Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

Quote:This a make or bake year.... Definely for a former first rounder...

Make or bake?! Maybe he should call Josh Gordon!

Quote:This a make or bake year.... Definely for a former first rounder...

Welcome back, jags_r_bake

Quote:This a make or bake year.... Definely for a former first rounder...

 

I'm putting my money on "bake" as far as living up to the #2 pick in the draft status goes, and I'm not 100% sure what "bake" means here, but still putting my money down on it.

Quote:If he's able to pack on some good weight while improving his upper body strength I think he has a chance to validate that 2nd overall selection. Luke's technique and athleticism are great, he simply lacks the strength required to stop an effective bull/power rush. Due to his lack of strength it puts him in a spot where he has to quickly anchor (cheat) to compensate for his lack of strength to protect against the bull, because he's always thinking "bull rush" it naturally puts him at a disadvantage against the speed rush, anchor to quickly and get beat by speed or don't anchor soon enough and get beat by strength, pick your poison. The added weight and strength should give him physical traits/abilities required to play the LT position at a high level, he'll be confident enough to know his strength/athleticism/technique should negate both the power & speed rush.

I'd love for that to be the Case. Sounds like he is putting the work in. I think this is the year to show us if he was worth the pick.

Quote:He hasn't, but there's definitely some justification for why that's the case. Let's see what he does this year before we reach a verdict.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel, but up to this point his play is what it is. All we can hope for is that he takes a big leap forward this year.

Year 3 is a good indicator of a player. If they don't have it by year 3, they don't usually get it. 

 

There have been plenty of linemen who struggled their first year or two and it came together. Tyron Smith and Duane Brown come to mind.

 

I am really hoping that gaining muscle plus getting coached by Marrone will help him turn the corner.

Joeckel will be fiiiine. I'm more worried about how long we plan on paying Zane Beadles 6 mill per year, for basically rookie levels of awareness and on-field confidence.

Quote:Joeckel will be fiiiine. I'm more worried about how long we plan on paying Zane Beadles 6 mill per year, for basically rookie levels of awareness and on-field confidence.

Wow, awareness and on-field confidence; haven't heard that one before.


Beadles sucked in the beginning and got better as the year went on. Might as well see what he can do in year 2 with the team.

Quote:Bowanko also needs to be close to 320 IMO. He's so tall and lanky, adding a good 20 lbs for him shouldn't be that big of a deal.


I think our smallest Offensive Lineman will be Zane Beadles by a lot.

Bowankos mobility and run blocking at the second level is one off his greatest assets and a reason he was drafted for a zone scheme

that much weight will stifle that

he needs to add a little but not that much


As for joeckel meh everyone is apparently improving into an all pro this time of year


Regardless of his weight he needs to step up alot this year to justify a place in the starting 11

Quote:Bowankos mobility and run blocking at the second level is one off his greatest assets and a reason he was drafted for a zone scheme

that much weight will stifle that

he needs to add a little but not that much


As for joeckel meh everyone is apparently improving into an all pro this time of year


Regardless of his weight he needs to step up alot this year to justify a place in the starting 11

Adding weight won't stifle him. In fact, he's already adding weight (said so himself on a radio interview a couple of days ago).

It doesn't matter how athletic you are if you can't handle a bull rush because you're a 6'6" and only 300lbs.

Quote:Bowankos mobility and run blocking at the second level is one off his greatest assets and a reason he was drafted for a zone scheme

that much weight will stifle that

he needs to add a little but not that much


As for joeckel meh everyone is apparently improving into an all pro this time of year


Regardless of his weight he needs to step up alot this year to justify a place in the starting 11

 

Agree on Bowanko. 

 

On Joeckel - yes - it's easy to project improvement at this time of year.  But there's a reason he was a consensus top 5 pick in the draft for nearly every draftnik.  I'd be pretty surprised if he doesn't step up to an above-average level should he stay healthy.  Not expecting all-pro or anything of the sort -  but something slightly better than "solid."   Not so sure why that's unreasonable to so many in this thread. 

Quote:Agree on Bowanko. 

 

On Joeckel - yes - it's easy to project improvement at this time of year.  But there's a reason he was a consensus top 5 pick in the draft for nearly every draftnik.  I'd be pretty surprised if he doesn't step up to an above-average level should he stay healthy.  Not expecting all-pro or anything of the sort -  but something slightly better than "solid."   Not so sure why that's unreasonable to so many in this thread. 

Because when you are a high draft pick, certain fans think you should immediately be the Aaron Rodgers of your position. Most don't realize that it takes a couple of years to adjust to the NFL, which is beyond dumb.

