Quote:It's been evident to me from day 1 the Jaguars brass has had their eyes on the 2014 NFL season as the true rebuilding year, this was the right approach for multiple reasons. David Caldwell along with the other decision makers in the Jaguars FO recognized the elite QB prospects in the 2014 NFL draft, two of the draft eligible QB’s (Teddy Bridgewater & Marcus Mariota if he declares) will have two of the highest grades for a QB in the last 10 years, both are instant game changers at the position and can change the fortunes of a franchise (on and off the field) for 10-15 years.

 

 

 

Finding a franchise QB is the most effective way to expedite a rebuilding process, David Caldwell witnessed this first hand in Indianapolis and Atlanta. There's not a doubt in my mind that both Caldwell & Bradley knew (prior to the season) neither Blaine Gabbert nor Chad Henne were long term solutions at the position, there wasn't a long term solution in the draft or FA either, so it wouldn't have made sense to waste a draft pick on a QB. It was reported after the 2013 draft that the Jaguars brass was ecstatic when the Bills & Jets used high draft picks on QB's, effectively taking them out of the 2014 QB market, this organization knew it wouldn't be competitive in 2013 (this is why David Caldwell and Gus Bradley won't be on the hot seat) and has been positioning itself to draft a game changing face of the franchise in 2014. I'm not a fan of tanking, but if there is a year to be bad, this is the year, and if you're going to be bad, be bad enough to position yourself to find a franchise QB.

 

 

 

 The Jaguars (Imo) weren't the only team that took this approach, I believe the Raiders & Browns brass had their eyes on the 2014 draft as well, and tried to position themselves accordingly. Carson Palmer isn't elite, but he's light years better than Matt Flynn (who they've since released), if the Raiders truly wanted to be competitive in 2013 Palmer would've been their starting QB. The Browns drafted Trent Richardson 3rd overall last year, he was traded to Indianapolis (Cleveland got the better end of that deal) after the Browns started their season with an 0-2 record, Josh Gordon was also on the trading block, it makes no sense to trade young talented players if the ultimate goal is to compete, the problem for both of those organizations is they’re both talented enough to win 5-7 games.

 

 

 

This is a QB driven league; the only way to contend year after year is to have a guy under-center that makes everyone else around him better. The Jaguars finally have a chance to get their guy, so please drop your pitchforks, open your eyes and recognize that this season was never about wins and losses, the incomprehensible damage that was done to this roster over the past 4-5 years is mind boggling, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This team has tons of cap space and draft picks, and we’re not that far away from competing because of it.