(12-13-2021, 12:31 AM)Jagulars Wrote: I have not been on the forums all that much. I've been a Jaguars fan since the beginning. Will continue to be a fan. Many memories. Good and bad. The underdog 2nd season. The 3 AFC championship appearances. The heartening losses. The exciting players and plays in this team's history.

This year just hits differently. On so many negative levels. I'm my opinion, this could arguably be the worst season in this team's history. You could argue the season with Mularkey and the Bradley era. Or Last year with Doug. 

I gave the benefit of the doubt for this season before it started. New coaches. Rookies. (Especially 1st overall quarterback) New players through FA. This was going to take time for the team to synchronize and become a little more consistent as the season progressed. 

There were some questionable offseasons moves. The lack of adding into the offensive line for a rookie 1st overall quarterback. (Just one pick. Needed at least another OL drafted or an upgrade signed through FA.) Not addressing a pass-catching TE in the off season and waited through a trade into the season. Look, arm chair GMs, I seriously believe any of us would have made some better decisions than what we have witnessed. As far as trying to fill in needs and also make sure that these players coming in would be compatible with the scheme being ran. The cap room was high. And although some players in FA wanted a winning environment, there were still options out there if you felt that it would be an upgrade. Even if you can't get the big fish, at least bring players in who can compete for a spot and could gel within the system implemented. I felt the team wasn't aggressive enough because they weren't entirely sure how they were going to go by it. They did, however, grabbed a few players who contributed: Jones. Agnew. Griffin.

And, to be fair, you can't control injury bugs. Chark. Travis. Linder on and off. Etc. But, would these players have made a huge difference in how this season could be playing out if they all stayed healthy? Would have been hard to say. The defense struggled early on. Maybe a win or two? Possibly more? 

This is a tad disingenuous.  Let's be honest, this isn't just about wins and losses.  Last year felt different because you weren't having to fast forward through the middle of the third quarter.  That's because The offense wasn't scoring negative points a game.  In this case the offense has more than an injury bug, its more like a rapture.  D.J. Chark is your pro bowl caliber big play receiver.  His presence changes the way teams play us on defense.  Etienne should be competing for rookie of the year, has a potentially career altering foot injury.  You find a pro bowl caliber special teams player that evolved into a credible option at receiver and he's on IR.   We find a starting caliber pass catching tight end through mid season and he's hurt.  In the absence of generational performance at the QB position, most teams will struggle offensively if you take out their starting Reciever, slot receiver, tight end and running back.  


Then, you have players who have taken a step back or are still playing poorly. Laviska takes a huge step back with drops and route running issues at times. We all saw that collide with another WR in today's game. Taylor at RT has been a serious nightmare and I still cannot understand why this player is still starting. There was no one brought in to seriously compete with him. Little I believe is being dead set to compete for LT next season. So, what about RT?

Also, the lack of using players appropriately. Robinson being the obvious.

Robinson is a casualty of game theory.  Oesher pointed out this is the fifth consecutive game that the jags have trailed by ten or more points in the first half.  That's also with a QB who is completing less than 60% of his passes and a team that doesn't convert on third down or have explosive plays.  It's hard for teams to stick with the run when their behind and they're running three and out half the time.  Should they be more stubborn with the run?  Probably.  But in reality, If we're down 17 and robinson gets tackled for no gain then there will cries that we're not being aggressive enough.   And that says noting about two killer fumbles.  This team needs to stop digging double digit holes in the first five minutes of games and catch the ball on third down.  That's what leads to carries.  

The team has been out of the playoff picture for a few weeks already. Why are they not adjusting the depth chart and working in the rookies? After today's shutout, what have they seriously got to lose playing them after today's shutout even? So many questions. 

Hey, didn't you get the memo.  UFO's are real.  Andre Sisco was abducted.  Are we blaming urbs for that?

And today, any Jaguars fan could clearly see that this team really didn't want to show up.

I disagree with that one.  The Defense showed up and put in a shift today.  They matched up against a physical offense and kept a struggling offense in the game with little support and the short end on time of posession  At a certain point, when you're throwing to guys who were working @ 7-11 in the offseason then that's a challenge.  

They are frustrated with losing. The meltdowns behind the scenes. How the plays are being called. You could throw the ignorant arguments that they are just here to collect their big paydays. A lot of these players grew up with a love for the sport and want to be competitive. They play to win. Losing affects a player more than a lot of us think. (With the exceptions of Douglas and Ross. Who openly admitted to taking the money and having a vacation) As fans, we want to see the team eventually pull through and become a winning product. As much as I cannot stand the Patriots, they know how to win. And they have been successful at it for 2 decades. Tom Brady was a huge piece to that, but those Patriots players throughout that decade had great key players. And a coaching staff that knew how to get the most out of them and put them in the right situations to win most matchups.

When will that year be for this team to be a consistent winning product? Who knows. But, it will be a beautiful era watching this happen again. And will there be a Super Bowl appearance and win for this team in the future before I kick the bucket? I sure hope so. 


tl;dr - Jags bad now. One day, they will be good again. One day.