Robert Craft
Let The Dominoes Fall
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Coronavirus has shut down every major sports league in America, but not the NFL. So that’s what I’m writing about.
The free agency period started and the league’s legal tampering period allowed teams to begin to talk and to negotiate with unsigned free agents.
Most eyes and ears were on the latest Tom Brady rumors, as the 42-year-old hit the unrestricted free agency for the first time in his 20-year career. More notable NFL players will be on the move over the next few days via free agency or trades.
Brady announced that his next NFL home would not be New England. He ended up signing a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth around $30 million a year.
Brady’s departure breaks up the most successful partnership in NFL history. Can Tom Brady win without Bill Belicheck and vice versa? Who is more vital to an organization, the quarterback or the coach?
Here is a list and a grade of some of the transactions that have been agreed upon to sign on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
The Jaguars traded defensive lineman Calais Campbell to the Ravens in exchange for a 2020 fifth round draft pick. Baltimore extends Campbell’s contract through the 2020 season.
Ravens B+ Jaguars F (total rebuild in Jacksonville)
The Dallas Cowboys franchise tagged Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper to a five-year deal worth $100 million.
Cowboys A
The Texans agreed to trade DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth round pick to the Cardinals for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second round pick and 2021 fourth round pick.
Texans (F) Cardinals (A++).
The Vikings traded Stefon Diggs and a 2020 seventh round pick to the Bills for 2020 first round pick, a fifth-round pick, sixth round pick and 2021 fourth round pick. This trade has the Brady Effect written all over it. The Bills are going all in on Diggs and the division.
Vikings B Bills B
The Bears have been busy signing pass rusher Robert Quinn and tight end Jimmy Graham to free agency deals. I like Quinn’s signing but Graham’s best days are behind him.
Bears C
The Dolphins made waves by signing cornerback Byron Jones to a $17 million a year contract. Miami agreed to terms with two chronic underachievers in offensive lineman Ereck Flowers and pass rusher Shaq Lawson. I also just noticed Kyle Van Noy has signed with the Dolphins.
Dolphins B
The grades try to estimate a players’ chance of outplaying his contract. To say it is an inexact science would be an affront to science.
Winners And Losers
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL scouting combine is now in the books.
More than 300 prospective NFL players were put through the ringer during the world’s most unconventional job interview.
After all, that’s what the combine is, a job interview. Some will get a job and others will leave temporarily unemployed.
Performing well in drills like the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump, or the bench press can convince a team there’s untapped potential. On the contrary, a poor performance, an injury, or any other red flags can sink a player’s draft stock.
Here are some of the winners and losers from some NCAA headliners in the 2020 NFL Combine.
Winner: C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida: The former Gator weighed in at a solid 204 pounds and still managed to run a 4.39 40-yard dash (third fastest among DBs).
His bench press reps (20) showed some dedication in the weight room. Henderson was the most impressive corner in on the field drills. He needed a good day to secure a first-round selection, and he got it.
Loser: Trevon Hill, edge rusher, Miami: Hill was a potential top 100 prospect this season, but teams will likely be disappointed in his athleticism results from the combine.
The former Cane weighed in at 248 pounds, he ran a 4.89 40-yard dash and managed pedestrian jump of 28 inch vertical and 9.5 broad.
Hill will probably be a day 3 selection. Still employed, but unexpectedly lower in status.
Winner: Cam Akers, RB, Florida State: Akers improved his draft stock with a solid showing at the combine. The former Seminole finished 5th in the 40-yard dash (4.47), broad jump 10 feet 2 inches and vertical jump was 35.5 inches. Akers is now the fourth ranked running back on my board behind Swift, Taylor and Dobbins.
Loser: Van Jefferson, WR, Florida: Jefferson did not participate at the combine after discovering a fracture in his foot that will require surgery. Jefferson was slotted as a day two selection now falls to day 3. Jefferson was at the combine and took part in the various team interviews.
Winner: Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson: Simmons lined up at nearly every position imaginable in college.
Simmons, before the combine was a top 10 pick, and is still a top 10 pick. Measuring in at 6 foot 4 inches (93 percentile), a 39-inch vertical (92nd percentile), 11-foot broad jump (98th percentile) and a 4.39 40-yard dash (99th percentile). Impressive for a 230 pounder.
The percentiles are NFL Combine history rankings. Let’s put it in layman’s terms, Simmons is a Defensive Freak!
