today from http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-Jagu...030055d373

 

Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell joined Mike Dempsey and John Oehser on Jaguars Today on 1010XL radio Monday. A look at some of Caldwell’s pre-combine thoughts:
 
*Caldwell discussed Bortles, emphasizing that the third-year quarterback has accounted for 64 touchdowns the past two seasons. Caldwell was asked if Bortles definitely will be the Jaguars’ starting quarterback next season. “I would say that he would be the front-runner,” Caldwell said. “We’re going to have to find a way to make up 64 touchdowns if he’s not our quarterback. … Like Coach Coughlin said Friday, he has to play better. I think he knows that. We all know that. …”
 
*Caldwell said the 2017 NFL free-agency class “is probably not the best we’ve seen. You can’t manufacture players. I think that’s probably a function of the 2013 [NFL] Draft, too. The 2013 draft probably wasn’t the best draft on record, either. You’re seeing the second part of that in this free-agency class.” Free agency opens March 9, the start of the new league year. “What you see is there’s maybe one player at each one of the positons that you’d maybe like to have, and then there’s a drop-off and then you have your next tier,” Caldwell said. “That’s the way it is every year. We’re not going to fill all of our needs on March 9. We may fill one or two, and then see where we’re at.”
 
*Caldwell said he likes the right side of the offensive line, saying that guard A.J. Cann can be a top-level NFL guard and “is still trending forward,” and that right tackle Jermey Parnellimproved as he got healthy in the second half of last season. “He played really well those last four or five games of the season,” Caldwell said of Parnell. “We feel good about the right side of the line.” Caldwell also said either Cann or center Brandon Linder can play multiple spots on the interior of the line if offseason acquisitions merit such a change. …

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Not a fan of his comments about the right side of the line.

 

"Sure, he had an awful 10 games, but his last 6 weren't nearly as bad."   

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I want blue chip free agents and draft picks to fill out the offensive line if I get my way. Brandon Linder is the only one that would be guaranteed anything. Don't get me started on Bortles and using 64 touchdowns as justification for anything concerning him either; the guy can't throw a football normally and he's 1 of 32 starting NFL QBs in the world. I don't care how many tds, he's not good and it's been obvious.


I'm quickly becoming anti Caldwell.

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Notable were Dave's comments on Jack's lack of utilization last year, where suggested there was no explanation.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

Not a fan of his comments about the right side of the line.

 

"Sure, he had an awful 10 games, but his last 6 weren't nearly as bad."   

He actually made it quite clear he believed his play was hampered by injury prior to getting healthier and improving. 

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Not a fan of his comments about the right side of the line.

 

"Sure, he had an awful 10 games, but his last 6 weren't nearly as bad."   

 

Not a fan of you misrepresenting his comments about the right side of the line.

 

"Yeah, let's quietly ignore the fact that he was specifically talking about a player playing injured for ten games, but showing good form as he recovered, and hope nobody calls me out on my transparent agenda..."

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Some of my takeaways in addition to those posted above:


Said multiple times that he expects Jack to be on the field more this year, even sliding in a "and probably should have last year." Said "the sky's the limit" in reference to his potential impact.


Mentioned Cann repeatedly as a guy they like, both when talking specifically about the Oline this coming year, and about young players they view as ascending. Said he has the potential to be a "top tier player at G at this level."


The Coughlin/Caldwell/Marrone dynamic has gone even more smoothly than expected thus far. (Obviously most of the intense decisions such as FA and the draft are still ahead, but encouraging.)


Reiterated his belief in building through the draft, viewing FA as a "band-aid", or necessary evil of sorts.


When discussing moving on from Julius, dropped a little nugget about wanting to keep all 3 of ARob, Hurns, and Lee. (A question many of us had as far as the vision at WR)


Spoke highly of the young bucks (both Koyack and Sterling) at TE.


Supported Marrone and Coughlin's "no nonsense" approach.


Mentioned the desire/obligation to bring a winning team to the city of Jacksonville and to the "deserving" fanbase. Also said they think "we're close to that."


I've always been, and continue to be, a Caldwell supporter, and I'm glad it seems like he's transitioning from the building-the-structure stage to the it's-time-for-results stage.


It is time for results, but I have faith. Hell, what else can I do. Love my Jags no matter what.

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Lol Parnell was awful.

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Lol Parnell was awful.

Thank you for this deeply enlightening input. What would this thread be without you?

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Not a fan of his comments about the right side of the line.

 

"Sure, he had an awful 10 games, but his last 6 weren't nearly as bad."   

I've been saying all offseason that based on Marrone's unprovoked gushing about Parnell the final 2 weeks of the season hinted that RT was not nearly as high of a priority for the FO as it was for the fans. 

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Lol Parnell was awful.

 

Awful? If Parnell was "awful" what word would you use for Guy Whimper? The Jags haven't had even a mediocre RT since Maurice Williams, and he wasn't any better than Parnell.


 

In fairness, I too thought that Parnell was a liability. But if he was playing injured, well that explains a lot.

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"Why should I give information to you when all you want to do is find something wrong with it?"

I've been saying all offseason that based on Marrone's unprovoked gushing about Parnell the final 2 weeks of the season hinted that RT was not nearly as high of a priority for the FO as it was for the fans.

