That is such a hilarious statement.
Systematic. So the system is the problem?
The system employed by the OL coach that's still here? Under the OC that's still here who is an extension of our HC?

Cool cool...

The run blocking scheme was a pipe dream of ZBS bells and whistles that our players simply couldn't execute and the small component of power gap plays was also impossible due to the lack of size and strength.

If Doug asked him for those super athletic/finesse traits in his OL and he gave him what he wanted - they have to look at the failure as a systematic issue.

That's why he harped on getting bigger and stronger in the trenches. He ha likely already had this talk with Doug.
"We tried it with your ballerina types up front - it didn't work - let's get back to adding some bullies up front" 

He's also referring to the groups inability to ever gain enough cohesion due to the constant musical chairs at LG and LT.

This is kind of a weird take, the only lineman that Baalke brought in the past 2 offseasons was drafting Fortner (who truthfully just looks like a mid-round miss) and then Harrison; neither of whom look anything like a "ballerina type" to me.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Why move Anton to LT?

That mean we’re offish giving up on Little? And is Cam out?

Great… now we need FOUR new OL - LG C RG RT allll need replacements

I assume little is right tackle

---

https://twitter.com/HashTaguars/status/1...40507?s=20

I don't like the comparison. 

If you choose to believe something completely opposite to the words that came out of Baalke's mouth today - that's fine. It's become the norm these days. He may be offering up Sunday school answers fro all I know. I'm gonna take his words at face value as much as I can until I'm shown something believable to alter that perspective. 

But I think Jim Harbaugh is a looney-tune personality compared to Doug Pederson.

I think Doug Pederson is being given a wide berth of operational influence by the oiwnership in Jax. 
Perhaps more than Harbaugh was given in SF at that time. 

I don't think Shad Khan is allowing Baalke to exert undue stress on Doug's intended process when/if Doug comes to ownership and says "Hey, I need to deal with this issue my way and Trent disagrees." 

Based on everything I've observed and heard from Khan since the fallout of Meyer's tenure - he seems committed to the guy with the Super Bowl ring and letting him cook. 

And here's the clincher  - I think Doug knows damn well that he himself played a big role in overthinking the run scheme in 2023 and he shouldn't have doubled down on it after 2022. It hurt the line and it crippled the offense because he over pursued traits up front. That last bit is my own speculation and opinion. Maybe it didn't go down that way - but that is my impression. 

Baalke may be a jerk for making references to coaching and development issues, but he's not wrong IMO.

---

My take-aways from this press conference:

1. Looks like Josh Allen will be tagged. I don't like that and hope it doesn't happen. The guy earned a great contract and his teammates need to see that they will also be rewarded for this in the future.

2. He clearly is not thrilled with the development of Trevor Lawrence. If the best thing you can say is " he is learning " that speaks volumes.

3. His basic failure to not take responsibility for things like the Fortner draft pick is not surprising based on his track record on such things. It sure would have been nice to hear him say something like, " In hindsight, I could have done a better job with the draft last season." What's so terrible about taking some accountability? When the closest thing he says to that is, We need to get bigger and stronger," it does not inspire confidence in our fans that things will get better.

4. Following the press conference, the vast majority of local media and fans felt the number one takeaway was that Baalke was primarily blaming the coaching staff for the coolapse last season. Why would Doug Pederson not take this the same way and how will this effect their relationship moving forward? Pederson and his staff did not have a great year and some of this was due to their own mistakes ( play calling, poor schemes, not always playing the best players at a position, etc.). Despite these facts, Baalke's public criticism of the DEVELOPMENT of some players points the finger directly at Pederson and his coaching staff. Maybe the two can co-exist this season, but my guess is that Pederson's feelings about the G.M. can't be a good thing when they have to decide together on who to let go in the off-season, which free agents to sign and whom to priotize in the draft. Its' obviously very difficult to win consistently in the NFL under the best of circumstances, but when your GM and coach don't see eye to eye or have mutual respect it becomes almost impossible.

---

Well, I like that they seem to realize it’s a problem
That needs to be fixed. I mean, it would be hard not to notice the lack of run blocking, but still.

