(12-31-2018, 03:23 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(12-30-2018, 10:11 PM)TJBender Wrote: [quote pid='1183506' dateline='1546219368']
BullseyeNow that we know the front office triumvirate of Coughlin Caldwell and Marrone are slated to return to try to get this team back on a winning track, it is understandable and predictable that many are upset with the decision.

Knowing your bloodlust will not be sated with their jobs this year, what steps would you take to return this team to the playoffs in 2019?

Specifically:

1.  Knowing we are picking 7th in the draft, how would you address the QB situation?  Would you go strictly with a veteran QB?  If so, who?  Would you be willing to trade for a vet?  What are you willing to give up to get him?  Would you obtain a veteran QB to be a placeholder and draft a rookie QB?  If so, which veteran and which rookie?  Do you go specifically and primarily with a rookie signal caller?  At what point in the draft do you draft a QB?  Why?  Are you willing to trade up to get him?  If so, how far up are you willing to deal, and what are you willing to give up to get him?

2.  I have argued the main thing that sabotaged the team this year was injuries, specifically to the offensive line.  NYCJags has argued (not calling him out) the team did not provide sufficient depth along the OL to withstand the carnage to the team we saw this past season.  I believe there is some merit to that argument.  What would you do to fix the OL going into next season?  Keep in mind, Parnell is likely to be gone, and Cann is a free agent.  So you must come out of this offseason with no fewer than two starting caliber OL, and that's not even considering the depth requirements.  Also be mindful of the team's salary cap situation and the need for at least one, maybe two signal callers.  How do you re-stock and upgrade the offensive line and depth?  How many draft picks do you allocate to this area?  Which players would you like to see?  What about the players not leaving but returning from injury like Cam Robinson, Norwell and Linder? 

3.  What about replacements for departing defensive players like Malik Jackson and Barry Church?  Do you allocate any picks to the defensive side of the ball?  Do you think we have sufficient depth there?

4.  What about WR and TE?  It seems like it's been forever since we've had a guy who can command a defense's attention from the Y position, and almost as long since we've had a true stud # 1 WR.   How much attention do you give those positions?  Do you put off adequately stocking those positions in the hunt for a QB and stockpiling OL depth and starters?

5.  What do you do at RB?  Do you keep or dump Fournette?  If you desire to trade him away, what is the minimum amount you would take for him in trade?  Do you replace him with Kareem Hunt or allocate a draft pick to replace him?  What about Yeldon's and Grant's replacements?

I respectfully ask for specific detailed responses to these questions.

Quote:1. If you believe that there's a QB out there who is the guy to take your team to the promised land, you do whatever it takes to get your hands on him. If we believe that Haskins is that guy, then we should not hesitate to bet the farm on him in terms of trading up as far as the top pick if we have to. If we don't think that guy is in this draft, or the guy we like most is a second or third-round prospect who needs time to grow, then we go find a guy in free agency to fill in. Maybe that's Flacco. Maybe it's Foles. Maybe Stafford gets cut and the team thinks he could be the guy long term. Maybe Kessler has some kind of epiphany in the offseason and can hold down the fort for 16 games. What we know is that we have a bad starter in Bortles, a bad backup in Kessler, and a third-stringer who didn't even sniff the field despite having two of the league's worst in front of him. That's a problem that has to be fixed.

2. The left side of the line is worth keeping. Robinson is a bit of an open question right now, but Norwell didn't play a healthy down all year, and we know Linder is money. Cann is a turnstile and should have been gone a year ago. Parnell is a guy worth keeping at the right price. Flowers wasn't terrible after settling in, but he's more backup than starter. The team absolutely did not keep enough depth. I think a couple of offensive linemen within the first four rounds wouldn't be overkill in the least. At least one early and one late. Veterans will have to play a role here, but we can't go into next season starting guys who weren't good enough to keep their jobs with the Giants again.

