ESPN AFC South Blog

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Failed third downs frustrate any offense. But nothing’s worse for a team trying to establish an offensive rhythm than repeated three-and-outs.

And no defense in the league has done better at forcing three-and-outs than the Houston Texans.

Houston’s not allowed a first down on 47.9 percent of its opponents' drives, a strong number that leads the league with New England second at 44.2 percent and is 13 percent better than any other team in the AFC South.

“That’s really big for us. I think that’s setting a tone to let teams know we’re going to be in the right places,” strong safety Bernard Pollard said. “We’re not going to stop everything. These guys get paid a lot of money to make first downs …. It’s just been great for us that we’ve been getting them off the field and we’ve got to continue to do that if we want to win.”

But the Texans meet the Colts Sunday. And on the other side of the ball, Indianapolis is fourth-best at avoiding three-and-outs. The Colts' offense goes three-and-out only 28.4 percent of the time.

If the Texans can force the Colts to punt after only three snaps a couple of times at Lucas Oil Stadium it will do a lot to bolster their chances at an upset.

But you know how it goes. They can force three in a row and Peyton Manning can wash them all away with one huge play on the fourth series.

Offenses ranked by % of drives without a first down Team Pct. Dallas 20.3 Green Bay 28.0 N.Y. Giants 28.1 Indianapolis 28.4 Pittsburgh 30.7 New England 30.8 Denver 31.2 Baltimore 32.0 San Diego 32.0 Jacksonville 32.5 Atlanta 32.5 Miami 32.9 Washington 32.9 Houston 33.3 New Orleans 34.1 Arizona 36.3 Detroit 36.4 Minnesota 36.6 Buffalo 36.8 Philadelphia 36.8 Seattle 37.3 Carolina 38.1 Kansas City 38.8 St. Louis 39.5 Chicago 39.5 N.Y. Jets 40.8 Tennessee 41.6 Cincinnati 41.8 Cleveland 44.0 San Francisco 48.8 Oakland 50.5 Tampa Bay 51.2

Defenses ranked by % of drives without a first down Team Pct. Houston 47.9 New England 44.2 Arizona 42.9 Philadelphia 42.9 N.Y. Giants 42.1 Chicago 42.0 Seattle 41.5 Green Bay 40.5 Minnesota 40.4 Kansas City 40.0 New Orleans 39.8 N.Y. Jets 39.3 Washington 37.2 Baltimore 36.7 Dallas 36.1 San Francisco 36.0 Buffalo 35.6 San Diego 35.5 Denver 34.2 Indianapolis 34.2 Cincinnati 34.1 Cleveland 33.3 Miami 33.3 Pittsburgh 32.9 Tennessee 32.2 Jacksonville 31.6 Atlanta 31.1 Carolina 30.4 Oakland 29.8 St. Louis 28.7 Tampa Bay 26.3 Detroit 24.4

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Jim in Tallahassee, Fla. writes: One problem I have with Greg Garber's article on the Jags attendance is that he makes no real link to how hideous the Jags home schedule has been. The first four teams to visit Jax are a combined 7-22 with four of those wins coming from Arizona. The two teams most likely to draw fans are the last two games on back to back weekends in December when no one will care because the season is shot. Put the Miami game and the Indy game in the first four games and you likely have at least one sellout and one near sellout if not a sellout. Would you agree the schedule maker did no favor for the Jaguars?

Paul Kuharsky: The schedule maker, of course, draws up what games are played when. Not what team plays what teams.

I understand your position though defending NFC champ Arizona as the home opener and Tennessee, which was the best team through the NFL's regular season last year, looked like appealing games when the schedule came out, no?

The other position would be that with these "bad" games early, the Jaguars were handed easier games to win and they could create more buzz with the better record they could build if they beat teams like St. Louis, Kansas City and Buffalo in matchups before Thanksgiving.

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Joe in West Virginia writes: Do you think the Colts should bring back Edge to help with the running game?

Paul Kuharsky: I don’t. I think the Colts running issues are more related to the blocking than the backs and I feel like if both Arizona and Seattle think James is done he’s probably done. Fans can be too sentimental when they automatically put a player back with his old team.

