Man I loved his mean streak. Source: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

This has led the Jaguars to skipping over quite a few good players in the draft and free agency in favor of other players that seem to have good heads on their shoulders.  Kirk Morrison filled middle linebacker, Mike Thomas was moved up the depth chart, and the Jaguars passed on Ryan Mallett (so did everyone else, mind you) for Blaine Gabbert.  Were these moves bad moves?  No, I don’t think so.  Were they excellent moves?  I can’t say that with certainty either (I really loved Morrison, but he is not with the team any more).

The reason to argue that the moves to acquire such high character guys is that the Jaguars organization places an emphasis on a ship that is run by its players.  A ship that self-polices itself.  If someone does wrong (as Justin Blackmon just did with his aggravated DUI), the front office and coaching staff need only bring up the focus on staying a high character team and everyone else does the work to right the ship.  This can be seen by Laurent Robinson coming in to talk to Blackmon on Tuesday:

[I] told him that you’ve got to grow up. NFL players are targets, so you have to stay low key, low profile.

I’m a fan of having a high character locker room.  The team corrected its Bengal-like bad boy persona in a couple short seasons by focusing on high character.  But what about winning?  Can’t we win and have high character?  Why can’t the Jaguars bring in problem players and turn their problems into productive play on the field?  How does Bill Belichick do it in New England?

Bill Belichick’s rise to prominence is pretty well documented in New England.  He has made an impact on the NFL unlike any coach has for a long time.  His coaching tree spread far and wide and has helped secure jobs for many new head coaches who have all, curiously, been a lot less successful than their head in New England.  While Belichick is a scheming mastermind, make no doubt about it, I don’t think that his football IQ is a million points higher than the next head coach or GM.  Yet somehow players just seem to play better for him.  Kevin Faulk has carved a niche out in the Patriots offense for years.  Troy Brown?  Oh he’ll play wide receiver and corner/safety and make it look good.  The circus act that is Albert Haynesworth?  He won’t make a peep in New England.

Corey Dillon came to New England and suddenly all you heard about was his football playing ability. Source: US PRESSWIRE

How does he do it?  It’s not that Haynesworth, Corey Dillon, Chad Ochocinco, Randy Moss, et al are suddenly transformed into paragons of virtue.  It’s not even as if they suddenly revitalize their careers with the team.  I say it’s due to the management style of Bill Belichick.  A management style I like to call the “No Bullshit” style.  If there were two words to describe Bill Belichick, they could very well be “no bullshit.”

Let’s look at the Randy Moss case:  Moss was a joke when he wound up in New England.  After exploding onto the scene in Minnesota, Moss was shuffled to the depressed Raiders where he showed little enthusiasm for the game and looked like his career was more of a flash in the pan.  Who picks him up?  The Patriots of course.  Suddenly Moss and Tom Brady are setting records playing pitch and catch over cornerbacks and safeties.  What happens when Moss leaves New England? 19 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns in twelve games.  The year before Moss had had over 1,200 yards, 83 catches, and 13 touchdowns.

Could Minnesota and Tennessee have gotten an inferior product in Moss?  The evidence suggests otherwise.  While Moss “retired” following the 2010 season, he worked out for teams this offseason and signed with San Francisco, still able to ratchet up an impressive 40 yard dash time.  What were the differences in Tennessee and Minnesota?  In Minnesota, head coach Brad Childress was a joke.  His time was winding down, he had desperately wanted Moss for years, and he was succumbing to the wishes of Brett Favre.  Childress would have signed anybody with a big name in his final two years.  What about Tennessee?  Jeff Fisher was at the end of his tenure.  The guy is a genius, but he knew he was lame duck.  There was no need to control his team.

I'm fairly confident I would only take a chance on one of these guys. Source: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Somehow, Belichick gets it done.  Problem players come in, Super Bowl champions come out (or Super Bowl participants as of late).  Belichick is a no nonsense man.  He polices his team.  If someone gets out of line, it’s handled within the team.  In the rare case that something hits the media, it’s handled with a curt response and a deadpan stare.

While I love the high character, self-policed version of the Jaguars, I wonder if there may have been a chance to become a “no bullshit” team.  Is there another man like Belichick that could run such a tight ship?  Is there another team that could accumulate so many high quality players like the Jaguars to create a team that does not need such a tight head coach?  I’m not certain there are really two other teams that have carved out their niches so securely.