3. Ronnie Harrison will replace Church. I think that was a given from the second he set foot in town. Taven Bryan will be taking over Malik's spot. As long as we don't lose anyone else from the DL, I don't think we necessarily need to draft anyone there, although if the right guy pops up in the fifth round or later, why not? If we lose Dareus or Campbell, we're just screwed. I think the Myles Jack experiment at MLB was a worthwhile one, but I'm not sure it had the desired effects. This might sound nuts, but I'd actually like to see us pursue Sean Lee on a prove-it deal so we can move Jack back outside where he fits best. I could see Gipson being sent on his way, but given that he's still good, we've only got so many draft picks and so many dollars, and we have an offense that's going to need most of them, I think he stays. I'll never be opposed to the idea of grabbing a DB late in every draft, because you never know when you'll stumble across an A.J. Bouye or Tashaun Gipson, and it's not like teams don't need all the young DBs they can find to fly down the field on special teams.

4. I think we have two starting WRs in Lee and Westbrook, assuming Lee recovers nicely. Chark has potential and needs to step up next offseason. If those three pan out, I think we're actually OK at receiver. Bonus points if Cole can get his head screwed back on straight. It might not be popular to say given who our WR coach is, but I think coaching was an issue there. The mistakes being made: drops, routes, brain farts, those are all mental, and they all point to coaching. I hate to say it, but a better WR coach might be the biggest upgrade there--aside from telling Rashad Greene to get his crap out of the locker room and never come back. Blake Bell actually looked ok when he was given something to do. ASJ is still a solid target. I think a mid-round pick on a developmental TE might make sense, but I don't know that there's a ton of money to sink into that position. I think we might just have to roll with ASJ as our starter and try to find a better backup than Niles Paul in free agency.

5. I would bring Corey Grant back if at all humanly possible. That's really weird for me to say after spending the first couple years of the guy's career making fun of him for being a walking fumble, but we need his speed. This year made that very clear as we didn't have a game-breaking back, and defenses were able to play us accordingly. Fournette I'm more ambivalent on. If someone offers us a one, yeah, get rid of him. If they offer something less, I don't know. I'd probably take a two, maybe even a three and some change. In terms of talent, I think he's a solid back. In terms of attitude, I think he might as well be R. Jay Soward. He's the best back on the team, but I wouldn't consider that a good thing. I wouldn't be surprised to see a back added somewhere between rounds two and five with the immediate goal of replacing Yeldon, and the longer-term goal of replacing Fournette. I don't know if Hyde comes back, and his half-hearted effort today makes me (1.) wonder if he'll get shoved out the door for it and (2.) question why we're keeping the coach who presided over two running backs on the bench laughing all day and a third that gave zero [BLEEP]. Don't overlook Dave Williams, either. He's going to get a good, long look in camp next year.

1.  Now this "bet the farm" to get Haskins is a strong statement.  The Raiders are currently three picks ahead of us, arguably have a need at QB, and have three first round picks at their disposal.  Considering just last year it took the Jets' #6 overall 1st round pick and three second round picks to move to #3 in a QB class deemed deeper and stronger than this year's, betting the farm may not even be enough.  How do you acquire the draft capital to make a move?  Do you trade away Ramsey?  Our entire 2016 draft trio?  Throw in Bouye?

2.  If you pull off the trade for the QB, how do you use a pick in the top two rounds to get an OL?
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Guessing at how compensation for a trade will be structured is pointless until we have an idea who we're trading for and how high we're going to get him. Haskins is an example thrown out. Point being, if the Jaguars believe there's a franchise QB in this class and they anticipate that player being off the board, this is the year to go for broke. We have all but our fifth and seventh rounders this year, plus an extra three. We have all of our picks next year. We have all of our picks the year after that. If the front office is convinced that Haskins, Grier, Lock, whoever is the QB to make us all forget about Gabbortles and we're going to have to make a huge jump to get him, then now is the time to move some future draft capital into this year. If there's no QB at the top or the guy they like is a second-rounder, then take a lineman or receiver at #7 and trade back up into the end of one for the QB. If there isn't a franchise guy out there this year, don't force it. Try and get someone whose first option isn't the back of the right guard's helmet, like Foles, Fitzpatrick or Flacco, and either draft a developmental guy or plan on finding the QB in the 2020 draft.

To your second question, see the first sentence of my first reply. Until we know who's there, where they'll be and what it will take to get them, there's no point in even trying to guess.

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