(04-26-2022, 07:31 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(04-26-2022, 01:57 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: No, I wouldn't come back unless Shad Khan either sold the team or stepped down and let Tony run things. 

For me it's not about Travon Walker not being a good player. I believe he is. IMO, he is a Ziggy Ansah clone. They are almost identical in size and neither were really talked about until they put up incredible workout numbers at the Combine. Ansah had some really good seasons with the Lions, but he belonged in a 4-3 scheme and that is where he had his best years. Travon Walker either belongs in a 4-3 scheme as a DE or a 3-4 scheme as a DE. We desperately need a 3-4 OLB who can also be a 4-3 DE. Taking Walker #1 is a huge, unnecessary risk and every time this team takes risks we get burned. Why do it again? It makes no sense. Hutchinson is a safe pick with a high floor and has played 3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE, just like we need. "Sauce" Gardner is probably the safest pick in the draft. I don't like Ekwonu at #1 overall, but if he fails as an OT, I believe he would make a very good NFL OG, so he's a much safer pick as well. Jameson Williams fills our biggest need and almost the entire fan base was wanting to draft him before the injury. He is way ahead of schedule on his rehab and he would be a much safer pick too. Why chose the one player that has so many areas where he could fail? It's just not smart business. 

Today on the NFL Network they had a round table discussing the Jaguars possibly drafting Walker #1 overall. They were all laughing at us and bringing up how we have picked in the top ten 14 out of the last 15 years. I guess that never occurred to me before. How could we fail that many times? They told how the team either failed at drafting or couldn't hold onto the few players they actually hit on. I'm just completely worn down by this team's bad decision making. We need to stop looking for homeruns and start rebuilding this team by looking for singles, doubles and triples. We've struck out on our drafting way too much. Just look what we did when we traded Jalen Ramsey. We basically got nothing in return, because we did such a poor job drafting. 

I know I've threatened to jump off a bridge in jest, (I assumed this was implied. I'm not really suicidal.) I've also said I'd punch a hole in the wall, which unfortunately I have done in the past and will probably never do again, because it was not fun patching the hole. I am serious about leaving this team though. The older I get, the more health issues I have and many of them are due to stress. I know I take football way too seriously. I can't help it though. Instead of enjoying football like most fans, this team just gets my blood pressure boiling with the complete incompetence from the front office and ownership. I keep thinking next season will be better, but it only seems to get worse. We finally get a franchise QB and we are doing nothing to help him other than signing Brandon Scherff and an average slot receiver who will probably be our #1 receiver, due to the pure lack of talent from the rest of the WR group. I've seen 90% of the posters on this message board draft way better than the actual team does year after year. That shouldn't happen, but it does, all the time. I love this team so much, but I'll have to take a step back if walker is selected. I'm getting to the point where I'm worried I might end up having a heart attack or a stroke. 

Hopefully, all this Walker talk is just a smokescreen though and we end up selecting one of the "safe" players in this draft. All I can do is pray that we have learned our lesson and we're finally gonna do the right thing. I guess we'll all find out on Thursday.

Well, FWIW, Shad Khan reportedly supports drafting Hutchinson #1 overall.

As for Walker, if you truly compare him  favorably to Ziggy Ansah, then it doesn't make much sense to dump the team for getting an Ansah.  You say his best fit is as a 4-3 DE.  I agree with that.  It doesn't mean, however, that he can't function well within a 3-4, especially as an edge rusher.  If he can run a 4.51 40 at that weight, what could he do 5-10 lbs lighter?  He'd have the length to do well as a pass rusher, and his pure power would make him virtually unblockable by anyone other than a T.  But if you saw him as purely a 3-4 DE, it doesn't mean he couldn't contribute to the pass rush.  Bruce Smith, Neil Smith, Justin Smith and JJ Watt all managed to do that.  As a 3-4 DE, I would be happy if he became Justin Smith v. 2.0.  My problem with the selection is because of the way he seemed to be utilized at Georgia, he never developed many pass rush moves (Top Billin' has a video breakdown of him that is instructive on how he was utilized), and it would take the Jaguars coaches to develop him.  Based on this team's history, we haven't done a good job developing players at all.  This current coaching staff hasn't been here long enough to establish a track record for developing players.  My thing is even assuming they can develop him, how long will it take him to be a serious pass rushing threat?  That said, we don't know how the coaches will utilize him just yet, assuming he would be the pick.  Maybe if they freed him up to be primarily an edge pass rusher, maybe they can develop the moves in him to be productive.

