Quote:You said Poz was old at 32 years, but you want Reggie Nelson..
YES. Safeties can play until almost 40 when you're elite. Look at Charles Woodson, Ed Reed, etc. Reggie Nelson was elite this year with 8 INT's. Slow white 32 year old LB's is a HUGE difference. Poz is old.
There may be another intriguing CB option. In addition to cutting Mario Williams to get under the cap, I'm seeing some talk of them possibly doing the same with CB Leodis McKelvin before his $750,000 roster bonus comes due on March 11. The move would save the Bills well over $3 mil.
Quote:YES. Safeties can play until almost 40 when you're elite. Look at Charles Woodson, Ed Reed, etc. Reggie Nelson was elite this year with 8 INT's. Slow white 32 year old LB's is a HUGE difference. Poz is old.
I'll give you Charles Woodson but that's it. Ed Reed completely fell apart around age 34. He is 37 now and was TERRIBLE in Houston back in 2013.
Quote:There is plenty of reason to think Fowler will do just fine as our starting LEO this year, I understand the need to give him some help, and certainly the team can use a backup LEO behind him, but I'm not so sure we need a FA LEO in addition to drafting DEs in the 1st and 3rd rounds. It's a bit overkill for a team with so many needs.
I actually like the Malik Jackson idea because he'd fit in just fine behind Fowler. If we were to get Mario Williams or Olivier Vernon, they'd be expected to start ahead of Fowler. In the draft I can see a 3rd round DE to help give us some nice depth, but in round one we would do better with a guy like Jalen Ramsey. There's no reason to totally overlook Fowler like the guy doesn't exist.
Dave pretty much has to bring in a vet pass rusher. You can't leave your pass rush up to a rookie coming off an ACL nor do I think you could rely on another draft pick. Pass rushers have historically had a minimal impact their rookie years.
Still think your best bet is to sign a guy (Olivier Vernon) and then draft a bigger end (Bullard, J.Allen, Nassib) in the 2nd or 3rd and maybe a late round developmental guy (Alex McCalister).
Quote:YES. Safeties can play until almost 40 when you're elite. Look at Charles Woodson, Ed Reed, etc. Reggie Nelson was elite this year with 8 INT's. Slow white 32 year old LB's is a HUGE difference. Poz is old.
Charles Woodson is an exception, not the rule.
There have been very few safeties that have played at a starting level all the way until age 40.
Quote:Charles Woodson is an exception, not the rule.
There have been very few safeties that have played at a starting level all the way until age 40.
Or maybe you're BOTH right, and we should sign Nelson hoping to get 3-4 more really good years out of him. That would make him 35-36.
Quote:Or maybe you're BOTH right, and we should sign Nelson hoping to get 3-4 more really good years out of him. That would make him 35-36.
Or we could not and just draft a new one instead
I could give Myers competition.. I would call my own number and score a TD to make up for all the missed PAT's
I think Skuta flashed with some big plays. But he was playing hurt half the year. I agree adding depth to that position makes sense, but he's an upgrade from what we had at the position.
Quote:I think Skuta flashed with some big plays. But he was playing hurt half the year. I agree adding depth to that position makes sense, but he's an upgrade from what we had at the position.
IMO Skuta is a good backup but not a starter, especially in this system
Quote:Or maybe you're BOTH right, and we should sign Nelson hoping to get 3-4 more really good years out of him. That would make him 35-36.
Agreed
The Jags need a ball hawk at free safety
I want Ramsey to be our FS, not weddle.
We're stuck with what we got or we are drafting a safety.
Lol@ the guy that said Safeties play until they are almost 40...
We need to draft another DE. Pass rush is so bad. Fixing the pass rush will make our CBs better
Quote:We need to draft another DE. Pass rush is so bad
We will be.
It's all defense this year.
Mack in FA.
Quote:We're stuck with what we got or we are drafting a safety.
Why?
Are you saying the Jags cannot add a safety in FA??
Can anyone guarantee Ramsey will be available at #5??
Quote:I personally feel that these positions need to be replaced/upgraded to become a playoff team......yes we have a lot of work......in no specific order......
Problem areas
1) LT- Luke Joeckel (starting T)- $6.7 million per year- guy is terrible. Slow footwork, not very strong, he's more of a sheep personality than a bull personality you would want protecting Bortles blindside (he's soft). Jags will keep him another year and Bortles will end up with another broken thumb
2) LB- Dan Skuta (backup LB spot)- we need to upgrade depth here. 32 tackles for Skuta making $3.6 mil; lacks speed; not impressive.
3) RB- Toby Gerhart (backup RB spot)- guy is terrible. He's very slow without any moves. Below average hands. Decent blocker. Was good in Minnesota only because they have an elite O-line
4) RB- Denard Robinson (backup RB spot) - 7 fumbles in 3 years with a 4.0 ypc. Experiment should be over; nothing special.
5) DE- Chris Clemons (DE starters and backups)- 3 sacks; 34 years old. This position clearly lacks talent.