It's because we are fans of the jaguars. From our perspective, all our top picks are developmental, while others teams get their top picks to be huge successes right from jump. It's the nature of being a die hard. Your perspective is a bit skewed.


LJ is a prime example of this. I want to be patient with him and see how this year pays out. I'm hoping he's gonna light the world on fire.


But from our past decade of pain, there's a side of me that fears he's gonna wind up in the Alualu trash bin of "what could have been" draft picks.

Quote:Adding weight won't stifle him. In fact, he's already adding weight (said so himself on a radio interview a couple of days ago).

It doesn't matter how athletic you are if you can't handle a bull rush because you're a 6'6" and only 300lbs.

@nyc jag: i expect him to improve too and at the time i thought he was the best tackle in the draft so it was as good a pick as we could get in a poor draft. I also agree the first year injury set him back alot. I'm just not getting giddy about these reports til i see it on the field. He has along way to go before coming close to justifying his draft pick.

 

to the above:  thats just wrong, you add 20 pounds to anyone they get slower

as i said he needs to add weight but not 20 pounds. You don't need to be 320 pounds to handle a bull rush

3 top centres in the nfl

alex mack 310

rodney hudson 299

max unger 305

 

for a move centre 320 is just unrealistic and impractical

bowanko had two really tough games, san diego and baltimore

 

corey liguet did him in with technique early in his career, timmy jernigan was just physically stronger and being shorter had better leverage while bowanko learns to use his bulk which is to be expected for a second round pix compared to a sixth.

 

Years in the nfl will close both those gaps. I'm not sure if he will ever be a top 15 starter in the nfl but he is certainly a solid enough centre which makes him another late round success for caldwell.

Luke pretty much has to be considered "very good" next season for him to even come close to being justified as a top 2 pick of a draft.


Even if he can be considered "average" next year, it's time to find his replacement.

Quote: 

to the above:  thats just wrong, you add 20 pounds to anyone they get slower

as i said he needs to add weight but not 20 pounds. You don't need to be 320 pounds to handle a bull rush

3 top centres in the nfl

alex mack 310

rodney hudson 299

max unger 305

 

for a move centre 320 is just unrealistic and impractical

 

That's just wrong?  Why, because you say so?  

 

Bowanko himself said, when asked what he's doing this offseason, that he is in the weight-room every day working on getting stronger and making it a priority to eat a lot more.

 

He is trying to get bigger and stronger.

Whoops, he should've talked to you first I guess.

 

 

He's like 6'6" and lanky.  Adding 15-20 lbs isn't going to make him slow if he does it gradually.  Add 10 lbs this year, play at 310, and in a year or two slowly build up to 320.  It's not like he's going to be sitting on his couch eating McDonalds and go from 300 to 320 in one off-season.

Quote:That's just wrong? Why, because you say so?


Bowanko himself said, when asked what he's doing this offseason, that he is in the weight-room every day working on getting stronger and making it a priority to eat a lot more.


He is trying to get bigger and stronger.

Whoops, he should've talked to you first I guess.



He's like 6'6" and lanky. Adding 15-20 lbs isn't going to make him slow if he does it gradually. Add 10 lbs this year, play at 310, and in a year or two slowly build up to 320. It's not like he's going to be sitting on his couch eating McDonalds and go from 300 to 320 in one off-season.

dude I was the first person he called and I told him 310 was fine and not to listen to you


what you've conveniently ignored is I've never said he didn't need to gain weight


He does but 320 is huge for a centre particularly in a zbs where movement is key


Why are you wrong well simple physics tells you more mass needs more power to move it so when the laws of the entire freaking universe are against you it's a pretty sure sign your on the wrong track



Not to mention weight gain doesn't evenly distribute across your entire body when your in taking as many calories as lineman are they can work all day and a good amount of it still deposits round the middle and that is difficult to shift


I'll happily wager pretty much anything not financially crippling bowanko never weighs in on game day above 315

Luke certainly looks big in this picture from the concert tonight. 

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCXCWO0WEAI2jQW.jpg:large

Quote:Luke certainly looks big in this picture from the concert tonight.

<a class="bbc_url" href='https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCXCWO0WEAI2jQW.jpg:large'>https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCXCWO0WEAI2jQW.jpg:large</a>

Not really. He is chillen with a center, Qb, long snapper, and a random. He looks the same. IMHO

Quote:Luke certainly looks big in this picture from the concert tonight.

<a class="bbc_url" href='https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCXCWO0WEAI2jQW.jpg:large'>https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCXCWO0WEAI2jQW.jpg:large</a>

And Tinker looks small