As for the team's draft history/inability to retain the few good players we've drafted...ugh!  I have dedicated for more thought and board posts to those subjects than I care to.

FTR, I never thought you to be suicidal...just hilariously prone to hyperbole and exaggeration.  Health?  Believe me, I know where you are coming from health wise.  You and I are roughly the same age.  My body's check engine light came on a few years back, and it has negatively impacted my life, and it has negatively impacted my posting quality.  By all means, take care of yourself and your health.  I'm just fearful this team is on the cusp of a  major turnaround, and the thought of jumping ship now and missing out on it would sicken me to no end.

It does when you figure that Ziggy Ansah went to a perfect system that fit his skill set and still flamed out very quickly. He basically hasn't done anything for the last 3 seasons and many believe his career is likely over after 8 years. Ansah had more sacks his last year at BYU that Walker had his entire career at Georgia, so people knew he had the ability to get to the QB. With Walker, there is a huge question mark in that regard. Walker would not be coming into a scheme that fits his skill set, so there would likely be a huge learning curve as he tries to learn a whole new position at OLB. It would almost be like selecting a Ziggy Ansah clone, only the clone would come into the league with basically one hand tied behind his back. The last time we drafted a player in the first round that we intended to move to a new position was Matt Jones. That didn't turn out so well. 

The problem with projecting his Combine numbers into an NFL skill set is that he has obviously had this athletic ability all along, so why the lack of production? Using players like Bruce Smith, Neil Smith, Justin Smith and J.J. Watt as examples are very unfair. Bruce Smith had 46 career sacks at Virginia Tech, Neil Smith was an All-American pass rusher at Nebraska, Justin Smith set Missouri's sack record his first year as a starter and broke it the following season and J.J. Watt was an absolute "Beast" coming into the draft. He was probably the most feared pass rusher in the entire NCAA and commanded constant double teams, because of his size and non-stop motor. None of these guys had questions about their ability to pass rush coming into the draft, yet that is the main knock on Walker. 

If we kept Walker at 3-4 DE, what do we do with the other players on the roster? We are absolutely loaded at DE and NT in a 3-4 set. Those are without a doubt, our strongest positions right now. 3-4 DE's are mainly used for run defense, unless you find a very special pass rusher like an Aaron Donald. I really don't think you would find anyone in the world who would believe Walker compares to Donald. Again, Donald was an elite college sack artist and had almost 30 for his college career. Walker by all means is a "project" and you just don't draft "projects" in the first round, especially #1 overall when you've been picking in the top ten, 14 out of 15 straight years.  

You take care of yourself as well. You are the M.V.P. of this board IMO. Posters on here need you to be the one to keep a level head, we need you around as long as possible. It sucks when you get older and stressful things and outside influences begin to effect your health and well being. I wish I didn't feel things, emotionally as much as I do. It makes stress a major factor in my overall health. I wish I could just watch football for the entertainment value and not let all the other stuff bother me so much, but I'm not built that way. When I see things failing over and over again with no change in how they are being done, it drives me crazy! I think I get that from my dad and grandpa. It's in the genes. 

In any case, I just hope that this is all a smokescreen and we truly are gonna take a "safe" player and after over a decade, we can finally turn this ship around. Right now, I choose to believe we will do the smart thing. I hope this team doesn't let us down, again.

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