Jacksonville Jags Training Camp Questions Answered

It is an annual right of passage for NFL fans similar to the changing of the seasons.

Training camp marks the official start of the upcoming season, and the Jacksonville Jaguars released their official practice schedule this week.

For seasoned veterans of training camp, the routine is familiar and ritualistic.  But, for those who have never attended training camp practices, the questions vary from where to park to what can be brought to the practice facilities.

As a service to my fellow Jaguar fans, I will do my best to assist you in making the training camp experience a pleasurable one by anticipating your questions and answering them now.  For those questions not listed, I will happily provide you with answers or advice as they come in to Bleacher Report. After spending most of the past seven years attending training camp, I have developed a good set of guidelines to live by when heading to these practices.

Q—Where is the Jaguar’s practice facility?

BR—For those familiar with the layout of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, the practice fields are located north west of the stadium adjacent to Gate 2, beside parking lots N and P. 

Q—Does it cost anything to attend training camp practice sessions?

BR—No, there is no charge to attend the practices.  Parking is also free in lots N and P.

Q—Can I bring a cooler to the practices?

BR—No. You are allowed to bring in beverages or food, but coolers are not allowed.  There are vendors there selling food and beverages at discounted prices.

Q—Can I bring a lawn chair?

BR—No. There is seating capacity for more than 2,000 fans at the practice facility, and standing room areas surrounding the east and north sides of the fields.

Q—Can I buy Jaguars merchandise or season tickets at training camp?

BR—Yes. The Jaguars do have vendors set up to sell Jaguar clothing, collectibles, media guides, and other product.  There is also a tent set up to give fans an opportunity to get information about, or to purchase, season tickets.  There is also a tent set up for fans to join the Jacksonville Jaguars Booster Club during some sessions of training camp.

Q—Are the practice sessions really crowded?

BR—That depends on when you plan on attending practices.  Normally, the first practice session on the first day is well attended, as is the first night practice when the players put on pads.  Traditionally, that practice is kicked off with a spirited Oklahoma Drill that has become a huge fan favorite.  Aside from those two practice sessions and the scrimmage inside the stadium at the end of the first week, the crowds are steady but not overwhelming.

Q—What would be the best time for me to get player and coach autographs?

BR – Autograph seekers normally think the best time to come out is early in training camp.  However, the early sessions are normally the most crowded.  The Jaguars mandate that the players sign autographs on the way out of the practice facility on their way back to the stadium.  Some players are more accommodating than others, but in most instances you can get the majority of the team to sign your merchandise if you remain patient.  Players are not permitted to sign autographs prior to practice sessions.

Q—Which practices are a waste of time to attend?

BR—If the schedule says “special teams only”, go to the beach or play golf.  These sessions are normally half-speed practices, and their focus is on player responsibilities during special teams.  Many of the players that you would want to see do not even come out of the stadium for these sessions opting to get additional attention from the training staff, or to sit in on position unit meetings.  If you happen to be a kicker or punter geek, or you are a huge fan of long snappers, then you have four special practices to satisfy your tastes.

Q—Can I bring a camera?

BR – Yes, still photography is permitted. The same restrictions that apply for games applies at training camp.  If the lens is more than 6″ long, it’s not allowed.  Video cameras are not permitted at practices.  I’ve seen the rent-a-cops actually come up into the bleachers to check the length of some lenses, so they do enforce the rules.

Q—Is there a lot of contact during the practices?

BR – This is where things get a little fuzzy.  Fans get excited about the prospect for contact when the first padded practice kicks off with the Oklahoma Drills.  However, the reality is that the team is not allowing full-speed contact, so many fans walk away disappointed in what they see when the pads do go on.  The risk of injury is a significant concern. 

For fans of trench warfare, the evaluation process for both lines does increase greatly when the players are in pads, because they do fully engage, even though they may not take a play all the way to the ground.  You can get a good idea of footwork, techniques, and pure physical force from these padded practices. 

When they say these are contact drills, try to set the correct expectations. It is contact, but they are not out there decapitating their teammates. They do not tackle the skill players or sack the quarterbacks. 

As long as you go into practices understanding what contact means in a camp environment, you will be happy with the action on the field.

Q—How close are we when we watch practice?

BR—In seasons past, the Jaguars  loved to practice at least one practice field apart from the fans, and sometimes at then far end of the facility.  Tom Coughlin was notorious for making certain that if you wanted to watch camp, you needed binoculars. 

