By now most of us are over the initial (somewhat shock) of the Jags signing Toby Gerhart to be their starting RB for next season, and letting MoJo walk, as we move on into the future with the current regime. 

 

Here's the thing,...if we were all paying attention better to our own management, we might have seen this one coming before it did. 

 

Look at Caldwell's history - 

 

What team did we get him from again?...Atlanta, correct? 

 

Well, pretty much this exact scenario played out in Atlanta several years back. Atlanta was in need of a workhorse RB, as their current crop of RB's at the time were aging/ not getting the job done. How did Atlanta address their issue? By signing Michael Turner, backup RB (to LaDanian Tomlinson) on the San Diego Chargers for his first 4 years, and was productive in his limited work, but largely unknown playing behind an established star RB. 

 

Caldwell apparently took a page from that book in how we went about filling our need for the RB position this offseason with the Gerhart deal. The only real difference being slight - Gerhart is a year older than Turner was at the time of his signing, but to offset that, Gerhart got only a 3 year deal which expires at the age of 30 for Gerhart, which IMO, was a smart decision by Caldwell. 

 

Otherwise, Gerhart and Turner are pretty similar in skill and the type of runners they are. Both bigger RB who move really quick for their size. This isn't the usual plodding 240 pound RB addition, 

 

For those worried about age - Turner was able to post 1300 yard seasons at age 28 & 29 (his 3rd and 4th seasons in Atlanta and that was after totaling over 1500 yards that first season as a starter with the club. During his first 4 years as a Falcon Turner averaged 4.5 YPC, which is similar to the kind of YPC Gerhart has shown thus far as a career average. I anticipate that like the Turner example showed, Gerhart has a lot of tread left on the tires despite the age of 27, due to a reduced workload in total carries, thus far in his career. 

 

Also overlooked here - is if Gerhart does indeed play out like Turner did - the 4 MIL per year we are paying Gerhart, will suddenly look cheap, relatively speaking. 

 

Looking back, its amazing few if any of us saw this coming, given Caldwell has proven at times to follow his Atlanta script, such as his hire of Bradley which is somewhat similar to the regime in Atlanta hiring Mike Smith. 

 

I SAID THIS IN THE GERHART SIGNING THREAD. sigh.

 

But yes, for the TL;DR crowd - Gerhart = Turner (2008). 

 

Atlanta also drafted their franchise QB that year with the 3rd overall pick in the draft.

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i totally agree.....and i also think MoJo should have retired as a Jag. just MY opinion. I dont like the TG signing.....but that wont be what kills Caldwell...this draft and this #3 overall pick will make or break him. Guess we will see in 2017.

Wake up and smell the roses. He's done as a feature back. You don't keep players around cause they give fans a warm and fuzzy. Soon as TG start running for TDs, you'll be on here saying it was a good sign.

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If MJD was the same back there would of been a bidding war. He is not the same guy he was 2 years ago.

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i totally agree.....and i also think MoJo should have retired as a Jag. just MY opinion. I dont like the TG signing.....but that wont be what kills Caldwell...this draft and this #3 overall pick will make or break him. Guess we will see in 2017.

Yeah, we should just set aside the drop in production, the lack of burst, and the loss of any big play ability in order for him to retire a Jaguar. The fact that there are former Jags who moved on to other teams in the twilight of their careers like Fred Taylor, Tony Boselli, and Mark Brunell who all retired Jags should be set aside. An MJD in decline was deserving of holding on to because he was good 3 years ago.


There's a reason he got peanuts from Oakland. The tank is pretty much dry. He probably would have gotten more consideration if he maintained his conditioning, and of course if he didn't hold out with 2 years left on a contract that made him one of the highest compensated running backs in the league. He sealed his fate then, and he did nothing to change it afterward. He was injured, and he was out of shape over the past 2 years. The injury was beyond his control. Showing up fat was totally on him.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Personally, I'm from the "draft 'em, run 'em into the ground for a few years, rinse, lather, repeat" school of thought.

 

While I would have rather drafted a new RB, clearly Gerhart was the better option. Mojo's best days are about 2 seasons behind him.

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What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.







 

Yeah, we should just set aside the drop in production, the lack of burst, and the loss of any big play ability in order for him to retire a Jaguar. The fact that there are former Jags who moved on to other teams in the twilight of their careers like Fred Taylor, Tony Boselli, and Mark Brunell who all retired Jags should be set aside. An MJD in decline was deserving of holding on to because he was good 3 years ago.


There's a reason he got peanuts from Oakland. The tank is pretty much dry. He probably would have gotten more consideration if he maintained his conditioning, and of course if he didn't hold out with 2 years left on a contract that made him one of the highest compensated running backs in the league. He sealed his fate then, and he did nothing to change it afterward. He was injured, and he was out of shape over the past 2 years. The injury was beyond his control. Showing up fat was totally on him.

