'Wadsworth said:
'Warpig said:
Did Magic Johnson indirectly help keep the Jags in Jacksonville?
Magic Johnson headlines a group that has bid 2 Billion(pinkie up) dollars for the LA Dodgers.
What does this have to do with the Jags?
One of the other groups to bid was STL Rams owner Stan Kroenke. If Kroenke’s group had won, there were possible cross-ownership issues because the NFL still considers LA a “League city”. At the very least, if an NFL team went to LA, he would have to ether be part of that team's ownership group or sell the Rams.
One of the rumors floating around was that if Kroenke won the Dodgers bid, the Rams move back to LA. Shad khan had bid on the Rams before buying the Jags and his Illinois ties are not far from STL. So, connecting the dots, the rumor went that Khan would move the Jags to STL.
Of course, maybe Kroenke still moves the Rams, but now he has one less reason (or excuse to cover the real reason of more lucrative pastures) to do so.
I get what you are saying and the Jaguars to St. Louis if the Rams move rumors have been floated around for a while. But do not see it as an issue. I think Khan will keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville because he recognizes that long term it can develop into one of the better fan bases. Jacksonville already out draws Tampa and Miami which are much more populated areas.
With some proper management the Jags could be a model of small market success moving forward.
Here lies the problem. That ain't happening with this franchise. Khan thinks this is his fantasy team and Gene Smith is as inept as George W. Bush. They are hopeless. I can't wait to watch Gene blow yet another draft as I sit at my local establishment while downing a brew. It's gotten as entertaining as watching the Raiders run their show.
The Jaguars defense finished 6th in the NFL in yards allowed last season in spite losing multiple CBs and DEs. By the end of the season they were starting two street free agents at CB and a back up DT at DE after putting 30 players on IR. The previous year the Jaguars defense finished 28th in the NFL in yards allowed. Is going from 28th to 6th inept? Does it make you hopeless? MJD led the NFL in rushing last season. Does that make you hopeless?
The passing game was awful, more than awful last season. But the Jaguars have put together a pretty good defense and the rushing attack one of the better in the NFL. I do not consider that inept. Yes, this season they need to improve the passing attack greatly, but when you consider the results of focusing on the defense last season, there is room for some hope for improvement in the passing attack which will be the focus this season.
Del Rio is a defensive minded coach. Mike Smith did a good job under him as well. And even Mel Tucker. I would have liked for JDR to stay on as a D-coordinator, but his hands were tied offensively with Gene making those ridiculous draft picks. I'd rather you be GM because I have more faith in you doing the right thing.
I'm not sold on Laurent Robinson being a #1. Pretty sure no one else is either. Except for Gene Smith ofcourse. That is a joke. So, we still have the weakest WR corps in the league. Odds are MJD will lose a step this year. A lot depends on O-line cohesion...hopefully they can keep that going from last year. I'm comfortable with our RB depth.
Our QB situation...well, EVERYONE (except for the brilliant Gene Smith) knows how that is. I have no reason to believe Gabbert will get any better than what he is. I watched a ton of his games while living in Missouri and my wife and her family are huge Missouri fans. Can only hope that Henne takes over and gives us somewhat of a threat in the passing game.
But I know that Gene Smith will totally blow this draft class out his ###. His selections are inexcusable.
Wayne Weaver before the 2011 season took the defense away from Del Rio because according to multiple reports he was messing it up and the defense went form 28th to 6th under Mel Tucker. That is the guy you wanted to keep around? You seem to only casually follow the Jaguars and yet you want to seriously hate them. The Del Rio comment is pretty clear indication that you just are not paying that much attention.
Oh dear god, don't be "that" guy. Maybe you should do your homework.Jacksonville's defense was ranked 6, 11, 6, and 2nd in total yards 2003 - 2006. In Mike Smith's last year of 2007 they were ranked 12. Then they went 17th, 23rd, and 28th from 2008 to 2010. Then they bounced back to 6th in 2011...still under Del Rio's watch. I read that they struggled on defense the last few years due to toying with the thought and experimenting some with the 3-4 since that is what Tucker was more familiar with, but ofcourse they didn't have the personnel for a 3-4. So when Tucker got up to speed on the 4-3, Del Rio agreed to let him take the defense over. And boom, back up to #6. Who knows what really took place. But Del Rio's history with defense had been pretty successful to that point. So I will choose to take his side in the argument.
Now we can argue that he didn't get much help through the draft during those years. Let's take a peek shall we?
Year Rnd Pick
2008 1 8 Derrick Harvey - Crap
2008 2 52 Quentin Groves - Crap
2008 5 155 Thomas Williams - Crap
2008 5 159 Trae Williams - Crap
2008 7 213 Chauncey Washington - Crap
Year Rnd Pick
2009 1 8 Eugene Monroe - solid
2009 2 39 Eben Britton - injury prone
2009 3 72 Terrance Knighton - out of shape and inconsistent
2009 3 73 Derek Cox - in and out of lineup/ inconsistent
2009 4 107 Mike Thomas - a 5'7" WR? Good one Gene.
2009 5 144 Jarett Dillard - crap
2009 6 180 Zach Miller - injury prone
2009 7 250 Rashad Jennings - injury prone
2009 7 253 Tiquan Underwood - crap
Year Rnd Pick
2010 1 10 Tyson Alualu - solid but injured
2010 3 74 D'Anthony Smith - who?
2010 5 143 Larry Hart - crap
2010 5 153 Austen Lane - crap
2010 6 180 Deji Karim - solid late round pick
2010 6 203 Scotty McGee - crap
Year Rnd Pick
2011 1 10 Blaine Gabbert - HA,HA,HA,HA,HA!!
2011 3 76 William Rackley - may end up being servicable
2011 4 114 Cecil Shorts - jury is still out
2011 4 121 Chris Prosinski - may have "potential"
2011 5 147 Rod Issac - special teamer at best
Now show me where the defensive help is? Gene Smith is an idiot. His drafts are full of reaches and whiffs. If you have any hope/faith that they will do any thing other than stay the course, you are kidding yourself. How many of those guys are even still on the roster? OUT OF THE LEAGUE?!?
Now take off your rose colored, Gene Smith loving glasses and back away before you hurt yourself.
So the inept guy built a top 5 defense?
