July 27, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman CJ Mosley (99) greets a fan before the first afternoon of training camp practice at Florida Blue Health

Jaguars beat writer Ryan O’Halloran as well as Jaguars.com senior writer John Oehser, have reported that the Jaguars have released defensive tackle C.J Mosley. Mosley took over the starting DT spot from Terrence Knighton after the Knighton’s injury and recovery.

Mosley did a pretty good job stuffing up the running lanes, but it is questionable if he was worth the 3 year 7.5 million dollar contract that former general manager Gene Smith gave him last off season. In addition, Mosley will be 30 before the season begins (August 6th).  Mosley worked hard to become a starter with the Jaguars, but he has a low ceiling and would likely not be a starter on other teams.  I wish him the best of luck but I’m glad the Jaguars are moving past him to better players.

I am sure now everyone and their brother is connecting the dots between Gus Bradley and former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Alan Branch. I for one would not be opposed to the signing of Branch.  Branch could offer some versatility and would make the rotation of Roy Miller, Tyson Alualu, and Branch a dominating threesome along the interior of the defensive line.

Now, lets hope this wasn’t an April fools joke.

- Kyle Messina

How much value does MLB Paul Posluszny really hold?  Source:  Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

There’s nothing quite like finding a unique stat out in the sea of statistics.  The guys at Pro Football Focus always do a fantastic job of manipulating the numbers to give us a clearer indication of how players have performed.  This time they are measuring each team’s value based on performance.  Here’s the basic idea:

We set out to take the highest cap hit at a position and match that up with that position’s highest-rated player. Then take the second-highest cap hit and match it with the second-highest-graded player, and so on. All players who were either active or inactive for at least one game were included, and players who spent the entire year on injured reserve or as free agents, ignored. The goal being to set salaries right, based solely on player performance during the 2012 season.

So, what do they have to say about the Jacksonville Jaguars?

The majority of the Jags’ undervalued players came on defense.  Topping the list was defensive tackle C.J. Mosley.  According to PFF, the Jags really got a bargain in Mosley, who the team signed to a three year deal in last year’s offseason. Next up was wide receiver Cecil Shorts III.  Shorts had a ridiculously good season, so it makes sense that he’s on the list.  He may have outgrown his rookie contract, according to PFF.  Third on the list is DT Terrance Knighton who lost his starting job to Mosley by week five.  Like Shorts, he outgrew his rookie contract.  Only this time it may be his last one with the Jags.  Here’s the rundown of those who were undervalued:

1. C.J. Mosley, DT:  +$3.9 million
2. Cecil Shorts, WR: +$2.1 million
3. Terrance Knighton, DT: +$1.9 million
4. Austen Lane, DE:  +$1.9 million
5. Dwight Lowery, S:  +$1.2 million
6. Bryan Anger, P:  +$990 thousand
7. George Selvie, DE: +$940 thousand
8. Julian Stanford, LB:  +$380 thousand
9. Mike Harris, CB:  +$370 thousand
10. Rashad Jennings: +$280 thousand

Injuries are a primary reason behind much of the poor value the Jags had in the 2012 season.  The three most overvalued players were LB Paul Posluszny, HB Maurice Jones-Drew, and LB Daryl Smith.  According to PFF, Posluszny is being paid like one of the best in the league but is below average at best.  Despite playing well when he was on the field, MJD’s injury caused him to be overvalued for 2012.  Similarly, Smith caused a big hit with an injury that kept him out every game except the final two.  Here’s the most overvalued players on the roster:

1. Paul Posluszny, MLB:  -$5.8 million
2. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB:  -$5.4 million
3. Daryl Smith, OLB:  -$4.7 million
4. Mike Thomas, WR:  -$4.6 million
5. Dawan Landry, S:  -$3.6 million
6. Marcedes Lewis, TE:  -$3.5 million
7. Greg Jones, FB:  -$3.3 million
8. Aaron Ross, CB:  -$3 million
9. Uche Nwaneri, G:  -$2.4 million
10. Brad Meester, C:  -$2.3 million

On the whole, the Jaguars did not fare well.  Hopefully the Jaguars have solved the problem of overvaluing players (especially the non-injured ones) was solved this offseason with the firing of GM Gene Smith and the hiring of GM Dave Caldwell.  It is important to note that the performance based value that PFF uses is not indicative of potential future performance.  However, there is obviously a lot of dead weight on the Jags roster.  Just looking at the most overvalued players I can count three or four players who could potentially not be with the team for the 2013 season.

Overall, the Jags value differential is -$37.7 million.  Over 15 players are being overvalued by $1 million+.  We’ll see if the new regime can turn things around.

Brilliant work by PFF, thanks again for being diligent data analysts!

- Luke N. Sims

Feel free to leave comments on here or visit us at Facebook or Twitter!

You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims

Source: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With the coming of free agency, Jaguars GM David Caldwell and coach Gus Bradley will need to decide which, if any, of the Jaguars FAs to re-sign. One of the most important players I believe that should be re-signed is Terrance Knighton. Knighton, or more frequently known as “Pot Roast,” was drafted in the third round of the 2009 draft, and filled the role that was eventually made with the release of John Henderson.

Knighton made a significant impact during his rookie campaign, accounting for 45 tackles, 34 of which were solo, and 1.5 sacks, solidifying his status on the defensive line. Since his rookie year, Knighton’s total tackles have gone down, but only slightly. In 2011 Knighton was slowed by injuries, playing in only 13 games, while in 2012 he lost his starting job to C.J. Mosley.

When one compares C.J. Mosley’s numbers and those of Knighton’s during the 2012 season, one will notice that they were not that different. Mosley recorded 45 tackles, of which 36 were solo, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 fumble recoveries. Knighton on the other hand recorded 32 tackles, of which 20 were solo, 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles, all of which while behind Mosley in the depth chart.

The common belief in 2012 was that Knighton was not playing as well as he had in 2011, yet the numbers tell a different story. In 2011 Knight recorded 29 tackles, of which 17 were solo, and zero sacks and zero force fumbles/recoveries. Now called me crazy but 2012 was an improvement. Numbers do not tell the whole story of Knighton’s overall play but they cannot be ignored.

With a new GM and coaching staff, Knighton deserves a chance to regain his starting role under Gus Bradley and his style of the 4-3 defense. Just thinking of what Bradley and his charisma could do with Knighton makes me smile. Frankly, I believe that Bradley could help turn Pot Roast into a clear-cut Pro Bowler.

The only catching point with re-signing Knighton is money, how much will he want, and more importantly, how much will Khan/Caldwell be willing to give him. Let us hope that the Jaguars can re-sign Knighton for a reasonable sum and that Bradley can help turn Pot Roast into sirloin streak.

-Kyle Messina