Hello. Here from Big Cat Country(BCC). Dave Choate was kind enough to answer some questions over at Big Cat Country, and I thought I would return the favor. (As well as a couple of other guys from your site)

We have a lot of ties through coaches and players. Even so, not a lot is known about our small market team. So shoot away with your questions.

Rec's to keep the post available would be appreciated.

Hello DBN.

Brian (aka "The Licensed Optimist") from DBN was nice enough to give us over at BCC a chance to have some questions about the Browns answered, and I thought I would return the favor.

Feel free to ask about former Browns if you please, even Robiskie even if he hasn't played for us yet.(Matt Roth or coaches Earnest Byner(RB's) or Mel Tucker(DC).) You can even ask about the former Jag now on your roster. (Tony Pashos)

Anyhow shoot with any questions you want. (Sans questions about the "possible" move to LA and etc. Not gonna happen for like a billion reasons)

Every year there is an un-drafted player that makes a team and somehow proves all of his doubters wrong. This is especially true at the RB position. See Arian Foster or Priest Holmes. This year I think that un-drafted player will be RB Chad Spann. He wont pop at you when looking at his 5'8" build or his 4.52 40. However, if you just watch him play, you might be amazed at what you see. Then that 5'8 doesn't seem to bother you so much. Then you read his 4.52 40 was in horrible conditions. Then you find out that he weighs nearly as much as MJD did coming out of college.

I'm watching this guy and I, I tried my best not to, but all I could see is MJD: the way he runs, the power he displays, the speed around the edge, his patience to the hole, the way he finishes runs, and his versatility in the passing game when often split out wide, and he's a TD machine(Led the nation with 22) in the red zone just like MJD. None of these characteristics are quite on MJD's level, but they are close. Everyone that's shorter than 5'9" is compared to MJD, but this guy is nearly a splitting image on the field. Just watch.

Sometimes we just need a comparison to get a true grasp of who a player is. Because of this I will give the best recent comparisons I can of our draft picks.

Blaine Gabbert- Tall, strong arm, good throwing the ball on the run, faster than quick, quick release, smart. Josh Freeman. Josh has a slightly stronger arm but a slightly longer release, but otherwise they are almost the same player. But if I'm ignoring the height difference he reminds me a lot of Tony Romo, from the scrambling to the quick release to throwing on the run well.

Will Rackley- Very athletic, good hands, not very long for an OL. Honestly he reminds me of what Alualu would look like if he were an OL. Similar builds and size(Thick calves and somewhat slender upper body for a 300 pounder). But comparing him to another OL, I would have to say Rich Seubert. They both played OT at a small college. They are both 6'3" and 305 pounds. And like Will will have the ability to do, Rich plays and starts at LG and Center amongst having the ability to play every other position on the line. He will be good at pulling, pass blocking, and blocking on the second level.

Cecil Shorts- Somewhat tall receiver, quicker than fast, great hands, great route runner, good runner after the catch, and the ability to be a good returner who sets up his blocks well. This one was a little tricky, as he has traits of outside receivers and slot receivers. Like Cecil, Jordan Shipley is also the son of a coach. Both can catch a lot of passes and become their QB's best friend. Cecil is a slightly better athlete being about .5 inches taller, 10 lbs heavier and a little faster.

Chris Prosinski- He's the ideal free safety height, weight, speed. Fearless and smart when looking at formations. Has shorter arms and stiffer hips. He has similar measurables(Edging out Earl in most categories) and style that Earl Thomas does, including the propensity for missing a tackle here or there. Chris doesn't quite have the instincts that Earl did coming out of college, but he's still smart and it's really hard to tell how good a FS is when the rest of the defense is no good.

Rod Issac- Average height, strong, hard hitter, good game speed, compact, good tackler. This one was fairly easy as most CB's in the league don't know how to tackle. So the first person that popped in my mind was Antoine Winfield. Will get beat deep from time to time by taller faster receivers. Still they are very good CB's but probably best fitting at NB.

This was harder than I thought. I think there are better comparisons out there. I found that I don't know as much about FS's as I thought. Probably doesn't help that they rarely show themselves on film until they make either a mistake or get an INT. Feel free to see if you can find better comparisons. Most of these come from off the top of my head so I'm sure there are guys I'm forgetting.

