Quote:Watching the playoffs, I started to get a better understanding of how long it can take to build a team through the draft.   I was watching these teams, and I was curious about some of the players, how long they had been in the league, so I googled a few at random.   Like one play, the Steelers' Lawrence Timmons made a tackle, so I said, who is this guy, how long has he been in the league, and found out he was drafted in 2007. 

 

I am realizing that if you draft well, and get just 2 or 3 core players each draft, you can still be on an upward trend after 5, 6, 7 years.  If you're drafting players that you expect to be on the team 7, 8, 9 years, then the building process can go on for a very very long time. 

 

So for us to expect the Jags to become contenders in 3 years, with the plan they have in place, tearing everything up and starting over and building through the draft, was probably asking too much.  Way too much.   The way we are doing it, we shouldn't be even starting to reach a peak level of team talent for another 2 or 3 years from now.   By that time, some of these guys will be in their second contracts, and that's why we have to stay way under the salary cap for now and carry over as much money as possible.  

 

It takes incredible patience and a very long range view, and it's understandable the Jags would not try to sell the fans on waiting 4 or 5 years before we had a contender.   No one would buy tickets.   So the fans are a little bit in the dark about the plan, and that's the reason for the frustration.  

 

All of those teams also had at least average to above average head coaches, which is what this Fan Survey Poll thread is really asking about Gus.

 

Say and think what you want to about BOB and the tinhorns, but he did lead the tinhorns to the AFCS title this year using 4 starting Qbs and getting pretty much nothing from their #1 overall pick (Clowney) from the 2014 draft, while the Jags got a Jaguars record breaking year from Bortles, yet finished the year 5-11.

 

Yeah, they absolutely got destroyed in the playoffs because their lack of a real QB showed up, but they did manage to win the division with that "lack of a real QB" and a pretty good defense and at least average head coaching.

 

The same thing pretty much goes for Gruden and the Redskins too. He took advantage of a weak division and won it using a QB picked in the 4th rd. and moving on from RGlll who was picked #2 in that very same 2012 draft and at least average head coaching.

 

They even had a lead against the Packers in their playoff game this year before GB woke up and became GB again and beat them.

 

I like Gus and hope he succeeds here, but unfortunately I haven't seen anything in his 3 years here to tell me that he is going to be a great HC and lead the Jags to playoff wins or at least 1 playoff win and go from there.

 

2016 is going to be a big year for Gus as far as is he the right HC to lead the Jaguars going forward.

 

He will have Dante Fowler back (Marks too) and a top 5 pick in the NFL draft (provided they don't trade it away) so next years team should be an improvement over this years team, and NOT just on paper.

 

Come on Gus, find a way to lead the Jaguars into a much improved team in 2016 and let's win the AFCS title, or at least find a way to make it into the playoffs.

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