Loser: Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia: There were no surprises with Fromm’s mostly average measurements earlier in the week. His arm strength during workouts was below average, his throws fluttered at times and his deep pass lacked velocity. Despite a poor showing, I suspect he’ll have an NFL career. However, his combine workout moved him down in QB stock below Eason.
While the timing, results, and measurements are key, data from the combine is not the whole story of the evaluation process.
Game film, physicals, interviews, and background checks will determine their career path. Some big differences and small similarities in the professional sports job market and regular people job markets. No matter the gig, these things can be challenging for anyone!
The Draft, however, is specifically tough on both candidates and staff. Simply put, it’s an educated gamble.
Best Chief Ever
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State University’s basketball team is contending for the Atlantic Coast Conference title and a top seed in the NCAA tournament.
Coach Leonard Hamilton is in his 18th season as Head Coach at Florida State.
In 18 seasons, Hamilton at Florida State is 357-220, that is a .619 winning percentage. In 32 years of coaching Hamilton is 557-430, which is a .564 winning percentage.
In a conference with three Hall of Fame coaches (Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim), and a fourth destined to end up there (Virginia’s Tony Bennett), Coach Hamilton is often overlooked.
Currently at 24-4, the Seminoles are a virtual lock to make the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in the past twelve years. Not bad for a program that’s 10 for 61 in total tournament appearances.
A team that lost six of its top eight scorers from last season could very well make it to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year. Though a Final Four appearance has eluded him, he has made a career of winning at places where few have: Oklahoma State, Miami, and now at Florida State.
Florida State is a school where football is unquestionably king.
Hamilton insists very little has changed over the years and in some ways he is right. His fundamental principles and beliefs have remained unchanged. Through it all, he has managed to stay young. Hamilton, who is in his early 70’s (but looks 45), making him the BBall Benjamin Button.
At Florida State, Hamilton had losing seasons in two of his first three years, but the Seminoles are on a 15-year win streak. Including 20+ wins in his last five seasons.
Florida State’s basketball program doesn’t need a superstar to carry the program. That’s part of the appeal in Hamilton’s recruiting pitch. Hamilton has convinced players to accept their role and focus on the team.
With 14 NBA Draft selections under Hamilton since 2004, the Seminoles are fourth in the ACC for most draft picks (Duke 28, North Carolina 23, and Syracuse 18). Florida State has had at least one player selected in the NBA Draft in 11 of the last 15 seasons.
For the Seminoles under Hamilton, the academic achievements of his players is a long-standing tradition of success. During Hamilton’s tenure at Florida State, more than 90% of his players have earned their degrees. The Seminoles were one of seven ACC teams credited with a perfect Academic Progress Report score.
Ask someone to name the top five winningest coaches in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
The first three are obvious, I named them earlier in the article.
If you are a college basketball fan, they might get former Maryland coach Gary Williams at Number 4.
Yes, Leonard Hamilton has more ACC wins than Bobby Cremins, Terry Holland, Tony Bennett and Lefty Driesell.
Quietly, Leonard Hamilton has become the most successful coach in Florida State history, fifth all-time winningest coach in ACC history and a future Hall of Famer.
Donovan Delivered
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Former Florida coach Billy Donovan returned to the program he put on the college basketball map.
For the first time since 2015 we will see the man return to the O’Connell Center floor that was named after him. His signature was placed at both ends of the court between the 3-point line and the top the key.
Donovan is the current coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the NBA All-Star Weekend, Donovan was honored at halftime of the Florida vs Vanderbilt contest.
Donovan became the coach at Florida in March of 1996 after Lon Kruger resigned to take the job at the University of Illinois.
The Gator basketball program had only fleeting success over its history. The Gators reached the Final Four under Kruger in 1994, but slipped back to mediocre levels the next season.
The 1998-1999 season the Gators went 22-9 earning 20 plus wins for only the fifth time in school history. They made their third NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance and became the second squad in school history to appear in the final top 25 polls (17 in ESPN and 23 in Associated Press).
While success in the regular season became a standard, post season the Gators consistently underperformed.
In the 2005-2006 season, Donovan’s sophomore led Gator team posted a school-best win streak to start the season reeling off 17 straight wins and reaching number 2 in the Associated Press poll. The Gators struggled during conference play, posting a 10-6 conference record heading into the SEC tournament.