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Craig Jackson in Culloden, WV writes: I am a Steelers fan, but like the Texans cause of Steve Slaton by way of WVU. Of course that is why I like him cause I had the pleasure of watching him for 3 years. People say that his fumbling was a problem coming into the draft, but I have seen him play a lot and he doesn't normally fumble like that. Except his sophomore year when he needed wrist surgery after the year. All I can say is that I wish people would get off his back. If Ryan Moats was always this good he would've been the starter all along and he is not. So what does that tell you?

Paul Kuharsky: It tells me that your declaration that “he doesn’t normally fumble like that” isn’t really relevant, as he’s normally fumbled like that seven times in eight games, including the last three in a row. Think what you will of Moats, he’s coming off an excellent game and put the ball on the turf zero times.

People should get off his back because you both have ties to WVU? If seven fumbles in eight games doesn’t mean a guy deserves grief, what does?

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Ryan in Palm Desert, CA writes: After Vince Young's game on Sunday where he checked down on receivers and ran when things broke down do you think Norm Chow may have in fact hindered VY's development by trying to mold him into a pocket passer?

Paul Kuharsky: While Fisher and Chow certainly didn’t build an offense around Young, they didn’t ask him to be a pocket passer either. He’s the one who seemed determined not to run at times, which drove them all crazy.

One game in his second act is hardly enough for us to make any big pronouncements.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Barring any major developments, I don’t usually do a blog entry off the Friday injury reports.

But I do tweet off them, so if the tweets below interest you and you’re not a follower, please follow me at @espn_afcsouth or friend me on Facebook at Paul Kuharsky Espn, where the tweets show up as my status. (Feel free to do both. The more the merrier.)

• Texans injuries: Casey, Barber OUT. Cody, DelJuan Robinson, limited, questionable. Everyone else probable. #NFL #HOU
• Colts injuries: Garcon (new on report, ankle), Moala (new on report, concussion), Brown (new on report, shoulder) DNP, ?able. #NFL #IND
• Jaguars injuries: Starks, DNP, out. Williams, limited, probable. Mathis, Witherspoon full practice, probable. #NFL #JAC
• Titans injuries: RInger, DNP, out. Stewart, Thornton, Otto, Kearse DNP, ?able. Fuller, Harper limited, ?able. Harper won't play. #NFL #TEN

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 9:

	Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
	Looking to rebound from last week's blowout loss, the Jaguars may lean heavily on Maurice Jones-Drew.

The Texans may not go three-wide: It’s easy to presume that Houston will go three-wide in Indianapolis to try to get an extra receiver on the field to make up for the loss of Owen Daniels and to go after nickelback Tim Jennings. But don’t be surprised if the Texans try to attack with their base personnel instead, putting a premium on pass protection and helping Duane Brown and Eric Winston against Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

Jet lag is an issue: Think what you like about the issues of crossing multiple time zones, but Jeff Fisher’s Titans stink at it. In their last 10 West Coast games, they are just 1-9. Fisher blames most of it on the quality of the opponents they’ve traveled to meet. The 49ers are good, but the Texans and Colts just beat them. Have the Titans come far enough that they can win a second straight game and a game near the Pacific?

Are the Jaguars rubber? Jacksonville lost badly to Arizona and bounced back to beat Houston. The Jaguars got crushed at Seattle and bounced back to beat St. Louis. Now Jack Del Rio’s team is coming off an ugly loss in Tennessee. Can it rebound yet again, handle Kansas City and get to 4-4 halfway through its season? To do so, it’ll need to rush the passer better, but the Chiefs' line may help make that an easier order.

A test of Caldwell’s steadiness: When Jim Caldwell took over for Tony Dungy, I thought there would come a time when his team faced a crisis that would qualify as a big test, and his players would be looking to him to see how he reacted. Is this that time? The Colts endured a rough week, losing three starters -- Tyjuan Hagler, Marlin Jackson and Bob Sanders -- to injuries. Other injury news about Kelvin Hayden and Anthony Gonzalez wasn’t good either. Does this qualify as a crisis for Caldwell and the Colts?

