(01-02-2019, 07:11 PM)FBT 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.

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Quote:[quote pid='1184589' dateline='1546470661']

1. I'm a proponent of signing a veteran QB to serve as a placeholder, and then draft the guy you see as your long-term solution.  If the team sees a QB in this draft that they feel can be their guy, you get him at 7.  Waiting hoping he's there in the 2nd round is not a strategy that normally lands you the guy you want.  I don't see the team trading for a veteran.  I could see them grabbing a guy like Tyrod Taylor who is all too familiar with placeholder status, although I'm not sure how affordable his contract would be.  He's still playing under the contract he signed in Buffalo, and I don't think he's going to get anything close to that when he hits the street as a UFA.
   
2. I agree that injuries along the OL absolutely hamstrung this team.  It's tough to have depth that goes 3 or 4 guys deep at a position.  We saw the entire left side of our line decimated by injuries, going 3 or even 4 deep at times.  You can't dismiss that by saying the team should have done a better job at building depth.  No team is going to have a bench that deep at OL positions.  I think you're probably looking at 2 or maybe 3 new starters on the line.  Robinson wasn't exactly playing at a high level before the injury, and while ACL injuries are not as debilitating as they were years ago for linemen, it's still a tough challenge to get back fully from that.  The team may need to explore their options there.  I don't seen Parnell back, and as thin as the entire league is for OL depth, Cann is going to get paid more to play elsewhere.  We drafted Parnell's replacement in Richardson.  He'll need to get that knee issue in the rearview, so we may only have to fill one or maybe 2 spots on the line depending on Robinson's progress.  I do think that if your'e going to rebuild the line through the draft, the old Coughlin approach of getting corn fed horses with a bit of nastiness is the best option.  If you think about some of the best lines we've had over the years, most of them included guys Coughlin drafted or signed early on the life of the franchise.  These are the kind of guys this team needs to add for depth.  Don't care where you find them.  Find the big nasties.  
   
3. I think we're going to have to rely on depth there.  I can see them supplement depth with late round picks, but I expect to see the Jags put a pretty heavy emphasis on the offense in this draft, so any defensive additions are going to be guys fighting for special team time.  
   
4. Get your QB and the receivers will rise to the occasion.  I think that with Lee coming back from injury, and young guys like Westbrook and Chark, we should be able to move forward with that group.  I do have some concerns about the TE position because the team is hurting there right now.  That may be an area that we look at doing something in the draft if we can land a guy who fits with whatever the new offensive scheme will be.
   
5. Yes.  You keep Fournette until he proves he's a wasted pick.  I think pulling his guaranteed money will most likely motivate him to step up his game.  At least I hope so.  Trading him seems a little premature at this point.  With proper motivation, and perhaps some mentoring by someone like Fred Taylor, he can turn the corner.  But, if we're trading him, I the best we could anticipate is maybe a 3rd or 4th...maybe?  This team won't even sniff in Hunt's direction.  Not with Tom Coughlin at the helm.  They'll look for options in the draft, or even rookie free agency.  Guys can be found who can contribute.  With the cap situation what it is right now, they're not going to take on any more big contracts, especially at RB. 
   

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1.  I believe it will play out that way, with the OC dictating who we sign.  I think if Koetter is brought in, he brings Fitzpatrick with him.  If Bevell or Hue Jackson is the guy, then Tyrod Taylor becomes the most likely option.  With Fitzpatrick, he already knows the principle Koetter will use.  Even if Koetter's offense is melded into Marrone's, being familiar with Koetter's philosophy will help Fitzpatrick here.  With Taylor, Bevell has coached a shorter, mobile guy in Russell Wilson.  He should be able to capitalize on his mobility.  With Jackson, he coached Taylor at the beginning of last year.  In a similar dynamic to Fitz and Koetter, familiarity with Jackson's philosophy should help Taylor transition easier here.

2.  Success in rebuilding the OL/bolstering the depth is drafting and hitting on versatile guys.  If you remember TC's first stint here, one of the things that made the line successful was having a guy like Ben Coleman who played G for us primarily, but had good enough feet and enough length to play LT effectively against the best pass rushers.  He has always preferred guys who can play multiple positions.  I think if he can find quality guys like that, our depth would be fine.  As I argued in another thread, had Branden Albert been interested in playing for us and reasonably approximated what he did in Miami, he would have been that guy, and we would have had better depth overall.  Based upon what I heard today, Cam Robinson has a great work ethic, so I am optimistic he will make a good recovery.  But the return to health of all of the guys are key to our rebound.

4.  I think there is validity to that, but I would amend that to include the OL.  As I have argued previousl, guys like Chark and Cole suffered when the OL became decimated with injuries because they could not run deep patterns as much, which were their strengths.  But if it gets to the point the passing game isn't as explosive as some would like, would it make you a bad GM for adopting that approach?

5.  Agreed on keeping Fournette, but if the team keeps him, it opens them up to criticism that the troublemakers who are poisoning the culture and locker room are not being jettisoned (nevermind the Fowler trade, for the moment).

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