SB Nation User Blog: Ewdtrey

The Signings Begin With Zach MIller

Ewdtrey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:50:33 -0000

The Signings Begin With Zach MIller

I was wondering when our draft picks would start to get signed, and now they have, beginning with Tight End Zach Miller. The terms of the 4 year deal have not been disclosed(yet).
I imagine there will soon be a run on draft pick signings for us, especially after the Rookie Symposium.
Training camp starts July 25, giving the Jaguars 27 days to sign 8 more players.

10 books you wont see on shelves this season

Ewdtrey — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:39:02 -0000

10 books you wont see on shelves this season

Some of these might be in bad taste, but I thought they were pretty funny.

The Eben Britton Pick

Ewdtrey — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:38:22 -0000

From the moment we chose Monroe in the draft, I was ecstatic about the pick. When we picked Eben Britton in the draft, I was a little dismayed and confused because there were an allotment of players I would have picked instead of him (Everette Brown being one of them); partly because of Tra Thomas' and Pashos's contracts and the obvious newcomer in Monroe just one round earlier. Then I remembered the concept of BAP and I started thinking about all of the offensive line possibilities that would stem into production for the rest of the offense and the pick began to grow on me. Then I read and heard about Britton's comments that can be found on Jaguars.com: "

“I couldn’t be happier. Every team that passed on me is going to regret it,” he said. “I’m going to work my (butt) off to be a Jacksonville Jaguar,” Britton said.

He spoke of having a chip on his shoulder since his youth, the result of divorce and subsequently moving from New York to Los Angeles.

“When that first game comes, somebody is going to pay for it,” Britton said. “People told me I wasn’t big enough, I wasn’t strong enough. That all ends today.”

At 6-5, 317, Britton has certainly grown to be big enough and his career goals are even bigger.

“There’s nobody in this draft that has a bigger heart than I do. I’m so fired up to be a Jacksonville Jaguar you can’t even believe it.” "
Despite all of that I have to admit, I was still skeptical of the pick, then I read this scouting report on him: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/556821

My favorite parts were: "Follett, who was annoying Arizona linemen for his dirty tactics on the field, grabbed Britton's face mask and tried to rip off the tackle's helmet, falling off the lineman to land on Tuitama for an 8-yard sack on the Wildcats' next drive. Follett then got up and starting jawing with Britton, but the left tackle shoved the line-backer to the ground, as Follett went scurrying like a little snake to the sidelines."

Yeah he was later penalized, but that was acceptable, because he's only been penalized 4 times in and amazing 2,461 snaps.

Here's the best part: "Later in the game, Follett was again caught ripping the helmet off Arizona offensive lineman Colin Baxter, but the refs stepped in before a brawl could escalate. The rest of the day, Follett would have a "bulls eye" on his chest, as the left tackle refused to let his opponent initiate any more "less than ethical" performance on the field … Midway through the third quarter, Britton hit Follett with such force, that the linebacker fell into his own teammate, defensive end Tyson Alvalu, letting Antolin cut back against the grain and break free around the right corner for a 59-yard scamper to the Cal 3. Two plays later, Britton led the offensive linemen in unision, shoving the Bears into the end zone, as Antolin scored his third touch-down for the game on a 1-yard run to conclude a 77-yard, 7-play drive … Antolin would follow Britton on a 9-yard run, as Follett was again flattened by the left tackle on the play. He then latched on to Follett and defensive end Cameron Jordan to protect Tuitama's blind side on the QB's 35-yard touchdown toss to Rob Gronkowski that completed a 6-play, 59-yard late third quarter possession"

This is exactly what the Jaguars needed last year, someone that could fight through some adversity and then finishing up strong (blocking two people at the same time) while also sticking up for the rest of the team. And now we have it.

If you're worried about what he can do on the field physically, just read the rest of the report, it's pretty impressive.

Now I'm honestly happy about the pick.

Good news for Northcutt

Ewdtrey — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:40:05 -0000

First he finds out that Holt was signed, and IMO I think that will actually help him by drawing the coverage away from him a little.

But even better news for the Jaguars and for him is that the lawsuit from his pregnant ex-girfriend against him was thrown out by the judge.

So for the first time in the last couple of years all of our WR's should be availble for the start of camp in may.

Speaking of MJD

Ewdtrey — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:34:49 -0000

I know where he is, or at least where he was yesterday. UCLA

He was at the first UCLA football scrimmage of spring practice. I tell you what, it was nice seeing him back at his Alma Mater. After the scrimmage he gave some kind of speech to the players. He was facing the wrong way so I couldn't hear anything, but he got everyone excited. I can see how he could be a leader with the Jaguars now, especially for any new guys coming in.

He seemed to have been in good spirits as he stayed a while to sign autographs and take pictures. Got my hat signed. It was a UCLA hat, so he signed it with a 21, his number in college. I thought that was interesting, and cool. He playfully made fun of some guy wearing an Urlacher jersey and then commended me for wearing the Jaguars apparel that I had. I like a guy that takes pride of where he's been and where's at.

O yeah, I forgot to mention this.....

I went to the UCLA Pro Day on March 31, I don't know for sure if we (the Jaguars) had any actual scouts down there, but RB's coach Kennedy Pola was there. I had my ear on the artificial turf, so to speak, and Pola had a nice little conversation with Norm Chow. And I don't want to get into any specifics, but let's just say MJD is going to be used in some new ways this year. It got me pretty excited for next year, that's for sure.

Louisiana-Lafayette

Ewdtrey — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:06:37 -0000

While I was trying to do some of my own personal research on Jason Cherry, a WR/KR I've been mentioning a few times on this site (and others), I came across this webpage.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090318/SPORTS/903180327/1006

I saw Jason Cherry in the Texas vs Nation All Star game and he definitely caught my eye. Well he just ran at his pro day and I was wondering what time he would run. (4.46, but he's a superb returner) But in doing so I got a little nugget about who the Jaguar's were scouting. Check out the vid on the page, I thought it was interesting.

I just like the fact that it seems to me like the Jag scouts are not leaving any stone unturned.

Tony McDaniel Traded

Ewdtrey — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:16:58 -0000

Via Rotoworld:

Dolphins acquired DT Tony McDaniel from the Jaguars in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick.

He's been on the trade block for a month, and the Jags finally got someone to bite. McDaniel has the size at 6'7/310, but he's been an injury-prone mediocrity in three years as a pro. He could earn a role as a rotational tackle if he can stay healthy in 2009.

I knew it. I always thought he would go to a 3-4 team.

Bouman to the Ravens

Ewdtrey — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:01:05 -0000

Well it looks like Vic was right about something, not that he usually isn't. It has yet to be finalized, but it appears Todd Bouman will be Joe Flacco's backup. The good news for us is that as long as Bouman doesn't play or doesn't play well he should be back in free agency quickly because either Troy Smith and or Kyle Boller will be back soon. I don't think Bouman is anything more than a short term patch for the backup job. Hopefully we wont hope we kept 3 QB's. Any who; I still wish good luck to Mr. Journeyman himself, Todd Bouman.

Points and Tidbits

Ewdtrey — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:28:31 -0000

(I wrote this before Harvey was signed, so excuse my issues at DE)

1. I think Rob Mieir is getting pushed around a little too much by guards on running plays. However he still looks like a good 3 technique, and can possibly see a lot of time at D end on obvious run downs if either Spicer (who played more games last than he has in a long long time) or Hayward miss time.

2. Vince Manuwai is having some real problems pass blocking. I see why the coaching staff tried to move him to RG. Players like Jason Jones are going to tear him apart.

3. Khalif Barnes looks like he can be better than he is playing. In fact, I think he is playing well below his potential.

4. Richard Collier is a good back up swing tackle, but he should not start at LT unless he decides to lose more weight.. His feet are too slow for speed rushers like Freeney and Mathis etc…

5. Our O-line pass blocking problems will be greatly helped when we start to run the ball in the regular season. Don’t underestimate the power of a running team’s play action.

6. Mike Walker is going to be a beast in the years to come.

7. Matt Jones while unspectacular looks to be reliable. If he is reliable long enough he may finally get to show his talents.

8. Meester’s injury will hurt, but Norman is reliable and smart as he was a walk on Princeton student who graduated with a degree in computer science engineering.

9. Who’s the third TE? Davis, Angulo, or Brown? This is the assumption that Estandia is the second TE.

10. What ever happened to Tommy Blake? As bad as our situation is, I think he could help. I know about the mental problems. Maybe he could be a PS guy while we see if he can handle the pressures of being in the NFL.

11. Lemon is a better qb than he has looked. Don't you think Garrard is?

12. I think Woods is at least a prospect for the practice squad. He's the type of reciever Garrard is used to. He's been good after the catch, which is crucial to the short pass offense.

13. Groves will be a good end on the weak side. Try not to have him out there on 2 TE sets. Those are usually running formations anyhow. And he can be protected from motioning TE's with X stunts allowing someone like Big John to take the double team. Groves needs to play with his head on a swivel, because he doesn’t play low nor does he have the weight to keep his lateral integrity.

14. Even though Jimmy Kennedy is a DT he could benefit from losing about 20 lbs of upper body weight, currently making him top heavy. Watch how often he lands on his belly trying to bust through the line. He's not a 2 gapper, despite his size. He doesn't have the leg bulk or power to move piles. I’ve noticed he has been busting his a$$, even making tackles down field. I tell you what, he’s got speed for a big guy. Let him play his game as an inside speed rusher.

14. Bruce looks like he could be a good pass rusher if he had time to develop his body more in the weight room. He looks like he has a weak core, but he has a pretty mean spin move.

15. Sensy looks better than B. Williams at SS. And Starks when he was healthy looked like the better NB. I think B Will has a classic case of being a tweener with less athleticism than everyone else. Brian is still a very good and aggressive player, with lots of talent himself. I don't know if I was seeing things but he looked he played some FS with Sensy at SS, or vice versa. It appeared we were still in our normal 4-3 alignment, but I couldn't see the CB's. But I thought it was interesting alignment none the less.

16. Can Witherspoon run through a wedge on KR? He always runs outside. Teams will catch on to this. I wonder if he could be effective on offense, with end-arounds; and maybe even to give defenses a threat that our offense will stretch the field. He probably can’t catch, but his speed is still scary.

O Line Depth Chart

Ewdtrey — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:07:57 -0000

If Williams(LG) and Barnes(LT) win starting positions, who will be Pashos' backup? Will Williams move to RT; which would probably lead to Uche taking the starting LG spot? Or do we move the big 345 pound Collier to the RT spot? Or is there a third option with a back up lineman like Reyes, or Carnahan, etc.?

Personally I like the idea of moving Richard Collier over to the right side. He would probably improve the pass protection that may be needed in a passing shoot out against teams like the Colts, especially against speed rush ends like Robert Mathis.