MJD, MJD and more MJD: Teams trying to get back on track generally go back to basics, and nothing is more basic for the Jaguars than getting the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew. Last week, despite the 177 yards of rushing damage he did on eight carries, he only got eight carries. This week Del Rio talked about not changing out of run plays at the line even against what may appear to be unfavorable defenses. Kansas City’s had a much worse season than the Jaguars and you’d think Jacksonville would be able to assert itself.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

There is a youth movement coming in the Titans’ future.

McRath

Knowing this, I wanted to check in on one of the guys who figures to be a piece of it. Might we see Gerald McRath as an outside linebacker for the team next year in a spot that’s been occupied by longtime staple Keith Bulluck, who’s heading for free agency, or David Thornton?

I went to linebacker coach Dave McGinnis for an assessment of McRath -- a fourth-round pick out of Southern Mississippi. McRath would actually be in line to start Sunday in San Francisco if Thornton, who missed two practices and was limited in another this week with a hip injury, can’t play.

Here’s what McGinnis said:

“Those first-rounders that came out this year -- Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Aaron Curry -- those are exceptional players already with NFL bodies. I still love everything about Gerald McRath. What he needs is more bulk. He needs more strength. He’s got the mind for it. He’s got the GPS to the ball for it. What he needs is an offseason of [strength and conditioning coach] Steve Watterson so that he can get his body up to speed with what is required in this league. The rest of it, I’ve got no doubts about.”

“I’m not ready to canonize him. He’s a good prospect. He’s a smart kid. I love everything about him. But I’m real cautious about canonizing first-year players in this league especially at that position. You’ve got three real special guys that came out this year, really four with Maualuga, that you could put in and say, ‘OK, these guys are ready to fit in just because of their physical stature.’”

McRath is becoming a core special-teams guy and McGinnis said he’d be perfectly willing to insert him on defense if he was needed.

The biggest adjustment for a rookie linebacker is learning how to use his hands, McGinnis said. In college with so much spread stuff, McRath could dip a shoulder or run through people. Now he will get grabbed, slammed, or thrown down and he needs to strike people in a way he’s never done before. He's getting to do some of that working on special teams.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

The Colts lost strongside linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Bob Sanders for the season with injuries this week.

[Update: Adam Schefter reports Sanders has a torn biceps tendon that will end his season.]

The team also announced news Wednesday that receiver Anthony Gonzalez just had surgery and Mike Chappell also reports Kelvin Hayden may miss up to four weeks with his knee injury.

Indianapolis may be the best next-man-up team in the league, and it’s a testament to their depth.

Here’s a quick review of the guys who will be expected to do more with those holes in the lineup

Strongside linebacker Philip Wheeler: He’s a bit bigger than Hagler and was the presumed starter through the offseason and training camp. He couldn’t hold on to the job then, however. I did this entry on Wheeler back in June. A lot of Colts linebackers, like weakside starter Clint Session, have started off a bit slowly but really blossomed with some time in the system. The hope is that’s the case for Wheeler now.

Cornerback Tim Jennings: Rookies Jerraud Power and Jacob Lacey are in line to start and they’ve played very well in extensive opportunities. The third guy, Tim Jennings, hasn’t been as good and the fourth guy, T.J. Rushing is known as a returner, not a defensive back. Maybe the Texans to try get the Colts into their nickel and to do what they can to go after Jennings.

Strong safety Melvin Bullitt: He’s not the physical presence of Sanders, but Bullitt’s played a lot with all of Sanders’ injuries. He’s a fine player who will show up in the right spots and make plays. I can’t ever recall watching a play and thinking he looked bad.

Receiver Pierre Garcon: After a big start Garcon’s come back to earth a bit the last few games. The Colts would benefit from him regaining his confidence and playing as he did early in the season. Even if he doesn’t, with Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and rookie Austin Collie producing, the team’s done better than many expected without Gonzalez, who’s been out since suffering a knee injury early in the season opener.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Like many NFL followers, I was hoping Sunday’s Texans-Colts game would give us a chance to see both Dallas Clark and Owen Daniels, two of the league’s very best tight ends.

Unfortunately Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury last week and won’t be a part of it.

I wonder how much his absence the rest of the season will affect the remarkable pace of tight ends around the league this year.

