Gone are quarterback Cleo Lemon, offensive lineman Drew Miller, defensive end Mkristo Bruce and cornerback Weldon Brown. You can read more about the roster moves made today on the the team's webiste by clicking here.

By finishing the 2008 season with a 5-11 record, the Jaguars, as well as their fans, were dealt a cold, hard dose of reality. In hindsight, while a healthy Jaguars may have posted a slightly better record, it is clear that the expectations the majority of us had for the 2008 Jaguars were too high. So with that said, what should we realistically expect for the 2009 season?

As I wrote in a previous post, I am cautiously optimistic about the 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars. What I expect from the team can be summed up in one word - improvement. At the end of the 2009 season, I want to have seen a team that has shown real improvement. I want to see a team that is heading in the right direction and whose future looks bright. I am not expecting a team that goes deep into the playoffs or even a team that wins the AFC South. While those things would certainly be nice, and I hope for them to take place, I do not expect them. There is a difference between hopes and expectations, a difference that a lot of fans fail to see. My hopes are entirely different than my expectations. Hopes are not always based on reality, while expectations should be realistic. And my expectations for the 2009 Jaguars are to see an improved team who, at the end of the season, are still playing meaningful games, which means I expect them to contend for a wild card spot. Those are my expectations, and I think they are realistic.

So what do you think? Are my expectations too high? Too low? What are your expectations? What should we expect?

Character also played a role in who the Jaguars brought in as additions to the roster. After the signings of Tra Thomas and Torry Holt we were informed by the team that, in addition to being good football players, these free agent acquisitions were top-notch character guys. In the draft, we saw the Jaguars take a pass on player many thought they should select, such as Michael Crabtree and BJ Raji, partly because of character concerns. After the draft, we were told by Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio and general manager Gene Smith that every draft pick was of a young man of solid character. Obviously, the Jaguars are trying to change the image of the team to a more positive one, and are placing a major emphasis on character as they rebuild the roster. The question is, should they be? Should character count?

The question of whether or not character should count is a widely debated one. There are many who are of the belief that what a player does off the field does not matter, it is what he does on the field that counts. As long as a player's conduct and actions off the field do not affect his performance on the field, these fans are willing to turn a blind eye to the player's behavior and character, no matter how ewprehensible. Another camp is of the belief that athletes are role models who, in turn, should be model citizens for all the little kids (and pathetic grown men) who dream of growing up to be just like their favorite player. These people will overlook bad play on the field, just so long as the player is a perfect angel off the field. But the player had better be careful, because one misstep off the field and he will forever be labeled a bad apple and a bum by this type of fan.

So which type of fan is correct? I submit that neither camp has the correct view. In my opinion (which again, I am the world's foremost expert at), character should count. It should count a lot. However, character alone is not enough. There needs to be a marriage of both talent and character. Let me explain.

I think character is of the utmost importance, not only in the NFL, but in any job. I just do not buy the "As long as he gets it done on the field, it doesn't matter what he does off of it" argument, and you should not buy it either. That logic does not fly in the corporate world, so why would it be any different in the NFL? Professional football is not the only results-oriented business out there. My business is results-oriented and odds are that yours is as well. And no matter how good I am at my job, if I act like a moron off the clock and get myself in trouble, I will find myself on the unemployment line. Maybe not the first time, but certainly if I show a pattern of poor decision making away from the office. Why? Because poor decision making and bad character reflects negatively on my employer whether I am on or off the clock. And that reflection is greatly magnified when you are a professional athlete. In addition, good character people make for better employees. They are more likely to possess other intangibles that employers and customers find valuable such as loyalty, strong work ethic, dedication, etc. This does not mean that I believe there is no room for mistakes. Everyone is human and we all make mistakes. But it is not that hard to tell the difference between a guy who made a mistake and a guy who has bad character.

