Before I talk about tonights game, I want to pay tribute to all of the guys who either have been cut or will be cut by the time this weekend is over.  To most fans, including myself, the guys to whom I pay tribute are little more than names on transaction announcements.  But there is a part of me that thinks even though they will likely never play for this team again, somehow they deserve better.  Much like the guys talented enough and fortunate enough to make this team, these guys had the guts and desire to put on the pads for the first time and step out on that field and hit and be hit.  Like the guys we'll cheer for-and against- beyond this weekend, they endured years of grueling practices in the hot sun, the rain, and the cold, being chewed out by demanding coaches, fighting through pain and injuries to do something many people-athetes or not-don't have the courage to do-actually make an effort to pursue their dreams.  Some of these dreams will be merely deferred, as a few will catch on with other teams at some point in the future.  Others will see their dreams denied, as all of their efforts to play professional football will be for naught.  On a more basic level these men will join the ranks of the unemployed, and will have to look elsewhere to find their niche in the world.  Even though they didn't make the team, they helped make the team better on some level, by providing the competition needed to get out the very best.  The thing is, all of us fans, were entertained by their efforts, dating back to pop warner.  I, for one, salute them, and wish them all well in their future endeavoers, as long as they do not adversely impact the Jaguars. Now, my thoughts on the game...

 

1 .  Prior to the start of the preseason, I remarked that I would hate to see cutdown day this year because I know there will be some players released from this team who can play in this league, and might have even been starters on Gene Smith teams.  One such position that will see this is at RB, where, as Kouvaris observed, there are three guys (Robinson, Banyard, and Grant) vying for two roster spots.  All three of them had some very good moments tonight and throughout the preseason.  You could make a credible argument for any of these guys to make the team.  My gut tells me Banyard and Grant make the team, with Robinson being cut.  I would hate to see Robinson get cut because by all accounts, he is a great guy and has proven he can be a productive back in this league.  But I would feel kinda queasy about Banyard and Grant being cut, too. 

 

2.  Wide receiver is another position where some painful cuts are going to happen, only the competition is even more fierce, as essentially there are three guys (Benn, Walters, and Evans) vying for one spot.  With his size and speed, I know if he could just stay healthy, Benn can play in this league.  I think he would have made the team last year had he not separated (?) his shoulder.  But I don't think he has shown enough this year to make the cut.  I think Evans also has the potential to play in this league, and he has an ally of sorts in Izdik, who had him with the Jets.  But his release and subsequent re-signing shows his tenuous hold on a roster spot.  I think Walters makes the team because he can return punts.

 

3.  Still more tough decisions have to be made in the secondary, most notably CB.  This was made this way due to the aggressive and fortuitous offseason this team had, as Amukumara and Ramsey were added, and guys like Gratz and McCray, who was the 2nd or 3rd CB within the last two years now found themselves, at best 5th and 6th CBs by late April.  McCray was cut last week.  Now, I'd say there is one and a quarter positions available (because Colvin is suspended for the first four games).  Like the top two positions described above, the survivors have all added plays on tape to help their cause.  Gratz has experience in the scheme as a starter, and had an INT.  Johnson has two INTs, including a pick 6, and and INT tonight.  Nick Marshall also had an INT tonight.  Boddie Calhoun has had at least 2-3 beautiful pass breakups on deep passes.  I think when the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared, Johnson makes the team before Gratz and Marshall, in part because of his ability to return kicks-despite his fumble tonight.  I think Calhoun goes to the practice squad.  The questions between Gratz and Marshall will be whether Gratz' experience or Marshall's longer term potential win out.

 

4.  Linebacker presents another interesting area of competition.  I think the two bubble guys with the best chence to make it are Hayes Pullard and Ryan Davis.  Pullard had the pick 6 last week against the Bengals, and tipped the ball that got INTd tonight.  Ryan Davis has had a sack and tonight had a pass deflection.  Davis can rush from a 3 point or two point stance, from the inside or the outside, and he just tends to make things happen.  I think both of them flash enough playmaking ability to give them the edge over their competitors.