It would appear you were correct. Caldwell stressed the emphasis on allowing the new coaches coming in to evaluate their position groups independently as well, so given his statement about the right side, it would seem Tom and Pat (Oline coach) share Doug's opinion.


I wasn't a big Parnell fan and certainly feel we could get younger at the spot, but interesting nevertheless.


Perhaps injuries were a much larger factor than we realized at RT, with so much of our focus on the injuries at LG, and the injury recovery at LT.


Or perhaps it's a smokescreen and they have plans for RT (he did mention targeting at least one player at every position). Who knows.


Anyway, figured I'd give you props as it seems you were right, since I've also ragged on you a couple times. Despite our occasional differences of opinion, I do value your input, particularly draft-related, and I'm glad you didn't go through with your self-imposed exile.

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It would appear you were correct. Caldwell stressed the emphasis on allowing the new coaches coming in to evaluate their position groups independently as well, so given his statement about the right side, it would seem Tom and Pat (Oline coach) share Doug's opinion.


I wasn't a big Parnell fan and certainly feel we could get younger at the spot, but interesting nevertheless.


Perhaps injuries were a much larger factor than we realized at RT, with so much of our focus on the injuries at LG, and the injury recovery at LT.


Or perhaps it's a smokescreen and they have plans for RT (he did mention targeting at least one player at every position). Who knows.


Anyway, figured I'd give you props as it seems you were right, since I've also ragged on you a couple times. Despite our occasional differences of opinion, I do value your input, particularly draft-related, and I'm glad you didn't go through with your self-imposed exile.

I would love to go after Wagner, just never felt like it was something the team had a high priority on.

 

Also, decided it was better to just put some of the people who had no interest in being adults on the ignore preferences instead...has worked out pretty well so far. 

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A few more quotes (leaving out some of the coach-speak fluff) from Caldwell for those that can't listen for whatever reason: 

 

Is the new F.O. dynamic w/ Coughlin what you expected, any surprises?

 

It's pretty much what I expected. Shad did a good job of outlining the plan. If anything is a surprise it's how well Tom, Doug and I communicate. It's a really good thing to have him in the building and to bounce ideas off of him. 

 

How did these latest personnel decisions get made? 

 

....we have a very extensive process.... after everyone's evaluations are done <i>separately we all sit down - the coaches, coordinators,  personnel staff,  Doug and Tom and we go through each player individually. </i>

<i>...we try to place a value on each player. We make a list of needs on each side of the ball and determine which players we'd like to bring back....</i>

 

 

Is Blake definitely the QB in 2017?

 

He's the frontrunner....  he's got to play better. I think he knows that.... He took a step back last year. 

 

What went wrong in 2017?

 

When you only win 3 games, there's obviously more than one thing that went wrong. Everyone contributes to 3 and 13. Coaches, players, everyone. 

...we are going through the organization with a fine toothed comb to see where we can improve.  

<i> We lost about 10 games by a TD or less. If we find a way to win half of those we may win the division.... I think Coach Marrone is going to stress this to our players in the offseason and there's no more nonsense that's going to be taking place here. </i>

 

 

 

<i> </i>

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Thanks for posting the additional comments guys, I was only able to read the ones posted on jaguars.com but there's good stuff you added.

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Hes really fully bought into blakes box score stats for validation lord help us

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Hes really fully bought into blakes box score stats for validation lord help us

Or maybe he's simply not going bash the kid on the radio - nor would he  show his cards regarding other QBs in consideration to compete. 

 

(You can also take solace in TC's less veiled comments on Blake's turnovers from a few days ago. )

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A few more quotes (leaving out some of the coach-speak fluff) from Caldwell for those that can't listen for whatever reason: 

 

Is the new F.O. dynamic w/ Coughlin what you expected, any surprises?

 

It's pretty much what I expected. Shad did a good job of outlining the plan. If anything is a surprise it's how well Tom, Doug and I communicate. It's a really good thing to have him in the building and to bounce ideas off of him. 

 

How did these latest personnel decisions get made? 

 

....we have a very extensive process.... after everyone's evaluations are done <i>separately we all sit down - the coaches, coordinators,  personnel staff,  Doug and Tom and we go through each player individually. </i>

<i>...we try to place a value on each player. We make a list of needs on each side of the ball and determine which players we'd like to bring back....</i>

 

 

Is Blake definitely the QB in 2017?

 

He's the frontrunner....  he's got to play better. I think he knows that.... He took a step back last year. 

 

What went wrong in 2017?

 

When you only win 3 games, there's obviously more than one thing that went wrong. Everyone contributes to 3 and 13. Coaches, players, everyone. 

...we are going through the organization with a fine toothed comb to see where we can improve.  

<i> We lost about 10 games by a TD or less. If we find a way to win half of those we may win the division.... I think Coach Marrone is going to stress this to our players in the offseason and there's no more nonsense that's going to be taking place here. </i>

 

 

 

<i> </i>

 

A follow up question to that should have been "why did you allow it to persist for as long as you did?"

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I really don't need to hear from him at all.

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A follow up question to that should have been "why did you allow it to persist for as long as you did?"

They did re-address that comment later, and he glossed it over saying something like:

"I don't mean to say there was a lot of it taking place before but - with Tom and Doug here - these players should get the message right away..." 

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