(11-03-2021, 04:21 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(11-02-2021, 10:38 PM)navyjagfan Wrote: Jags just need to draft better.  

And spend more wisely in free agency.  Look at some of the high-priced free agents, Rayshawn Jenkins, Roy Robertson-Harris, Shaqille Griffin, etc.  Lots of salary cap dollars and high draft picks invested, but the Jags have the worst defense in the league.  Can't rush the passer, can't cover, can't create turnovers.  

Trading picks for players won't help.  Fix the true problems.

(Emphasis added)

We had guys who could do those things.  Young guys we acquired through the draft for the most part.  We utilized four firsts and a third to get them.  Throw in 2 or 3 free agents as well.

But the team, fans, and local media talking heads found it necessary to trade or cut every single one of them.  

Every.

Single. 

One.

It's not as though they were all old and past their primes.  Every single one of those guys-save one- are making some kind of contribution to their teams.

The one guy who hasn't yet just got traded, is a year and a half into his career, has more ability than any CB still on our roster.  He still has the chance to turn his career around.  Carolina could yet reap the benefits  of a top ten pick without the first round investment. 

Every single one are on teams better than we are.

Every.

Single.

One.

Now we're wondering why we can't do these things.  

Wondering why our defense is at the bottom of the league.  

Wondering why we had to spend another first round pick on a RB, why we made it a point to sign Carlos Hyde in free agency, and why we have zero depth at RB when James Robinson went down.

Wondering why we have no leadership.

Funny how that works.

Maybe, hopefully, in the not too distant future, before we completely ruin or otherwise waste Trevor Lawrence's tenure here, we can utilize the draft effectively to add some more guys who can do the things highlighted above and more.

Maybe then, we can stop listening to those who are quick to label players as team cancers and prescribe cures that are worse than the disease.

Maybe then, we can retain some of those best players and develop a roster of talent, production, leadership, maturity and continuity instead of giving them away for pennies on the dollar-at best-of the first sign of disagreement or problems.

Maybe then, we can have a team that isn't a league wide embarrassment for years on end.

The depressing thing is so far, this current administration seems unable to draft productive guys so far.

Sigh.

I've been reading the board for a few years now (rarely post) but this post sums up my biggest concern with this team. In my opinion when you are a small market team AND have had a history of losing you have to keep the talent you acquire and we've done exactly the opposite. I know the Ramsey debate and quite frankly when all the attitude was happening a part of me wanted him gone too. However, in just about every instance of our best players being labeled as a malcontent, the common denominator is the Jaguars front office. Yes we can't allow a player to act like Ramsey acted before being traded but the issue is he should have never reached that point. 

Marone should have never grabbed him while he was storming off the sideline which to any angry competitive person will be seen as an act of aggression which Ramsey did. Then Marone and Ramsey should have been allowed to work that out amongst themselves like men after the heat of the moment has passed but Dave Caldwell stepped in and made it worse by demeaning Ramsey and demanding more of an apology than what was already given. 

Coughlin calling out Fornette publicly instead of handling that internally (we should have never drafted a running back that high anyway - Robinson proves that), Yes Ngakoue wanted more money than he was worth but he wanted to be here and up to that point he was a bright spot on the defense so you pay the man. 

This franchise acts like they are the Patriots with how they have handled their star players. It's embarrassing. 

Why do all of these players go on to have good careers with other teams? Because their next team usually isn't the laughing stock of the league and they win. Winning is the biggest bonding tool any team has and brings out the best in players. Losing does the exact opposite which is why we've had issues with so many players. 

This front office needs to understand that and be proactive with how they handle these players instead of reactive. You will always have malcontent players on a losing team. Losing breads that. No good player is going to be happy with losing so our coaches and the front office need to understand that and be prepared for that instead of reacting to and labeling these players as having issues. This front office sorely needs a Dr. Sharon from Ted Lasso and get a grip on how they manage these players or history will always repeat itself which is what has been going on for the last decade.

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