Clark is tied for fourth in the NFL with 46 catches and ranks seventh in yardage (584); Daniels is tied for ninth with 40 catches and is 15th in yards (519).

In all, tight ends are 14 of the top 51 pass-catchers and 12 of the top 51 in receiving yards and six of the top 51 in scoring.

According to the NFL, tight ends are on pace to break the NFL season record for the most receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches for the position.

Through Week 8, tight ends have totaled 1,018 receptions, 11,280 receiving yards and 87 touchdown receptions.

Can the fraternity pick up the slack from losing Daniels and still break those records? I suspect so.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Houston Texans

• Peyton Manning routinely picks the Texans apart, says Dale Robertson.
• Hurt shoulder or not, Mario Williams has been quiet and needs to show up in Indianapolis, says John McClain.
• Matt Schaub makes Pete Pricso’s list of the league’s most improved players.
• Brian Cushing was limited and Shaun Cody had an injection to help his back injury, says Dale Robertson.
• The fantasy impact of Owen Daniels’ injury, from Lance Zierlein.
• McClain passes out his midseason awards.
• The Texans defense is a lot different than it was the last time it faced Indianapolis, says Alan Burge.
• Key matchups for Texans-Colts from Battle Red Blog.

Indianapolis Colts

• Justice is swift and sure on the Colts offensive line, writes Phil Richards. Fun piece.
• The Colts will need to slow Matt Schaub, who’s making a name for himself, says Phillip B. Wilson.
• Bob Sanders isn’t looking like he’ll be on the field Sunday against Houston, says Mike Chappell.
• Marlin Jackson has a torn ACL and is finished for the season, says Chappell. It’s the left knee this time. Last season was cut short when he tore up his right knee.
• Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, Sanders, and Antoine Bethea talked “of becoming the NFL's best secondary. The foursome started the first two games of 2008, and not only haven't they started together since, they haven't been on the field together since.” John Oehser’s game preview includes a look at the secondary’s issues.
• Before the announcement of injury news, Wilson shared some thoughts on the information he was getting.
• A look at the Colts rushing attack, from Tom James.

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Tyrone Hartsfield was found guilty of shooting Richard Collier, writes Paul Pinkham.
• The Jaguars don’t rush the quarterback well, but things could change against Kansas City’s Matt Cassel, says Vito Stellino.
• Cole Pepper’s take on the tackling issues.
• Mel Tucker expects better tackling, says Vic Ketchman.
• Ladies only in this “Ask Vic.”
• Ketchman hopes for an eventual return to the 4-3.

Tennessee Titans

• The Titans are wary of Frank Gore, writes Jim Wyatt.
• Tennessee works a heavy rotation on the defensive line, says Gary Estwick.
• Vince Young has nine more chances, says David Climer.
• Two Titans ranked among the NFL’s dirtiest in a poll, says Estwick.
• Rod Hood has found a good situation with the Titans, says Terry McCormick.
• Stephen Tulloch and Gore are old friends, says McCormick.
• David Stewart’s got a hamstring injury, says Wyatt.

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

The Titans and Jaguars played Oct. 4 and again Nov. 1. That's too quick a rematch for me, and I think the league need to make sure it doesn't happen that way.

As I get ready to head for the first of two Texans-Colts game in the span of four weeks, quick rematches are the subject of this week's edition of "My Primary Complaint."

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

The Colts just sent out a release packed with injury news. Here it is:

The Indianapolis Colts have signed veteran free agent defensive end Josh Thomas and have placed defensive back Marlin Jackson on injured reserve. Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery yesterday to clean out loose particles, and safety Bob Sanders visited with Dr. James Andrews yesterday to gather additional information on the left elbow injury he suffered last Sunday against San Francisco, the club announced today.

Jackson suffered the left knee injury during a non-contact drill early in Wednesday’s practice. He is out for the remainder of the season. Gonzalez suffered a recent setback in practice that led to yesterday’s procedure. A timetable for his return is not determined.

Thomas played 2004-08 with the club, starting 12 of 68 appearances. He totaled 172 tackles and six sacks. He had a brief stint with the club this past training camp.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Solid chat performance by you folks while I didn’t have my A game.

