Quote:OK, so after rewatching some of the game here are some thoughts moving forward.  Discuss away...

 

Positives...

 

Colvin and Linder look like they are going to be Baller level players

 

Linder does a lot of good things.  The dude beats his man physically, pushes his man back when they try to jump and knock down a pass, he blocks his man back or completely out of the play when possible.  Watching this dude play will make you smile!

 

Colvin can make great open field tackles and has a knack for making plays.  I'm excited to see this kid develop.

 

Hurns and Lee (as well as ARob) have a chance to make a good WR corps.

 

Marks and Clemons are rock solid on the D Line.

 

They may be pretty obvious but I'd call those the standout positives.

 

Negatives...

 

Red Bryant is just a guy.

 

Joeckel is still getting pushed around and whiffs too much.  Here's to keeping our fingers crossed that he makes a leap forward going into next year.

 

The O Line Communcation is lacking and results in someone on the D making an impact too often

 

M Lewis whiffs too often on blocks no matter what kind of rep he has

 

Gerhart is not good in pass protection

 

Overall...

 

I didn't want to analyze every single player but just give my opinion on a few.

 

Althought Caldwell hasn't hit on every signing/draft pick, I do think he's bringing in enough talent at this point.  I also think he's learning as a GM and going to get better IMHO.

 

I still do believe that Bradley needs to be replaced because of the lack of player development, solid scheming, game planning, in-game management, etc.  I think a better coach could get more out of this team even though it is extremely young and somewhat void of talent.

 

Ok... let's say (just for the sake of discussion) that a core problem is Gus Bradley. Who is out there who is...

A. available?

B. willing to come to Jacksonville to coach this team?

C. that is unquestionably, undeniably, almost a guaranteed certainty... a better head coach than Gus Bradley is or will be?

 

I'm not a Gus Bradley fan, but I haven't got reason to harbor an irrational dislike for him either. One should be mighty careful before any move on a head coach is considered. It has been demonstrated time and time again that turning the head coach position into a revolving door every few years is an almost guaranteed formula for losing... even if you have a decent amount of talent on the roster; and right now we don't know if we do or not by the way.

 

With the number of rookies on our team (particularly considering our quarterback) bringing in new coaches would force all the rookies to learn new schemes... again. There would be little development for those rookies. That's one of the elements that led to the ineffectiveness of Blaine Gabbert here. Do we really want to put our new, potentially excellent rookie quarterback into that same situation?

 

No question our current situation sucks out loud. Nevertheless, we would be wise to stay the trail we've started with Dave... at lest give the man three years to show us beyond question that it's not working at all. If at that point we still 'suck out loud'... well, then we might have a legitimate case to start questioning his methods. And before someone says it, no I wasn't a Gene Smith fan by any stretch either!

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