Just some random thoughts

Hello! We have been away for awhile.  I had some work done in the home and now have a new wonderful office to write from.  Maybe it will inspire! Zoltan is now convinced he has found Derek Cox II for 2010. Tomorrow I will publish his research.  I do admire him. From Budapest; Hungary, he has formed relationships with beat writers in Jacksonville and does the best blog research I know of.

Jeanne promised to post another video blog. I hate to bother her, but I do enjoy seeing and hearing from her.  She is not only beautiful, she has top end intelligence and is very articulate. Maybe this public plea will work and she will record something for us.

It is always interesting to see an article about Jack Del Rio. People are always on the fence about Jack, always deserves another year to prove himself. I have two issues with Jack. First, I don’t think of him as a Jacksonville guy. He lives here, he coaches here, but he doesn’t really invest himself here. The big rally for ticket sales, no Jack. He isn’t the face of the franchise or the motivational center for the fans. Should he be? I don’t know. Maybe he does more than I know.

Second is I think his standards for good play are lower than a top coach should have. He defends mediocrity a lot and makes team captains out of players who haven’t earned it.  I think he is trying to motivate, but to me the best motivation is recognizing talent and getting the most out of it.  I just don’t see that in him.

So good luck Jack, we don’t hate you. That’s the best I have to give to him.

The new NFL is emerging and it involves no salary floor. Teams will be allowed to spend as little as they want on talent. For teams like Jacksonville, that means saying goodbye to good talent a year early. If John Henderson at $3 million plus doesn’t have a standout year, trade bait. If Rashean Mathis at $4 million a year doesn’t have a standout year, trade bait.  Gene Smith will be a hungry guy for new talent. If you are on the backside of your career carrying a heavy salary, adios amigo. That will be the Jaguar experience.

If you don’t believe me, here are your top 20 players by salary in 2008. Hint, count the current players on this list:

David Garrard, Drayton Florence, Brian Williams, Jerry Porter, Fred Taylor, Mike Peterson, Paul Spicer, Reggie Hayward, Tony Pashos, Rashean Mathis, Rob Meier, Cleo Lemon, Brad Meester, John Henderson, Greg Jones, Dennis Northcutt, Derrick Harvey, Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, and Daryl Smith.

The new labor agreement will be a hard fought battle for this union and I don’t expect them to win anything. If they were smart, they would shoot for better pension benefits.

Gene Smith has the following draft selections this year: #10, #74, #108, #143, #180, and #203.  In short, he has two shots at top talent and then has to dig deep for talent late in the draft.  Everyone wants him to move down in the draft, but who wants to move up?  I ask that every year and someone always does, so maybe it will happen.  If Ozzie Newsome calls, ask him who he is interested in and then draft him. Ozzie has become the top talent selector in the NFL (in my opinion). Gene will need two more good years to reach top status. Hope for our sake he makes it.

Wayne Weaver is encouraged by ticket sales. If every Jaguar game is televised, this city should be proud. They do love their Jaguars and this is a good football town. I am tired of hearing people knock it. My salute to TeamTeal, they are making a difference.

Sorry for the brief absence, we are back and ready to roll. So how are you feeling about the upcoming season? Leave a comment.

– Terry O’Brien