Blaine Gabbert 1st round 10th OverAll- Might be the MVP of this draft. That's usually worth a top 10 pick especially when he's a franchise QB, so this pick stays the way it is.

Will Rackley 3rd rd 76 OA- He had a late 1st round grade on him. Great guy with good athleticism and versatility. Looking at the draft and how it fell I don't see a player drafted after him with anywhere near the value he had. So this pick stays the same.

Cecil Shorts 4th rd 114 OA- Good player. Good height weight and speed. Very similar player to Greg Salas who went earlier, so he was a good pick. However, I thought there was better players in the draft available. This pick should have been Taiwan Jones. Think CJ Spiller. Similar speed and agility and abilities in space as well as on returns. We are stacked at RB, but I still think he is the BAP and would upgrade the position as a whole.

Chris Prosinski 4th rd 121 OA- Good height, weight, speed guy. Very productive tackler. Didn't play a lot in coverage and it shows a little. Has shorter arms so it's a bit of a hindrance in coverage and when tackling in space. We need to draft defense eventually so I can't fault the team for this pick, so maybe this pick stays. BUT if we are going BAP I would bet my money on Jacquizz Rodgers.

Rod Issac 5th rd 147 OA- Great player. Good speed. Not big but hits harder than many NFL safeties. Ball skills aren't great, but if he's gonna play NB and ST's he's gonna be a great fit for our team. This pick stays.

So after all of that, 2 picks were not BAP according to a nobody like me; and both of the would be BAP picks would have been RB's. But having studied the draft heavily this season I believe, and we didn't have a whole lot of BAP meets needs picks, but with every pick we got a good player and we got great value with our pick.

If we supplement this draft with some good FA's I think we are gonna be in for a great season and an even better future.

According rotoworld, vikings GM Rick Spielman conceded that trading up for Blaine Gabbert was an option but that they didn't want to lose out on a 2nd round pick. Obviously Blaine was highly coveted. Considering how much more value the Vikings first 2 picks had I'm surprised they would have needed a 2nd rounder to trade up only 2 spots. Doesn't quite add up. Either way, Gene Swung a good deal that other GM's are probably jealous of.

Here is my 2011 list of sleeper picks for the NFL Draft

Tressor Baptiste(2) (3) MLB Texas A&M Kingsville 6’ 232: Doesn’t have great measurables, but reminds me of a young London Fletcher. Short and slightly undersized, but they have great feet, good athleticism, and superb instincts in the run game and pass game. (5th-PFA) Might be my favorite on this list.

Nathan Enderle QB Idaho 6’4 240: Great intelligence, called a lot of his protections and plays, played under center in a pro style offense, big arm, good touch, obviously good size, despite average combine numbers has decent athleticism. Played on a very bad team with no protection, running game, or receivers. (3rd-7th)

Zach Williams OG/C Washington State 6’3 309: Played a lot of games, has good agility, very strong, played both OG and OC and played well despite being on a bad team. Has some learning to do picking up complicated blitz schemes. (7th-PFA)

Phillip Livas WR/KR/PR Louisiana Tech 5’7.5 180: This years version of Dexter McCluster. More of a WR than RB in comparison to Dexter but have many of the same attributes like superb quickness and unexpected strength for their size; playmaker. (6th-PFA)

Andre Holmes WR Hillsdale 6’5 210: Incredibly productive 104 rec 1,368 yds with good speed and size 4.45 40 (4th-6th)

Darnell Williams WR CW Post  6’5 215: Ramses Barden clone(If you don’t know who that is, think Jon Baldwin) great hands and size/strength. Not sudden and doesn’t run great routes yet, but has ability with the ball in the air. Not sure why he’s playing at CW Post. (7th-FA)

Ron Parker S Newberry 6’ 206: Not a great tackler yet, but is an extremely gifted athlete running a 4.35 40 at his size. More of a camp body with potential. (PFA)

Kevin Rutland CB Mizzou 6’ 190: Still learning the position having switched to CB from QB in college. Smart with good size, athleticism and good ball skills, good look/leaner. (4th-6th)

