The Jacksonville Jaguars

[MEGATRON]

We are so cursed right now for no apprent reason.

Disagree.  There is an apparent reason: an appalling scarcity of talent.  This team lacks talent in a big way.

If you read my entire message, I also referred to the rash of injuries this year as well.

Every NFL team has injuries.  We are not any different.

And you are?

Really?  I'm a season ticket holder and I refer to my team us "we."

[civil42806]

We are so cursed right now for no apprent reason.

Disagree.  There is an apparent reason: an appalling scarcity of talent.  This team lacks talent in a big way.

If you read my entire message, I also referred to the rash of injuries this year as well.

Every NFL team has injuries.  We are not any different.

And you are?

Really?  I'm a season ticket holder and I refer to my team us "we."

He is right all teams have injuries, normally they have some depth to cover them.  We have not only no depth we have no starting positions that allow us to compete.  next year clean house

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Last year:  Cecil Shorts is a bust, get rid of the Div II bum.
This year:  We need more Shorts, he's the only guy that can catch the ball.  Who the hell is that Blackmon guy and why was I fist pounding everyone with a fist when we drafted him in April?

Two years ago:  Who's Alualu?
This year:  He's still not performing.  Really?  Stat wise, he's the 3rd best DT from that class, behind Geno Atkins (4th rounder, BTW) and Suh.  Plus he's been hobbled by bad knees.  Just because they're not on IR doesn't mean they're not hurt.

Three years ago:  Really, a lineman?
This year:  Monroe would be a fist ballot pro-bowler if he played for another team.  He's given up one sack, one hit and seven hurries this season against Jared Allen (shutout), Julius Peppers (moved to the other side), JJ Watt (moved away from Monroe) and the Freeney/Mathis combo.  I'd say he's pretty good.

The problem is that none of this is translating to wins.  Hell, I want to win as badly as the rest of you, but I seriously don't think blowing it up and starting over is the way to go.  Typically the backup QB is everyone's favorite player when a team struggles... How did Henne look yesterday?  I've got a better question, "Who saw us losing that game when we were up 14-3?  Not me.  MJD went down.  Nwaneri went down.  Gabbert went down.  Well, hell, there goes the offense, he was 8-12 & 110 yds, 1TD 0Int when he went down - pretty nice stat line for the time he played - even with our main RB out and our LG.

A couple other nuggets, and then I'll get off my soapbox.

How do think firing the GM is going to help the Panthers?  Is it the GMs fault that Cam can't play this year?  Rumor has it that Richardson was the one who wanted to commit all that money to RBs.... How's that working out?

21 out of 32 teams DON'T HAVE A WINNING RECORD!!!!!!   By most of your standards, the market should be flooded with GMs and HCs and OCs - Fuck it - Let's fire everyone and redraft the whole lot - all 32.  It'll be like starting a new season on Madden '13.

It's not so much about 'depth' per se, it's about having quality depth at key positions.  We have a damn good back up RB.  Our DT/DE position is strong.  Prosinski seemed to play well, so that project is coming along.   What we don't have are TEs, OLs and LBs (though they're not horrible and getting back Smith will be huge).  Last year it was CBs, but we led the league in IR by a wide margin.   Sure, everyone has injuries, we just keep getting them in key positions.  You can't carry 15 OLs.

Off of the soapbox now.  May the bashing continue.

[comncense]

Do you think this team has shown any REAL signs of progress since we've started this "rebuilding" process under Gene Smith? We seem to be sinking whereas the rest of the AFC South is on the rise. And we definitely aren't the only team in the NFL that has injuries.

[Gators312]

Two years ago:  Who's Alualu?
This year:  He's still not performing.  Really?  Stat wise, he's the 3rd best DT from that class, behind Geno Atkins (4th rounder, BTW) and Suh.  Plus he's been hobbled by bad knees.  Just because they're not on IR doesn't mean they're not hurt.

A Top 10 pick that Gene had "outsmarted" everyone on.   Whether or not he is the "3rd best stat wise" it still doesn't defend that Gene paid way too much for him.   Gene played his I'm smarter than everyone else so I'll pick the guy no one has heard about, and it failed. 

Even Mike Holmgren gets fired. And Gene Smith is no Mike Holmgren. 

Do you even wonder why Gene Smith has been employed by one franchise his entire career. 

It's okay to be an optimist, but to continue to defend Gene's failure to lead this team to success is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Whether or not he is the "3rd best stat wise" it still doesn't defend that Gene paid way too much for him.   Gene played his I'm smarter than everyone else so I'll pick the guy no one has heard about, and it failed. 

C'mon Gators, you're better than this.  How does this make any sense at all?

[Gators312]

21 out of 32 teams DON'T HAVE A WINNING RECORD!!!!!!   By most of your standards, the market should be flooded with GMs and HCs and OCs - Fuck it - Let's fire everyone and redraft the whole lot - all 32.  It'll be like starting a new season on Madden '13.

Off of the soapbox now.  May the bashing continue.

How many of those 21 teams have been in a quagmire for going on 5 years and still have the same GM making personnel decisions?

DD you seem to take it so personally when people critique the Jags.  All of us who take the time to post here are Jags fans, and we want to see them succeed.  I would rather use my time complimenting the job they have done, but they haven't done a good job.  I hate when the media outside of Jax beats up on us, but the only way to fix that is to put a quality product on the field. 

