Tomorrow we will probably all hear about how much progress has been made on the financial front, and about the brand new projects going forward. What will probably be discussed much, much less is where this team stands from a football standpoint.

 

Win Total: 7 in two years certainly isn't good.

Offense: A very young unit, probably too young (Dave Caldwell would admit as much). There has been a lot of talk about signing Cobb or Julius Thomas, when in reality the areas that need to see improvement most are the QB position and offensive line. We drafted a project at QB, a guy who wasn't a great "thrower" in college. Sure he looked good in preseason and in the months leading up to the draft, but when teams started blitzing in the regular season, he reverted back to some bad habits (watch his combine tape and then games from late in the year. He developed a loop in his motion.) He  reminded me of a right handed version of a certain left handed quarterback who also struggled to overcome mechanical flaws. Let's hope this story ends better. To fix the second worst offense in the league we replaced our offensive coordinator with the man who was in charge of the only offense that was worse. Time will tell if better personnel will make a difference in Olson's offense, but unless the Jags sign a couple of substantial free agents, it's hard to argue that our roster is much more talented than Oakland's at this point. Most of all Bortles has to overcome his mechanical flaws. Cobb and Thomas won't fix that.

 

Defense: Despite ranking, the defense made significant strides last season, particularly in terms of pass rush. The secondary remains a question mark, as the team desperately needs to pair a decent FS in the back end with Cyprien. Cyprien's supporters have suggested that his iffy play has been due to him feeling the need to compensate for the failures of those around him. In that sense, finding a good FS will go a long way toward determining if Cyprien is actually any good. The linebacker unit is probably the area of biggest concern, as it's both ineffective at times, and older than the secondary. They need to get speedier and younger at those spots (fortunately it looks like Telvin will be a building block).

 

All in all, if Caldwell can fine some young talent for the D-line and Linebacker groups, and a true FS, the defense should be at least competent. Therefore, the win total this year will largely depend on the offense, and consequently Greg Olson. He has a tall, tall task, and his track record doesn't inspire confidence. He has to fix Bortles and also prove to be a competent playcaller.

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