Anthony Gaitor CB FIU 5’10" 177: Good speed 4.48 Good NB possiblities at the next level & good tackler, gets off blocks well for his size, good production. (6th-PFA)

Colin Cochart TE South Dakota State 6’5 255 4.71 Good blocker, good balance(Important for blocking), good strong hands in traffic, somewhat slow (UDFA)

Jeremy Ross WR/PR/KR CAL 6’ 200: 4.44 YAC type player, that’s quick & strong. Poor man’s Jerrel Jernigan (Might be other way around), bigger and stronger.(4th-PFA)

Doug Hogue OLB Syracuse 6’3 235: Athletic former RB still learning the position, but is strong and quick. (4th-7th)

Josh Bey OLB Tennessee-Martin 5’11 222: Very Quick/fast good motor skinny but agile and can get to the QB well on blitzes. has ability as a nickel LB or WLB. Very productive when looking at impact plays, more so that just straight tackles. (6th-PFA)

Richard Sherman (1) CB Stanford 6’3 195: Aggressive and athletic gambler,  with tons of raw potential.. Formally a WR that actually had production at the position, but was also a playmaker at the CB position. Has Nnamdi Asomugha like ability. (4th-5th)

Darvin Adams WR Auburn 6’2" 190:  Smooth, athletic, good body control/hands. Not sure how good this guy really is, but he’s always making plays. (7th-PFA)

David Erby OLB South Carolina State 5’9 227: Hard hitter, short, quick in transition. Not big enough to make it at LB in our system, but he could be a very good special teamer. (UDFA)

Rahim "The Dream" Moore S 6’ 207 Smooth, extremely smart, high character, good athlete, sure tackler. Has work to do in the run game, but he’s not afraid to hit. Does his best work however in coverage. (1st-2nd)

(Some guys I’ve never heard anyone talk about or even single out, but they stuck out to me; usually when watching other players’ games.)

Michael Campbell WR Temple 6’2" 210: Good deep threat. Only runs a 4.56(Nothing to sneeze at for his size), but over the last 20 yards he is accelerating quicker than players like Greg Little or even AJ Green. Isn’t great at fighting for the ball in the air, but he was fairly productive with almost nothing at QB. He’s also a strong guy, built like Greg Little, and he had the bench numbers to show for it with 20. Not sure if there is anyone in the draft that separates more down the field with speed than this guy.(7th-PFA)

Joshua Victorian CB Louisiana Tech 5’10" 190: Very aware player with good short area quickness with a 1.50 10 split with good 3 cone and 20yd shuttle times. Plays the ball very well in the air, as evidenced by the number of PBU’s he had. Good balance. Very strong having played some safety (22 Bench reps, which would have been one of the best for CB’s at the combine). Good at getting off of blocks and quick to recognize the run. Has the ability to play special teams as well as any DB position. (PFA)

* The names and subsequent numbers are hot-linked to highlights and etc

On September 4th teams will be required to reduce their 80 man rosters to 53 players. However at least 5 players will not even get the chance to be on the roster that long, as rosters have to be down to 75 players by Aug 31st. If you get cut by the 31st, you may find another roster, you may even find yourself on the Jaguars' practice squad. However, in both cases your chances of being in the NFL at all take a big hit if you get cut during the first cuts.

Here's my list as to who might be cut:(I'll probably make an update after I get to see the Tampa replay)

Teddy Lehman - He's a vet that hasn't even seen the field much, much less made any plays.

Alvin Bowen - Hasn't shown the athleticism or hard hitting ability the rest of the group has.

Trevor Harris - If he's not cutting it, you might as well find someone to replace him with a future waiver wire QB. That is, if you still need another camp arm.

Kommonyan Quaye - He's young and he may still have a bright future, but the role he's meant to fill is stacked with competition.

D'Anthony Smith - For obvious reasons will be put on IR getting the team down to it's required 75.

I have to tell you, before I set out to make this list I had no idea how hard it was gonna be to cut the roster down just 5 players. Obviously, that is a good sign as to where this roster is going in terms of talent.

