The Jacksonville Jaguars

[Wacca Pilatka]

Theyve been heavy on the defense, but I think they are just taking advantage of the opportunity to build some depth. I think hit the two position they wanted for offense in free agency.

I wouldn't be shocked to see us sign a WR and a C either, since Sanders has been in and we've been linked to Dietrich-Smith.

[duvaldude08]

Theyve been heavy on the defense, but I think they are just taking advantage of the opportunity to build some depth. I think hit the two position they wanted for offense in free agency.

I wouldn't be shocked to see us sign a WR and a C either, since Sanders has been in and we've been linked to Dietrich-Smith.

question... I never asked this because I didnt want to sound crazy. Whats the difference in a center, and a guard? Even when meester was here they called him a center, but some people referred to him as a guard.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Center is the interior-most position on the line.  LT, LG, C, RG, RT.

Meester actually started his career as a guard but was moved to center after two seasons or so.  Quite a few players are able to make the transition back and forth between guard and center, but being a center entails needing to make the line calls each play.  Someone like Gators312 who is far more expert in offensive line technique than I could probably fill in a lot more details on the nuances of the positions.

[BridgeTroll]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/13/jaguars-re-sign-jason-babin/

Jaguars re-sign Jason Babin

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 13, 2014, 2:23 PM EDT

AP
Jason Babin is back with the Jaguars.

Babin, who voided the final two years on his previous contract with the Jaguars to become a free agent, decided after a few days of testing the market that he likes it in Jacksonville. The Jaguars announced that they have signed Babin to a new contract today.

The 33-year-old Babin started all 16 games for the Jaguars last year and was one of their better defensive players (not that that's saying much), leading the team with 7.5 sacks.

Babin will be joined on the defensive line this season by a couple of new arrivals from Seattle, Red Bryant and Chris Clemons, both of whom have previously played for head coach Gus Bradley. It appears that the Jaguars' defense is going to have a good group of veteran players up front.

[duvaldude08]

Center is the interior-most position on the line.  LT, LG, C, RG, RT.

Meester actually started his career as a guard but was moved to center after two seasons or so.  Quite a few players are able to make the transition back and forth between guard and center, but being a center entails needing to make the line calls each play.  Someone like Gators312 who is far more expert in offensive line technique than I could probably fill in a lot more details on the nuances of the positions.

Im still confused on the difference in a tail back and running back. MJD has been referred to as both! Why cant this be simple!! Arrgghhh 

[Wacca Pilatka]

There isn't much of one.  I think a lot of the back designations go back to when offenses were run-heavy - the terms quarterback and halfback relate to how far away the player typically lined up behind the line.  I'm not sure if that etymology applies to fullback since a fullback usually lines up in front of a halfback.  I'm also not sure what distinction there is between halfback and tailback, but both terms are generally used to describe a running back whose principal duty is running rather than blocking.  Obviously fullbacks are running backs too even though most of them don't often get the opportunity to run.

[BridgeTroll]

There isn't much of one.  I think a lot of the back designations go back to when offenses were run-heavy - the terms quarterback and halfback relate to how far away the player typically lined up behind the line.  I'm not sure if that etymology applies to fullback since a fullback usually lines up in front of a halfback.  I'm also not sure what distinction there is between halfback and tailback, but both terms are generally used to describe a running back whose principal duty is running rather than blocking.  Obviously fullbacks are running backs too even though most of them don't often get the opportunity to run.

It gets better...

It was the Irish nomenclature of quarter back, half back, and full back that came to North America for use in what was to become the dominant native form of football. The terms became hyphenated and eventually unhyphenated single words, "quarterback" (QB), "halfback" (HB), and "fullback" (FB). The lack of quarterback in the English-Scottish nomenclature for rugby led to the position name "scrum-half" to distinguish the halfback playing close to scrimmage (renamed "scrummage" or "scrum") from another who would "stand off" from it or "fly" away—the "stand-off" or "fly-half".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_American_football_positions

and...

Meanwhile, another position name was introduced. Players were placed in the offensive backfield just outside of their ends, in a position that came to be called "wingback" (WB). Formations with one or two wingbacks came to be called single or double wingback or wing formations.

Over time, the typically fast back who played fullback, on offense and defense, was replaced by a heavier one who presented a greater threat to run with the ball more or less straight ahead, and to tackle his opponent trying to do the same. For this purpose, the player tended to be placed closer to the line than previously—often as far forward as the halfbacks (the offensive backs then forming a letter T, sometimes called a "straight T", later to distinguish it from slight variants wherein other backs did not form a line perpendicular to that from the quarterback) or even farther forward. But the position kept being called "fullback".

Making sense of it all[edit]

The trend away from geometric naming of the offensive positions has led to considerable confusion. It has been said that some coaches at low levels of football, having heard game descriptions that included a team's having "put their tight end in motion", have done exactly so, and incurred the penalty for the resulting illegal motion. Because of the rules of the game, it frequently matters whether a player of the offense is on the line of scrimmage or in the backfield, and in those cases the descriptor "wide receiver" is insufficient and "end in motion" (except in Canadian football, where they're allowed to be shuffling sideways along the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped) is nonsense, although it may reflect the way the player in question is listed on the roster. In describing the play in a National Football League game, one may hear the contorted locution, "The quarterback was eligible to receive a forward pass because he was in the shotgun formation", when it would be far simpler to say that the team's eligible receivers included the tailback who took the snap; the rules apply differently depending on whether the player is positioned behind the snapper to take a handed snap, or further back and hence in the backfield.

Enjoy...

[duvaldude08]

Thanks for confusing me more BridgeTroll LOL!!

[JayBird]

Is it wrong that I want a Jaguar I would actually burn my jersey over losing?!!

[I-10east]

It doesn't get much better being a Jags fan right now. The word is out, players wanna play for Gus.

[Ocklawaha]

http://www.youtube.com/v/oNxLxTZHKM8?hl=en_US

This pretty much 'explains it'.

[duvaldude08]

It doesn't get much better being a Jags fan right now. The word is out, players wanna play for Gus.

Its amazing how this franchises reputation has made a complete turn around in two years. We went from the place no one wanted to go, to the place where want to play. I was reading the article about Gerhart ( i think I spelled it right) and he was saying how he was hearing really good things about Jax from other players, and once he got here he knew this is where he wanted to be.

[Wacca Pilatka]

^ I think a lot of athletes have had positive feelings toward the city once they've experienced it; it's the reason so many former Jaguars end up staying in Jacksonville permanently.  Especially those who like being near the beach, fishing, enjoying a comparatively smaller city environment.  But Shad, Dave, and Gus have caused a sea change in the way players feel about playing for the franchise.

I really enjoyed the video on jaguars.com of Gerhart driving around with J.P. Shadrick and talking about the team and the city, especially his spontaneous Gus impersonation.

[duvaldude08]

^ I think a lot of athletes have had positive feelings toward the city once they've experienced it; it's the reason so many former Jaguars end up staying in Jacksonville permanently.  Especially those who like being near the beach, fishing, enjoying a comparatively smaller city environment.  But Shad, Dave, and Gus have caused a sea change in the way players feel about playing for the franchise.

I really enjoyed the video on jaguars.com of Gerhart driving around with J.P. Shadrick and talking about the team and the city, especially his spontaneous Gus impersonation.

Yeah about the voicemail Gus left him! That was hilarious! But yea I was referring the feelings towards the franchise. Our rep was pretty bad for quite sometime. Its refreshing to finally hear positive things about my Jags for a change.

[I-10east]

Justin Blackmon cited for careless driving.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/15/justin-blackmon-cited-for-jacksonville-crash/