I think the comparisons between the two organizations and their respective approaches will be embodied in the careers of Ryan Mallett and Blaine Gabbert.  Gabbert was taken #10 0verall in the 2011 draft to lead the Jaguars.  Meanwhile, problem child Ryan Mallett skidded from first-round status to the third round where the Patriots gladly picked him up.  While the Patriots can make anyone look like Tom Brady (remember Matt Cassel?) they have to actually replace him with someone eventually.  It will be curious to see if Mallett is that man and if he has become the best he can be under Belichick’s tutelage.

- Luke N. Sims

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You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims

Gene Smith reinforced the need to do proper research on draft prospects.  Blackmon was the 5th selection in the 2012 draft. After a similar incident in 2010, the Jaguars thought that Blackmon has only had an isolated incident.

Blackmon said he didn’t have a drinking problem but said he was “done drinking” for now.  While that wasn’t specified in his statement, Blackmon will probably focus more on responsible behavior.  Like his time before the draft, Blackmon appeared genuinely apologetic about his actions.  While a suspension is still a possibility, it appears that the action may come from the NFL rather than the Jaguars.

An emphasis was put on creating a roster that is filled with good guys.  89 of 90 players did the right thing over the weekend, according to Smith.  Just one player, Blackmon didn’t make the right decisions.

If Blackmon can rebound from this incident and hone his receiving skills, he could join many other “troubled” receivers like Cris Carter, the Jags’ own Jimmy Smith, and Randy Moss in being a difference maker on the football field and in people’s lives.  As our own Dave Johns pointed out in his recent article, it’s rare that the best receivers are flawless individuals.

Jaguar great Fred Taylor has reportedly reached out to Blackmon.  While no formal mentorship has been established, the guidance of veteran players can have a profound impact on players just entering the league as they learn how to transition their game and their lives to the bigger stage.

- 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

Or we, the fans, are completely aloof as to the needs of the team.

John Oehser had it right when he wrote,

Outside owner Shad Khan and General Manager Gene Smith, no one knows for sure – and that’s pretty much par for the NFL course.

Marshall, we weren't even interested and I still miss you! Source: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

It was, and still is, the opinion of this writer that the Jaguars are going to pursue a better receiving corps in free agency.  That said a number of very good receivers have come off the board.  Of these, Stevie Johnson (resigned with Bills a week before free agency), Marques Colston (signed hours before free agency began), Vincent Jackson (signed with Tampa Bay), Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan (signed with the Washington Redskins), Randy Moss (signed with San Francisco), and a surprise Brandon Marshall trade from Miami to Chicago for two third round picks in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The Jags have hardly been mentioned amongst all of this hullabaloo.

ESPN’s AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky recently mentioned that he thinks the Jags will still try to make a play for Mario Williams.  Not only does he think that they will, he thinks that they should.  Who else thinks that they should?  All of Jaguar nation.  Except maybe the front office.

While no word has come out of Shahid Khan or Gene Smith yet (after all, they like to keep things quiet), we, the Jaguars faithful, have got to begin wondering just what game the Jaguars are playing at.

It’s common knowledge that the goal for the team is to build through the draft.  But to what end?  Consistently, Gene Smith has traded up with picks to grab players he finds alluring.  I agree with the strategy on the whole, but none of the players being developed with those picks have any market value to trade for more picks to add more blood and more development to the young Jaguars roster.

And beyond all that, at the Jaguars’ greatest position of need, Gene Smith has not performed well.  Here at B&T, we outlined just how poorly he has done.  Are we to assume that the Jaguars are actually pleased with their current receiving corps?   Has Jarrett Dillard made his way off the injury cart enough make a play?  Will Mike Thomas be forced out of the slot due to underperformance yet again?  What about past attempts?  Did Jason Hill suddenly become the deep threat we all dreamed of?

The only assumption I can make based on the complete lack of depth, and action to fit that depth, at wide receiver is that the Jaguars are going to make “plays” again in the draft.  Plays for the likes of Justin Blackmon perhaps?

But at what cost?

It’s assumed picks will probably be involved in order to trade up an nab the star wide receiver from Oklahoma State.  Or perhaps there will be a move to trade back and acquire as many mediocre talents at wide out that we possibly can?

I’m not really certain.

In fact I’m straight up confused.

If anybody has any light whatsoever on this, please, please shine it my way.  Nay, shine it toward all of the fans.  Because as much as I’m behind Gene Smith, I just can’t make heads nor tails of his actions in free agency thus far.

- Luke N. Sims