Jacksonville Jaguars
Owner: Wayne Weaver
Founded: 1995
Stadium: Everbank Field
2010 record: 8-8
Last playoff appearance: 2007, 11-5 W31-29 PIT, L31-20 NE
General Manager: Gene Smith (2009-current)
Head Coach: Jack Del Rio (2003-current, 65-63 record)
Offensive Coordinator: Dirk Koetter
Defensive Coordinator: Mel Tucker
Defensive alignment: 4-3
2010 NFL Rankings:
OFF: 22.1 PTS (18th) 341.2 YDS (15th) 191.6 PASS (27th) 149.7 RUSH (3rd)
DEF: 26.2 PTS (27th) 371.8 YDS (28th) 250.2 PASS (28th) 121.6 RUSH (22nd)
Pro Bowlers: RB Maurice Jones-Drew, TE Marcedes Lewis, ST Montell Owens
2011 schedule:
1 Sep 11 vs. Titans 1:00 PM
2 Sep 18 at Jets 1:00 PM
3 Sep 25 at Panthers 1:00 PM
4 Oct 02 vs. Saints 1:00 PM
5 Oct 09 vs. Bengals 1:00 PM
6 Oct 16 at Steelers 1:00 PM
7 Oct 24 vs. Ravens 8:30 PM
8 Oct 30 at Texans 1:00 PM
9 Bye
10 Nov 13 at Colts 1:00 PM
11 Nov 20 at Browns 1:00 PM
12 Nov 27 vs. Texans 1:00 PM
13 Dec 05 vs. Chargers 8:30 PM
14 Dec 11 vs. Buccaneers 1:00 PM
15 Dec 15 at Falcons 8:20 PM
16 Dec 24 at Titans 1:00 PM
17 Jan 01 vs. Colts 1:00 PM
TEAM NEEDS: DE, FS
Potential Free Agents:
Todd Bauman QB
Luke McCown QB – re-signed - 1 yr
Jason Hill WR - re-signed – 2 yrs
Marcedes Lewis TE – franchise tag
Kirk Morrison MLB
David Jones CB – re-signed –
Jeremy Cain LS – re-signed
Free agent acquisitions:
Jason Spitz OG (Packers)
Paul Posluszny LB (Bills) – 6 yrs, 45 million, 15 guaranteed
Clint Session LB (Colts) – 5 yrs, 30 million, 11.5 guaranteed
Drew Coleman CB (Jets) -
Dawan Landry S (Ravens) – 5 yrs
Matt Turk P (Texans)
Free agent losses:
Trent Edwards QB – Signed by Raiders
Mike Sims-Walker WR – Signed with Rams
Justin Smiley OG
Vince Manuwai OG
Derrick Harvey DE – signed with Broncos
Justin Durant OLB – Signed with Lions
Ty Brackenridge CB
Sean Considine S – signed by Panthers
Adam Podlesh P – signed by Bears
2011 Jaguars Draft Review: Prior to the draft, general manager Gene smith said he’d like to draft a QB in this draft. “This organization needs a young talent at that position.” Head coach Jack Del Rio said they are going to be active in free agency when it starts. The draft has come and gone and they stuck to those statements. Unfortunately for them (and Del Rio), the Jags only came out of the draft with five picks, only two of which addressed a poor defense. Trading up to get their future franchise quarterback is a move they had to make and they got a great deal in my opinion (only had to give up 16th and 49th overall picks).
Picks in 2011 NFL Draft (overall draft grade: B- ):
Rd 1, Pick 10 (10) Blaine Gabbert QB, Missouri – Great trade up for Jacksonville. They get their QB of the future and it’s at the right value. Gabbert was my 10th rated player.
Grade: A Rated: 10
Rd 3, Pick 12 (76) William Rackley OG, Lehigh – GM Gene Smith said that Rackley was rated much higher than the next person they had on their board when they traded up to get him. He’ll be kicking inside to guard after playing left tackle at Lehigh.
Grade: B+ Rated: 88
Rd 4, Pick 17 (114) Cecil Shorts WR, Mount Union – GM Gene Smith continues his love for small school players. I don’t understand it, but all 15 of his draft picks since he became GM after the 2008 season are still on the roster.