This year, the Jaguars have moved the bleachers out to the field turf surface so that fans can get closer to the natural grass fields.  This should get folks much closer to the action depending on where they put the bleachers precisely. 

Q—Is August 13 the official end of training camp?

BR—No.  That is the official end of the portion of training camp that is open to the public.  The team will continue in camp mode for a while longer, leading up to the final roster cuts.

 

If you have any additional questions about training camp that you would like answered, feel free to post them here and I will do my best to respond if I can, or I will get you the answers. 

Here is a schedule for training camp this year (make note of the special teams only sessions!).

August 2: Players Report

August 3: 10:45 a.m. and 7 p.m.

August 4: 10:45 a.m. (special teams only) and 7 p.m.

August 5 10:45 a.m. and 7 p.m.

August 6: 10:45 a.m. (special teams only) and 7 p.m.

August. 7: 10:45 a.m. and 7 p.m.

August 8: 10:45 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. scrimmage at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium

August 10: 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (special teams only)

August 11: 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

August 12: 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (special teams only)

August 13: 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

Jacksonville Jaguars Enter Arresting Season

With Organized Team Activities now in the rearview mirror, the NFL enters a period of down time before players return for training camp.

This dead zone is usually the point on the calendar where teams around the league collectively hold their breath hoping that all players find recreation activities that do not end with a booking photo and police report as the only souvenir. 

Few teams in the league have encountered more anxiety than the Jaguars have in recent years. From traffic violations to violent confrontations, the Jaguars have seen their fair share of headaches to contend with as players are left to their own devices for several weeks before they are mandated to report for training camp.

This is the time where players like Matt Jones found time to hop in the back seat of an SUV in a darkened Arkansas alley to cut up his cocaine with a Footlocker credit card.

Reggie Williams was cited for driving carelessly, and upon further investigation, a small amount of wacky weed was found in his car. 

Brian Williams took his Bentley for a spin along Bay Street with a female companion and allegedly drifted from his lane, forcing a police cruiser to take evasive action in front of the Police Memorial Building. He was charged with DUI. 

The case fell apart later, but not before he had issued an apology and the team was smeared in the local media.

Gerald Sensabaugh tried to demonstrate his Evel Knievel prowess by hot dogging with his motorcycle and wound up with a careless driving arrest. He also was snagged by the same local yokel police from his home town for carrying a concealed weapon during another traffic stop. 

Those charges were later dropped, but again, the police report was plastered all over the local media painting the Jaguars as a team out of control.

One player was arrested for driving under the influence after falling asleep at a fast food drive thru while still behind the wheel of his vehicle.

Khalif Barnes was arrested for a DUI and subsequently caught on tape blasting the city of Jacksonville as a hick town full of racists.

Barnes later drove his car into a tree in his neighborhood, sprinted home, then tried to claim the car was stolen before changing his story to avoid being arrested for filing a false police report. 

Richard Collier was cut down last year during this same time frame. He sat in his car waiting for a woman he had met at a bar to change so that they could hit the town in the early morning hours in Riverside. 

While some of the incidents that have occurred over the years are certainly minor transgressions, they are placed under a magnifying glass because they are on a bigger stage with brighter lights thanks to the NFL brand.

The Jaguars have been muddied up in recent years because of the inordinate number of arrests compared with other teams. 

Only the Cincinnati Bengals have managed to earn more court docket frequent flier mileage over the past six years. They get more publicity for their arrests because they are a more prominent franchise, but the little engine that could in Jacksonville has not fallen short due to a lack of effort. 

The mantra is the same every year when the players are sent on their way at the end of OTAs: Stay out of trouble.

Some get the message, but there are those special few who slap on their headphones and ignore the annual speech. The end result usually winds up providing fodder for the local fish wrapper and talk radio.

Jack Del Rio must flinch any time his phone rings during this stretch of the calendar. 

With all of the changes taking place at One Stadium Place, the focus has been on removing the potential for distractions.  More importantly, Gene Smith and Del Rio have been intent on keeping the Jaguars out of the local media with anything but good news about charity work within the community. 

The players who created most of the turmoil in recent years are either currently out of the league, or struggling to stick around with other teams. 

The Jaguars have focused on character as a top priority in 2009. It remains to be seen if this approach will keep them out of the headlines. Less than a week into the dead zone, they have managed to avoid having their players pop up on any police reports. 

Less than a week in, the new and improved Jaguars appear to be on track. If they can dodge trouble for another 39 days, the team can officially claim their first victory of 2009.