---

I don’t think Allen will be tagged. I don’t think they let it get to that. He is just saying they aren’t letting their best defensive player go. Tag would be last resort.

---

https://twitter.com/HashTaguars/status/1...40507?s=20

I don't like the comparison. 

If you choose to believe something completely opposite to the words that came out of Baalke's mouth today - that's fine. It's become the norm these days. He may be offering up Sunday school answers fro all I know. I'm gonna take his words at face value as much as I can until I'm shown something believable to alter that perspective. 

But I think Jim Harbaugh is a looney-tune personality compared to Doug Pederson.

I think Doug Pederson is being given a wide berth of operational influence by the oiwnership in Jax. 
Perhaps more than Harbaugh was given in SF at that time. 

I don't think Shad Khan is allowing Baalke to exert undue stress on Doug's intended process when/if Doug comes to ownership and says "Hey, I need to deal with this issue my way and Trent disagrees." 

Based on everything I've observed and heard from Khan since the fallout of Meyer's tenure - he seems committed to the guy with the Super Bowl ring and letting him cook. 

And here's the clincher  - I think Doug knows damn well that he himself played a big role in overthinking the run scheme in 2023 and he shouldn't have doubled down on it after 2022. It hurt the line and it crippled the offense because he over pursued traits up front. That last bit is my own speculation and opinion. Maybe it didn't go down that way - but that is my impression. 

Baalke may be a jerk for making references to coaching and development issues, but he's not wrong IMO.

So during his time in SF, people speculated that his relationship with Jim was falling apart. He gives that answer listed above which is very very close to the answer he gave when people questioned him and Doug.

How is it a bad comparison when it involved the same person? Because Harbaugh is crazy? Sure seems like Harbaugh has had MUCH better success since they split so who really is the crazy one?

You can take Baalke at his word but the dude is a notorious snake.

---

The run blocking scheme was a pipe dream of ZBS bells and whistles that our players simply couldn't execute and the small component of power gap plays was also impossible due to the lack of size and strength.

If Doug asked him for those super athletic/finesse traits in his OL and he gave him what he wanted - they have to look at the failure as a systematic issue.

That's why he harped on getting bigger and stronger in the trenches. He ha likely already had this talk with Doug.
"We tried it with your ballerina types up front - it didn't work - let's get back to adding some bullies up front" 

He's also referring to the groups inability to ever gain enough cohesion due to the constant musical chairs at LG and LT.

This is kind of a weird take, the only lineman that Baalke brought in the past 2 offseasons was drafting Fortner (who truthfully just looks like a mid-round miss) and then Harrison; neither of whom look anything like a "ballerina type" to me.

Fortner is much lighter than the average NFL center and I've watched our braintrust pass on OL players in the draft who weigh 330-350 pounds who turned out better than the picks we selected while they were available. I am speculating we passed on those guys not just because our positional value selection is wacky, but because they did not meet a parameter of measurables Doug wanted to play in his run scheme. 

I may be completely full of [BLEEP]. But this ^ is what I think happened. 


Fortner weighed 304 at the combine and had a noticeably thin "trunk" compared to the position's typical prototype. Doug went on and on and on about his athletic ability post draft - and said it again going into year two. 

Harisson looks like a stud but is also below average weight for a tackle. Looks like he has a frame to grow on though. We'll see. 

Scherff is bigger - but was acquired before Pederson's scheme. Little was a bit light for the spot coming out but expected to put on weight and also praised for ultra athletic traits. 

I don't want to see quality linemen passed over in the draft or FA because they weigh 335 pounds and ran the shuttle drill .3 seconds too slow to meet the measurables Doug wants for a scheme. That's the point I'm driving at - even if my speculation on it turns out to be bull [BLEEP].

---

I'd fire him after that abomination of a press conference.

If you didn't think there was tension between Baalke and Doug before, it's pretty clear now.

That dude sucks.

He is always deflecting too, dude has 0 accountability or ownership of that dog [BLEEP] roster he put together. There are pieces, no cap, but the depth on this team and some position groups are sub NFL standard, it's atrocious. I hate that weasel and hope he gets canned sooner than later.