6) S- Jonathan Cyprien (starters and backups)- 78 tackles and 1 INT. I fell for the dreads and read about the hype. He's out of position and smoked often. He's not very good. He's a backup on good teams.
S- Sergio Brown (starters and backups)- 0 INTs last 4 seasons and caught out of position many times. He's not good at all.
7) CB-Dwayne Gratz/Demetrius McCray/Aaron Colvin/Nick Marshall/Peyton Thompson- Davon House played well but the Jags have the worst #2 corner position in the NFL. Jags clearly need a good #2 CB and allow Colvin to play nickel back.
8) LB- Paul Posluszny (starting LB)- I love Telvin and I love Paul but he's about to be 32 years old and he's very slow. That being said, he's a playmaker and leader. I would ONLY replace Paul and his $4.6 mil salary if we could upgrade him.
9) K- Jason Myers- Personally I feel like he will once again cost us games in 2016.
10) HC- Gus Bradley- He's terrible. Defensive guru coaches who are (12-36) and have a 31st ranked defense in YEAR 3 are not retained nor tolerated by any other franchises.
Free Agent Targets/Draft/Solutions
1) LT- Russell Okung or LT- Andre Smith are veteran options but Jags will keep JOKEel another year as a starter. Not protecting Blake Bortles blindside is a huge mistake (more sacks than ANYONE in NFL past 2 years; we need Bortles for 15 years, not 4 years).
2) OLB- Von Miller, Aldon Smith, or Bruce Irvin. If Von Miller says no because Denver he won't leave Denver, I would grab Gus's old buddy Bruce Irvin from Seattle (5.5 sacks and 28 years old).
3 and 4) RB- Many options for an upgrade; James Starks is the best backup in the game. Would be a nice veteran grab. Khiry Robinson would be nice if he's healthy. With Bortles it would be nice to get a big time receiving threat such as: Bilal Powell, Ronnie Hillman, or Chris Thompson (wash).
5) DE- We need a true #1 DE hopefully in the 1st round in the draft. I wouldn't mind taking another DE in round 3 or 4. As far as depth, I would sign an under the radar young guy like Malik Jackson (25 yrs old DENVER with 5 sacks) in the offseason for depth. 2 high draft picks and 1 backup level free agent should help this position; not much true #1 help in free agency.
6) S- Break the bank for one of Eric Weddle, Eric Berry, or Reggie Nelson. I doubt Berry would leave KC for JAX but I'm sure Weddle wants out (I heard he wants to play for a winner though). I know Reggie personally and I'm sure he would come back to Jacksonville if they make him one of the highest paid safeties in the league (Pro Bowler this year)
7) CB- Go grab Prince Amukamara (26 years old) to pair with House. Amukamara is a good #2 corner.
8) LB- I would end up keeping Posluszny 1 more year because not much in free agency. I would draft a MLB to groom as a replacement. ILB- Derrick Johnson (33 yrs old- KC) and Sean Weatherspoon (28 yrs old- ARI) should both be resigned by their playoff teams. Rolando McClain (26, Dallas) may be an option. Not much talent in free agency for ILB; need to address this through draft
9) Kicker- Mason Crosby, Brandon McManus, Josh Brown, and Justin Tucker are the top free agents. I doubt any of those teams allow those guys to get away. We need to bring in an undrafted free agent to give Myers competition.
10) We already know we are stuck with Gus for another year; maybe a lame duck candidate.
Offseason Dream:
Free Agency
1) Bruce Irvin- OLB- improves pass rush and knows Gus
2) Ronnie Hillman- RB - good backup who can also start; helps Blake out of backfield.
3) Eric Weddle- S - money talks
4) Prince Amukamara- DB- good #2 corner. Moves Colvin/Gratz to nickel
5) Malik Jackson- DE- 5.5 sacks and solid depth to pair with 2 more draft picks
Draft
Round 1 - DE
Round 2- LT
Round 3- DE
Round 4- MLB
Round 5- RT
Round 6- CB
Round 7- RB
Undrafted free agent- bring in Kicker
Agreed, I am glad they think Luke improved but I watch most games hoping that Luke's poor performance doesn't get Blake killed!
Whatever we do, we need to stop signing other teams' backups and expect them to be our starters. I love Dave's direction, but free agency has almost been like the Gene Smith smartest man in the room picks.
The rest is pretty obvious on where we have to upgrade: LT, LG, C and everyone on defense except Telvin Smith. In my opinion go for Mack and a veteran tackle in free agency along with Berry/Gipson, Jenkins/Johnson/Smith/Norman, and then see if you can land a premier pass rusher or dlineman. Obviously players like Norman and Berry have a lower chance of hitting the market.
Quote:Whatever we do, we need to stop signing other teams' backups and expect them to be our starters. I love Dave's direction, but free agency has almost been like the Gene Smith smartest man in the room picks.
Who do you mean exactly?
Parnell is a solid starter. House was never meant to be a starter. They went after McCourty for that.
Skuta may be the only qualifying candidate to fit your statement. He at least represents a mild upgrade over what we had at his position prior. Stop-gaps like him happen in FA when you can't fix everything in one offseason.
Who am I missing?