(10-27-2019, 11:17 PM)JagJohn Wrote: Firstly, this season has been very enjoyable so far. Where does it go from here? Right now I think you could make a reasonable argument for a wide range of possibilites. At 4-4, having beaten 4 pretty bad teams and lost to 4 pretty good teams, it's fair to say we are a middle of the pack team and will probably end up with a record around .500. I think the smart money would be on that.

However, for those feeling optimistic, you could make a convincing argument that the Jags could get to 10-6 and have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs with some momentum behind them: the games we have lost have been close, whereas we've won by at least double digits in three of our Ws. We have some young playmakers who are really playing at a high-level, and a favorable schedule from here on out. Clean up a few sloppy areas (penalties, red zone offense), and suddenly we could go toe-to-toe with anyone. The team has question marks, but no massive weak areas. Why not?

On the flip side, those of a more negative persuasion could argue this team is flattering to deceive and the second half will be another disappointment, the type of which we are all so used to around here. The wins against the Bengals and Jets, two of the absolute worst teams in the league, have shown multiple flaws that would be exposed against any decent opposition. With injuries starting to take a toll, and penalties still an issue, it's not too dificult to see us getting handled when we play our divisional opponents who are also building momentum. While the schedule isn't horrible, there aren't any teams on there that are close to being as bad as the two we have just faced. 6-10? It's possible.

Which camp are you in?

In my mind, however the season ends up, it has been very enjoyable so far purely for the fact that we are starting to see the core of a long-term team capable of challenging week in week out. Obviously, that starts with the frankly ridiculous, incredible, unbelievable fact that we seem to have found an absolute stud of a QB in the 6th round of the draft. That changes everything. Whether you are 100% Minshew Mania, or you have a few doubts, you simply can't deny that what he has done so far has been exceptional, both statistically and from the eye test. If this guy had been a high first-rounder everybody would have declared him to be the next great one already. It's undoubtedly prudent to be a little more judicial than that and give him more time before making hard and fast predictions, but hey, it sure appears we have a QB.

The optimism for the long term prospects do go beyond just Minshew though. If you look at the core areas of a team, we have a number of young guys who look like they could be long term cornerstones. First of all, the trenches (most important after QB in my opinion): we have 2 stud pass-rushers (pay Yan, pay him now), plus multiple other young d-line players who are showing signs of becoming big contributors (Bryan, Smoot). The o-line is admittedly a bit foggier to project, but being led by two highly drafted young tackles is a pretty good place to start. We have a young star at WR who looks like the kind of player who can make things out of nothing. We have a young RB who is showing he can be a true workhorse. And we have a bunch of other young players who look like playmakers on both sides of the ball, Westbrook, Harrison, Jack...

My point is, we have a really strong core of young players on this team who could make us a good team for a LONG time, and the draft capital to add to it too. What I find most remarkable about this is that, since 2017 it has generally been assumed and accepted around here that this team had a small window in which we needed to make a team that could challenge to win it all as soon as possible. Whereas, in reality, that 2017 team has been largely dismantled and rebuilt. Whether this was by design or luck, or a bit of both, I'm not entirely sure. It's fascinating really, we all assumed the team was in win-now mode, and most of the big roster moves have seemed to support that, but somehow they've actually managed to rebuild a roster in a short period of time.

Sorry for the longest post ever.

TLDR: Short term: could go either way.
Long term: looking good baby.

Outstanding post that sums up exactly how I feel.  

I think we're an 8-8 team, but nonetheless this has been one of the most enjoyable seasons in a long time.  

But to think a little more long term- having a franchise QB on a 6th round contract for at least 2 more years gives us all kinds of cap flexibility.  So we can be fairly aggressive in free agency filling holes.  And assuming we manage to fill some holes in free agency, that allows us to use all those extra 1st round picks for best player available, and as everyone knows, players on rookie contracts are cheap compared to veteran free agents.  

Basically, if we decide to go long term with Minshew, that allows us to fill the team with a lot of new talent.

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