Decisions
JT: It is beyond our collective ability to comprehend their genius
That’s right. We think we know better. We think we know what General Manager Trent Baalke and Head Coach Doug Pederson are NOT doing correctly (notice I use full names and titles when I don’t have as much to write in a column. Welcome to my collegiate days when the assignment called for a minimum number of words.). We sit at our keyboards and rant and rave about what should have been done, who should not have been cut and who should have. We here at JaguarsTalk have read so many emails over the past week chastising Super Bowl winning (two Super Bowls mind you) Head Coach Doug Pederson’s ability to properly roster an NFL team, that we could do an entire Fan Mail column on that topic alone. At certain points during cut-down week I will admit, we here in the office, were a little skeptical about some moves. HOWEVER, Pederson and Baalke had a plan. Unlike most of my days, past just getting out of bed, these two had a plan from the beginning and we underlings just aren’t privy to such information. Well, it’s either they had a plan or they are pretty damn good at Buffalo Wild Winging it (I’m currently trying to get them as a sponsor so I thought I’d bait the line and see if they bite). Let’s dive deeper into what I’m talking about.
The most noticeable move made on last week’s roster deadline Tuesday was that the Jaguars used two roster spots on both newly acquired (at the time) kickers, James McCourt and Jake Verity, even though Verity missed his only attempt. I mean for goodness sake we’d take a Laquon Treadwell over a Jake Verity. But Pederson and Baalke had their eyes on kicker Riley Patterson the entire time. They were hoping to have the opportunity to scoop him up when Detroit gave him the boot. But, just in case Detroit rostered Riley, Pederson wanted McCourt and Verity on hand to duke it out for the right to kick in Duval, thus, he kept them on the roster. When Patterson became available, they were promptly waived, knowing that Jacksonville would be able to re-sign McCourt to the practice squad as an insurance policy. Which is exactly what they did yesterday. They had a plan.
The recent release of defensive lineman Adam Gotsis has Gots-us (see what I did there) a little flustered if we’re being honest. However, we’re holding strong to the notion that there are good reasons the Jags brass earn the big bucks. Nobody likes the fact that Jacksonville has only five defensive linemen. Yes, JAX runs a 3-4 defensive scheme so linebacker depth may take priority, but only five DLs is, as we stated in our previous column, a little to Kimberly Drummond. So we type away at our keyboards. We write our emails to JaguarsTalk and/or other Jacksonville sports sources and we vent our frustrations about the stupidity of the (say it with me) Super Bowl winning head coach. Because, irony of all ironies, we’ve all won Super Bowls (I don’t know if Super Bowl should be capitalized or not and I don’t really care, it’s a big game so it’s getting the big letters). We’ve all coached in the National Football League. We’ve all earned millions of dollars per year because of our proven success at the highest possible level. So why shouldn’t we bang out our complaints and hit send? Why shouldn’t we roll into work every morning bitter and angry? After all, we are just as, if not more, qualified than Pederson and Baalke when it comes to evaluating the best players in the world. I get it, I spend my life writing sports columns so when I go to my accountant's office every year to get my taxes done, I scrutinize his every move as well. Ironically, he thinks he knows more than I about charitable deductions and accelerated depreciation, just because he deals with taxes each and every day of his life. The nerve. I obviously rode this point into the ground because all we’re hearing is griping, and of course, that word count thing. How about we all just have some faith. There is no way the lack of defensive linemen has escaped anyone on Jacksonville’s payroll, so let’s just let it play out. We still have time before that September 11th match-up with Washington.
How about this, for fun let’s take a look at ESPNs Jacksonville Jaguars depth chart. It seems Mickey’s redheaded stepchild sports company keeps their depth charts updated to the minute. It’s actually pretty impressive. Maybe some changes have been made that we don’t yet know about... Nope. Still skinny on the D-line. A little part of me died when, spoiler alert, Captain Howard was gunned down walking to his car in Bad Boys for Life. But we can honor his memory by all taking a few deep breaths and a Woosah. Then again, maybe Pederson’s lost his *ish and he’s down to roll with just five D-line big boys, but I doubt it. They have a plan. Woosah.
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