MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Jacksonville Jaguars were once considered to be one of the most physical, intimidating teams in the league.  It was often reported that no team wanted to play the Jaguars because they knew that they'd be faced with a big, pounding, confident group that was going to beat you into submission by using their size, speed, and physical ability.

Nobody could look at their schedule, see the Jaguars, and instantly pencil in a "W" when they were predicting their season record.

It is amazing how things have changed.

Now, opposing teams see Jacksonville on their schedule and they give the Jaguars about as much thought as they would the Lions or even the bye week before they quickly pencil in the "W" and move on to the next game.

What happened?  How could a team fall so far so quickly? 

People look for someone or something to pinpoint with the blame, but in a season when the entire team has collapsed, it is impossible to find one target to focus on.  Rather, the way the team has completely collapsed since the bye week is probably the one thing that this group could point to as a complete team effort. 

The target of the month has been Shack Harris for failed first round draft picks in 2003 and 2004, and for blown free agent acquisitions including Hugh Douglas and more recently, Jerry Porter.

People ignore the good things that Harris has done for this roster, including landing Maurice Jones-Drew in the second round, or finding role players like Sammy Knight or Grady Jackson when the team needed stop-gap players because of injuries. 

Realistically, Harris is only one voice.  The Jaguars personnel decisions are handled by a committee that includes Harris, Jack Del Rio, Paul Vance, and Gene Smith.  The team abandoned the "one voice" approach to making personnel decisions when Tom Coughlin was asked to resign following the 2002 season. 

So, while Harris is the popular target, the reality is that he is not the sole proprietor of ineptitude on the staff at 1 Stadium Place.  He certainly is not free of blame, but he does not deserve all of it. 

When Jack Del Rio was given the authority to release Byron Leftwich prior to the 2007 season, he asserted himself as a more prominent voice in personnel decisions.  When Shack Harris' understudy, Charles Bailey was sent packing in favor of Gene Smith who assumed responsibility over all of the scouting for both the pro and college levels, that gave Del Rio even more leverage. 

So, as the constant drumbeat increases for the head of Shack Harris, one has to wonder if people are really paying attention, or if they are simply jumping on the bandwagon to serve the mob mentality.

Shack Harris is hardly the best personnel guy in the National Football League.  He's also not the worst.  Overall, he has been better than average in identifying talent that he and Jack Del Rio believe are coachable, and can help this team. 

So, if Shack Harris is providing the head coach with players that Jack Del Rio feels comfortable with on the roster, and these players underachieve once they arrive here, who does the blame really fall upon?

At some point, the coaching has to be questioned, and it is a simple fact that the lack of discipline and focus cannot be blamed on personnel decisions.  That is strictly a coaching issue. 

The team has taken some significant hits due to injury, particularly along the offensive line.  That almost certainly has had an impact on the running game, and to some extent, the passing offense as well. 

Still, the injuries have not been a factor for the defense, but they have been struggling just the same. 

Part of this could be due to the change of coordinators and trying to implement a new system.  That does have a tendency to cause teams to struggle early on as they try to become acclimated with the new scheme.  The problem is that the defense that Gregg Williams is running currently is barely distinguishable from what Mike Smith ran for the five previous seasons.  The biggest difference is obviously that the team does not have Marcus Stroud in the middle of the line.  Of course, this was the case when he was on the roster as he missed significant playing time due to injury and suspension over the previous three seasons.  Still, he was a popular player in the locker room, and a leader as well.  His trade hit the rest of the team hard.

Part of the blame comes down to coaching.  When normally solid players are showing the bad technique and lack of focus that we have seen this season, it has to come down to coaching at some point. Sure, if we were only talking about one or two players who have apparently forgotten how to square up a tackle or cover a receiver it could fall on the shoulders of the players.  But, when we see wholesale struggles where every player on the defense has had occasion to look bad, the coaching has to absorb some of the blame. 

With everything else piling up, age has also become a significant factor for this team.  Whether you are talking about the defense with Reggie Hayward, Paul Spicer, Rob Meier, and Mike Peterson, each of these players has become more of a liability than an asset to this team.

On the offense, Brad Meester and Khalif Barnes are almost playing their final games as Jaguars.  If rumors are true, the same thing can be said for Fred Taylor.

But, it is not just about age.  The team needs a complete rebuild from top to bottom.  There are certainly key components on the roster that will be retained, but it may come down to the Jaguars making the conscious decision to bite the bullet and take the dead money cap hit to jettison players that have created problems with the chemistry on this roster. 

Players like Jerry Porter?  Yes, injury contributed to his struggles, but Porter has not proven to be reliable as a go to receiver which is why he was brought here to begin with.  Too often, Porter has dropped catchable balls that should have been routine receptions.  The cap ramifications are certainly not appealing to a guy like Wayne Weaver, but neither is throwing money at a player who's giving you the bare minimum in production.

Reggie Williams set a franchise record with ten touchdowns in 2007.  He did not set the world on fire with his yardage, or number of receptions, but the touchdowns were a glimmer of hope that he was turning the corner.  Unfortunately, in 2008, he regressed.  There is no separation.  There is inconsistent effort.  His blocking skills are solid, but we are talking about a high first round draft pick.  He has not lived up to anything close to expectations based upon where he was selected.  Fair or not, the team cannot afford to throw more money at a player who barely registers statistically.

Fred Taylor is an iconic player for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  There is nothing that would be more deserving than to let him finish his career with the team where he has seen all of his success.  He understands that his role is changing from the top of the pyramid to more of a role player, and as he makes that transition, his contract must follow suit.  Fred Taylor has the ability to be much like Jerome Bettis, accepting a diminished role in order to finish his career with the team of his choosing, and the team where he saw his greatest success.  Taylor should be allowed to wind down a wonderful career as a Jaguar, on his own terms.  

At this point, the most logical approach to dealing with the Jaguars roster is to blow it up completely, unloading most of the aging veterans on the roster, and dumping unproductive skill players that are more of a financial burden to the team and replace them with young, hungry players looking to make their mark on the NFL.  It will not be the most glamorous method of fixing what ails this team, but it is the right approach to turn things around in the shortest period possible. 

As part of the rebuilding process, the Jaguars will probably make a move to part ways with Shack Harris.  They should take that a step further and send the entire coaching staff to the curb as well.  They have as much blame to assume in why the team has fallen as quickly and as far as the personnel staff.  If the team is truly going to rebuild, tear it up from the top down and rebuild from the bottom up.  Many will opine the fact that the team lacks true star power, but at least we will see the return of a team that might want to compete, and might actually appreciate their situation here.