 

5.  There are three guys at TE vying for two spots, and none of them were particularly impressive tonight.  Sterling got blown up at the point of attack by a LB, and looked like a WR trying to block in line.  IIRC, Koyack and Bowman had penalties and drops.  Not sure who is the odd man out at this point.  I think Sterling is the best athlete of the three, but he is also the most raw.  I think Koyack is the most versatile of the three, playing TE and H-Back/FB, but doesn't seem to have the most consistent hands.  Bowman is the best all around TE, I think, but was less knowledgeable in the offense than the other two.  I don't think any of them looked good.

 

6.  I can only hope the end of the preseason marks the end of all of the stupid penalties.  I think we hit double digit penalties again (or were close to it).  It has to stop.

 

7.  Rookie Watch:

                                          A.  Jalen Ramsey-DNP

                                          B.  Myles Jack-This was his first game action at WLB, and he was absolutely all over the place.  He seemed to be in on the tackle the first 4-5 plays of the game and chased a FB down the field on misdirection he bit on later.  Granted, he played against bottom of the roster guys who won't be in the league in a few days, but he stood out like you would expect a guy considered to be a top 5 talent.  Telvin Smith is a favorite of mine, and when it was announced that Jack would play Will against the Falcons, I was kind of taken aback.  But given how good he looked out there, if he wound up starting over Smith, I'm not sure he wouldn't be an improvement.

                                        C.  Yannick Ngakoue-DNP

                                        D.  Sheldon Day-Got his first action of the preseason tonight after a back injury.  I noticed him get pressure a couple of times (and it stood out more than Fowler or Ngakoue).  I still want to see more of him.

                                        E.  Tyrone Holmes-Saw him get a hit on the Falcons' QB from the blind side.  I think he gets caught in a numbers game, but he goes to the practice squad.

 

                                        F.  Brandon Allen-Had a good game tonight for the most part.  Showed some zip on his passes and good decision making-even on his INT.  As I watched the INT and the replay of it, it appeared he had Walters open behind the underneath overage, but he didn't get the ball up high enough, but I was not familiar enough with the offense and the coverages to know whether he made the right decision or underthrew the pass, but Caldwell cleared it up and said he didn't put enough air under the pass.  Some of the pre-game roster speculation on the radio indicated Allen makes the 53 man roster.  I could see that, but given the competition and quality at so many other positions, it would be tough.  But him being a QB-likely the backup of the future-might give him the edge at staying.

 

8.  Not that I know anything about kicking, but I am beginning to wonder if technique wise, there is something off with Myers because he misses an inordinate amount of FGs wide right.  Why he seems to push so many right I have no idea, but I sincerely hope he and the coaches figure it out fast or scour the waiver wires for a kicker who can make those kicks.  Starting now, the games count.  Starting now, the epectation is form bradley to win.  This team is too talented for its hopes to be dashed by the inconsistent level of kicking Myers has provided.

 

9.  One thing I have noticed that was missing from this training camp/preseason is the training camp phenom.  You know the guy-lowly drafted/undrafted/unheralded guy who comes in and is the talk of the beat writers and message board until the pads come on, only to disappear. I think that is a testament to the quality of the roster that Caldwell has assembled here.

 

10.  Bottom line:  Fortunately, we seem to have gotten through this preseason without any major injury to any starter or likely contributor.  Considering we seem to have a young, talented team, the health gives us an added advantage, at least for now, over the other teams that are not so talented and/or not so healthy.  This means this team needs to be well prepared to win.  That means ironing out all of the penalties and mental lapses that has weighed this team down for far too long.  Though they are not division rivals and I don't hate them, I am eager for this team to kick some Packer [BAD WORD REMOVED] come September 11th!  It's way past time for us to have a fast start over a playoff team at home, and just about everything seems aligned for us to be able to do it.  In the meantime, those of us in the areas affected or likely to be affected by Hermine please stay safe.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

11. Coach Gus - deer in front of the head light look.  I have no clue what I'm doing.   lol

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He was coaching his players, obviously. What else?

