Afternoon Beer: the Best of today’s Jaguars Mailbags
“When you lose…don’t lose the lesson.” – Dave Chappelle, Chappelle Show
I’m sure that’s been said before, probably by George McClellan or Gary Kubiak or someone of that stature. Today’s second question brings up a valid point…not all loses are bad and sometimes, good things come out of devastating loss. If the Jags had gone 9-7 in 2008 and only narrowly missed the playoffs, maybe Shack Harris would still be around and we’d still be needs drafting and doggy-paddling in the seas of mediocrity.
Get your afternoon buzz on after the jump…
From today’s Ozone…
"Micah from Chicago, IL:I know we don’t have much of a linebacker corps and, according to you, good players can be found later in the draft. What do you look for in a good linebacker prospect?John: My philosophy on linebacker is it’s a lot like running back. The way the NFL is played now, it’s usually not a premium position. You’re usually better served emphasizing pass rusher, cornerback, defensive tackle, left tackle, wide receiver and quarterback in the first round. Linebackers who can run and hit can be found later in the draft. Providing you have big-time players elsewhere on defense, you can win with linebackers drafted in the later rounds."
It definitely appears that Gene will be addressing both linebacker and safety in free agency and with more than just the Sean Considines of the world. Sure, Gene’s demonstrated that he has no fear throwing a rookie into the starting mix, but that has been when we were weak at the position, not buttnaked. Seriously, behind Daryl Smith, we have nothing but UDFA’s – he’s ballsy, but he ain’t that balsy. A rookie may end up being in the one of the three LB spots, but I believe the Jaguars have their eye on somebody and they ain’t sayin’ who. A guy like Paul Posluszny might come at an affordable price – in Buffalo’s 3-4 he didn’t have a lot of big-time stats except for more tackles than you could shake a stick at, but I think Gene has a thing for Pennsylvania guys (though he would never admit it) and was very high on Penn State LB Sean Penn last year. Posluszny is like a younger Kirk Morrison – he’s never going to be a game changer, but he won’t make many mistakes and will make a lot of tackles that keep a running back gaining 3 yards at a time, rather than slipping through the middle for the big one. He’s more athletic and has better instincts than Morrison and is young enough to anchor the LB corps for a long time if we picked him up.
From today’s Ask Vic…
"Joshua from Key Largo, FLMy team had a loss to the Colts on a Thursday night a couple of years ago that showed they were on the rise, again; if they keep on their current path, I will consider that one of our greatest games. It was a loss but it was close. It takes little football IQ to realize you’re not always on the winning side of the great games you have played.Vic: Losing creates appreciation for hope. Winning makes us intolerant of losing. We all need a little of each to balance us."
That was a very special night and even though the Jaguars had plenty of gems last year – Colts game at home, Cleveland game (messy though), and of course, the Hail Mary – the Thursday night game in December 2009 was a very special moment and I think many of us will look back on it several years from now as the rebirth of the Jaguars. It was such a desperately hard fought, back-and-forth game (unlike the ones this year, which tended to feature one or two great moments, rather than a full 60 minutes of splendor) and the fanbase made such a great showing that night that it would definitely qualify as one of the defining or greatest games in Jaguars history, as Joshua puts it. The atmosphere was electric that night – I hadn’t seen a tailgating presence like that one in awhile. The cider was flowing hard, the dips were delicious, and the crowd was raucous. I think we all walked away from The Jack realizing just how much we love this damn team, even when it lets us down. If you haven’t bought your season tickets this year and you do care about this team, please do so. Listen to Wayne Weaver’s Fan Forum here – the Jaguars still badly need their fans to buy tickets and there is no risk whatsoever as far as the lockout business. Keep us in Jacksonville, people. Do your part.
– Andrew Hofheimer