7 Things From John Oehser

Written by Shane Clemons on .

7 things to keep an eye on:

"A word of warning: if you don’t like reading about quarterbacks, you’re going to get tired of reading about the Jaguars in the coming weeks – months, even. While every indication remains that the team is and should be committed to starting David Garrard coming into the season, the development of rookie first-rounder Blaine Gabbert is the primary storyline not only of training camp, but for the foreseeable future. Because of that, the early days of camp are very, very encouraging to the Jaguars. Gabbert has not looked perfect; far from it. He pulled the ball down and ran as often as not in Tuesday night’s practice, and he’d be the first one to tell you that although he is fast enough to run effectively he won’t develop into an elite-level quarterback running that much. Not to worry. He has had three padded practices in the NFL, and there are going to be more difficult practices than not early. But what Gabbert has shown early is more important. In nearly every practice, he makes at least one play – sometimes a lot more – that show signs of special things."

no comments

Search for Wide Receivers Continues

Written by Shane Clemons on .

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been searching for a true #1 receiver since Jimmy Smith retired. Sure. Mike Sims-Walker had a nice season in 2009, and Matt Jones had more potential than he could've ever used in 3 lifetimes, but no one has ever emerged as that year-in-year-out receiver. This year, the Jaguars will have a big field of receivers to choose from. How big? Just take a look at the current wide receivers on their roster:

84 Shorts, III, Cecil WR/ RS 6-0 193 23 R Mount Union
13 Binns, Armon WR 6-3 209 21 R Cincinnati
87 Dillard, Jarett WR 5-10 187 25 3 Rice
15 Ellingson, Greg WR 6-3 197 22 R Florida International
83 Hill, Jason WR 6-0 202 26 5 Washington State
18 Inman, Dontrelle WR 6-3 198 22 R Virginia
17 Matthews, John WR 6-0 200 25 2 University of San Diego
14 Newsome, Jamar WR 6-1 201 23 R Central Florida
81 Osgood, Kassim WR 6-5 220 31 9 San Diego State
80 Thomas, Mike WR 5-8 198 24 3 Arizona
19 Underwood, Tiquan WR 6-1 183 24 3

Rutgers

Wow. For those of you that are starting to count, that's 11 of them. If that doesn't give them options I'm not really sure what does. Regardless, and as always, we dive further in.

Re-visiting the Trade Market for David Garrard

Written by Shane Clemons on .

David_Garrard_2

Back in the time before I was a part of this site, Adam Stites wrote a great piece about the potential trade market for David Garrard. In that article, Stites listed the Cardinals, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Dolphins, Vikings, 49ers, Seahawks, Titans, and Redskins as teams that could potentially be interested in acquiring David Garrard. That list has narrowed considerably, and with reports coming in that Blaine Gabbert has been pretty good in training camp, I think it's as good a time as any to re-visit the unlikely possibility that David Garrard could be relieved of his position as the Jaguars' starting quarterback.

Before everyone jumps all over me about writing this, I want to reiterate that I really believe that David Garrard will be the starter on opening day, and I think he'll lead the Jaguars to the playoffs. Seriously. That being my belief, I want to be ready in-case I'm wrong. The following teams are the best possible landing places for David Garrard if he was to be traded.

Keep Expectations Reasonable

Written by Shane Clemons on .

Dawan_Landry_2

Dawan Landry is without a doubt the biggest splash the Jaguars made in free agency. He'll start right off the bat, and he's expected to improve a secondary that was bad at best in 2010. With so much improvement expected, it's easy to let our expectations get the best of us. That's something that shouldn't happen.

In all reality, the Jaguars should field an average defense in 2011, and I really think the defense this season will be much improved from last year. Derek Cox and Rashean Mathis are fairly solid corners, but the Jaguars' biggest problem in the secondary had nothing to do with those two players. The Jaguars failed to field solid defenders deep, and that hurt the entire defense.

Colt Killers 2.0

Written by John McGrath on .

COLT KILERS 2.0

 

                    Okay, Okay.....So my wish list of free agents that I hoped the Jaguars would sign in free agency didn't happen (except for getting Clint Session from Indy).  And just for the record, I still think they should have tried to sign CB AntonioCromartie.  Not to say that Drew Coleman can't become a very solid CB for the Jags. He does have pretty good stats.  I think that Posluszny and Rudd are basically the same type of linebacker, Rudd is just faster.  We'll all find out quickly which is better seeing as how Rudd signed with the Titans.  I really like that the Jags signed Spitz away from Green Bay.  He should start right away and can play center or guard.  This is especially important now that BIG Vinny has been released. Hopefully he can get healthy and resign for less money.

Jaguars One Big Winner in Free Agency

Written by Shane Clemons on .

MJD of Yahoo Sports:

"It didn't take a general managing prodigy to figure out that the Jaguars needed help on defense. They gave up 250 passing yards per game last year, and let opposing quarterbacks post a 98.5 QB rating against them. Only the Texans were worse. They also gave up 4.7 yards per carry on the ground, and 122 rushing yards per game. So while identifying the deficiency wasn't difficult, credit them for addressing it thoroughly: Paul Posluszny(notes) and Clint Session(notes) at linebacker, and Dawan Landry(notes) at safety. They missed out on Eric Weddle(notes), but can live with it because they'd have had to overpay to get him."

Let the Safety Debate Begin

Written by Shane Clemons on .

Dawan_Landry

Dawan Landry's signing has been, probably, the biggest event for the Jaguars since Blaine Gabbert was drafted back in April. There's a debate that's beginning to take shape, however. Dawan Landry played strong safety while he was with the Ravens, but it's possible that he could be asked to play free safety this season.

It's been well documented that the Jaguars' safety situation last season, for lack of a better term, sucked. Landry will step in and start from day one. Courtney Greene, who I thought really started to come around late in the season, will have to fight for a starting spot, especially if Landry plays the position he's used to at SS.