I will stay after practice to work with my coach to ensure a better performance next week.

Accountability is key, and you may offer your own critiques after reading the transcript here. Click on it twice if you want to be extra nice.

AFC strength of schedule: Weeks 9 through 17 Team Opp. record Opp. win pct. New England Patriots 38-28 .576 Indianapolis Colts 38-29 .567 Kansas City Chiefs 35-31 .530 New York Jets 30-27 .526 Baltimore Ravens 34-31 .523 Houston Texans 29-28 .509 Oakland Raiders 29-28 .509 Denver Broncos 32-33 .492 Buffalo Bills 28-29 .491 Tennessee Titans 32-34 .485 Jacksonville Jaguars 32-25 .478 San Diego Chargers 31-34 .477 Pittsburgh Steelers 30-35 .462 Miami Dolphins 30-35 .462 Cleveland Browns 25-32 .439 Cincinnati Bengals 29-38 .433 AFC strength of schedule: Weeks 1 through 8 Team Opp. record Opp. win pct. Cleveland Browns 38-20 .655 Miami Dolphins 33-19 .635 Tennessee Titans 32-19 .627 Oakland Raiders 34-25 .576 Cincinnati Bengals 29-22 .569 Baltimore Ravens 29-22 .569 Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 .529 Denver Broncos 26-25 .510 New York Jets 29-30 .492 Buffalo Bills 28-31 .475 San Diego Chargers 23-28 .451 Pittsburgh Steelers 23-28 .451 New England Patriots 22-29 .431 Houston Texans 25-34 .424 Jacksonville Jaguars 21-30 .411 Indianapolis Colts 17-33 .340

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Over at AFC East headquarters, Tim Graham commissioned some strength of schedule information.

And looking at Weeks 1 through 8, the AFC South has had it pretty easy.

The Texans faced the 13th easiest schedule so far, the Jaguars the 14th and the Colts the 15th. They all have the 1-6 Titans to thank at least in part. Tennessee, incidentally unable to play itself, faced the third-toughest schedule top this point.

I always keep in mind that in strength of schedule for past games it’s important to note the teams in question may have contributed. The Colts opponents are, of course, seven games worse because the Colts are 7-0 against them.

Looking ahead, Indianapolis now has the second most difficult remaining schedule based on the records of its remaining opponents, while Houston’s is tied for sixth.

	Bob Levey/Getty Images
	Bernard Pollard has shored up the strong safety position for the Texans, who haven't had a steady presence at the position during Gary Kubiak's tenure.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Since Gary Kubiak became head coach of the Houston Texans in 2006, he’s deployed seven different starting strong safeties.

A secondary in need of a steady physical presence didn’t get great consistency out of Glenn Earl, Jason Simmons, C.C. Brown, Brandon Harrison, Nick Ferguson, Dominique Barber or John Busing. Injuries prompted some of the changes.

But in Bernard Pollard, whose insertion into the lineup has coincided with improved defensive play, perhaps Kubiak and the Texans finally have found their man.

In October, the Texans were the fifth-best defense in the league based on yardage surrendered, and 10th in scoring defense. The defensive improvements from the first three games to the last five are remarkable, as you can see in this handy chart the team provided.

Houston's defensive improvement, 2009 Category First 3 games Last 5 games Difference Rush yards/game 205.0* 58.2** -146.8 Pass yards/game 231.7 202.2 -29.5 Total yards/game 436.7* 260.4 -176.3 Points per game 28.7 16.4 -12.3 * Worst in the NFL. ** Best in the NFL.

All these defensive developments are wonderful for a team with the third-ranked passing game and eighth-ranked offense. Defensive consistency is a major boon for any team keyed around a potent and efficient passing attack.

What has Pollard brought?

“I take pride with my tackling, I take pride in being in the right places,” he said. “I watch games around the league and you see guys get interceptions. I wish that could happen with me. But I don’t have time to try to bait quarterbacks, because when you try to bait, things happen. Some guys get away with it.

“I’m not that player. I am a player if you expect me to be wherever on the field, that’s where I am going to be. If that makes the quarterback go to another read, then that’s going to be a coverage sack or he’s going to go somewhere else. But I take pride in tackling, I take pride in coming in with high intensity and trying to get my teammates around me to get pumped up.”

