Just keep posting, if no one else will read them I will.
In the past three years I have been reading and posting here I have come to a single conclusion......Many people here can not deal with the truth.
Here is an example......last spring most posters were talking about Byron Leftwich, should he or shouldn't he be the QB. One common thread amoungst posters was that David Garrard was not the answer. I remember them crying about the fact that the Jaguars did not take Brady Quinn in the draft.
Now....these very same people are talking about the fact that Garrard is the second comming of Christ.
Also I remember all the talk about how the new draft picks where going to come in and have an imediate impact and make the team a playoff team. Funny thing is most of those players never really played.
Most posters here are bandwagon posters. They agree with everything the teams does and says as though it was written in the bible. Any opinion to the contrary is viewed as comming from someone that knows nothing about football or the team.
If I always went by the teams press releases I would believe we have the Super Bowl in the bag and every player on the team is headed for the Hall of Fame.
Last years team did exactly what I expected it too. I knew Leftwich would not start a regular season game (even though I was trying to be supportive of him). I knew Garrard was going to get his chance. I knew the running game would fall short of the previous year because defensive coordinators would be more prepared for it. I also knew opponents would focus on the run and force us to pass on them. Which we did with marginal success.
There was also the question about the health of the defense and the depth on the defensive line. Both were answered ....... the defense still is plagued by the injury bug....and the depth of the defensive line is not all that good.
Here is some food for thought....
As far as getting pressure on the QB....it does not fall soley on the shoulders of the DE to do that. If there is a good push up the middle it limits the opposing teams ability to double your outside rushers. Fact is the DT is key to getting pressure on the QB. NO DE WILL EVER get pressure on the QB if he is the subject of consistant double teams. Only a rare few DE's have been able to beat double teams consistantly. Also to buy time for a pass rush to develop, since many blitzes and rush schems rely on delayed timing, the secondary needs to cover better in the earlier stages of a route. If the secondary gets beat consistantly on short routes there will never be any time for the pressure to get there. Corners that are not ture cover corners and linebackers that struggle with coverage will fall short in that area.
Question is what has JDR done to address this? Nothing....he is content with the play of the rest of the defense and is placing the pressure on the DE to take the defense to the next level. Maybe the move to get Harvey was in fact the best move based upon the limited talent level in this years draft. We will just have to wait and see how Harvey handles the position and the pressue.
As far as the offense.....Garrard is the Man (wow I said that about Garrard last year, sorry David). It is his team, he has earned that right. The running game is in good hands with MOJO, Taylor, and a good offensive line. The passisng game will not benifit from the running game. Any one that knows how it works in today's high powered offenses it is the running game that benifits from a dangerous passing game...perect examples are the Colts, Patriots, and Dallas.
The Jaguars are effective when playing with a lead, but get them behind and they struggle. Why? The passing game is NOT capable of carrying the team.
What we have with the Jaguars is a conflict of ideas......first off the Jaguars have been a team of draft and develop under JDR. Sometimes it has worked, but many other times it has failed. JDR has shyed away from taking free agent picks because of age and declining talent levels. Yet, we stop drafting WR and start taking free agents at that position. Neither Porter or Northcutt were threatening wide receivers. Yet JDR gets them to make an immediate impact at that position. Then he turns around and this year sells out the draft (that we all know was shallow) to get Harvey so he can develop to fill what is seen as the teams biggest need rather than selling out the draft to pick an impact player like Jason Taylor?
What I expect this year?
Pretty much the same as last. I see Garrard doing well but stuggling when the team finds it's self playing from behind. I see the defense struggling to stay healthy and only a marginal improvement, if any, in getting pressure on opposing QB's. The only issue is....will the Jaguars be able to make the playoffs? The early part of the season is critical. Three division games....If the Jaguars do not come off the blocks clean it will be a long season of questions and second guessing.
My hope is that I am wrong and things come together for the team, the franchise, and the City of Jacksonville and there is an AFC Championship on the horizon.