What has Gene Smith done that you can actually stand up  to the 31 other teams and say see our GM is taking us where we need to go he did this.  The Blackmon pick could be one, but hell most of us here would have tried to make that trade, so it's not some big accomplishment.   Monroe a great pick too.   Sure he hasn't completely whiffed on every pick, but overall this team is no better than it was 54 games ago.   

[Gators312]

Whether or not he is the "3rd best stat wise" it still doesn't defend that Gene paid way too much for him.   Gene played his I'm smarter than everyone else so I'll pick the guy no one has heard about, and it failed. 

C'mon Gators, you're better than this.  How does this make any sense at all?

Seriously I didn't take the time to look at the stats to see if he is "3rd best stat wise."

I don't think Alualu is a difference maker for this team and the 10th pick in the draft was too high for how he has performed.

[copperfiend]

Do you think this team has shown any REAL signs of progress since we've started this "rebuilding" process under Gene Smith? We seem to be sinking whereas the rest of the AFC South is on the rise. And we definitely aren't the only team in the NFL that has injuries.

His first two years, they went from 5-11 to 7-9 to 8-8. I am pretty sure that is considered progress. But since losing at Indy in week 15 of the 2010 season, the team has been in a freefall. They were 8-5 with a chance to clinch the division that day in Indy. They are 6-19 since,

[Tacachale]

Do you think this team has shown any REAL signs of progress since we've started this "rebuilding" process under Gene Smith? We seem to be sinking whereas the rest of the AFC South is on the rise. And we definitely aren't the only team in the NFL that has injuries.

His first two years, they went from 5-11 to 7-9 to 8-8. I am pretty sure that is considered progress. But since losing at Indy in week 15 of the 2010 season, the team has been in a freefall. They were 8-5 with a chance to clinch the division that day in Indy. They are 6-19 since,

Good point.

And regardless of anything else, it's really hard to see how Gene keeps his job after this. His legacy is too tied up in hires that were supposed to pay off, but we've been careening downward.

[copperfiend]

He's dead man walking. Khan knows he needs to shake things up. If they only win two or three games, I don't see how Khan can justify keeping Mularkey. I think Mularkey is probably a good coach and seems like a good guy but he is in a tough situation right now because he was a "Gene Hire". There have been one-and-done coaches before. Cam Cameron in Miami and Jim Mora in Seattle are recent examples that come to mind. We tried the new GM/same coach thing in 2009 and it is proving to be a failure.

And even when Gene was hired, he was an in-house promotion. Khan needs to look outside the building for his replacement. I look at Atlanta and Houston as examples. Both hired young assistant GM's from winning enviroments. They both hired their own coach and were allowed to get their own QB's as well. Khan needs to look at organizations like Baltimore, New England, Green Bay and the NY Giants and find some young gun. Let him hire the scouting staff, let him hire the coaching staff, let him pick his QB.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

So then why don't we just play the what-if game since we all have the benefit of hindsight:

We had taken Cam Newton instead of Gabbert? - We would have had a dynamic offensive player that had a WOW factor on the way to 6 wins last season.  Now we get to hear him babble on like a schoolgirl everytime they lose.  I'll take Gabbert.

We had snagged Mario Williams in FA?  -  We would be up in arms about how poorly a job our GM does and how the new owner just came in the throw money around so he can pack the team up and leave.  Because, it's the GMs fault that players get hurt.  Is Robinson's concussion Gene's fault, too?  What about Session's?

Had taken Timmy Tebow instead of Alualu?  Well, at least B. Anger wouldn't have to worry about getting hit, since, you know, he'd have his own personal Jesus punt protector.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

And even when Gene was hired, he was an in-house promotion. Khan needs to look outside the building for his replacement. I look at Atlanta and Houston as examples. Both hired young assistant GM's from winning enviroments. They both hired their own coach and were allowed to get their own QB's as well. Khan needs to look at organizations like Baltimore, New England, Green Bay and the NY Giants and find some young gun. Let him hire the scouting staff, let him hire the coaching staff, let him pick his QB.

How's that working out in KC?  Pioli and Dimitrov were both directly from the Belechick tree.  Atlanta has more playmakers than you can count.  KC appears to be a train-wreck, but that's what happens when you start the coaching carousel - They're on their 3rd coach since '08.

[Gators312]

Tebow...LoL you can't stand him but can't keep his name out of your mouth.

Pierre-Paul, Pouncey or Dunlap if you want a Gator, or 30 other guys in that draft were better value than Alualu.

So if we can't critique his drafting in the past because hindsight is 20/20, and we can't critique what he has done recently because that doesn't give any time to prove their worth, when can we realistically look at Gene's resume??

Seriously I wonder if one of you are married to Gene, or one of his immediate relatives. 

[copperfiend]

And even when Gene was hired, he was an in-house promotion. Khan needs to look outside the building for his replacement. I look at Atlanta and Houston as examples. Both hired young assistant GM's from winning enviroments. They both hired their own coach and were allowed to get their own QB's as well. Khan needs to look at organizations like Baltimore, New England, Green Bay and the NY Giants and find some young gun. Let him hire the scouting staff, let him hire the coaching staff, let him pick his QB.

How's that working out in KC?  Pioli and Dimitrov were both directly from the Belechick tree.  Atlanta has more playmakers than you can count.  KC appears to be a train-wreck, but that's what happens when you start the coaching carousel - They're on their 3rd coach since '08.

Well obviously you have to hire the right guy. It's no different than any other business. Atlanta does have alot of playmakers and all but White were brought in by Dimitroff.