Jesse James on the Comeback Trail LOL

Jesse James Rides Again!

After a horrendous initial pre-season outing with the Steelers against the Minnesota Vikings, ex-Nittany Lion Jesse James redeemed himself in last night’s game at Jacksonville, niftily reversing his prior fugly performance. We hope that this reflects a positive trend and that it will be the Jacksonville Jesse we see from here on.

Recall that in the crappy outing Sunday night last, Jesse dropped two high-profile passes, one  a sure touchdown. The other would have put the Steelers in scoring position with the best field position of the half, but James not only dropped it but worse, he dropped it right into the hands of a fortuitous defender. Furthermore, he looked awful on special teams, while on offense he blocked like the McCabe Sisters (who haven’t improved as middle-age wears on).

Last night, Jesse James was officially targeted twice, both throws resulting in firm, solid, non-bobbling grabs. He appeared committed to snagging and protecting the ball. His official line was 2-2 for 28 yards with a long of 22. Hell, even the Jacksonville Jaguars’ combo of ex-UCF Knight Blake Bortles and ex-Nittany Lion Allen “Gimme da Damn Ball” Robinson couldn’t top that!

James had a third pass nullified when former Penn State-to-Cal turncoat Khairi Fortt, now a Paul Posluszy understudy, hung all over him, preventing a catch, and was called for it. Jesse’s dropping the ball was excusable under the circumstances.

Furthermore, I observed James holding blocks and releasing with what seemed like excellent timing. And the icing on the cake was his perfect unassisted form tackle on Nick Marshall while doing rookie special teams duty on the kick coverage squad, earning him a perfect line in the defensive section of the box score.

Things are looking up for Jesse James. I’m hoping to see some additional positive steps from him next Sunday against the Packers. Jesse James rides again!