---

I don't like the comparison. 

If you choose to believe something completely opposite to the words that came out of Baalke's mouth today - that's fine. It's become the norm these days. He may be offering up Sunday school answers fro all I know. I'm gonna take his words at face value as much as I can until I'm shown something believable to alter that perspective. 

But I think Jim Harbaugh is a looney-tune personality compared to Doug Pederson.

I think Doug Pederson is being given a wide berth of operational influence by the oiwnership in Jax. 
Perhaps more than Harbaugh was given in SF at that time. 

I don't think Shad Khan is allowing Baalke to exert undue stress on Doug's intended process when/if Doug comes to ownership and says "Hey, I need to deal with this issue my way and Trent disagrees." 

Based on everything I've observed and heard from Khan since the fallout of Meyer's tenure - he seems committed to the guy with the Super Bowl ring and letting him cook. 

And here's the clincher  - I think Doug knows damn well that he himself played a big role in overthinking the run scheme in 2023 and he shouldn't have doubled down on it after 2022. It hurt the line and it crippled the offense because he over pursued traits up front. That last bit is my own speculation and opinion. Maybe it didn't go down that way - but that is my impression. 

Baalke may be a jerk for making references to coaching and development issues, but he's not wrong IMO.

So during his time in SF, people speculated that his relationship with Jim was falling apart. He gives that answer listed above which is very very close to the answer he gave when people questioned him and Doug.

How is it a bad comparison when it involved the same person? Because Harbaugh is crazy? Sure seems like Harbaugh has had MUCH better success since they split so who really is the crazy one?

You can take Baalke at his word but the dude is a notorious snake.

Maybe Baalke glossed over his issues with Harbaugh and is doing the same exact thing now, or maybe this situation has a totally different dynamic. 

Couldn't tell you with real certainty.

But I'd wager that Trent knows that Doug is going to get deference over him from ownership  - and that makes this a much smaller issue in Jacksonville as long as this GM and HC are asked to work together.

---

This is kind of a weird take, the only lineman that Baalke brought in the past 2 offseasons was drafting Fortner (who truthfully just looks like a mid-round miss) and then Harrison; neither of whom look anything like a "ballerina type" to me.

Fortner is much lighter than the average NFL center and I've watched our braintrust pass on OL players in the draft who weigh 330-350 pounds who turned out better than the picks we selected while they were available. I am speculating we passed on those guys not just because our positional value selection is wacky, but because they did not meet a parameter of measurables Doug wanted to play in his run scheme. 

I may be completely full of [BLEEP]. But this ^ is what I think happened. 


Fortner weighed 304 at the combine and had a noticeably thin "trunk" compared to the position's typical prototype. Doug went on and on and on about his athletic ability post draft - and said it again going into year two. 

Harisson looks like a stud but is also below average weight for a tackle. Looks like he has a frame to grow on though. We'll see. 

Scherff is bigger - but was acquired before Pederson's scheme. Little was a bit light for the spot coming out but expected to put on weight and also praised for ultra athletic traits. 

I don't want to see quality linemen passed over in the draft of FA because they weigh 335 pounds and ran the shuttle drill .3 seconds too slow to meet the measurables Doug wants for a scheme. That's the point I'm driving at - even if my speculation on it turns out to be bull [BLEEP].

Fortner is 6'4', just over the average height of all starting centers this year and at the Combine he was 307, the average center this year being 308. He's not small by any stretch. Having said that, the guy I would push to sign in March is Jon Feliciano who goes 6'2" but 327 lbs.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Guys, it's just coach speak.  He's not trying to ruin Fortners confidence.

!. He's not a coach.
2. Do you really think that GM is going to run up there and say, "Yeah, we know Fortner just hasn't developed like we want so we're going to move on from a guy that I picked and we have on a rookie deal for 2 more years."?

You have some really odd takes that highlight your lack of understanding, but this one ranks right near the top.

