Every so often, my mind will cough up some obscure reference for whatever reason.  Today's obscure reference is Robespierre, a key figure from the French Revolution known for the Reign of Terror, a series of brutal executions of figures deemed enemies of the revolution designed to purge France of all of the negative influences that necessitated the revolution in the first place.  I know the last thing you wanted to read about here is the French Revolution, but bear with me.

The Jaguars have triggered this obscure reference.

Though I knew it was a possibility, reports from CBSSports and other sources indicate Jaguars Pro Bowl CB A.J. Bouye, a key contributor to the 2017 defense that took the team to the cusp of the Super Bowl in the team's first winning season in a decade, will be one of the veteran cuts this offseason in the team's efforts to clear cap space.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-f...contracts/

So why the association with the Reign of Terror? 

While on the most basic level, I certainly don't equate the killing of scores of human beings in political upheaval to roster moves, within the more civilized context of the NFL world, the roster upheaval/purge is equally as jarring as the French Revolution was to world history. 

Below is a simple table showing the starters and key contributors to the 2017 defense that took us to the playoffs and their status as of 2020.

2017 starter/contributor-------------------------2020 Status

Yannick Ngakoue--------------------------------- ???

Dante Fowler--------------------------------------Traded to Rams in 2018.  Scheduled to be a FA

Calais Campbell-----------------------------------???

Malik Jackson-------------------------------------Cut in 2019

Marcell Dareus------------------------------------Likely to be cut in 2020

Telvin Smith---------------------------------------Went on a "sabbatical" last year.  Status unknown

Paul Pozluszny------------------------------------Retired after 2017 season

Myles Jack-----------------------------------------Currently on roster.  Signed 4 year contract extension last year.

Jalen Ramsey------------------------------------Traded in 2019 to the Rams

A.J. Bouye---------------------------------------Likely to be cut this year

Barry Church-----------------------------------Cut in 2018

Tashaun Gipson-------------------------------Cut in 2019

Aaron Colvin--------------------------------------Left as UFA in 2018

So out of fourteen starters and contributors to that 2017 defense, only ONE (1) is guaranteed to be here in 2020-Jack.  Two more-Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell-are uncertain.  Ngakoue seems to have hard feelings about the team not signing him when they had the chance last year.  The team may franchise him this year, whichcould make matters worse.  He could end up being traded if there is too much acrimony as a result.  Calais Campbell has been making the public case that he deserves his contract from the Jaguars, which means at the very least, he thinks his release for cap considerations may be a possibility. 

Of the players that left, only ONE-Aaron Colvin, has been replaced by a player of equal or better ability in Hayden.  While Harrison shows promise, he has not reached the level Barry Church played in 2017.

You want to know why the defense collapsed so dramatically last year?  That's why.

Though the defense was the strength of the team, the offense wasn't spared, either.  Notable offensive departures from the same timeframe include

Allen Robinson
Allen Hurms
Jermey Parnell
Blake Bortles
T.J. Yeldon

It's not as if guys like Yeldon and Bortles were must keeps.  But I submit part of this franchise's problem is that there are rarely any talented and experienced veterans to help bridge the gap and help mentor younger players.  Teams like the Steelers and Patriots undoubtedly have free agency losses.  But they keep enough of their players to have some semblance of continuity, and they are able to replace the guys they lose, either by drafting and developing talent or signing comparable level free agents.  The Patriots went from Ty Law to Asante Samuel to Darelle Revis to Aqib Talib to Stephon Gilmore at CB.  At LT, they went from Matt Light to Nate Solder to Trent Brown.  That's three LTs in about an 18 year period. They managed to go from Troy Brown to Wes Welker to Julian Edelman at the slot.  Three slot WRs in the same time frame. 

The Steelers are not known for being big spenders, but they spent enough to keep the guys they wanted to keep longer than three year increments.  How long were guys like Bettis, Hines Ward, Jeff Hartings, Heath Miller, and Troy Polamalu on their roster?  Yes, they lost guys like Santonio Holmes and eventually Hines Ward, but they drafted and developed guys like Antonio Brown.

Seattle, the team to which the Jaguars were most often compared, managed to keep the nucleus Super Bowl defense together longer than we did.  Earl Thomas was in Seattle between 2010 until last year.  That's nine years.  Kam Chancellor was there for eight.  Richard Sherman was there seven years.  KJ Wright and Barry Wagner were together on that defense.  From the same defense, they kept Barry Wagner and KJ Wright together for eight seasons. In 2013, they added DE Michael Bennett for another five seasons.

How long were the Ravens a defensive kingdom with Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata?  The triumvirate of Lewis Reed and Suggs played together from 2004 until 2012.  Haloti Ngata joined them in 2006.

I know what you're thinking.  These teams all had better QBs.  That is true, but does not provide a full account of the disparity.  First off, it isn't all about the QBs.  When Brady missed virtually the entire season after suffering a torn ACL circa 2008, the Patriots still finished 11-5.  Last year, Ben Roethlisberger missed the entire season, and the Steelers dealt with the losses of Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell, and still managed to finish 8-8.  Steelers fans thought that season a disaster.  We would see that as vast improvement.  Besides, with star QBs typically mean star salaries, which means less money to pay other players.  The Jaguars foolishly signed Bortles to the extension, and then signed Foles to a middle of the road deal last year, in deals that still paled in comparison to the salaries Brady and Big Ben earned.

At the end of the day I fully understand that in the free agency era, roster turnver is inevitable.  Players get injured.  Players age.  players retire.  Players leave for free agency.  But there is NO SENSIBLE REASON a defense as young and as talented as ours was in 2017 should have a functional shelf life of three seasons.  There is no reason a defense that talented should have to be completely rebuilt within that time as this one has to be.

Reign of Terror, indeed!

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