Odrick is pretty versatile, he was probably my favorite FA signing from last year outside of the RT. I don't expect Miller to match his production from this season and Marks is now a question. If they can all come back healthy plus Fowler and at least one more edge rusher, the line should be formidable. That's a big if though.
Jaguars are guaranteed to have a pick no earlier than 3rd and no later than 7th in the NFL Draft per bcc. Fire Gus.
Gus can get fucked but I wouldn't mind keeping Olson. Don't really want three OC's in three years for Blake.
I'd prefer to keep Olsen, but keeping him on staff should have no bearing on whether to keep Gus or not. Blake has improved tremendously this year, and with the playmakers we have on offense, it shouldn't matter much who is calling plays. I want jalen in the draft and we need to grab some DE's in free agency. I'm all for drafting some guys that can rush the passer, but we need some established guys next year as relying on rookies to get to the qb doesn't work out too often. Sign Mack, and hopefully we can get Vernon, Irvin or both. This defense isn't great, but shouldn't be anywhere near as bad as it has been playing.
I think there may be some talent in the secondary but something is wrong with our coaching on the defensive side of the ball. There are less talented defenses that somehow put a better product on the field. A pass rush will go a long, long way in hiding any deficiencies. I'd rather see draft picks and FA spent on creating a pass rush (DE and DT - our DT play has been shit as well and I don't think you can count on Marks) and finding some athletic LBs. We cut Brandon Marshall and that dude has been pretty good for Denver this year. Oh, and we desperately need a second RB.
Another year in the factory of sadness. Goddamnit. Shad Khan: “I spoke to Gus Bradley today to confirm to him that he will continue as head coach of the Jaguars in 2016." #Jaguars
That is the most hurtful like ever, Jorts. Too stubborn to change directions on a head coach that clearly blows. Good thing our home schedule is great next year, so those fans can overtake the stadium.
I'm ok with keeping Bradley now. I think we can all agree the team is much better now than it was when he took over. Rebuilding a shit team isn't an overnight thing. Hitting reset every 3 years is tough on a franchise. Give him another year but we better be in the playoff hunt late next year.
I don't agree that this team is much better, it is marginally better. Much better on offense, of which he probably has very little responsibility for, and about the same on defense. This division was gift wrapped and he completely fucked it up with his shitty defense. Gus is a shitty coach, will be a shitty coach next year and the team is just wasting a year with that loser blood coach at the helm. Hope I'm wrong, but that guy sucks a bag of dicks.
It is better but I don't think it's due to anything he's done. We've drastically upgraded our talent. Unfortunately, we have not seen an equal upgrade in win totals.
I think you guys are forgetting just how fucking bad we were. Like almosy every game over at halftime bad. We're a very competitive team now. Yes, we've lost some games we shouldn't have but that's expected with such a young team. Expecting to go from that to a playoff team in 3 years is asking too much imo. Like I said earlier, hitting reset every 3 years is just a bad concept. It takes times to go from as bad as we were to a playoff team. I think we're in a much better spot now that we were 3 years ago so I'm ok with giving this group another year. Hopefully we see more progress.
And come on, you can't say he has little to do with the offense. He's the HC. He hired the offensive coaches. The gets credit for everything, good and bad.
I was never asking for a playoff team this year. We need to be in 2016 though. Our defense is getting worse and that is Gus' issue.
He's a defensive minded coach and his defense is awful. He literally appears clueless on what to do. I'm not arbitrarily saying we should fire him, the results speak for themselves. If a coach isn't the guy, why delay the inevitable?
Yeah, my biggest thing is: we know he's not a great coach - at this point, we are hoping he's a serviceable coach. We spent an assload of money on defensive FAs this year only to get worse.
I don't think you can always tell after 3 years, especially starting with what he started with. Look at how many good NFL coaches have been fired after a couple years somewhere else bc they couldn't turn water into wine overnight.
I realize how bad that sounds but it speaks to just how bad this team was when he got here. In 2012, we left every single home game at halftime other than the Bears game bc it was 3-3 at half. We lost that game 41-3. It was just brutal to watch. At least we are competitive now. Watching games isn't painful now. Margin of victory has gone from -12.6, to -10.2, to -3.2. That's a lot of improvement over 3 years. Total yardage differential has gone from 32nd each of the last 2 years to 19th this year. Get Marks and Fowler back, add some DB's, and hopefully the D can be improved. We need another step forward last year like we had this year. If that doesn't happen, then maybe you look at bringing in a new coach. Taking 3 steps back after we finally took one forward would just be dumb right now.