I dont see how the tank was dry when he played behind a poor oline and a new offensive scheme he had to learn.. All that coming off an injury shouldnt we have expected him to be a lil rusty.. Look at AP after his injury, wasnt the same.. It takes time to get bk to form time Mojo didnt have.

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AP went over 2000 after his injury so that is way off.  Learn in the NFL you don't get attached to players they are assets now.

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Regardless of how the line played and as much as I loved MOJO as a Jag, if you watched last year, he isn't the same guy.  Doesn't have the explosion he once had.  He was contemplating retirement last year, if that is not an admission that something has changed from the guy who ran with a chip on his shoulder you are living in the past.

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I dont see how the tank was dry when he played behind a poor oline and a new offensive scheme he had to learn.. All that coming off an injury shouldnt we have expected him to be a lil rusty.. Look at AP after his injury, wasnt the same.. It takes time to get bk to form time Mojo didnt have.

Hahaha you obviously know nothing if you think it took AP time to get back.

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Hahaha you obviously know nothing if you think it took AP time to get back.

Should i show you AP stats last year or do u know it?

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Should i show you AP stats last year or do u know it?

AP had a 2000+ yard season the year after tearing his ACL.

 

Last year would have been a year removed from his injury and he still rushed for over 1200 yards in 14 games and that was while he was battling a pulled groin.

 

You must be thinking of someone else. AP hasn't shown any post injury rust.

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AP had a 2000+ yard season the year after tearing his ACL.


Last year would have been a year removed from his injury and he still rushed for over 1200 yards in 14 games and that was while he was battling a pulled groin.


You must be thinking of someone else. AP hasn't shown any post injury rust.

You just proved my point !!His numbers were no where near what he would normally average even if he played all 16 he wouldnt have got 1600 yards..And this coming from the man who believe he could rush for 2500..

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Hmmmm ill take 1.2 mill Mojo ova 4 mill Gerhart all day everyday..Ijs.. and playing behind a bad o-line isnt worn down..

You have absolutely no idea of what Gerhart will bring to the field as the starting running back. No one dose at This point. He did average over 4 yards as a backup and that is not easy to do. Most backs like Gerhart get better as the game goes on and they get into a grove. One Minnesota writer mention in his story line that the Viking defensive players stated that he was the hardest running back they played against to bring down. That is one heck of a endorsement for any running back! So your post lacks any factual support except that the O-line is bad.

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You just proved my point !!His numbers were no where near what he would normally average even if he played all 16 he wouldnt have got 1600 yards..And this coming from the man who believe he could rush for 2500..

No it doesn't.

 

He isn't shaking off rust when he has a 2000+ yard season in between his injury and last season. If you believe that he was, then you have no idea what the term "shaking off rust" means.

 

Last year he wasn't recovering from his ACL injury, he was dealing with a current and completely unrelated groin injury and still gained more rushing yards than MJD's last two years combined.

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You just proved my point !!His numbers were no where near what he would normally average even if he played all 16 he wouldnt have got 1600 yards..And this coming from the man who believe he could rush for 2500..

 

You are so off here. His average of 90 yards per game was 4th best in his 7 year career. Pretty much par for the course for Peterson.

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You are so off here. His average of 90 yards per game was 4th best in his 7 year career. Pretty much par for the course for Peterson.

wow 4th best.

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I dont see how the tank was dry when he played behind a poor oline and a new offensive scheme he had to learn.. All that coming off an injury shouldnt we have expected him to be a lil rusty.. Look at AP after his injury, wasnt the same.. It takes time to get bk to form time Mojo didnt have.

So, AP going over 2k the season following the knee injury was just shaking off the rust?  As someone has pointed out, he still put up 1400 yards from scrimmage while playing with a groin injury the next season.  Peterson is a horrible comparison, especially when you look at how he busted his tail to get back into playing shape following the ACL injury.  What did MJD do?  He came back fat and out of shape.  Sorry, but MJD is as close to running on empty as it gets based on his own poor work ethic.  But hey, keep fantasizing that he'll rebound.  We can revisit this at the end of the season when he's coming off a 600 yard year shortened by another injury.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

wow 4th best.

Yup, and you compared that to MJD's all time worst season.

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wow 4th best.

Serious question. Are you on drugs?

 

AP tore his ACL towards the end of the 2011 season. He came back and didn't miss a game in 2012 and rushed for 2,097 yards. How in the world is that him shaking off the rust??

 

Also, MJD is no where near the talent AP is.

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People can't see the forest through the trees. MoJo is done. He's where Freddy T was when he went to New England. 

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