Florida cruised through the SEC tournament and defeated South Carolina in the finals, earning the Gators second conference tournament title. In the 2006 NCAA tournament, The Gators were a three seed.
2005-2006 Gator basketball team would come together and defeat UCLA 73-57 to capture the school’s first NCAA basketball title. As exciting as the championship game, during the post championship celebration, the entire starting five (Lee Humphrey, Taurean Green, Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Cory Brewer) announced they would return and attempt to win back to back championships.
The 2006-2007 Gators did not disappoint Gator Nation. They became the first team since the 1991 and 1992 Duke teams to win back to back NCAA Championships. The Gators defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 84-75 for the repeat championship.
With the Florida Gators football having won the 2007 BCS National Championship game (also over Ohio State). The University of Florida became the first school in NCAA history to hold both the football and basketball National Championships at the same time.
The Gators in the Donovan era were 467-186. The Gators won two national championships (2006 & 2007), four SEC tournaments championships (2005,2006,2007 & 2014) and six regular season conference titles (2000,2001,2007,2013 & 2014). Donovan’s Gators reached the Final Four 4 times with trips in 2000 and 2014 in addition to the national championship seasons.
Billy Donovan is the second coach in Division I history to notch 500 career wins before reaching his 50th birthday. The other was Hall of Famer Bobby Knight.
Billy Donovan thanked former players (30 plus in attendance), former assistants (8 in attendance), his former boss Jeremy Foley, his family and Gator Nation for helping him reach this career pinnacle.
Simply put, Billy Donovan made basketball matter at the football first school.
Seminole Cry
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State football’s recruiting class came into National Signing Day with a National ranking of 20th by 247sports.com composite rankings. At the end of the day, Florida State fell two spots to number 22.
As far as the ACC (ALL CLEMSON CONFERENCE) goes, the Seminole were 4th behind Clemson, Miami and North Carolina.
This is Florida State’s lowest ranking in the history of 247sports.com. Also, the first time Florida State did not sign a single five-star player.
Florida State suffered through two straight losing seasons and a coaching change did not help them on the recruiting trail.
The past few seasons have made it clear that Florida State needs to rebuild the program from the ground up. A big part of building that foundation is making sure needs are met and there is adequate depth at every position.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell and his staff salvaged the Seminole 2020 recruiting class. Norvell, who was hired on December 8, acknowledged the difficulties of getting a late start in recruiting.
Norvell stated, “This class is critical. This class is the foundation of where we’re going.”
The Seminole staff worked very hard over the past two months in a class that features 25 signees and three scholarship transfers.
Florida State finished with 8 four stars and 16 three stars.
Norvell was able to do something Willie Taggart wasn’t able to do in two recruiting cycles, and that’s sign a quarterback. Norvell signed two signal callers in Tate Rodemaker, the 25th ranked nationally and Chubba Purdy the 7th ranked nationally.
Unofficially, Florida State has 84 players on scholarship. Given that this is a new staff and spring practice has yet to begin, that number may drop after the Spring semester. There’s still a chance that the Seminoles may add one or more players via the transfer portal.
Florida State is one of the greatest brands and tradition-rich football programs in all of college football. Kids grow up wanting to play for the Seminoles.
Recruiting is the lifeblood for any college football program. Coach Norvell was able to salvage a top 25 class and address some critical needs at quarterback, running back, offensive line and linebacker. Not bad for a guy who was late to the party.
I won’t lie to you; I was severely underwhelmed with Florida State’s recruiting class. Yes, the class meets some needs with a number of players, but the quality is below Seminole standards.
Recruits know you can win big at Florida State, just look at its history and the fact they have won a national championship in the last decade.
The Seminoles had the opportunity to get over the hump with its 2020 recruiting class but failed.
Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher were great football coaches and also great recruiters.
To bring Florida State back to Elite status Mike Norvell must do a better job recruiting. Maybe next year.
Out Of The Shallows
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the Super Bowl in the rear view, the Miami Dolphins can officially start executing their off-season draft plans. The Miami Dolphins have 14 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Dolphins will be a key contender in the 2020 draft, as they currently hold three first round picks and two second round selections.
The speculation is in full swing when it comes to trying to predict what the Dolphins will do with those three first round picks, with more guessing and predictions sure to come.
According to Spotrac, the Dolphins are set to own the most cap space in the NFL next year for a cool 90 to 115 million dollars in cap space.
