many interceptions (four) as he had completions (six). Del Rio mercifully pulled McCown in favor of Gabbert in the fourth quarter, leading to speculation that McCown’s days as the starter are through.

“We decided yesterday to play Blaine, and that was a decision for yesterday,” Del Rio said. “The next question is, what are you now going to do? The only thing I’d like to say today is we are evaluating the tape and going through, and we have not begun turning our attention to the Panthers yet.”

Del Rio acknowledged McCown’s ineffectiveness against the Jets.

“Luke struggled, no sugar coating that,” Del Rio said. “We cannot turn the ball over in key moments.”

The Jaguars have nobody to blame but themselves for the mess they’re in now. When they surprisingly cut Byron Leftwich before the start of the 2007 season, they had a known commodity in David Garrard. When Garrard himself received the quick pink slip, the Jaguars didn’t have near the same security blanket. McCown’s performance Sunday represented a worst-case scenario for a franchise suddenly facing some steep challenges.

– Dan Hanzus

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Fixing the Jets, starting with their running game

Many are wondering how the New York Jets can pull out of a two-game slide heading into Pittsburgh. Where exactly do you start fixing the Jets?

I’d start with the running game, because the Jets look like a dysfunctional running team right now.

The identity of the Jets, going back to last season with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene which we saw re-emphasized on “Hard Knocks” throughout the offseason, was as a “ground and pound” team. That’s great when it’s working. You can control the clock, take pressure off Mark Sanchez, take care of the football and play into the team’s strength of great defense.

Except it’s not working, and the Jets can’t ground it and pound it right now.

This hasn’t just been a problem the last few weeks, it’s been an issue for the Jets over the last two months. Over the last eight games, LaDainian Tomlinson is averaging 3.4 yards per carry, and Greene is averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Tomlinson, who looked explosive early, isn’t playing the way he was earlier this season.

The problems aren’t limited to the ball carriers, either. It’s been poor blocking up front. When five guys are blocking well, one guy misses a block. The receivers miss blocks. The running backs are missing holes. It’s not just one thing.

When the Jets brought in the Wildcat gimmick with Brad Smith against the Dolphins last week, as soon as the inside linebackers recognized it, they waved the safeties closer to the line of scrimmage. It’s ineffective, because the Jets are no threat to throw the ball.

I think the Jets are in a downward spiral right now, and it’s not because of Sanchez. The Jets aren’t doing what they say they want to do, and it’s not going to get any easier heading into Pittsburgh.

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Lions WR Johnson a risk, but still worth starting

Published: December 1st, 2010 | Tags: Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Chad Ochocinco, Detroit Lions, Drew Stanton, Johnny Knox, Mike Wallace, Shaun Hill, Stevie Johnson, Wes Welker

The Lions will start Drew Stanton at quarterback vs. the Bears, and while the former Michigan State Spartan will not draw any interest in fantasy circles, he certainly could impact one of the best receivers in fantasy football, Calvin Johnson. Megatron continued to produce big numbers with QB Shaun Hill, but can you really trust him to do the same with Stanton?

I believe that you can. Stanton has seen extensive action only once this season, at the Giants in Week 6. And the duo hooked up on a pretty nice 87-yard touchdown reception. Johnson finished that game with 146 receiving yards to go with that touchdown.

Not to say that it will be that easy against the stingy Bears defense (Johnson had only four receptions for 45 yards in the first meeting — but had a touchdown famously called back). But at least Stanton knows where his bread is buttered. And to be honest, when you get this close to the fantasy playoffs, you need to count on your fantasy superstars. Do you really want to be rolling into a must-win game, hoping that Eagles WR Jason Avant is going to take advantage of an awesome matchup? No.

Let’s say you have a team that has an embarrassment of riches at receiver, and you are starting Texans WR Andre Johnson, Steelers WR Mike Wallace and Bills WR Stevie Johnson, then you can probably risk sitting Megatron.

But if you have guys like Bears WR Johnny Knox, Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco, or Patriots WR Wes Welker, I would roll with Johnson.

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