To the men who think professional athletes should be perfect because they are role models to their kids, I have this to say: Grow up and realize that you need to be the role model for your kid, not some guy who plays a game for a living. Do you know who a NFL player should be a role model for? His own kids, not yours. If you are depending on someone else to be a role model for your child then you need to find someone to teach you a lesson on what it means to be a man and what it means to be a father. One of the things it means is taking full responsibility for shaping your children. That does not mean they cannot have favorite players they look up to, but when it comes to who they choose to emulate, if it is not you, their father, you have failed. Growing up I had favorite football players. I had their trading cards. I had their posters on my wall. I pretended to be those favorite players when we were outside playing football with our friends. But never once did I look to one of those athletes when faced with a decision I needed to make, or to determine how I should conduct myself in a certain situation. For those things, I looked to my father and other positive influences who were actually in my life, not on the television screen. The athletes were my favorite players to root for on Sunday. Dad was the role model. And that is how it should be.

I applaud the moves the Jaguars have made this offseason, both talent-wise and character-wise. I think it is a wise move by any organization to acquire top-character employees who are also talented at their jobs. After the past several years of police blotter activities by some players, this is a breath of fresh air. And I will watch the games with my kids on Sundays, and we will cheer them on for who they are - players on our favorite team. But we will not cheer them on as my children's role models. That is my job.

The bleachers were packed with fans excited to check out the new-look Jaguars during the blazing hot Saturday afternoon session I attended. Watching the players make their way from the locker room to the practice fields two things jumped out at me: the offensive line is enormous with the additions of Tra Thomas, Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton; and David Garrard has lost a lot of weight and looks more like a quarterback and less like a middle linebacker.

I am not a coach or any other kind of football expert, so I can't speak to all things X's and O's, but I am a hardcore football fan who has strapped on the pads, albeit at a much lower level, so I can speak to what I saw with my own eyes. After all, I am an expert at my own opinion. What my eyes told me was that Jaguar fans have reason to be cautiously optimistic heading into the 2009 season.

Now, when I use the word "optimistic" I am not using it in such a way that would imply I believe the Jaguars will be in the Super Bowl hunt at the end of the season. This is a team that is rebuilding with an eye on the future, as well it should be, so to expect a Super Bowl contender would be unrealistic at this point. I am, however, optimistic that the Jaguars will improve on 2008's 5-11 record and be in the running for a wildcard spot. That is my expectation for the 2009 Jaguars and I believe it is realistic.

In mini-camp, the Jaguars did not put on the pads - it was shorts and helmets only - what is commonly referred to as "underwear practices." The thing about underwear practices is that most everyone looks pretty good, so it is difficult to judge how a player will perform once the pads go on and the hitting starts. But that doesn't mean that there weren't things that stood out.

The first thing that stood out was the wide receiver corps. Newly acquired free agent Torry Holt looked like money well spent, and appears to already be David Garrard's favorite target. Mike Walker looked very good - hopefully this is the year that it all comes together with him. Fourth round draft pick Mike Thomas looks very short but very fast. Fifth rounder Jarett Dillard looks solid, and seventh rounder Tiquan Underwood looked extremely fast. We'll see what happens once the live action starts, but this new-look receiving corps looks like it has the potential to be much better than it has been the past several years.

Controversial third round pick Derek Cox looked good. Almost identical in size to Rashean Mathis, he appears to possess all the tools necessary to play cornerback in the NFL at a high level. Hopefully, he can become a fixture at the position opposite Mathis and help shore up the Jaguars pass defense.

Two more things stood out to me on Saturday. The first thing is that we as Jaguars fans should be saying a prayer for David Garrard's health every night. Cleo Lemon looked horrible. Surely the Jaguars are not going to go into the season with him as their number two quarterback. The second thing is that Steve Weatherford appeared to be a much better punter than Adam Podlesh. I don't know if it happened in just the Saturday afternoon session that I attended, but Weatherford consistently outkicked Podlesh. Though a battle for the punter's job is not very exciting, it might be a position to keep an eye on during training camp.

I walked away from mini-camp feeling good about the direction the Jaguars are heading. I think Gene Smith and his staff have had a solid first offseason, and that they have things headed in the right direction. While I don't look for great things next season, I do look for good things. I look for signs that the franchise's arrow is pointing up. And I am cautiously optimistic that we will see just that.