1. You don't have to be a coach for coach speak.  He's the GM, he can blow the same coach speak up ones [BLEEP] as Doug can .


2. He just said we need to get stronger and bigger in the trenches?  Would a GM really call out the guys on the interior like Baalke just did?  He absolutely just did.  You don't think he hurt our players confidence on the interior from that comment in the presser do you?  I know you are shocked beyond disbelief right now.  

Use your little head.  You can say areas of the team or positions needs to improve and get better without bashing a player.  It doesn't surprise me you are the one I have to explain this to.  With that said, I'm sure you believe everything you just heard.  I believe nothing these GMs say during draft season.

---

Tough crowd.

---

!. He's not a coach.
2. Do you really think that GM is going to run up there and say, "Yeah, we know Fortner just hasn't developed like we want so we're going to move on from a guy that I picked and we have on a rookie deal for 2 more years."?

You have some really odd takes that highlight your lack of understanding, but this one ranks right near the top.

1. You don't have to be a coach for coach speak.  He's the GM, he can blow the same coach speak up ones [BLEEP] as Doug can .


2. He just said we need to get stronger and bigger in the trenches?  Would a GM really call out the guys on the interior like Baalke just did?  He absolutely just did.  You don't think he hurt our players confidence on the interior from that comment in the presser do you?  I know you are shocked beyond disbelief right now.  

Use your little head.  You can say areas of the team or positions needs to improve and get better without bashing a player.  It doesn't surprise me you are the one I have to explain this to.  With that said, I'm sure you believe everything you just heard.  I believe nothing these GMs say during draft season.

Lol, you believe everything they say, it's why you keep making such outlandish posts about it. You keep expecting him to name names and neither one of them are going to do that.

---

Tough crowd.

Dumb gonna dumb.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Fortner is much lighter than the average NFL center and I've watched our braintrust pass on OL players in the draft who weigh 330-350 pounds who turned out better than the picks we selected while they were available. I am speculating we passed on those guys not just because our positional value selection is wacky, but because they did not meet a parameter of measurables Doug wanted to play in his run scheme. 

I may be completely full of [BLEEP]. But this ^ is what I think happened. 


Fortner weighed 304 at the combine and had a noticeably thin "trunk" compared to the position's typical prototype. Doug went on and on and on about his athletic ability post draft - and said it again going into year two. 

Harisson looks like a stud but is also below average weight for a tackle. Looks like he has a frame to grow on though. We'll see. 

Scherff is bigger - but was acquired before Pederson's scheme. Little was a bit light for the spot coming out but expected to put on weight and also praised for ultra athletic traits. 

I don't want to see quality linemen passed over in the draft of FA because they weigh 335 pounds and ran the shuttle drill .3 seconds too slow to meet the measurables Doug wants for a scheme. That's the point I'm driving at - even if my speculation on it turns out to be bull [BLEEP].

Fortner is 6'4', just over the average height of all starting centers this year and at the Combine he was 307, the average center this year being 308. He's not small by any stretch. Having said that, the guy I would push to sign in March is Jon Feliciano who goes 6'2" but 327 lbs.

The NFL has 100 offensive linemen that weigh between 310-319 pounds
The NFL has 105 NFL offensive linemen that weigh 320 or more

The NFL has 83 linemen that weigh between 300-310 pounds

I don't want to be aiming to add to that final group listed. I want prototypical size and strength and I want the super athletic traits to take a back seat.

---

I watched the first half of his press conference and didn't hear anything notable. You guys that want him fired because he did or did not say something are being ridiculous.

---

Why move Anton to LT?

That mean we’re offish giving up on Little? And is Cam out?

Great… now we need FOUR new OL - LG C RG RT allll need replacements

Harrison is a LT. We likely draft a RT at 17.  That's been my thought all along with how deep this draft is at RT

---

I'd fire him after that abomination of a press conference.

If you didn't think there was tension between Baalke and Doug before, it's pretty clear now.

That dude sucks.

He is always deflecting too, dude has 0 accountability or ownership of that dog [BLEEP] roster he put together. There are pieces, no cap, but the depth on this team and some position groups are sub NFL standard, it's atrocious. I hate that weasel and hope he gets canned sooner than later.

