At first glance, it appears to be a devastating appraisal of our FO, Caldwell in particular. It makes the case that.....well, basically it makes the case that they don't know what the hell they're doing. It's not just "bad drafts" or "bad free agency signings", but also challenges their thinking on some recent contract extensions, such as Hurns and Linder.
I'm not familiar enough with the nuances of free agency, etc to double-check his math, but he made a compelling (and, again, devastating) argument.
(08-24-2017, 12:39 PM)Billycool Jag Wrote: [ -> ]At first glance, it appears to be a devastating appraisal of our FO, Caldwell in particular. It makes the case that.....well, basically it makes the case that they don't know what the hell they're doing. It's not just "bad drafts" or "bad free agency signings", but also challenges their thinking on some recent contract extensions, such as Hurns and Linder.
I'm not familiar enough with the nuances of free agency, etc to double-check his math, but he made a compelling (and, again, devastating) argument.
Didn't read the article, as I won't support ESPN outside of a very compelling MNF game.
Having said that, this franchise has an identity crisis, and hiring Tom Coughlin was step 1 in resolving that crisis. I am not going to say that Marrone is not the guy, but if multiple head coaches get the same result, maybe the guys being drafted just aren't talented enough. I think the elephant in the room here is David Caldwell. I believe if we have another sub-5 win season, and it is sure looking to be one, Caldwell gets the boot and full reigns of the franchise are handed to 70 year old Tom Coughlin.
The Jags are paying guys because they are the best WE have, but that doesn't mean they are the best in the grand scheme of the NFL. I think the threat of losing the good pieces causes us to make questionable decisions.
The bottom line is, the game is won and lost in the trenches and that is, and has been our achilles heel for as long as I care to remember.
The whole article is based on the assumption that the team will bench Bortles for the entire season to avoid injury to avoid paying him the ill-advised 5th year option money.
Remains to be seen if that is actually the Jags' intent.
I agree that they may have been overzealous in signing the option.
I have no issues with the extensions of Hurns and Linder.
First up, the Linder contract is fine and not a problem. He's one of the best center/guards in the league. Completely worth the contract.
Inept decision making on all levels is what got us into this mess. Bradley was awful at his job, Caldwell is awful at his job. Coughlin was brought in to fix our problems and failed in his first hurdle as head honcho. I still have faith in him due to his track record but he got his evaluation on Bortles wrong, doubled down on him with the option and has now left himself in a spot where Chad Henne is starting a regular season game.
(08-24-2017, 12:54 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]First up, the Linder contract is fine and not a problem. He's one of the best center/guards in the league. Completely worth the contract.
Inept decision making on all levels is what got us into this mess. Bradley was awful at his job, Caldwell is awful at his job. Coughlin was brought in to fix our problems and failed in his first hurdle as head honcho. I still have faith in him due to his track record but he got his evaluation on Bortles wrong, doubled down on him with the option and has now left himself in a spot where Chad Henne is starting a regular season game.
I can see where you are coming from, but I am not sure TC had many options with BB5 at the point he came in.
BB5 is like the flu. You gotta let him run his course for the greater good, which I believe is Caldwell getting a pink slip.
(08-24-2017, 12:54 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]First up, the Linder contract is fine and not a problem. He's one of the best center/guards in the league. Completely worth the contract.
Inept decision making on all levels is what got us into this mess. Bradley was awful at his job, Caldwell is awful at his job. Coughlin was brought in to fix our problems and failed in his first hurdle as head honcho. I still have faith in him due to his track record but he got his evaluation on Bortles wrong, doubled down on him with the option and has now left himself in a spot where Chad Henne is starting a regular season game.
So if TC made an error in going with Bortles for this year, would a better draft have been
4. Watson or Mahomes
35 Cam Robinson
...
or
4. Fournette
35. DeShone Kizer
...
or
other
How would you have drafted differently?
I don't think he was criticizing our decision to extend Hurns and Linder, just saying that the way we went about it was totally amateur hour and we could've accomplished the same ends for probably less money, risk, etc.
Stroud, I agree with you that Shad is probably giving Caldwell this one last year to decide his fate. I'm setting the O/U at six wins. 7-9 or above and DC keeps job.....5-11 or worse, he gets fired......with 6-10 being right on the cusp and probably presenting Khan with a tough choice. Although, personally, I'd fire DC at 6-10, so maybe the O/U is truly 6.5 wins.
(08-24-2017, 12:58 PM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote: [ -> ] (08-24-2017, 12:54 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]First up, the Linder contract is fine and not a problem. He's one of the best center/guards in the league. Completely worth the contract.
Inept decision making on all levels is what got us into this mess. Bradley was awful at his job, Caldwell is awful at his job. Coughlin was brought in to fix our problems and failed in his first hurdle as head honcho...
I can see where you are coming from, but I am not sure TC had many options with BB5 at the point he came in.
BB5 is like the flu. You gotta let him run his course for the greater good, which I believe is Caldwell getting a pink slip.
You don't take a job, jump on a soapbox and scream WIN NOW repeatedly, and then let a year pass before addressing a QB problem.
Unless Bortles pulls a 180 degree turn in performance in the coming weeks, then Coughlin and the whole front office got this one wrong, and then got it wrong again with the extension.