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I think Holmes makes it somehow. But he could be PS material.


Calhoun has played solid. PS but may get picked up.


Robinson could be cut.


We have to face it....we are going to cut some quality players.

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I'm more than a bit worried Holmes would be snapped up off the practice squad by someone if we tried to stash him there.

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Alway enjoy reading your opinion, Bullseye. Especially since I haven't watched the game yet.

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Outstanding post, thanks. I didn't get to watch, so I definitely appreciate it. The first paragraph (or the prelude if you will ha brings up a great point. As a younger guy, roster cuts-especially the guys who were a long shot to begin with- didn't matter to me much. Now I think about those guys as people, and the struggles they must go through trying to make a team, getting cut, relocating, just to have it happen multiple times until they stick somewhere. Or the guys who never get another shot. I mean, we all have personal issues, it must be hard to pile the rigors of the NFL on top of them. Most of these guys are kids in their 20s too. Crazy.


Time to roll, football is almost really back.

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As for the game, I wonder if Gus is as worried that Myers is going to cost him his job as much Im worried that Myers is going to cost us games and turn out to be the annual Jaguars player I blame my alcoholism on?


I think Ficken or someone else will get called up by week 4 at the latest if he keeps it up. The kid's nerves are already shaky at best, but he seems like he's not at all confident right now. That 58 yarder is a distant memory.

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I'm more than a bit worried Holmes would be snapped up off the practice squad by someone if we tried to stash him there.

I believe Holmes would be claimed before he made it to the Jags PS

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As for the game, I wonder if Gus is as worried that Myers is going to cost him his job as much Im worried that Myers is going to cost us games and turn out to be the annual Jaguars player I blame my alcoholism on?


I think Ficken or someone else will get called up by week 4 at the latest if he keeps it up. The kid's nerves are already shaky at best, but he seems like he's not at all confident right now. That 58 yarder is a distant memory.

Although Ficken's only kick of the preseason was shaky, from what I saw in the scrimmage, Ficken seemed like the overall more confident player. He did play in full stadiums of nearly 100,000 people, whereas Meyers played in front of maybe 1000 people at his college. I feel like Meyers will have a very short leash. Maybe one bad miss and he's gone.

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I think the biggest storyline at the moment is, are we going to have to bench the guy many thought was our best defensive player, because we have someone better.  

 

We were all thinking Myles Jack is our MLB of the future, but his best natural position is WLB, and that is Telvin's spot.   Has Myles Jack beaten out Telvin Smith?  Is Telvin not as good as we thought he was?   Does he still make too many mistakes?   Can we get them both on the field?  

 

And at the same time we have that conundrum at WLB, we have the opposite situation on the offensive line.   No one has beaten out Luke Joeckel for a starting spot.   Telvin might be on the bench while Luke is starting.   I guess it just goes to show, this rebuild is not finished.   We have some weird problems. 

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I agree on all the points Bullseye.

 

Also, honourable mention to Nortman: the guy can kick, just wow really... now if only the special teams will start to play accordingly...

 

I also hope we don't lose Tyrone Holmes.

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I think Holmes makes it somehow. But he could be PS material.


Calhoun has played solid. PS but may get picked up.


Robinson could be cut.


We have to face it....we are going to cut some quality players.

 

I'm more than a bit worried Holmes would be snapped up off the practice squad by someone if we tried to stash him there.

This is why I am hating cutdown day this year.  Holmes has flashed enough for me to be concerned about being  signed away from the PS, and to a lesser extent so has Calhoun.

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Alway enjoy reading your opinion, Bullseye. Especially since I haven't watched the game yet.

Thank you, sir.  Pay special attention to the first two defensive series.  If you aren't a fan of Jack now, you will be after that.