1. 56 Safeties missed more tackles than Reggie Nelson did last year. He only had 4 missed tackles all year.

2. According to PFF, Daryl Smith was the most highly rated 43 OLB. That includes players like Brian Cushing, Keith Rivers, Scott Fujita, Clint Session, Chad Greenway….I just realized how undervalued 43 OLB’s are now, since the greater emergence of the 34.

3. Even though Aaron Kampman was out of his comfort zone, he was still the 12th best 34 OLB last year.

Continue reading this post »

I think it's now safe to say that John Henderson was not ever worth a 5th like some reports suggested as such. If he is only worth a 1 mill contract after shopping himself around, it's safe to say that he was not worth anything at a 4 million dollar price tag.

Other notes:

NFL Network is doing their "32 Teams in 32 Days" ranking. And we obviously came in low in the ranking at 24 today, which is a drop from 20th last year. What are your thoughts. I think at the very least it indicates that people know even less about this team than they knew last year. I guess that's what happens with so few prime time game(s?) and such an ugly ending to the season. Curious. Did we get worse at any position?

Who else other than the following should have been ranked below us?

25. Seattle

26. Tampa

27. KC

28. Oakland

29. Buffalo

30. Cleveland

31. Detroit

32. Rams

(I'm going with these teams which are in no particular order: Cincy, Tenn, Den, AZ, Wash, Philly, Carolina, CHI. Which would make us the 16th best team)

This is not NFL news, but it's also the dead zone so I'll take the liberty of talking a bit about college ball: The Utah Utes just joined the PAC-10. Personally as a fan of the PAC, I think this is a bad move. It doesn't bring in a lot of money like OK or TX would. And worse, Utah is a very good team, but no one knows it. When they finally assimilate in a year or 2 they will be spanking some butts. Not a big deal IMO, because they will have earned it, but no one knows that Utah is good. So in essence it will make the whole conference look even worse. And considering how the BCS system is set up, the PAC will continue to be underrated. Personally I would rather hang in games with Texas and let a team like Utah spank butt in the SEC making the national perception closer to being correct. Remember Utah whooped Alabama's butt in the 08 season in an undefeated route to their Sugar Bowl championship. And they finished 4th in the AP in 2004. Yeah I know the PAC wanted Texas, but of course Texas was happy to stay in the Big-12 now that they got their own TV network. I wouldn't have bothered trying to save face by getting Utah and Colorado. Stay with the current 10 and then try it again in the future.(End Rant)

O yeah, Derrick Morgan just got arrested for speeding at about 90mph with a suspended license and he hasn't even looked good in practices so far. Considering how many people ripped the team for not drafting him, that Alualu pick is looking better every day.

Borrowing this from Vito's Twitter. Something I missed on draft weekend:

1. In 1969 the Pittsburgh press ran a headline "Joe Who?'' after the Steelers selected a defensive tackle with the 4th pick
2. His name was Joe Greene. You might remember the Coke commericial, the 4 super bowl rings and the Hall of Fame induction

Tyson Aluwho?

Draft Picks

1. Tyson Alualu- 93

2. D'Anthony Smith- 95

3. Larry Hart- 59

4. Austen Lane- 92

5. Deji Karim- 35

6. Scotty McGee- 30

UDFA's

7. Kyle Bosworth- 51

8. Daniel Baldridge- 76

9. Mike Caussin- 47

10. Jacob Cutrera- 58

11. John Estes-62

12. Josh Gordy- 38

13. Jason Harmon- 83

14. Tevor Harris- 7

15. Kevin Haslam- 72

16. Chris Hawkins- 39

17. Chad Kackert- 40

18. Robert Malone- 6

19. Chris McGaha- 17

20. Kommonyan Quaye- 98

21. Ben Stallings-45

22. Roren Thomas- 18

23. Terrell Whitehead- 43

Morrison was not updated on the official roster at Jaguars.com

So who's getting that number 93 jersey?

Some of these players are well known and some of them aren’t. But the one thing they have in common is that they are more highly valued by the NFL than the national media leads on:

Aaron Webster 6’2", FS, 211 lbs, 4.48, 40, 21 reps @225, 4 picks his senior year third in tackles on team senior year.