Part of the second answer he gave in the presser (about bringing back 20 of 22 starters and staying the course) was "...and that's on me too, Look no further than right here." 
Then later he said "this team needs to be managed better"

I mean - I heard the deflections too - but let's not pretend he didn't take some accountability as well.

---

My take-aways from this press conference:

1. Looks like Josh Allen will be tagged. I don't like that and hope it doesn't happen. The guy earned a great contract and his teammates need to see that they will also be rewarded for this in the future.

2. He clearly is not thrilled with the development of Trevor Lawrence. If the best thing you can say is " he is learning " that speaks volumes.

3. His basic failure to not take responsibility for things like the Fortner draft pick is not surprising based on his track record on such things. It sure would have been nice to hear him say something like, " In hindsight, I could have done a better job with the draft last season." What's so terrible about taking some accountability? When the closest thing he says to that is, We need to get bigger and stronger," it does not inspire confidence in our fans that things will get better.

4. Following the press conference, the vast majority of local media and fans felt the number one takeaway was that Baalke was primarily blaming the coaching staff for the coolapse last season. Why would Doug Pederson not take this the same way and how will this effect their relationship moving forward? Pederson and his staff did not have a great year and some of this was due to their own mistakes ( play calling, poor schemes, not always playing the best players at a position, etc.). Despite these facts, Baalke's public criticism of the DEVELOPMENT of some players points the finger directly at Pederson and his coaching staff. Maybe the two can co-exist this season, but my guess is that Pederson's feelings about the G.M. can't be a good thing when they have to decide together on who to let go in the off-season, which free agents to sign and whom to priotize in the draft. Its' obviously very difficult to win consistently in the NFL under the best of circumstances, but when your GM and coach don't see eye to eye or have mutual respect it becomes almost impossible.

1. Tagging someone is procedural at this stage. They will have months to reach an agreement. If it's not done near when the other tagged players have been signed then it's time to get worried 
2. I agree, but I'm of course not as positive as most here. I seem to be closer to the GM than to fans here. 
3. Agree
4. There has been gossip about a power struggle and this, IMO, confirms it. How bad it is is difficult to say but also IMO it's normal that people will try to deflect blame after a collapse like ours.

---

Why move Anton to LT?

That mean we’re offish giving up on Little? And is Cam out?

Great… now we need FOUR new OL - LG C RG RT allll need replacements

Harrison is a LT.  We likely draft a RT at 17.  That's been my thought all along with how deep this draft is at RT

Absolutely, 
and I have thought the whole season that they're moving Little around because they're not as high on him as most people thought. He was the odd guy out. Even more clear: i think they drafted Harrison knowing well that Cam had just one more year.

---

I watched the first half of his press conference and didn't hear anything notable.  You guys that want him fired because he did or did not say something are being ridiculous.

I don't think the press conference caused anyone to feel that way.  You're seeing the reaction of people that wanted him fired 2 years ago and are looking for anything to add fuel to that fire.

Press conferences are generally an art form in using a bunch of words to say as little as possible.  Expectations to the contrary and definitive conclusions drawn from anything said are probably unwise.  Take it at face value and wait to see the results of free agency, the draft and the early part of next season, then let's revisit the power structure if need be.

---

Fortner is 6'4', just over the average height of all starting centers this year and at the Combine he was 307, the average center this year being 308. He's not small by any stretch. Having said that, the guy I would push to sign in March is Jon Feliciano who goes 6'2" but 327 lbs.

The NFL has 100 offensive linemen that weigh between 310-319 pounds
The NFL has 105 NFL offensive linemen that weigh 320 or more

The NFL has 83 linemen that weigh between 300-310 pounds

I don't want to be aiming to add to that final group listed. I want prototypical size and strength and I want the super athletic traits to take a back seat.

For centers, the only position Fortner plays, he's the median size. Of those 83 players between 300-310, 20 of them are starting centers. The position is clearly about more than weight, but size isn't Fortner's issue; it's strength.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato