Previewing the ’10 Jaguars roster – The secondary

And now we arrived the absolutely biggest concern of the whole Jaguars roster: the safety position. Sadly I see just question marks at strong and freesafety. How big are the problem there? I will make it very simple; please name the starters at FS and SS! Oh; you cannot? Now you see the problem! When you hear that the UDFA rookie from Norfolk State; Terrell Whitehead can be the solution; you know how much trouble we are in at the position. Gene Smith signed and traded for couple of safties in the last offseason and during the season to get help in the position. I still think he made the absolutely biggest mistake signing Brian Russell instead of Bernard Pollard; who all of sudden is a big playmaker for the divisional rival Texans- which is double misfortune. If Gene would have signed Pollard; the Jaguars have at least 1 lock from the 2 positions.

Now let’s see who are the potential candidates for the job. I think the frontrunners for the starting job are Anthony Smith (who was the biggest FA success Gene found in the secondary) and Gerald Alexander. Smith was a 3rd round pick by Bill Cowher back in 2006 for the Steelers. He had the reputation of a hard hitting tackler and a guy who spoke too much. Remember when he challeneged Tom Brady and the Patriots, claiming the Steeers were better in ’07-you know when the Patriots went 16-0…-, then Tom Brady made him look like a clown on that weekend. Anthony Smith needs to show more than he says, not the other way around.  Lately we haven’t heard him speak stupid things, just playing on a solid/okay level. He intercepted 2 pass in 8 games; and was the starter at the last few games at FS. Gerald Alexander played 15 games; recorded 55 tackles and 2 picks. That is average statistics at best for lot of teams, but for the Jaguars it counts as good numbers last year.The 1st FA signed by Gene Smith,  Sean Considine, performed average as well. He was really good against the Jets and he had 1 interception against the Bills; but he suffered a concussion and saw limited action in the second half at the season. These 3 players have 1 thing in common: they are considered as “just guys” leaguewide.

Anthony Smith Source: Yardbarker