Austen Lane 6’6" 276 DE , 4.84 40, 34.5" vert. Still growing and maturing with a basketball background. Very disruptive, lots of upside

Daniel Te’o-Nesheim 6’4" 263 DE, 4.63 40, 37 vert, great short shuttle, long 34" arms, production even better than Brandon Graham. Strong enough that he played lots of DT.

Tony Pike is a very similar player to Matt Ryan. Why wouldn’t he go higher than most people are projecting him(4th round)? (Need to read his scouting report, especially the analysis section)

Brian Price 6’1" 305 DT, great production and great burst & ability to disrupt.

Curtis Steele RB RsSr Memphis Quick player, willing blocker, heart of team, can be a great 3rd down back. CJ Spiller like abilities without the deep speed.

Derek Hardman OL rSR 6’5" 305 Mauler with good athleticism. Best at RT or guard, but needs practice at guard.

Dimitri Nance RB 5’10" 225 ASU Senior good size, ok speed, good vision and feet, bad line in front of him, gets low and hits with lots of power, good hands. Similar between tackles as Gartrell Johnson from last year’s draft.

AJ Jefferson CB Fresno State, 4.42 40 and that was his worst measurable unless you include the bench for CB’s)

MiQuale Lewis 5’6" RB Ball State Poor man’s MJD, he’s a little thicker though. Actually more like a short Le’Ron McClain. He needs to go north/south more. Not a whole lot of burst. Nice blocker. Good between the tackles. A little slow bouncing outside. Good hands. Don’t know if he’ll get drafted, but he should be a priority UDFA after the draft

Emmanual Sanders 5’11" 190, great measureables including 4o and short shuttle, vert broad jump, 3 cone. Very very productive. Not built like Hines Ward, but his play resembles his, except with more speed and agility. Very smart and savvy.

Carlton Mitchell 6’3" 215 WR He has measurables like Andre Johnson, and he even moves like him. He just needs lots and lots of refinement and practice, as he doesn’t have great hands yet either.

Jacoby Ford 5’10 185 WR Most people think his speed is his greatest asset because he ran the fastest 40 at the combine, and most people knock him because he doesn’t look as fast on film. But I think his greatest value is that of a playmaker. He makes bad passes look easy to catch with his great body control and good hands. No one has compared him to Desean Jackson and he isn’t, but he’s got a similar game. For that I think he will jump up draft boards.

Kevin Thomas 6’0" 192 CB Didn’t get a lot of Int’s but he knocked down a good amount of passes when healthy, and again he has great measurables, and he went to USC which means someone noticed him.

Dorian Brooks 6’2" 306 G/C May not get drafted considering he’s a guard and he’s a small school guy, but he’s got the tools to do it at the next level. He’s a very squatty player with really long arms, big hands, good feet, and fairly athletic.

Mike Neal DT Looks like he has potential. 6’4 302 lbs and strong. Good pass rusher and good athlete for his size.

We(I) may have exhausted the readers with CB Alterraun Verner, TE Logan Paulsen, Arizona LB Vuna Tuihalamaka, and DE/OLB Junior Gallette so I’m gonna avoid mentioning them this go around.

Check out all of the moves made in the NFL today. I only point them out because I think many of them have bearing on the upcoming draft.

The biggest move you ask??? Adam Carriker. Who is that, you ask. Well he's a DT that was drafted by the Rams 13th over all in the 07 draft, and he was just traded to the Redskins.

Why is this important? Well for one, Suh is a DT, and now the Rams have a huge need for DT. Second, we all thought that the Redskins liked Bradford. Was the Redskin's trade for Carriker a ploy to entice the Rams to draft a DT, so that Bradford would fall? Did the whole draft just get shaken up? If he gets past the Rams will someone trade up to 3 to get him?

The former Jaguar Torry Holt was just signed to a one year contract by the Pats. You know they're hurting for a WR if they are signing our trimmings for the second year in a row.(Fred Taylor)

Last move, Jason Taylor was just signed by the Jets. Not a huge move, but this may change what the Dolphins and Jets both do in the draft when it comes to OLB's.