Needless to say, the Dolphins are going to have a ton of money to convince a handful of top talented free agents to come play in South Beach.
It is going to be a lot of fun for Dolphin fans to see how Chris Grier (Miami’s General Manager) maneuvers free agency and the draft to rebuild this story franchise.
As the Dolphins transition into buyers instead of sellers, they are going to need to do their due diligence to maximize their cap space.
Miami’s wheeling and dealing netted it two additional first round draft picks, at 18 and 26, in addition to their own selection at 5. So, the Dolphins choose wisely, they can set their rebuilding plan in motion in a big way.
One thing is obvious in building a NFL team, you must possess a gifted quarterback to obtain sustained winning and championships. In a pass happy NFL, teams must have a top tier quarterback to win Super Bowls.
The Dolphins rebuild has always been centered around drafting a franchise quarterback. The football gods have been cruel to Alabama quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, as he saw his season cut short by injury.
The Dolphins have had their eyes on Tua for quite some time and if the medical report on Tua’s hip looks good the Dolphins shouldn’t pass on him. Tua is a super talented passer with elite accuracy; a requirement for a potential franchise quarterback.
I realize that the Dolphins have a lot of holes on both sides of the ball, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will this Dolphin’s team. With the current draft choices and cap space, it is safe to say this is a good foundation to start the rebuild.
The Dolphins almost never make bold moves at the draft and if they want this franchise to be relevant again, they must roll the dice and move up to assure you get the quarterback to build around.
Watching Pat Mahomes this year reminded me of that feeling I used to get when Dan Marino was quarterback. The feeling of hope; by hope I mean the feeling that the Dolphins were never out of a game, the feeling that the Dolphins could overcome any deficit, the feeling the Dolphins can contend for the playoffs and Super Bowl.
Dolphins fans I’ll leave with a quote from Jimmy Johnson “Do you want to be safe and good or do you want to take a chance and be great?”
That is what this off-season is all about for the Miami Dolphins, that is if you’re talking about the Super Bowl.
I Will Take My Talents To…
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the Early Signing Period in the rearview mirror and bowl season over, the last big day for college football before spring practice is National Signing Day.
With many of the top recruits from the 2020 class already signed, who is left for the top programs to pick up on Wednesday, February 5th?
Five Star Running Back Zack Evans is the number 1 running back in the class of 2020.
By far the wildest recruitment of the 2020 cycle. Evans signed a LOI (Letter of Intent) with the Georgia Bulldogs back in December, got cold feet, and asked to be released from his LOI.
Georgia obliged and now Evans is back on the market as an extremely talented athlete with some off the field issues.
This recruitment still seems very cloudy through, as Evans has left a lot of coaches guessing. This is shaping up to be a Tennessee, Ole Miss and Georgia battle. Alabama, Florida and LSU have rescinded their offers over the past few weeks. My Pick: Georgia
Four Star Safety Avantae Williams backed off his early commitment to the Oregon Ducks back in December.
Williams is the 9th ranked safety in the 2020 class.
He is a hard-hitting safety that can cover a lot of ground. Williams’ recruitment is a battle between Miami, Florida and Georgia. My Pick: Florida
Four Star Offensive Lineman Sedrick Van Pran has been committed to Georgia since August.
Van Pran has taken official visits to Alabama and is scheduled to be at Florida this weekend.
With the departure of former Offensive Line coach San Pittman, Van Pran seems to have opened up his recruitment. It would be shocking if Van Pran is not a Bulldog come National Signing Day. My Pick: Georgia
Four Star Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs has been committed to Georgia Tech since May.
After a very strong senior season, Gibbs has received offers from Ohio State, LSU, Georgia and Florida.
While Florida and Ohio State have put on the full court press, Gibbs will stay firm to his commitment. My Pick: Georgia Tech
Four Star Athlete Damarcus Beckwood has hopes of playing college football and basketball.
The 6-foot-4, 220 pounder is a versatile weapon on offense playing both wide receiver and tight end in high school. This is a battle between Tennessee and Florida. My Pick: Florida
February 5th marks the final day of the 2020 recruiting cycle. National Signing Day will still be important as there are a couple highly touted 2020 high school prospects that remain uncommitted.
And there will always be the few flipped prospects that make headlines on National Signing Day.