Jacksonville Jaguars House Cleaning Shows Times Are Changing

When the Jaguars signed Cleo Lemon to a relatively lucrative three-year contract last season, many people questioned the decision. 

Those questions grew louder as Lemon struggled in the preseason while long-time journeyman Todd Bouman outplayed him. 

Many thought that nepotism played a small part because of the fact that former personnel boss, James “Shack” Harris had been an integral part of Lemon finding himself a spot on a roster in the NFL when the Baltimore Ravens picked him up nearly two years after his college career had ended. 

Harris had a certain fondness for Lemon, and the accusation had at least some basis in truth.

Lemon had never dazzled anyone with his abilities in Baltimore, San Diego, or Miami, where he started in eight games during two seasons with the Dolphins. 

Lemon was an average quarterback by any stretch of the imagination.

When he won the backup position over Todd Bouman, the general consensus was that the contract he signed made it impossible for the Jaguars to anything other than stick with him as the primary insurance policy should David Garrard be injured.  

But, during training camp, neither quarterback was able to separate from the other.  When one struggled, the other did as well.  Because performance could not be counted upon to make the determination, economics played a major part for obvious reasons. 

The Jaguars had committed to a chunk of guaranteed money that was significant enough to warrant the decision.

Fortunately, the Jaguars were never put into a position where they had to discover whether the investment was a wise one or not.  Lemon was never called into any extended action as a result of injury, and only played sparingly in two games where he made no pass attempts.

As the team began the process of preparing for the upcoming season, a roster purge was expected, and Lemon was considered a primary target. 

With Harris no longer in the picture, Gene Smith was trying to eliminate any dead wood from the roster that was considered a mistake to begin with. 

When the first waves of cuts were announced, Lemon somehow managed to survive.  However, his performance in mini-camp, and in organized team activities left a considerable amount of room for improvement. 

The decision was made to bring back the aging Bouman to provide some motivation for Lemon. 

It never materialized. 

As the team concluded the last week of organized team activities, Lemon was on the bubble.  That bubble burst this past week when he was released. 

With the cut, the team eliminated one of the few remaining questionable moves employed by the former personnel team.

The roster purge is obviously not completed yet, but the names that will follow will more than likely carry less cachet than what has been the case so far. 

With former starters like Jerry Porter, Drayton Florence, Reggie Williams, Matt Jones, and Khalif Barnes allowed to leave in free agency or cut outright, the team has been focused on eliminating the stench that has been hovering over the franchise in recent years to start anew. 

Lemon was just the latest casualty in the fumigation process.

Gene Smith appears to be intent on trying to rebuild the roster in a way which will minimize distractions and allow the team to thrive. 

So far, the effort appears to be on the right track.  The distractions are gone.

But, as is usually the case, new diversions are born.  Much depends upon how well Smith has been able to retool the roster to bring in players who will be more focused on the team dynamic and winning, and less focused on their own personal agendas. 

It is a new day in Jacksonville Jaguars history, and times are indeed changing. 

Whether this is for the better or not remains to be seen, but the sense for now is only good things will come from the decisions being made by Gene Smith.

Jacksonville Jaguars David Garrard: Sink or Swim in 2009

The offense has been the epicenter for most of the retooling effort this year for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Gene Smith has orchestrated departure of two starting offensive linemen, three receivers, and one of the greatest Jaguars in franchise history at running back.  The purge was significant, and it was needed coming off a season in which the team’s offense ranked in the bottom third of the league in most major categories. 

The one area where the team floated the notion of possible upgrade possibilities was at quarterback.  The Jaguars sent scouts to look at Mark Sanchez and Matt Stafford and appeared to be zeroing in on the USC quarterback if he was available when they picked eighth in the draft.

Coming off a year in which David Garrard set career milestones for attempts, completions, yards per game, and total yardage in a single season, it would be difficult to give the impression that he had actually regressed from his performance in 2007.  But, that is precisely what happened.

Most attributed his struggles to a problematic offensive line riddled by injuries so severe that 80 percent of the starting unit missed at least some playing time during the course of the season.  Two starters wound up on the Injured Reserve list with a third missing half the season because of a ruptured biceps tendon.

Others linked David’s struggles to a receiving corps that was prone to drop balls as often as they would catch them.  The receivers struggled to gain separation or stretch the field enough to force teams to defend against the pass.

In the end, it was a group effort that saw the offense take such a significant step back as a unit last season.  The problems with the line and receiving corps were valid, but David was also at least partially to blame for the regression.