Did you see any other transactions that would suggest a change in draft philosophy in the coming days?

on the internet. And guess who it is. It's none other than UCLA CB Alterraun Verner. You guys are in for a real treat. But give yourself a good while to watch the vid as it is long, but well worth it.

Key tricks to watching the film: More often than not he's wearing the white forearm-sleeves and his jersey number is 1. He also played NB a lot early in his career and mostly CB later. Also note, the arrows sometimes point to what side he's on vs where he is exactly, because the arrows cannot go high/low enough at times.

I think the thing about this film I was most impressed about, having seen him play a lot already was, how many times he made a tackle coming off a block. Getting off blocks, imo is very very underrated(especially at CB). Another thing to notice is that he definitely got faster and stronger as he got older, partially because he was a 17 yrs old and a 160 lbs as a true freshman when he first started playing. So he's still relatively young and physically improving as well as mentally. Last he doesn't look super explosive or super fast, partly because he's so fluid and he actually breaks down in space, but he's stuck on his receivers like stink on shit.

I know there is plenty more I could write about, but I'll let you guys comment on what you see instead.

(P.S. As you may have noticed, he put the video together himself)

I know we've had some trouble with the tweeners, so to speak, at the DE position. However I think I've just found someone that could come out of nowhere in the near future. And like many of Gene Smith picks, he's out of a small school; Stillman. Yeah, the same school Brian Witherspoon came from. I imagine it wont be much longer before their football program will start getting some more national recognition.

Anyhow he's a smaller player at only 255lbs, but he's only about 6'2" which makes him about Dwight Freeney's size. And if I didn't know any better, from watching his highlights, I would think they were the same person. He might still be a better 34 OLB prospect, but I would really like to see him in teal regardless of scheme!

Can't believe I went this long without saying his name: Junior Galette

Keep an eye out for him. Seriously!

Jaguars.com just released some new roster moves. Among the moves my favorite practice squad player, center Cecil Newton. I don't think I've ever been this excited about a center in my life. I wonder, if we are eliminated from the playoffs sometime before the end of the season, which I hope we are not, will Cecil some time to help him prepare him for nect year. At the very least, we are saving him from being picked up by other teams out of the playoff picture trying to ravage other teams' practice-squaders.

The only other move that interests me is that of RB Josh Vaughn to the practice squad. Remember him from the preseason? If not, he's similar to a Gartrell Johnson, SD's 5th round draft pick later signed off their practice squad by the Giants. Don't know who Johnson is? He's like....Chris Jennings from the Browns. Boy that took some digging in my brain.

TE Zach Potter is an intriguing prospect considering his size (6'7" 280) and background as a DE. I'm sure his early duties will be on special teams, but I wonder if he will have any blocking duties too. We've obviously needed another true blocking TE so Marcedes can go down field more often.

Normally you don't have exciting roster moves this late in the season with a possibility of a playoff berth. Got to give Gene some more props for such an exciting season.

I guess no one noticed another roster move. Maybe no one posted it, or maybe I missed it....

Anyhow Yesterday the Jaguars made a couple roster moves. Unfortunately I don't think they are good: http://jaguars.com/news/article.aspx?id=8471

Bryan Smith was put on IR. In his place Jeremy Navarre was signed off the practice squad. Believe me when I say this, he is not going to improve our pass rush. He's one of those steady guys that plays smart and makes tackles by being in the right place. He's not however a fast guy, or even a quick guy. He's not even that strong. I'm trying to think of someone I can compare him to, but most of them are no name guys that don't last in the league a long time. The best comparison I can probably give is a run stuffing version of Mkristo Bruce.

Boy are we hurting for DE's. I guess this means more reps for Harvey, Julius, and Groves. It also probably means a little more 3-4 than we've been playing the last couple of games.

Note, G Cameron Stephonson was cut from the practice squad.

And Moves made today: http://jaguars.com/news/article.aspx?id=8479

They cut Adam Seward from the roster. Someone I was upset to keep over Tim Shaw, who made a devastating special teams tackle with the Bears on Sunday night.

