Jacksonville Jaguars History

This may be the year Jacksonville Jaguars tickets bear fruit for the 76,000 Jag fans that routinely pack Alltell Stadium. The maturing of quarterback Byron Leftwich became evident last year. Leftwich may not be picture perfect just yet, but he has shown the ability to get the job done under pressure. Along with Leftwich’s talents, Jaguars ticket buyers watched their defense tighten up last season, becoming the best in the NFL in the red zone. By picking up a couple of defensive ends to bolster their line, head coach Jack Del Rio may have punched the Jaguars ticket to the playoffs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars don’t have a long and storied NFL history, but they have certainly been one of the more successful expansion franchises in the NFL. Joining the league in 1995 along with the Carolina Panthers, the Jaguars finished 4-12 in their first campaign under head coach Tom Coughlin. With quarterback Mark Brunell at the controls, the Jaguars were competitive. Brunell posted the best ratings of any expansion team quarterback in NFL history. The defensive side was a different story though as the Jaguars ended up dead last in the league.

It didn’t take Coughlin long to get things patched up though. Still sporting an efficient offense and one of the better quarterbacks in the league, the Jaguars stepped it up on defense enough to improve their record to 9-7 overall in 1996, finish second in the division, and earn a spot in the playoffs in only their second year in the league. Along the way the Jaguars fielded a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Kennan McCardell and Jimmy Smith. Not content with just a playoff spot, Jacksonville fought its way to the AFC Championship Game, before falling victim to the New England Patriots.

1997 saw the Jacksonville Jaguars again earn a playoff spot with an 11-7 regular season record, but a first-round loss to the Denver Broncos gave them a quick exit. The first division championship came in 1998 when the Jags again went 11-5. This time the Jaguars knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs in the first round before being ousted themselves by the New York Jets. Repeating as division champs in 1999, the Jaguars again advanced to the NFC Championship but failed in their bid for the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth when they lost to the Tennessee Titans.

From 2000 to 2003 the Jaguars suffered their first string of losing records. New head coach Jack Del Rio guided the team a 9-7 record in 2004, a mark good enough to give the Jaguars a second place finish in the AFC South.

2005 Jacksonville Jaguars tickets are a good bet watching an NFL team emerge from the shadows and compete for a playoff spot and a Super Bowl berth. The Jaguars appear to have two of the most important components of a playoff contender, solid defense and capable quarterbacking. In order to win the AFC South though, the Jags will have to contend with Peyton Manning and the Colts, a tall order for any team. The race between these two teams will make 2005 an interesting time for fans lucky enough to get their hands on Jacksonville Jaguars tickets.

Head Coach Jack Del Rio lit a fire under his QB David Garrard late last year by saying Garrard wasn’t an elite quarterback. Eight months later and Del Rio now looks like a genius as Garrard led his team to a 24-17 opening day victory with a 138.9 passing rating second only to Vince Young’s 142.8 in week one.

New to the team are WR Kassim Osgood, DE Aaron Kampman, LB Kirk Morrison, LB Freddy Keiaho, and Justin Smiley. The team also traded DE Quentin Groves to the Oakland Raiders for a 5th round draft selection (153rd overall-used on LB Kirk Morrison).

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