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As for the game, I wonder if Gus is as worried that Myers is going to cost him his job as much Im worried that Myers is going to cost us games and turn out to be the annual Jaguars player I blame my alcoholism on?


I think Ficken or someone else will get called up by week 4 at the latest if he keeps it up. The kid's nerves are already shaky at best, but he seems like he's not at all confident right now. That 58 yarder is a distant memory.

I think Bradley and Caldwell have to be concerned about kicker.  Recall that Caldwell admitted he considered bringing back Scobee last year.  yers has had a full year to refine and improve his kicking, and it doesn't seem to have worked.  If there is a time to bring in another veteran guy, the time is now.  There will be kickers available after Saturday's cut deadline.  The team may need to sacrifice some leg strength for accuracy, but it needs to be done.

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I think the biggest storyline at the moment is, are we going to have to bench the guy many thought was our best defensive player, because we have someone better.  

 

We were all thinking Myles Jack is our MLB of the future, but his best natural position is WLB, and that is Telvin's spot.   Has Myles Jack beaten out Telvin Smith?  Is Telvin not as good as we thought he was?   Does he still make too many mistakes?   Can we get them both on the field?  

 

And at the same time we have that conundrum at WLB, we have the opposite situation on the offensive line.   No one has beaten out Luke Joeckel for a starting spot.   Telvin might be on the bench while Luke is starting.   I guess it just goes to show, this rebuild is not finished.   We have some weird problems. 

 

That's a great problem to have.  But consider how quickly a guy can fall in the NFL.  If Jack supplants him in the lineup, he will have gone from celebrating being one of five Jaguars named to this years NFL's top 100 players list and an emerging team leader by calling the players only meeting in minicamp, to possibly coming off the bench.  As for Joeckel, I have to think there are or will soon be guards available who, in time, would provide more consistency than Joeckel at LG.

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I agree on all the points Bullseye.

 

Also, honourable mention to Nortman: the guy can kick, just wow really... now if only the special teams will start to play accordingly...

 

I also hope we don't lose Tyrone Holmes.

Great observation on Nortman.  I have been so fixated on Myers and the struggles of the coverage teams, I neglected to give Nortman his due.  If he continues his level of performance in the regular season, our punting will be in good hands.

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Great write up, as usual! 

 

I'm glad to hear Day was out there competing.  That's really great news.

 

The concern with our FG kicker is troublesome.  I was defending him last year.  But he should have it fixed by now, whether that was practicing technique or getting with a sports psychologist, missing gimme field goals and extra points is not acceptable. 

 

I think our Secondary is going to be the bright spot of our Defense this year.  I like the idea of keeping Marshal over Gratz.  But if I recall, Marshal only played on the outside last year when he got reps.  Can he make the switch to playing inside?  I'm sure he can, but that's one thing you have to credit Gratz on.  He's a big physical guy that can help lay wood on anyone coming down the middle.

 

As for our WR.  I'm hoping Walters makes the cut.  He was such a tough son of a gun last year.  There were so many catches where he bailed out BB5, took a monster hit, and still hung onto the ball.  The guy is a lunch pale, 9-5, working class type WR that I can totally respect.  He's not the fastest, or the tallest, nor the flashiest.  He just puts his head down and gets the job done.

 

Lastly, as Bullseye said, much respect for those that are getting cut down.  It's tough when you follow your dreams and come up short.  But the fact that they made it this far is something to be proud of.  For those that wind up having thier careers cut short, I wish them all the best.

 

OK, well, now we got 10 days before next Sunday.  This is the longest wait of the season!  

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The one thing that came to mind as I watched the game last night was why bother keeping Henne? Allen is good enough to lose a bunch of games miserably, as Henne would do if he were ever required to go into the game, and he'll be cheaper and have a possibility of improvement with time in the league.

 

Plus then we can get to see the feeding frenzy as everyone in the league jumps at the opportunity to sign Henne.

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Other than the lowly drafted part, Dante Fowler fits your point #9 fairly well.

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