I'm in the camp that we should give Gus another year. Gus started off with some of the worst talent that I have ever seen on an NFL roster, and in three years he has us competitive. And while I would love wins like everyone else and I thought this year would be absolutely perfect for us to seize the division, I at least see the foundation of something when in the past I did not see that. Maybe it's actually having quarterbacks and receivers who can do something that makes me feel this excitement, but I agree with DBL starting over from scratch isn't something I want to do right now. Especially given how much money we have to spend this year in free agency, I can see a few defensive and OL pickups that would greatly improve our fortunes. If we aren't fighting for the playoffs next year, I would definitely agree to cut bait but I saw progress this year in some avenues and don't want it halted by a regime change.
dblplay1212 It has nothing to do with how bad the team was. I think Gus hasn't been terrible for a rebuilding roster. He is a motivator and he keeps guys engaged. Essentially, a glorified cheerleader, and I dont mean that in a bad way. Often rebuilding teams have no juice and the guys are not engaged, he has managed to keep this team competing and I think that has been good for this team. However, nothing he has done has shown me that he has the ability to take the franchise from where it is now to a super bowl. And if he isnt a coach that can win you a super bowl, what is the point in keeping him around? I often criticize college teams for thinking they can win a championship, because really, with the exception of about 30-40 programs, you arent winning a championship unless you have just a crazy lucky year. In the NFL it is different, every team has the same chance of winning a championship, so you need to hire the best possible coach to get you there. Gus has served his role well, but his in game decisions, and too much loyalty to "his guys" doesn't make me think that he can ever take this team where we want them to go.
I've come around on keeping him. Last year of his contract. We have not been able to generate a pass rush - nothing much Gus or Babich can do about that. We trot Andre Branch, Chris Clemons, Ryan Davis and a couple other hacks out there to rush the passer. They suck for Gus and they'd suck for any other coach. Hard to play any defense in the NFL when the quarterback has a clean pocket. We will still have some holes on defense but a pass rush is teh best way to cover any of those holes. Big offseason for Caldwell.
One of the easiest schedules in the NFL, a completely wide open division, and absolutely nothing to show for it. Going into last Sunday they had played three teams with a winning record, losing by double digits to two of those teams. Schedule will be much tougher next year, and division won't have broken Jugs machines for QBs. Fans talking themselves into making it seem like it's a reasonable thing to retain Gus, woof. Not being a Jags fan anymore has made Sundays much more pleasurable. Godspeed to you all.
Was Caldwell the one that drafted Joeckel or was it Gene? If it was Dave then it should be enough for immediate termination imo.
Caldwell gets way too much credit for our success. He's been more lucky than good with his signings and picks. Hearns slipping out of the draft, Telvin dropping to the 5th bc he's dumb as shit as well as failing a drug test. Those are his two biggest "boom" picks in the draft. Bortles took balls, I guess, but we had to have a QB. Everyone he's signed on defensive except for Marks didn't live up to their potential. He drafted Andre fucking Branch, in the second no less. Dan Skuda? Or something like that? Nick Marshall starting at CB? Look at the defensive talent we let just walk out the door, it doesn't make sense and I'm tired of trying to make sense of it. This roster is still shit and I'm leaning more and more toward blaming Dave over Gus. We don't have players, we have fillers. Caldwell is just like Gene in many ways, doesn't know when to turn the brain off and just take the best player available. We're still the least talented roster in the NFL, don't think that's debatable.. At the end of the day these are just angry thoughts. I'm sorry
I think Caldwell should get some credit, however he has severely neglected the defense through the draft. We had mixed success in free agency last year but again need to sign A LOT of bodies this year.
Agreed, but they can't just be "bodies" as they have been. We need impact players on defense like I've never seen in the NFL. We are completely dead in the secondary. Cyprien is a special teamer anywhere else. In Jax, he's a starter with no chance of losing his job despite sucking. I see nothing of worth in him. And he's our "name" in the secondary. Just fuck
Inside look at Houston planning for our game last week. http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/01/06/houston-texans-game-plan-nfl-playoffs
I saw the mock also. first combines then march what 3rd starts FA , that is when we know better . I predict 4 F/A signings just by team need alone, - and that shapes the out-look on team need in the draft . of course I reserve rights to best player available . - happy happy