Garrard signed a contract extension making him the highest paid Jaguar in franchise history prior to the start of the 2008 season.  That deal put higher expectations on him to at least match his performance in 2007, when he was one of the higher rated quarterbacks in the league. 

While it was probably unfair to link his performance expectations to the contract that he had signed, there was no reason to think that he could not meet these demands when the season began.   In fact, the team came into the 2008 season with high hopes for going deeper into the playoffs, possibly contending for the first Super Bowl berth in franchise history.

There was trouble with Garrard’s performance last season that actually started to percolate late in the 2007 season.  Teams had started to figure out that David did not have the aptitude for solid down field vision, and that he preferred to keep the passing attack more limited to slants and dump offs, opting for the check down more often than the deeper option.

As opposing teams adjusted to his style of play, Garrard began to struggle.

That carried over to last season where the memory of his amazing 15 touchdown, three interception performance was still fresh.  He was able to match his career high for touchdowns by posting 15 scores again last season through 16 games.  Unfortunately, he also tossed 13 picks in the process, seemingly coming back down to earth in the process.

There were times where his decision making seemed to be out of sync with what was happening on the field.  He forced passes, and relied more heavily on the outlet receivers instead of allowing plays to develop. 

Obviously, that was at least partially due to the fact that there were breakdowns along the offensive line.  However, there were also times when David simply allowed the clock in his head to dictate when it was time to get rid of the ball even if the pressure was not immediately upon him.

Garrard had opportunities to extend plays by simply stepping up in the pocket.  In many instances he took the second option, dropping the pass off to a running back or tight end.  At other times, he would run out of the pocket, and rather than throw the ball away he would run it out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.  This happened so often that it earned the tag “self sack” any time David kept the ball instead of throwing it away after leaving the pocket. 

The Jaguars have spent a great deal of energy to fix the passing game over the past several years, but never as much as they have this time around. 

Whether Torry Holt can prove to be capable of being a true number one receiver at this point in his career or not remains to be seen.  The hope is that he has enough in the tank and that his knees will hold up to the rigors of starting in the NFL so that he can become that reliable outlet for David to target. 

The offensive line has been retooled to bring in new tackles to help protect David so that he has the time and level of comfort required to stay in the pocket to let plays develop.

The crop of receivers competing for roster spots is a skilled group of players with the ability to shake coverage and stretch the field.  The team will no longer rely on larger, lumbering receivers who do not possess the speed to take a play vertical, or the route running skills and technique to shed coverage and gain separation.

It all falls upon David Garrard this year and how he reacts to the changes taking place around him. 

The team gave him a tacit vote of confidence by refraining from pursuing a quarterback in free agency or through the draft.  There were discussions prior to the draft regarding a possibilities, but in the end the Jaguars made the decision to continue with their current commitment. 

For now, this is David Garrard’s team.

If he should stumble again this year, the blame is going to have to fall more squarely on him.  The team will be forced to contemplate their long term options at the position.  David is now well into his thirties.  Hoping that he will make continuous strides to improve will start to become unrealistic if things go badly this year. 

2009 is a make or break season for David Garrard.  The spotlight will be smoking hot and aimed in his direction.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars Receivers: Torry Holt and The Guys

When David Garrard surveys the field in 2009, there will not be many familiar faces in teal looking back at him from the secondary.  Other than Dennis Northcutt and Mike Walker, the Jaguars receiving corps has been completely rebuilt for 2009. 

It is a good thing.

A critical missing piece for the Jacksonville Jaguars in recent years has been the lack of a vertical passing attack.  Since his arrival in Jacksonville, Jack Del Rio has scoured the ranks to find the magic fairy dust he could sprinkle on an historically pedestrian unit to make them a more potent weapon in the offensive attack.

The Jaguars have traditionally been a very good running team during Del Rio’s tenure, ranking near the top of the league in key statistical categories for five of the past six seasons.

Where they have been less successful is in the passing game.  Whether it is an issue with the quarterback, or with injuries along the offensive line, for some reason the Jaguars have simply been unable to get any real traction with their passing attack. 

They have had the occasional flash, but for the most part the lack of consistency in stretching the field with a vertical attack has given opposing defenses ample opportunity to load up the box and come after the quarterback.  Without any fear of repercussion, this strategy has been an effective tool in slowing down the Jaguars offense, and a stumbling block in allowing the team to get to the next level.

So, entering 2009 we see the latest iteration in the long-standing effort to build a receiving corps that could finally break the dry spell for the team. 

Will this finally be the year where they get it right?