In addition, they made a couple of re-signs, in LB Lamar Myles and DE James Wyche to their practice squad. I'm thinking Wyche may end up switching with Navarre on the 53 man roster in the near future. Where is Jeremy Mincey??? He must be healthy by now. And he's easily better than these guys.

Additional moves from a couple days ago: http://jaguars.com/news/article.aspx?id=8457

I thought the Jaguars "waived" Jeremy Mincey because they thought that James Wyche outperformed him, something I totally disagreed with. Turns out he wasn't cut due to poor performance as I was lead to believe by many reports. It was because he was injured. So in essence we are now playing a 3-4 because we lost 2 DE's not just Hayward, if I might add, was a huge huge loss.

I hope Bryan Smith and Greg Peterson can bring something to the pass rush because otherwise we are gonna be in for a long season. I actually like our front 3, we just need some kind of rushing OLB that can get to the QB. 2 would be better. Seriously if we can't get to the qb with 5 and sometimes 6 rushers we can't blame the coaches or the secondary for not being able to stop the pass.

I know this is kind of an old subject now, but that trade idea for Aaron Kampman is starting to look like a better idea after our last performance.

I think we just got another glimpse of the Emperor's powers. Apparently he can see the future. Gene Smith must have known that Fred Taylor was going to get hurt.

BTW, that was intended as a joke, and I hope Freddy T comes back sometime this season.(Even if it's just to play against us.)

As for a rookie/veteran controversy at the tackle position, I think we ought to keep in mind a couple of things:

One, the Tra Thomas we saw in the game was not the Tra Thomas we saw in the preseason. Tra was workmen-like during the preseason, but he didn't offer the upside that Eugene does. Tra held his blocks for about 3.7 seconds, but after that it's everyman for himself during the preseason. There was no mauling. There was no pancakes or knockdowns.

Second, we should keep in mind who the competition was. Monroe faced one of the roughest stretches any LT will usually ever face. Mario Williams? Calais Campbell? And probably worst of all, Dwight Freeney. And by the time Monroe faced Mario, he got pretty darn good. On the other hand, as I stated before the game, Kyle Vanden Bosch wasn't playing like himself.

Third, for all those that thought Tra should have been starting all along; Tra was hurt. In fact he was on the injury report this week, and he didn't even finish the Titans game. I believe Jordan Black did.

As for Britton, I think it's even more black and white there. He actually performed well against Robert Mathis, not giving up a sack to a guy that's produced 4.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in the 3 games since.

Britton reason number two: Like Tra, Mo was playing an over the hill player in Javon Kearse. So it was easier to protect Garrard.

Third, playing Mo at RT meant not playing our best 5. The reason I say that is, Mo moving to RT meant we were weaker at the RG position. Now don't get me wrong, I really like Uche and I believe he has upside especially in the run game. But while he's still young and learning he's a little too mistake prone.

While I'm on the subject of the offensive line I have to give some props to Vince Manuwai. He was highly regarded by Vic as a great run blocker, but I was a little hard on him. And I still don't think he's that great a run blocker, and probably still not as powerful as Uche; but he has shown a new strength in pass blocking this year after his weight loss. You can really see his OT background.

I would like to give a new update about Meester, but he's just business as usual; which I guess is a good thing. If he's still around next year, he could be one of the best centers in the league left, and probably one of the most heady. Mawae is way over the hill now, and Saturday may not be back next year. Birk is playing lights out still and probably should be a probowler, although Mangold could be another good option.

Just thinking about this team's roster...Boy its going to be hard to have another draft as impactful as this years. And anyone we have to cut to add the new players is going to make me sad. We don't have a Jerry Porter that's easy to hate. On the other hand, we don't have a lot of Jerry Porters that will hurt us to cut do to the dead money they will leave us.

As for this week's breakout players: I think anyone that's good at breaking out of tackles will have a big day. The Seahawks are not exactly great tacklers.

David Garrard has more TD's, fewer INTS, and more yards per attempt than Tom Brady.

Last thought, the world is going to end. Brian Baldinger actually picked the Jaguars to win this week on NFL Playbook!!! Speaking of Playbook, everyone gave props to Dirk Koetter's play calling.

I'd like to use this post as a chance to let other people bring up random thoughts regarding the Jaguars.