After drafting Arizona's Mike Thomas in the fourth round, the Jaguars went with wide receiver once again in round five. By selecting Rice's Jarrett Dillard (5'10", 191 lbs.) in the fifth round, the Jaguars have added the NCAA's all-time leader in touchdown receptions to their roster. While not the speedster that Thomas is, Dillard is one thing - very productive. Expect Dillard, who finished his collegiate career with 4,138 receiving yards and 60 touchdown receptions, to come in and contribute to the Jaguars new look receiving corps right away. 

For all the Jaguar/Gator fans that have a man-crush on Tim Tebow and go to bed every night dreaming sweet dreams of Timmy putting on the Jaguars jersey next year, the Jaguars gave them the next best thing. With the team's sixth round draft pick, Jacksonville selected Nebraska-Omaha's Zach Miller (6'4", 240 lbs.), who describes himself as a "poor man's Tim Tebow." Miller, who played quarterback in college, is making a position switch to tight end in the NFL - something that many feel Tim Tebow will have to do next year. While Miller is clearly a developmental player, one can envision all sorts of uses for a player who finished with 4,096 career passing yards and 26 career touchdown passes to go with 3,122 career rushing yards and 50 career touchdown runs. Tight end...H-Back...Wildcat...who knows? But one thing is certain - I am looking forward to watching Zach Miller develop. 

The seventh, and final, round of the 2009 NFL Draft has the potential to have been really good for the Jaguars. The club used it's first of two picks in the round to select Liberty running back Rashad Jennings (6'1", 231 lbs.). Jennings is a big back with good speed that can catch the ball out of the backfield. Expect Jennings to give Chauncey Washington a run for his money when it comes to spelling Maurice Jones-Drew and Greg Jones. 

With their final pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Jaguars added even more depth to the wise receiver corps by selecting Rutger's Tiquan Underwood (6'1", 184 lbs.). Underwood possesses 4.3 speed, and hopes are that he can make the club and provide the Jaguars with a legitimate deep threat for the first time since the retirement of Jimmy Smith. 

I think that the 2009 draft class is the best draft class the jaguars have had in years. Like it or not, the Jaguars are a team that is rebuilding for the long run, not the 2009 season, and by sticking to their value board and not reaching for need, the Jaguars have positioned themselves very nicely for the future. Another couple of draft classes like this one, and the Jaguars may find themselves as a legitimate contender for quite a few years.

In making Knighton the team's highest-drafted defensive tackle since selecting John Henderson in the first round of the 2002 draft, the Jaguars are hoping to have finally filled the void left on the defensive line by the departure of Marcus Stroud after the 2007 season. After passing on opportunities to draft bigger names such as Boston College's BJ Raji and Ron Brace in the first two rounds, the Jaguars are counting on Knighton to slide in next to John Henderson and fortify a run defense that had become a shadow of its former self during the 2008 season. While it remains to be seen if Knighton will ever play up the level of Marcus Stroud's prime years, the Jaguars seem really happy to have had the former Temple defensive MVP be available when it came time for them to make their third round selection. 

Speaking of third round selections, the Jaguars surprised many when they immediately traded back into the third round; giving a 2009 seventh round pick and the team's 2010 second round pick to grab Derek Cox. The selection of Cox has been far and away the most talked about and debated pick of the Jaguars 2009 draft. The major reason that fans and so-called "experts" like Mel Kiper and Todd McShay hammered the pick is that Cox played his college football at William and Mary, so outside of NFL scouts, very few people know much about him. It is not like William and Mary is a football powerhouse from a major conference that plays on national television every week. In fact, Cox will be just the third player from William and Mary on a current NFL roster, joining New Orleans' Darren Sharper and Arizona's Mike Leach. Jaguars' general manager Gene Smith absolutely loves Cox, and expectations are that he will compete to become the starter at cornerback opposite Rashean Mathis, effectively killing two birds with one stone by allowing Brian Williams to move to safety, a position for which he is better suited. If Cox becomes a solid, dependable cornerback for the Jaguars, give Gene Smith and his scouting department major kudos for getting off the beaten path and finding a player that many overlooked. 