For a team desperately looking for the right combination of players to make this work, rebuilding a unit around a 33-year-old veteran would normally seem like a bad approach.  However, when that veteran is a future Hall of Fame receiver, and you have a unit loaded with young talent, it might just be the right approach for this team.

Torry Holt arrives on the scene in Jacksonville as the latest player hoped to be the guy that can turn things around for the receiving corps.  With his impressive track record and his professionalism on the field, the goal is to use him not only to produce on the field, but also to serve as a mentor to the younger players that are fighting for roster spots, and for playing time.

For now, there does not appear to be a challenge to his status as the No. 1 receiver.  This is especially true when looking at his statistics last season.  In a down year, Holt’s individual stats are practically identical to the entire receiving corps currently on the roster for the Jaguars.  The hope is that Holt will be able to rebound and validate his status as the go-to guy in this offense, and in the process the younger receivers should learn and develop as a group.

Lining up on the opposite side of the field, for now, is Mike Walker.

Walker has yet to find any real statistical success at the NFL level.  He has had one solid performance in his three year career, putting up more than 100 yards of receiving against Pittsburgh in 2008.  Walker came into the league with high expectations that were tempered because of health issues. 

For the first two seasons, he was struggling with the knee injury that slowed him in college.  In 2008, he appeared to be poised to have a big season.  He was healthy, and ready to get back to the business of making plays.  However, the combination of minor injuries, and personal tragedy that served as a major distraction derailed his hopes of taking the next step.

With 2009 now in focus, Walker seems prepared for the challenge.  In a recent press conference, Walker spoke highly of having Torry Holt on the field to serve as a mentor.  From his perspective, he said that Holt has already helped him to improve his stance at the line, and how he comes out of his breaks during his routes. 

Walker also said that his goal this year was to avoid injuries and to achieve success. He is spending extra time in the weight room working with the new training staff.  He feels confident that by making his body stronger, it will allow him to avoid some of the nagging injuries that have undermined his progress over the past three seasons. 

He understands that consistency is the key to reaching the next level among NFL receivers.  Walker has always shown that he has the talent, whether it is route running, hands, or speed.  He possesses all of the tools required to be a success at the professional level.  He has simply been unable to put it all together up to this point, but with a renewed sense of energy, he seems prepared to make the necessary changes in his approach to become a regular contributor for the Jaguars.

While the two starting receiver positions appear to be a lock barring any surprises, the focus shifts to the rest of the guys vying for spots on the roster. 

There is a crowded field trying to win the slot position.

Based solely on experience and production, Dennis Northcutt currently holds the edge.  This is obviously not set in stone, but he was one of the more reliable outlets that David Garrard targeted last season, and he is the only receiver that has a significant body of work here in Jacksonville. 

He will certainly be pushed by the younger receivers that were brought in during an active offseason, but Northcutt seems to hold all of the cards for now.  He has had a solid spring preparing for the upcoming season.

The wild cards in how quickly the receiving corps will fare in 2009 are the rookies.  All three players represent a transition from the big, tall, lumbering receivers which became the trademark for drafts over the past six seasons. 

While they are definitely smaller in stature, they bring a different dimension to the roster from what was seen previously. 

Let’s take a look.

The Jaguars took Mike Thomas in the fourth round of the draft this year.  A lot of questions surrounded the selection based on his 5’8″ height, but nobody questioned his ability.  His 259 receptions at Arizona set the Pac-10 all time conference record. 

Because of his size, he will most likely challenge Dennis Northcutt for receptions out of the slot position.  If he thrives in that role in the preseason, he could push the more costly Northcutt out the door before the end of training camp.  He lacks the top end speed to be a legitimate threat outside, but he does  have the ability to exploit soft coverage in the middle of the field. 

How Thomas responds to the challenge of putting on the pads and dealing with contact remains to be seen.  That will go a long way in determining the fate of the veteran, Northcutt.

Another receiver that will be competing for time in the slot is Jarett Dillard.  The fifth round pick out of Rice is the first Owl All-American in half a century and a consensus pick for conference honors in Conference USA for three consecutive years. 

Dillard has outstanding hands and ball skills, and runs precision routes that allow him to maneuver in traffic.

He proved to be one of the most productive receivers in NCAA history, setting the standard for touchdown receptions (60) and finishing his collegiate career ninth overall for receiving yardage (4,138 yards). 

Having a nose for the end zone will go a long way in securing his spot with the team if he proves to be able to continue that trend at the NFL level.  The preseason will be a real test of his ability to transition his game for the next level. 

The Jaguars grabbed their final receiver in the draft when they spent one of their seventh round picks on Tiquan Underwood. 