Grade: B- Rated: 156
Rd 4, Pick 24 (121) Chris Prosinski S, Wyoming – had an unexpectedly great pro day. Intelligent player, good speed, and made plenty of tackles. Bad value off my board, but it fills their biggest need at safety.
Grade: C Rated: 292
Rd 5, Pick 16 (147) Rod Issac CB, Middle Tennessee State – I had never heard of this guy. I youtubed him and was impressed. Lower level of competition always makes it tough to judge, however. Fills a position of need again in the defensive backfield.
Grade: D+ Rated: NR
2010 Jaguars Draft review:
GM Gene Smith made the biggest surprise pick in the first round when he selected Tyson Alualu. He said the more he watched him, the more he liked him. Peter King of SI.com quoted Smith as saying that he didn’t give a damn about perception (Smith later said that King may have embellished part of that). In the press conference after they selected Alualu, Smith also said that he wasn’t trying to win a popularity contest, he’s trying to win a Super Bowl. He succeeded in losing the popularity contest, but only for a while. Alualu played great in his rookie season, starting all 16 games and recording 38 tackles. Smith has said since he was named general manager that he drafts by the best available player philosophy. So, after seeing the Alualu pick, I have little doubt in my mind that he absolutely goes by his board. In his conference call with the press, Alualu said that New England, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Tennessee were interested in taking him with their first round picks. As for the Tebowmania that swept over a section of the Jaguars fan base prior to last year’s draft, they haven’t been heard from in a while.
Rd 1, Pick 10 (10) Tyson Alualu DE, California – 16 starts, 38 TCK, 3.5 SCK, 1 PD
Rd 3, Pick 10 (74) D’Anthony Smith DT, Louisiana Tech – IR
Rd 5, Pick 12 (143) Larry Hart DE, Central Arkansas – 14 games, 8 TCK, 1.5 SCK, 1 PD
Rd 5, Pick 22 (153) Austen Lane DE, Murray State – 11 games, 9 starts, 20 TCK
Rd 6, Pick 11 (180) Deji Karim RB, Southern Illinois – 11 games, 35 ATT, 160 YDS, 4.6 AVG, 3 REC, 10 YDS
Rd 6, Pick 34 (203) Scotty McGee KR, James Madison – IR
Looking back at my grades for Jacksonville after the draft: I gave the Jaguars an overall grade of a B- for their 2010 draft class. Obviously, Tyson Alualu was the surprise pick of the first round outside of Tim Tebow. Almost a year later, we’re seeing that Alualu made an impact for the Jaguars on defense and made his way onto everybody’s All-Rookie Teams. We’ll never know how far he may have lasted in the first round. I’d have to change Alualu’s grade from C+ to a B. May have been a reach, but no one can deny that he was the second best rookie defensive tackle in 2010, behind Suh. D’Anthony Smith and Scotty McGee ended up on IR and will have to wait until next year to get a feel for what they can do. Austen Lane replaced 2008 first round bust Derrick Harvey and started nine games, and solidified my grade for him (A). Larry Hart (D+) should be elevated to a C, after seeing quite a bit of action as a pass rusher. The Jags envision him to be the type of player that Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis have been. I’m upping the overall grade to a B since Alualu made an impact and a few other rookies contributed more for what grades they were given.
Last 5 First Round Picks: Tyson Alualu DT, Eugene Monroe OT, Derrick Harvey DE, Reggie Nelson S, Marcedes Lewis TE
2010 Stat Leaders
David Garrard 236-366 64.5% 2734 YDS 7.5 YPA 23 TD 15 INT 90.8 RTG
Maurice Jones-Drew 299 ATT 1324 4.4 YPA 37 LNG 5 TD
Mike Thomas 66 REC 820 YDS 12.4 YPC 50 LNG 4 TD
Josh Scobee 22-28 78.6% 59 LNG
Daryl Smith 97 TCK
Jeremy Mincey 5 SCK
Derek Cox 4 INT
Out of Season Storylines (Because there is no offseason)
Jack Del Rio Stays Head Coach