Since Dan Mullen’s time at Florida, the Gators have used the transfer portal to pluck talented players. The Gators have landed four star Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes in Mullen’s first year at Florida.
Last season, the Gators landed five-star defensive end, Brenton Cox.
This season is much different, the Gators signed a pair of five stars in running back Lorenzo Lingard and wide receiver Justin Shorter. Both players have applied for waivers with the NCAA.
Kirby Smart used the portal to add quarterback Jamie Newman. Newman has one season of eligibility and should be the front runner for QB1 for the Bulldogs.
Can Newman do what Joe Burrow did for LSU?
College Football Free Agency
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NCAA launched the transfer portal two years ago, and suddenly the transfer portal has made a major impact in the 2019 season. It’s paid off handsomely for three of the four teams in the College Football Playoffs.
Justin Fields (Ohio State), Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) and Heisman Trophy winner and National Championship MVP Joe Burrow were all transfer quarterbacks. Many fans criticized these players decisions and made excuses for them leaving.
The most important offer a coach or program can make a player is an immediate chance to play.
Just look at Gardner Minshew after transferring from East Carolina, he was supposed to be a graduate assistant at Alabama before Coach Mike Leach offered him an opportunity to play at Washington State.
Not all transfers were as successful as Fields, Hurt or Burrow: just ask Tate Martell and Brandon Wimbush.
Has college football turned into a high stakes game of musical chairs?
So, who’s the next Joe Burrow or Garder Minshew?
Jamie Newman is a 6 foot 4, 230 pound quarterback who completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 2,869 yards and 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Newman made his decision to transfer to the University of Georgia. He provides the Bulldogs with a dual threat element after running for 574 yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games in 2019.
Newman should have a chance to start next season. The Bulldogs currently have Stetson Bennett, D’Wan Mathis and 2020 signee Carson Beck to compete with Newman.
D’Eriq King is a 5 foot 11, 195 pound dual threat quarterback, who completed 52.7 percent of his passes for 663 yards and 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in four games with Houston in 2019.
King made his decision to transfer to the University of Miami as a graduate transfer, he is eligible to play in the 2020 season. King immediately becomes the favorite to start for the Hurricanes in new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s offense.
The Hurricanes have a very crowded quarterback room. Last season, starter Jarren Williams was a redshirt sophomore, N’Kosi Perry, a redshirt junior, Tate Martell, redshirt junior (transfer last season from Ohio State), Peyton Matocha is a redshirt freshman and Tyler Van Dyke is a true freshman in the 2020 class.
Feleipe Franks is a 6 foot 6 quarterback, who completed 76.1 percent of his passes for 698 yards and 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in 2 and a half game in 2019.
Franks, who enrolled immediately and is going through spring drills with the Razorbacks.
Franks has had an inconsistent career at the University of Florida. I’m unsure if he will find stability in his new transfer.
Arkansas was one of the worst Power Five teams in all of football last season. Arkansas has a long way to go before they’ll be competitive, but adding Franks is certainly a step in the right direction.
Under new offensive coordinator Kendall Briles, Franks, KJ Jefferson, Jack Lindsey and John Stephen Jones will compete for the starting job.
Here is a list of other transfer quarterbacks to keep your eyes on: Jake Bentley (Utah), Phil Jurkovec (Boston College), Joey Gatewood (Kentucky), Chase Brice, KJ Costello and some others.
The exciting part of the college football offseason the past two seasons has been the movement among quarterbacks in the transfer portal: College Football’s new free agency.
Ballin
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the season with cautious optimism. The hiring of Bruce Arians and staff brought a renewal light to Buccaneers fans.
That light flickered all season with glimpses of future hopes.
The Buccaneers finished the season 7-9 record and 3rd place in the NFC South division. The Buc’s were awful at home with a 2-6 record compared to a 5-3 road record.
The Bucs’ season was capped off with a 28-22 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons. This game was a microcosm of the Buc’s season.
The Buc’s took a 22-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Falcon tied the game late in the 4th quarter with a Younghoe Koo field goal to send the game into overtime.
On the first possession of overtime, Bucs’ quarterback Jameis Winston threw his league leading 30th interception, a pick 6 for the Falcons. Game over, season over.
Jameis Winston was the first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Buccaneers fans cheered that they finally had a franchise quarterback. Winston was selected to his first Pro Bowl game making him the first rookie quarterback in Buccaneer history to be selected. Promising, right?
