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.

Among the qualities that the Raiders have desperately lacked in the last few years has been solid veteran leadership. Most of the players on this team are original Raiders who were drafted or acquired as undrafted free agents during these six seasons of futility. And while many of those players have grown as players, most of them have seen nothing but losing since becoming an NFL player.

It has been said ad nauseum that winning teams are built through the draft. But in the case of this Raider team, while most of them have steadily gotten better, they have lacked direction and leadership.

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.