In most cases, he would be considered Mr. Irrelevant to the Jaguars.  However, the one asset that he brings to the table that the other additions do not is pure speed.  It could give him a viable shot at a roster position as one of the fastest players in the NFL draft this year.

His speed was readily apparent in the rookie camp in May as he ran right through the secondary on more than one occasion.  The concern is that he could wind up being a similar type player to another former Jaguar who had world class speed, Alvis Whitted.  As fast as Whitted was, catching the ball was always the problem here in Jacksonville.  He simply could not hang on to a football. 

His most likely path to the NFL will be via the special team route as a kickoff return specialist or gunner on punts. 

He seems like a project based on scouting reports that have listed him as a long strider lacking any suddenness.  That makes his route running skills somewhat suspect.  If you toss in his reluctance to go over the middle because of his wiry build and it really does point to a special team guy who might be a development project for the long haul. 

He has an uphill task ahead of him to just make the roster.

The depth at the slot receiver position assures a very lively competition during training camp.

On the outside, one receiver who stood out during early camps was Nate Hughes.  A practice squad player who came into the league with Cleveland, Hughes showed nice ball skills making several difficult catches, showing nice athletic ability in the process. 

It may not be enough for him to crack the final roster, but the Jaguars like what they have seen from him so far this offseason.  Jack Del Rio singled him out late last month when he discussed the outstanding offseason that Hughes has enjoyed so far. 

It never hurts to get an endorsement from your boss at this level. 

The forgotten man for the Jaguars has to be Troy Williamson.  The speedy receiver and former first round pick has been quiet this offseason after struggling last year with hamstring issues that slowed his progress in his first season with the Jaguars.  He will have to fight to keep his roster spot with young talent on the roster poised to push him as a receiver and return specialist. 

Williamson was widely considered a disappointment in Minnesota.  When the Jaguars acquired him last season, they landed a player with tremendous upside if he could jump start his career.  That did not happen, but injuries contributed significantly to his difficulty. 

When he was healthy early last year, he was showing no signs of the issues that plagued him in Minnesota with dropped passes.  Unfortunately, because he was limited, the Jaguars never got to take advantage of his field stretching speed. 

He is still a young player by NFL standards, and the Jaguars will certainly give him every opportunity to earn a roster spot.  With a lack of depth on the outside, Williamson’s 4.34 speed is going to be a major appeal for the Jaguars.  If he can stay healthy and prove his pass catching ability consistently, he may remind people of what it was that landed him in the first round of the 2005 draft.  

Aside from the two starting positions, the battle for roster spots among wide receivers is going to be one of the more entertaining to keep an eye on during the offseason. 

Whether the veterans on the roster can hold off the younger players fighting for a shot at making the active roster represents a major challenge for the players, and a golden opportunity for the team.  No matter what happens, the receiving corps can only be better than it was in 2008.

Make or Break Moves: What Could Seal Success For the Jacksonville Jaguars

For every positive, there is a negative.  For every advancement, there is a retreat.  Every up has a down side.  These are the realities of life, and the roster maneuvers for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason have the potential to succeed wildly, or fail miserably.

The team has made several significant moves this year that have the possibility of proving to be brilliant moves that will lead to a quick turnaround, or they could wind up being bad decisions that leave the team searching for answers. 

Among these moves, they have drafted potential fixtures at left and right tackle, released one of the Jaguars few potential hall of fame candidates, put their faith in a 5’7″ running back to be the face of the franchise, and decided to avoid targeting a long term solution at quarterback. 

Each decision has the potential to be the key factor in either making or breaking the Jaguars in 2009. 

So, if one decision stands above all others as being the move that could wind up being the tipping point for the team going one way or the other, which one is it?

The debates will rage on for months, but in the end what happens on the field will give a clear indication about what worked and what did not.

What move this year could be the impetus for a quick turnaround? 

There are plenty of options to select from, but in the end it will be the improvements in the passing game that will determine success and failure for the Jaguars.  The one move that could prove to benefit the team the most is the decision to upgrade the receiving corps through subtraction.  While technically this is actually a block of moves, in reality it is just one single maneuver deftly executed by a brand new General Manager. 

Gene Smith had a problem on his hands with distractions and disappointments in the locker room, and the bulk of these came from the receiving corps in 2008. 

The team did itself no favors by bringing in Jerry Porter based on his track record in Oakland.  His attitude was well documented there, but the general consensus was that a change of scenery would prove itself beneficial for the angst filled receiver. 