This season he led the NFL in passing yards with 5,109 and interceptions with 30. He is the first player in NFL history to throw 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season.
Winston made history on his final throw of the year with his seventh pick 6 of the season. Winston’s first and last pass as a Buc were both pick 6’s.
His five years in Tampa Bay have been nothing short of a nauseating roller coaster, with captivating highs and head scratching lows.
Don’t get me wrong, the Buccaneers have many holes to fill on their roster. Coach Bruce Arians and General Manager Jason Licht have a difficult decision at the game’s most important position this offseason, as quarterback Jameis Winston’s contract has expired.
The Buccaneers should have hope for Winston, despite his shortcomings at quarterback. He had a career year in his first season under Bruce Arians. Turnovers have plagued him throughout his NFL career, as Winston has thrown 88 interceptions and had 50 fumbles in 72 games.
Coach Bruce Arians’ season ending press conference addressed Jameis Winston’s pick 6 to end the season, “It smells as bad as it could possibly smell and it’ll smell that way for a long time.”
Here is the question Buccaneers fans: Is a 5,000 yard quarterback still worth 30 million a year if he can’t consistently win?
The Buccaneers must make a decision about Winston quickly so they can focus on other possible free agents.
Jason Pierre-Paul, Carl Nassib, Shaq Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Demar Dotson and Breshard Perriman are all potential free agents that the Bucs must resign.
Offensive line and secondary must be addressed in the draft and free agency.
The Bucs offensive line was nowhere near NFL caliber. They ranked 24th in rushing yards per game and gave up 47 sacks this season.
After the Bucs released former first round draft pick Vernon Hargreaves, the trio of Jamel Dean, Carlton Davis, and Sean Murphy-Bunting began to produce some nice numbers with 31 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions. In a pass happy NFL, you cannot have enough quality defensive backs.
The Bucs have not made the playoffs since 2008. Will 2020 be the year?
Low Tide On Jags In River City
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the NFL playoff’s kick into high gear, let’s take a look at what went wrong in Duval. The Jacksonville Jaguars had a rocky season.
It started when Jalen Ramsey showed up to OTAs in a security truck (armored bank truck) and the downhill slope started.
Hopes were high when the Jaguars signed Nick Foles to a four year, 88 million dollar deal with 50-million guaranteed. In Week 1 of the season, Foles suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on the injury reserve.
On November 5, Foles was activated and returned as the Jaguars starter against the Indianapolis Colts. He had a respectable day throwing for 296 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 33-13 loss.
In Week 13 against the Tampa Bay Bucs, Foles was benched due to poor performance. He was 7 of 14 for 93 yards, one interception no touchdowns and two fumbles.
After the game, head coach Doug Marrone announced that Foles would be benched and Gardner Minshew would retake the starting job.
Minshew was drafted by the Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Minshew may be the lone plateau in the Jaguars downhill tumble.
Gardner Minshew or Minshew Mania was the topic on every sport station in Jacksonville. As a starter, Minshew lead the Jaguars to 6 wins, throwing 21 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and 3,271 yards.
In a Week 2 loss against the Houston Texans, Jalen Ramsey was involved in a verbal altercation with Head Coach Doug Marrone. Ramsey and Marrone had to be physically restrained from each other. Ramsey, the Jaguars best player, demanded a trade the next day.
On October 15, Ramsey was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2020 first round pick, a 2021 first round pick and a 2021 fourth round pick.
On December 16, the NFL Players Association warned players of signing with Jacksonville because of excessive fines and player grievances.
On December 18, Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired executive vice president of football operations, Tom Coughlin. In the grievance letter, former player Dante Fowler was fined more than $700,000 for missing rehab during the 2018 offseason.
After the Coughlin firing, surely nobody would survive after Black Monday (the Monday following the final game). I was wrong. Head Coach Doug Marrone and General Manager Dave Caldwell hang on for another season.
The Jaguars have many questions to answer leading into the 2020 season: Is Doug Marrone the coach to lead to the playoffs? Who will be the starting quarterback in 2020? Who will Dave Caldwell draft with extra picks? Can the Jaguars trade Leonard Fournette? Where is the defense?
Tom Coughlin was definitely a huge problem, but it is unfair to put the entire blame on him? Jacksonville is a total rebuild from the roster to franchise culture.
The biggest question heading into this offseason: What have the Jaguars learned from the 2019 season?