Pollard was initially a 2006 second-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs out of Purdue, selected 54th overall. In 2008, he delivered the hit that ended Tom Brady's season, carrying himself with grace after the accident.

The Chiefs’ new regime made him part of its roster turnover and released him on Sept. 5. But David Gibbs, the Texans' new defensive backs coach, had come to Houston from K.C. He helped facilitate adding Pollard to Houston’s roster.

Pollard has not solved the Texans' troubles by himself. He has been a positive influence in exemplifying the theme that’s so popular around the league: Do your job while trusting that the guy to your right, to your left, in front of you, and behind you will do his. He said he’s seen that trust grow, and with success comes additional confidence.

Now he will try to help slow Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts' offense Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in a game that’s fair to rate as the biggest in the Texans’ history.

A win would put the Texans at 6-3, three games over .500 for the first time ever. A victory will keep them in range of the AFC South-leading Colts, who would be 7-1. A rematch at Reliant Stadium on Nov. 19 looms.

One of Manning’s biggest weapons, tight end Dallas Clark, said the Texans' defense starts up front, but that Pollard’s on his radar.

“Their two ends [Mario Williams and Antonio Smith] and their linebackers, that's the strength of their defense,” Clark said. “The safeties and the corners, a lot of the things they do is because of the pressure and [the ends] getting the quarterbacks to make bad decisions. Still, they're there to make the play, which is what their defense needs. But I think everything they do well starts up front …

“[Pollard] is a big safety. He's a guy who loves to hit and loves to make plays. As a receiver, you have to make sure you know where he is.”

Tackling was a major issue early this season, when, for example, Tennessee Titans halfback Chris Johnson accounted for 284 yards against Houston. Sixty-nine of them came when he lined up wide to the left uncovered. Kerry Collins got the ball to him immediately, and the Texans didn’t even have a chance to miss tackles. It was Barber’s mistake, and he was benched for it with Busing replacing him.

Now concerns over such matters are much smaller.

“He’s done a nice job of coming in and kind of taking up what we are teaching, our concepts, our program,” Texans defensive coordinator Frank Bush said of Pollard. “He’s brought a physical presence to us first of all. The kid’s a big [6-foot-1, 224 pounds] and physical football player, he enjoys the contact. He seeks it. He’s the most physical presence in that secondary and all the guys try to emulate what he’s doing.”

“He’s smart, he takes good angles to the ball, he tries to keep himself out of harm’s way as far as angles on running backs and then he brings a load to the party when he hits you.”

That’s a pretty good addition when you sign a guy after the season’s under way and he quickly becomes a player others are looking to follow. Bush was surprised to get such a quality player at such a time.

Pollard appears to be a solution at what has been a questionable spot.

“He’s kind of shored it up for us and let us feel confident about what we want to call. He’ll go out and execute our program,” Bush said.

After being part of two miserable seasons in Kansas City where the Chiefs were 6-26, Pollard said he’s thrilled to be on a 5-3 team that’s got reasonable expectations of a playoff berth.

But he’s not yet sure he’s a long-term answer for a team who’s been searching for a solution at his spot.

“I hope I ended it,” he said. “Nothing’s settled until you actually sign a long-term deal and you know you are in this city for a certain amount of time. So no player gets that gratification until it’s actually done. I am very happy with what I am doing, where I am. And I hope that I prove myself. It’s still a long season and things can happen.

“Do I look for them to happen? No. I’m going to prepare myself to bring my A-game and to get my teammates, and for them to get me, hyped as can be to play football at a high level every Sunday from here on out.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

Check out Greg Garber’s thorough piece on the situation in Jacksonville and this sidebar on what’s happening in Los Angeles.

Team owner Wayne Weaver has some interesting quotes in the story. Here’s one:

"It bothers me that we've become the poster boy for blackouts. Sitting here as the man in charge of this franchise, yes, it bothers me."

But the most significant quote from Weaver is the capper of Garber’s article, and rather than pull it here, I’ll send you there.

AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky discusses the hot topics within the division.