Unfortunately, that proved to be misguided logic, and Porter’s attitude eventually bubbled to the surface after a hamstring injury turned into a frustrating year.

Matt Jones was back, but he was dealing with the ramifications of a drug arrest prior to the start of training camp that left the coaches disappointed, the fans disenchanted, and the locker room distracted.

Reggie Williams was coming off of a season where he set a franchise record for touchdown receptions, but his yardage and other stats were still a disappointment.  Wide speculation surrounded his future and whether or not he had one in Jacksonville beyond 2008.

Gene Smith has moved quickly to fix the issues and fill the holes left by dumping the players who proved to be major disappointments.  After releasing Jerry Porter and Matt Jones, and allowing Reggie Williams to leave in free agency, the roster purge was completed. 

When the dust settled, Dennis Northcutt was the only receiver remaining who had been a significant contributor in 2008.  Mike Walker was the most talented receiver on the team.

Since then, the Jaguars made moves to sign veteran receiver Torry Holt, and they drafted two prospects in April. 

The significance of the moves is readily apparent.  Every one of the new players in the receiving corps showed an eagerness to dig into the play book and start the process of becoming intimately familiarized by the scheme.  That is a major shift in attitude from the more laid back approach Reggie Williams and Matt Jones had become infamous for in past years.

If the Jaguars do see a significant change in fortunes in 2009 for the positive, the moves made to fix the problems with the receiving corps will wind up being the lynch pin in turning things around quickly.

Next up: the move that could break the team in 2009.

Jacksonville Jaguars’ New Fitness Regimen Takes Aim at Injury Bug

The Jacksonville Jaguars faced a serious problem during the first game against the division rival Tennessee Titans in 2008. By the end of that game, the team was facing the loss of two starting offensive linemen to season-ending injuries.

It was another season where the team suffered significant injuries at key positions, setting the table for more struggle and disappointment. 

Injuries are always a curious problem, and in many instances it can be nearly impossible for a team to determine where the problem lies. Football is a violent game where injuries are simply a part of the sport. Still, the past few years it seemed like the Jaguars were being dealt more than their fair share of significant injuries.

In an effort to resolve this matter, the Jaguars made the move this offseason to go in a different direction with their strength and conditioning.

Head coach Jack Del Rio fired Mark Asanovich, the long time strength and conditioning coach, near the end of last season. Luke Richesson was brought in as his replacement, and to fit his style the team immediately went about making significant changes to the weight room and training equipment.

Richesson, the self-proclaimed “movement specialist” was hired away from a combine training institute in Tempe, Ariz. His goal for every exercise, whether it is weight training, running, or anything else, will be to keep his players healthy and properly conditioned for the type of movement they are required to perform in the NFL.

Each player was evaluated to determine his mobility and stability. Richesson has a seven-stage test that grades each player from 0 to 21. For those players that score below 14 on the test, the risk of injury is considered to be higher than it would be for those who score in the upper third of the scale. 

Richesson has a solid track record to stand behind. As the head of the program that prepared several players for the NFL combine, he worked with Julius Peppers, Terrell Suggs, and Brady Quinn, helping them to improve their power in sprints and in their overall game. 

Richesson is confident that he can turn around the rash of injuries that have become a fact of life in Jacksonville. By catering his training program to raise the mobility and stability scores of his players, he hopes to be able to prevent the same type of nagging injuries that have plagued the Jaguars in recent years, including a high number of hamstring and knee injuries. 

The strength, conditioning, and movement programs are all integrated to help players improve not only in strength and mobility, but also with their overall conditioning and endurance. Preparing for training camp and the demands of the 16-game NFL season will make it imperative that the players are at their peak and ready to go, and Richesson is prepared for the challenge.

It all sounds positive, and the hope is that things will turn around quickly for the jaded Jaguars. It is one of the most difficult issues to identify a cause, and even more challenging to find a fix. The new philosophy sounds effective in theory, but only time will tell.

Jaguars’ Roster: All It Takes Is One Bad Move

As the Jaguars continue to tweak their roster, new general manager Gene Smith has been content to target players with limited off-field baggage.  After dealing with enough problems with players running afoul of the law, a different approach was needed in order to restore some level of control, and Smith has put an emphasis on character with nearly every move made so far. 

With that simple fact in mind, the buzz this week was amplified significantly when Michael Vick was released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence for financing a dog fighting ring under house arrest and limited work release. 

As is normally the case when a high profile name appears to be available, the debates begin over whether or not the Jaguars should actively pursue the player. This discussion heats up even more when a talking head somewhere in the national media mentions the player and the Jaguars in the same breath.