With the selection of Arizona wide receiver Mike Thomas (5'8", 193 lbs.) in the fourth round, the Jaguars begin a shift away from the bigger, and by default, slower, wide receivers corps that the fans have grown to loathe over the past several years. Thomas, who finished his collegiate career as the Pac-10's all-time leader in receptions, has legitimate 4.3 speed and appears to be perfectly suited to become the slot receiver this team has been missing. While short in stature, Thomas appears to be very well put together, and has drawn comparisons to New England's Wes Welker. While Jaguar fans would be more than satisfied to get Welker-like production out of him, Thomas actually compared himself to Carolina's Steve Smith. If Thomas can become even 80 percent the receiver that Steve Smith has been for the Panthers, he would have to be considered the gem of the Jaguars 2009 draft class. 

After absolutely loving what the Jaguars did in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, I will admit that I am a little skeptical of the third round selections. But Gene Smith has given me every reason to trust his judgment, so my skepticism is coupled with a healthy dose of optimism. And while I am taking a wait-and-see approach with Knighton and Cox, I am very excited by the Mike Thomas pick in the fourth round. All in all, I believe the Jaguars had a very promising first four rounds of the draft.

Eugene Monroe (6'5, 309 lbs.), the left tackle from Virginia, was a player very few people, including Jaguars general manager Gene Smith, expected to still be available at pick number eight. But thanks to a couple of questionable selections by the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders ahead of them, the Jaguars were able to use a first round pick on an offensive lineman for the first time since 1995, when the club used their first ever draft pick to select Tony Boselli. And while Monroe does not appear to have quite the mean and nasty streak on the field that Boselli possessed, he is similar to Boselli in that he was widely considered to be the best pass-blocking left tackle in all of college football. Some question his run-blocking, but they questioned Boselli's run-blocking too, and it turned out that he was just as effective opening holes in the running game as he was keeping the quarterback safe. The Jaguars believe Monroe will give them the same thing. While it is uncertain where exactly on the offensive Monroe will start at in 2009 since the Jaguars signed left tackle Tra Thomas in free agency, one thing that is certain is that the Jaguars firmly believe that Eugene Monroe is the club's left tackle of the future.

With the selection of Monroe in at number eight, I will admit that I was a bit stunned when the Jaguars followed that pick with the selection of Arizona tackle Eben Britton (6'6", 309 lbs.) in the second round. Like a lot of fans, I got caught up in thinking about the Jaguars needs, and was fully expecting the team to draft either Boston College defensive tackle Ron Brace or Connecticut cornerback Darius Butler. But Gene Smith stayed true to his best available player philosophy and selected Britton, who was given a first round grade by most of the pundits heading into the draft. Britton can play both right guard and right tackle, and is expected to compete for a starting spot at both positions in 2009, before eventually settling in as a Jaguars fixture at right tackle. The thing I like about Britton is his attitude. Britton expected to be a first round pick and seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder that he was not. With quotes such as, "Every team that passed on me is going to regret it," and, "When that first game comes, somebody is going to pay for it," already published on the team's website, it looks and sounds like Britton is ready to prove his worth. In fact, he sounds a lot like former second round draft pick Maurice Jones-Drew did coming into his rookie season. If Britton plays with the same attitude and aggression as Jones-Drew does, defensive linemen around the AFC South better watch out - they are about to get their butts kicked.

While admittedly not the sexiest of picks, the Jaguars truly made the best possible selections in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. Yes, they could have selected Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, or BJ Raji in the first round. Yes, they could have taken Ron Brace, Darius Butler, or even an Everette Brown in round two. But they didn't. What they did instead was to solidify the offensive line for the next decade, and that is better than any wide receiver or other so-called "sexy" pick. With a good offensive line, all of a sudden the quarterback is a lot more confident, the running game a bit more explosive, and the wide receivers you thought were dogs start to look much improved. I hate to use baseball talk when discussing football, but in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars knocked the ball out of the park.

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