November 20, 2011; Cleveland, OH , USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi (11) is forced out of bounds by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback William Middleton (29) during a first quarter catch at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric P. Mull-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars have reached terms with ex-Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.  Massaquoi looks to be added depth behind starters Cecil Shorts III and Justin Blackmon.  He may be able to beat out re-signed receiver Jordan Shipley for the slot job, though the opinion of this writer is that Shipley’s sure hands will likely keep him at third on the depth chart.

A second round selection in 2009, Massaquoi has 43 starts to his name though saw his time on the field drop in 2012 to just five starts and nine game appearances.  He was relegated to play behind Cleveland’s up and coming tandem of Josh Gordon and Greg Little.

I like Massaquoi’s play but don’t think he’ll make the jump to starter anytime soon.  He has not graded well, at least according to Pro Football Focus, when given opportunities and has only recorded 500+ receiving yards once, in his rookie season.  For depth I think he will be a good signing, at least giving Blaine Gabbert/Chad Henne/”New Guy” a veteran target who knows how to run routes and can play at NFL speed.  We’ll have to see how much that was worth the Jaguars when his contract details are released.

- Luke N. Sims

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The NFL is a constantly changing place.  While teams do not tend to fold they did in the early years of the league, teams do occasionally move, ownership changes, and (sometimes) fortunes change as well.

Whether it’s the greatness that Peyton Manning brought to the Colts or the golden years for the Vikings under Fran Tarkenton, sometimes fortunes change.  Now the Colts are Manning-less and pinning their hopes to the young arm of Andrew Luck and the Vikings are a mediocre player in a powerful division.

And then Lee Evans dropped a game-winning catch for the Ravens in the AFC Championship... Source: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

The city of Cleveland has had a pretty rough go of it.  Originally a very successful team, the Cleveland Browns made “The Move” to Baltimore in 1995.  Art Modell moved the team and became the Baltimore Ravens that everyone now knows.  The team has had some major success, including a Super Bowl victory since taking the team to Baltimore.

While the move was good for Baltimore, it was bad for Cleveland.  ”The Browns” were refounded in 1999 as a continuation of the old franchise (the Ravens were considered a quasi-new franchise) but did not have the same ownership, roster, or clout that the Ravens took with them.

Since then, the Browns have had only two winning seasons (9 in 2002 and 10 in 2007) and has been the laughing stock of the AFC North.

So, how do they relate to the Jaguars?

While the Jaguars entered the league in 1995 and had some early success, they have really stunk it up since 2007.  While the road to 5-11 for the Jags has not been as tumultuous as the Browns, they both are looking to climb up out of the rubble of their great franchise histories.  Part of that move upward takes the form of ownership change.  Shahid Khan has come in looking to spice things up in Jacksonville and turn the culture into one of winning.  Haslam has the same goal in Cleveland.  The teams will be committed to the draft and will look to building storied franchises rather than one year wonders.  Both teams are looking to come out of the cellar.

The Jags and the Browns are not the flashiest or most well followed teams in the league.  Neither team has put out a very marketable product since 2007.  But both teams will have a chip on their shoulders coming into future seasons.  Seeing the two teams rise from their humble rebirths will be intriguing to watch.

As they both compete to be the best in their respective divisions, they can use each other as measuring sticks to see which owner will come out ahead.

- Luke N.Sims

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You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims

While the starting crew, Derek Cox and Rashean Mathis, are top level players the rest of the unit leaves some to be desired.  William Middleton outplayed nickel corner Drew Coleman when he was on the field creating a redundancy and resulting in Coleman’s cutting this offseason.  Aaron Ross has been brought in to help ease the strain on the gap between Mathis and Cox and the rest of the team.  Whoever loses the Mathis-Ross battle will be the nickel corner with Middleton and co. taking over the four through six spots.

So, how has this reflected on the team?  Last year’s woes certainly weren’t enough to bump them too far down were they?

Apparently they were.

Make No Mistake, Mathis Still has Game! Source: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

According to SB Nation the Jaguars rank 19th in the league.  As an avid Jaguars fan and somebody who writes fairly regularly on the Jaguars, I understand where Mr. Van Bibber was coming from.  He took the injuries that happened last year combined with a common viewpoint that the Jaguars aren’t a good football team and the team’s terrible record and put it all together.  He noted that Pro Football Focus only gave William Middleton and Derek Cox a positive rating on the season.

But this is a defense that was 8th in the league in passing yards allowed, 9th in passing TDs allowed, and 13th in interceptions.  All with a meager 31 sacks!  The secondary play as a whole wasn’t so bad that they were 19th in the league.  The corners were slaughtered some days, but their play was dictated in large part by the play of the rest of the defense.

While I look at the numbers and see how much better the defense would have been with even better cornerback play, I see a unit that did its job very well – even when scraping the bottom of the barrel for talent.  Despite the very good numbers for a bunch of untested players playing at the premium pro level of American Football the corners ranked 19th.  SB Nation needs to get this right next time.

In case you were wondering who (ridiculously) was ranked above the Jaguars: Dallas Cowboys at #4 (23rd in passing yards allowed), New York Giants – #11 (29th), Arizona Cardinals – #14 (17th), Buffalo Bills – #15 (19th), Chicago Bears – #17 (28th).

Curiously, some of the units “best player” as listed by SB Nation is a rookie.  This is true for the Buffalo Bills’ Stephon Gilmore.  What does that say about their entire unit?  Think about it.

The only other team that got more screwed in these ranking than the Jags were the Browns who ranked 2nd in passing yards allowed and 4th in TDs allowed but still ended up at #16 on the list.  At least Joe Haden got the recognition he deserved.  Once again, mark my words, the Browns will be good in 2012.

- 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