GMFB is at it Again
We’ve learned a great many things from today’s episode of Good Morning Football. We learned that Kyle Brandt is a bit of a pussy cat. He’s afraid of welts. More specifically, he is afraid of paintball. More of a laser tag kinda guy, I guess. He would have made a great host on the show Good Morning Two Hand Touch. Learning of Brandt’s fear of having fun was the result of Doug Pederson canceling OTA’s and taking the Jaguars team to play a little paintball. A true team building experience, welts and all. This prompted a discussion about whether or not it was a good idea. Everyone but Brandt acknowledged that not only was it a good team building exercise but it is also a lot of fun. How can you be a professional football show host, wearing a t-shirt promoting NFL fullbacks, one of the hardest hitting, most contact inviting positions in the game, and then proclaim to be afraid of paint ball? Actually, I might be too harsh on Kyle here, paintball would probably mess up his hair.
If it weren’t enough to mention the Jags playing hooky from OTAs, GMFB did an entire segment on the landing spot for four-time NFL pro-bowler, Dalvin Cook. The 27-year old all-star running back who amassed over 1100 yards each of the last three or four seasons (you look it up) is no longer affordable by the Vikings organization. They’ve got a lot of talent to pay for next year and Cook appears to be the fall guy. He will do his best impression of Lee Majors (any excuse to reference anything to do with Heather Thomas makes it a good day) and GMFB was telling us where he will land. Miami seemed to be the favorite spot for Dalvin until, out of nowhere, out of the blue, from behind closed doors, came the idea that the Jacksonville Jaguars should grab the talented RB to complement the already great ETN. GMFB pointed out Cooks pass catching ability, another threat for Trevor Lawrence. I get that, but let’s also remember there are only so many passes to go around. We can’t get everybody 100 catches next year. If it’s all about more targets for T-Law, why stop at WRs and RBs? I’m talking tackle eligible, every single down. Why not? Well, because at some point it works against you. You are robbing Peter to pay Paul and unless you are running away with Dubs every single week, this mentality will eventually lead to Peter getting a little upset at the lack of balls coming his way. So with all of that said, how does JaguarsTalk feel about a possible acquisition at RB? How do we feel about bringing Dalvin Cook to Duval? Well, we wouldn’t hate it. What happens if ETN gets injured? Think about a healthy Cook and ETN in that backfield together. Hell Cook always needed a breather in MInn. I remember Mattison taking over for a few games over the past couple years so splitting time would keep both he and ETN more explosive and healthy all year long. Think about Cook going out on a wheel route or breaking tackles on a check down. I don’t hate the idea, but it won’t happen, and here is why.
First of all the Jags have bolstered their running back room this offseason. They drafted Tank Bigsby with the 88th pick in the 2023 draft. Out of Auburn, Bigsby is a beast of a runner. He’s a wonderful compliment to ETN and a much less expensive alternative than Cook. Not to mention the resigning of JaMycal Hasty and free agency acquisition D’Ernest Johnson. Connor, 2022’s RB draft pick, is still snooping (pun intended) around TIAA Bank somewhere. If the Jags snag D. Cook as well, they’ll have to build an addition to the Miller Electric Center to house a larger RB room.
That said, what kind of message would that send to the Jacksonville defense? All of the talk about needing another shut down corner to compliment #32, Tyson Campbell, a nickel guy. All of the talk about signing a veteran pass rusher, a backfield disrupter. Was it all just talk? If we grab Cook we ain’t grabbing one of these guys too. There is only so much money to go around. If we grab Cook and leave the defense as is, it sends one of two messages. The first being that we just plan to outscore everyone. Defense be damned, the Jags are airing it out and running it down the oppo’s throats until the scoreboard goes dark to save electricity (if you don’t get it, ask Kevin James as Sean Payton). Or conversely, Pug Dederson could be saying this: “I love our current defense. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd, and Chad Muma will may the sophomore leap. I also guarantee that #41 Josh Allen, in his contract year, will be the dominant force of old. He will bring home double digit sacks this season while Foye Oluokun will continue tackling dominance. Our pass rush in 2023 will be so dominant that it will negate the need for another shut down corner.” THAT right there could be the message that Dederson is sending to the Duuuval faithful if, in fact, Dalvin Cook makes his 2023 deposit in TIAA Bank. It would be great to land Cook but I just don’t see it happening. That said, let’s get a veteran pass rush in JAX and soon please. I will say this, I truly believe that the JAX defense will take that sophomore step up and dominate the AFC South without anymore additions. Getting another vet pass rusher will most certainly pay dividends against playoff teams outside the Jags division. One final note, the biggest and most important sophomore jump needs to be made by second year defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell. I believe the pieces are there, he just needs to put the puzzle together correctly.
GMFB ended their show with a most feeble attempt to draw the Jaguars logo from memory. It was awful, but It would seem that Good Morning Football just can’t get enough of your Jacksonville Jaguars these days. The bandwagon is getting pretty full. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.