The reality is that Michael Vick is not a good fit for the Jacksonville Jaguars; it does not get any simpler than that.

For a team that has spent the past few months ridding itself of players that have created problems for themselves ranging from drug busts to DUI, the team has focused on cleaning house to get rid of these problem children.  The Jaguars hope by putting an emphasis on character and leadership, they can return to a more successful experience on the field.  The model worked previously in Jacksonville under Tom Coughlin.

No matter how someone tries to spin it, the team would not be better off in pursuing a player like Michael Vick. There was a time when he was a highly touted athlete with endorsement deals and a budding legend as the starting quarterback in Atlanta.  Michael Vick squandered that when he showed a serious lack of judgment in his business dealings away from football. 

These shortcomings were not only unsavory, but they also violated federal law.

He has served his time and paid his debt to society. There will certainly be an opportunity for him to resurrect his NFL career with some team once he is reinstated by the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell.  It just should not be here in Jacksonville.

To be clear, this has nothing to do with the specific details of his imprisonment as much as it has to do with the clear lack of judgment on the part of Vick.  What he was convicted of was truly reprehensible, but it was the lack of a moral compass that landed him in prison. 

It is not about dog fighting, or animal cruelty; it is about a person who did not have the moral clarity to recognize a problem in such activities. 

It is about a person who had every opportunity to create a better life for himself through his athletic gift, but chose to squander it away because he was unable to shed the sycophants he had associated with in a previous life.  

He was unable to appreciate the gift handed to him on a silver platter.  He leveraged the mindset of entitlement that is normally bestowed upon athletes that rise to the top of their game, convincing him that he could get away with anything. He was above the law.

It is about a complete lack of judgment.

I have seen the broad spectrum of arguments from those supporting the notion of bringing him to Jacksonville:

He’ll sell more tickets. He’ll push David Garrard. He’ll be better than either of the current backup quarterbacks on the roster. He’ll create buzz for the team.

Each one of these points can be dispatched pretty quickly.

First, for every fan that he might attract to the Jaguars, there will be at least one fan that becomes disenchanted by such a signing. 

Many fans are encouraged by Smith’s character-first approach because it parallels the Tom Coughlin era, where personal responsibility was a trademark of the players that the former head coach brought to Jacksonville.  They like the current trend, and signing a player with as much baggage as Vick totes would derail that very quickly. 

Michael Vick has not played football or worked out in an NFL regimen for two years.  It is physically impossible for him to be properly conditioned to resume his NFL career and push a starting quarterback for his job. Vick will be no exception to that fact, and because he has not been exposed to an NFL playbook, the learning curve would be severe. 

While Vick might be potentially better than either Cleo Lemon or Todd Bouman, he is at a distinct disadvantage—not only because of conditioning, but also because both players have extensive experience working within the Jaguars current offensive system, and they are familiar with the personnel. 

It also remains to be seen if the Jaguars plan to stick with either of their current backup quarterbacks. There are other options available to them that would be significantly better than Michael Vick, and they would not bring the same level of scrutiny to the team that he would upon signing. 

Buzz is a highly subjective term. There’s good buzz, and there’s bad buzz. While this is a Jaguars team that is certainly a small market franchise in search of the positive chatter, signing Michael Vick would not provide them with anything of the sort. Rather, it would create a media circus with animal rights protesters greeting the team at home and on the road.

That certainly is not the type of exposure that the team would be able to rely upon to generate ticket and merchandise sales.  In fact, it could very quickly backfire on the Jaguars.

In the end, the Jaguars are focused on building a team that is loaded with talent, but without sacrificing on character. 

Gene Smith has said repeatedly that character issues would not be tolerated, and his actions back that up with the departure of players like Reggie Williams, Khalif Barnes, Matt Jones, and Gerald Sensabaugh.

Why anyone believes that he would suddenly have a change of heart because he has the opportunity to sign a player in Michael Vick—who has not been on a field competitively for two years—is a complete mystery.
 
For a team that is struggling mightily to regain confidence from the local fan base, signing a player like Vick would spoil an otherwise solid offseason. The damage that it could cause would take considerable effort to undo, creating an even steeper hill for the team to climb to restore fan confidence. 

One bad move could undo all of Gene Smith’s efforts to get the Jacksonville Jaguars back on the winning track both on the field and with their fans.

Signing Michael Vick would be the type of move that would destroy any hope this team has of turning things around quickly on both fronts.

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