While talks continue with Scobee, the kicker has publicly noted that he will play under the franchise tag for the season if need be.  He looks forward to getting a deal done with the club but negotiations have been long and are now abutting the league-mandated timeframe for franchise players signing their tenders.  Scobee, along with five other players are holding out on signing the tender in the hopes of getting a better deal than the average pay of the top five players at the position.  Scobee, Cliff Avril, Ray Rice, Dashon Goldson, Dwayne Bowe and Matt Forte all want to see the team make a commitment to them but have yet to be effective in their negotiations.

Seriously, the guy has a little je ne sais qua... Source: Matt Stamey-US PRESSWIRE

Avril, Scobee, and Rice are undoubtedly some of the best in the league right now at their respective positions and are hoping to get paid as such.  Meanwhile, Bowe and Forte are crucial parts of offenses that saw dips in production last season from the 2010 campaign.  The San Francisco 49ers really like safety Goldson and would like to see his capabilities in another year on a defense that surprisingly rocked the playoff field under head coach Jim Harbaugh last year.

Scobee is due $2.88 million in 2012 under the franchise tag.  His agent, who resumed talks with the Jaguars two weeks ago, is not looking for a contract in the top two players the position (Sebastian Janikowski and Phil Dawson who are both at about $4 million for 2012) but would probably like to be paid for the work Scobee does.  Scobee could get a deal similar to that inked by Connor Barth of  Tampa Bay who just signed a deal for $3.3 million per year.  Barth made 93% of field goals in 2011, one point up on Scobee’s 92%.  Matt Prater of the Broncos may be the more probable peg to be matched to Scobee and he just signed a deal for $3.25 million.

A fan favorite and crucial part of a team that struggles on offense, signing Scobee has been a focus of Jaguars fans and the team through the offseason.  We all hope that at some point during the year the two sides can get together.  Until then, it will be the franchise tender for Scobee.

- 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

Jackson probably would have clashed with Gene Smith and could have provided locker room drama.  The Eagles being unable to come together with Jackson for a long-term deal is evidence that something is off in Philly.

Dwayne Bowe, however, was one of the top free agency prospects for the Jaguars.  His ability to play aggressively throughout the game, and his blocking abilities would both translate well with the Jaguars.

There are still a few free agent wide receivers available to the Jaguars come March 13th.  Below I’ve listed the potential free agents that the Jaguars may pursue.

• Marques Colston (Saints)
• Vincent Jackson (Chargers)
• Steve Johnson (Bills)
• Brandon Lloyd (Rams)
• Mario Manningham (Giants)

Of the five players listed above, I find Manningham to be the most likely to end up in Jacksonville.  That said, Vincent Jackson would drastically alter the Jaguars’ offense and allow Blaine Gabbert to develop more swiftly with a very good true number one wideout.

Tomorrow we’ll delve into thorough analysis of each potential Jaguar wide receiver to see who may best fit down in Florida.

- Luke N. Sims

Brian Quick catches a 58-yard TD. Is Quick the next small school GM Gene product?

This past year was quite possibly the most pathetic showing of wide receivers in Jaguars history, OK, not possibly, it was. That’s including the years with Matt Jones and Reggie Williams. The wide receivers this year tanked and didn’t show any signs of improvement until the end of the year, which, interestingly enough, coincided with the bye week and the coaching change. The questions that remains are these…

“Who will the Jaguars acquire in Free Agency? Who will the Jaguars draft? Which wide receivers with the Jaguars keep?”

(more…)