(08-24-2017, 12:58 PM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote: [ -> ] (08-24-2017, 12:54 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]First up, the Linder contract is fine and not a problem. He's one of the best center/guards in the league. Completely worth the contract.
Inept decision making on all levels is what got us into this mess. Bradley was awful at his job, Caldwell is awful at his job. Coughlin was brought in to fix our problems and failed in his first hurdle as head honcho. I still have faith in him due to his track record but he got his evaluation on Bortles wrong, doubled down on him with the option and has now left himself in a spot where Chad Henne is starting a regular season game.
I can see where you are coming from, but I am not sure TC had many options with BB5 at the point he came in.
BB5 is like the flu. You gotta let him run his course for the greater good, which I believe is Caldwell getting a pink slip.
He certainly didn't have to double down on him with the option and not bring in any competition for him at all.
Replying to Bullseye, with the advantage of hindsight, I would gladly go back in time and take a QB (probably Mahomes, maybe in a trade-down) with the first pick, then Cam in the second (or maybe Dalvin Cook there and OL every pick thereafter).
(08-24-2017, 12:54 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]First up, the Linder contract is fine and not a problem. He's one of the best center/guards in the league. Completely worth the contract.
Inept decision making on all levels is what got us into this mess. Bradley was awful at his job, Caldwell is awful at his job. Coughlin was brought in to fix our problems and failed in his first hurdle as head honcho. I still have faith in him due to his track record but he got his evaluation on Bortles wrong, doubled down on him with the option and has now left himself in a spot where Chad Henne is starting a regular season game.
Not determined yet.
The fact that our scouting staff spent a week each with both Derek Carr and Dak Prescott and still could not identify them as successful NFL quarterbacks gives me very little hope in their ability to evaluate quarterback play.
(08-24-2017, 01:05 PM)Billycool Jag Wrote: [ -> ]Replying to Bullseye, with the advantage of hindsight, I would gladly go back in time and take a QB (probably Mahomes, maybe in a trade-down) with the first pick, then Cam in the second (or maybe Dalvin Cook there and OL every pick thereafter).
In hindsight, I can see why you would do that, but that strategy would not be without its potential downsides.
If Bortles rebounded this year, then you would have spent a first round pick on a guy who wouldn't see the field.
If Bortles did not rebound, it's possible Mahomes still doesn't make this a winning team because he's a rookie.
If you went Mahomes and Cam, maybe you fix the QB and OL, but you still don't have the running game to support them.
If you went Mahomes and Cook, neither would be productive this year because the OL would be in shambles, to say nothing of Cook's off field baggage.
Mahomes has some very intriguing physical traits, and I'm betting Andy Reid can maximize his ability. But I'm betting it won't be evident to fans until late this season at the earliest.
(08-24-2017, 01:02 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ] (08-24-2017, 12:58 PM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote: [ -> ]I can see where you are coming from, but I am not sure TC had many options with BB5 at the point he came in.
BB5 is like the flu. You gotta let him run his course for the greater good, which I believe is Caldwell getting a pink slip.
He certainly didn't have to double down on him with the option and not bring in any competition for him at all.
Agreed.
I'm ambivalent about Coughlin as some kind of great GM or EVP. Where is that coming from? He wasn't the GM in NY when they won Super Bowls. He was hit and miss in his tenure here. Now - he's a great couch, a great offensive mind, but I'd be leary of believing him to be the second coming of Ron Wolf.
(08-24-2017, 01:13 PM)Adam2012 Wrote: [ -> ] (08-24-2017, 01:02 PM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]He certainly didn't have to double down on him with the option and not bring in any competition for him at all.
Agreed.
I'm ambivalent about Coughlin as some kind of great GM or EVP. Where is that coming from? He wasn't the GM in NY when they won Super Bowls. He was hit and miss in his tenure here. Now - he's a great couch, a great offensive mind, but I'd be leary of believing him to be the second coming of Ron Wolf.
I...just...can't.
(08-24-2017, 01:12 PM)JagAU09 Wrote: [ -> ]The fact that our scouting staff spent a week each with both Derek Carr and Dak Prescott and still could not identify them as successful NFL quarterbacks gives me very little hope in their ability to evaluate quarterback play.
To be fair... 32 teams passed on Carr once... and behind a bad O-Line he could have performed poorly.
Also.. 32 teams passed on Prescott 3 times and some a 4th time...
Once again... an awesome O-Line he went to.
Maybe that is why Coughlin didn't want to pull the trigger on QB... maybe he doesn't believe our O-Line is where it needs to be.
-shrug-
(08-24-2017, 01:30 PM)Kane Wrote: [ -> ] (08-24-2017, 01:12 PM)JagAU09 Wrote: [ -> ]The fact that our scouting staff spent a week each with both Derek Carr and Dak Prescott and still could not identify them as successful NFL quarterbacks gives me very little hope in their ability to evaluate quarterback play.
To be fair... 32 teams passed on Carr once... and behind a bad O-Line he could have performed poorly.
Also.. 32 teams passed on Prescott 3 times and some a 4th time...
Once again... an awesome O-Line he went to.
Maybe that is why Coughlin didn't want to pull the trigger on QB... maybe he doesn't believe our O-Line is where it needs to be.
-shrug-
But the other 31 teams didn't have the opportunity to coach them and have them in meetings all week. We had the opportunity to see how they could learn a playbook and interact with other players behind closed doors.