Gene's problem is that he was looking for players who he felt were reflections of himself.
Choir boy, family man, under the radar, from a small school. Gene clones.
As much experience and knowledge as he had, I have to very much disagree in hindsight.
If we were to have "autodrafted" based on a set value board (without the "Gene Clone" category skewing the ratings,) it had to have been better than Gene's draft. Even if only marginally.
Garbage in, garbage out. If you're targeting/overvaluing guys for the wrong reasons (not rating guys highest for what they do on the football field, but preferring how well they sing on Sunday), you're going to give up a more talented player on almost every, if not every, pick.
I have no issue admitting I know nothing compared to Gene. But it doesn't take a fellow GM to look at the results of his choices and see he passed up better talent on nearly every single pick.
Quote:Gene's problem is that he was looking for players who he felt were reflections of himself.
Choir boy, family man, under the radar, from a small school. Gene clones.
As much experience and knowledge as he had, I have to very much disagree in hindsight.
If we were to have "autodrafted" based on a set value board (without the "Gene Clone" category skewing the ratings,) it had to have been better than Gene's draft. Even if only marginally.
Garbage in, garbage out. If you're targeting/overvaluing guys for the wrong reasons (not rating guys highest for what they do on the football field, but preferring how well they sing on Sunday), you're going to give up a more talented player on almost every, if not every, pick.
I have no issue admitting I know nothing compared to Gene. But it doesn't take a fellow GM to look at the results of his choices and see he passed up better talent on nearly every single pick.
Well said. There was an article a few years ago just after Gene was fired that basically stated that the Jaguars were either trying to get bad or were defying astronomical odds with how bad they were in the draft.
Acl is recoverable at least, a majority of players seem to reach near 100% return to production. Achilles tears and knee microfracture/cartilage issues seem to be the most devastating for long term performance. For instance Clowney will also be a shadow of himself after having a micofracture surgery so early.
Yes, Gene was bad at managing a roster, but he truly had some awful luck with injuries. Alualu with microfracture surgery and D'anthony smith popping his achilles, each before their first nfl snap. Also, I don't think britton was ever the same after his weightlifting back injury.
I don't think gene was ready to run an NFL team regardless, but I would take out an insurance plan if I was every drafted by him.
I don't know if this has been posted in this thread already but this is a reminder or a scouting report of Fowler before last years draft
Quote:
<i>4/25/15: </i>Fowler put together an excellent Combine. He ran well with a 4.61-second time in the 40-yard dash, plus recorded one of the fastest times in the first 10 yards of any front-seven defender at 1.59 seconds. In the field drills, Fowler showed he had quick feet and athleticism. Sources say they were impressed with Fowler in the meetings and he has good leadership and character.
For the NFL, Fowler looks like he has the potential to become a double-digit sack-artist. Fowler is very fast and athletic off the edge. He beats tackles around the corner with his speed and can dart back to the inside or use a spin move. Fowler also is tough. He has some shock to his hands and uses them to shed blocks and bull rush effectively on occasion. Fowler is a versatile edge rusher who can rush standing up, putting his hand in the ground, or moving over the interior linemen. Florida moved him all over the front seven, and he was tough for offensive linemen to block.
Fowler is physical with blockers while being a violent hitter at times. Routinely, he would put quarterbacks and running backs into the turf hard while showing the ability to make some momentum-changing plays.
Fowler can get the job done in the ground game as well. He is strong and does well in pursuit, though he could use more power to shed blocks and hold his ground when runs come downhill straight at him.
Fowler racked up 60 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, one pass broken up and a forced fumble in 2014. He fought his tail off versus LSU, recording 11 tackles with a sack. Fowler also should have drawn some holding and face-mask calls going against LSU left tackle La'el Collins, but the officials were terrible. Fowler had six tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack against Kentucky. He caused a lot of havoc for Kentucky and was very impressive. Fowler nailed the quarterback for a sack and had a good game against Tennessee. He gave the Volunteers right and left tackle a lot of problems. Against Alabama, Fowler had some issues in run defense, but also forced a fumble and caused some disruption in the backfield.
<i>8/23/14: </i>Even though Florida had an awful 2013 season, Fowler was excellent for the Gators. He showed his special ability early on in the season with a sack-fumble against Tennessee left tackle Antonio Richardson. Fowler racked up 50 tackles with 10.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, one pass batted and three forced fumbles for the season. He was more disruptive and put more heat on the quarterback than the numbers indicate. Fowler also played well against good competition as a sophomore.
Fowler was a First-Team All-SEC freshman in 2012 even though he was only a rotational backup. Fowler had 30 tackles with eight tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks for the year. He was one of the top recruits in the nation and could be poised for a huge senior season.
I am looking forward to having this player on the team, assuming he comes back 100% from ACL.