They took dead aim Sunday, attacking and blitzing and playing as if they really wanted to win. Although the Panthers complained about the blitzing, winning really ought to be Jacksonville's prerogative. The game was the first for Jacksonville and Charlotte. Convention dictates that teams ease into the season, using new players and basic plays and disdaining trickery such as the blitz. The idea is to reduce the risk of injury and provide a level playing field on which to evaluate the rookies and free-agents trying to learn the playbook and make the roster.
Colleges do the same thing.
But since they can't schedule exhibitions, they try to schedule Wake Forest. The Jaguars have little interest in convention. They have always been outsiders, hiring men with little NFL experience to run the franchise. And they are tired of Carolina. The Panthers beat the Jaguars into the league by almost two months, and the Jaguars have yet to catch up.