SB Nation User Blog: Rufio904

Per the Houston Examiner: (Among Texan FA's) Wide receiver Kevin Walter is the most in-demand. ...

Rufio904 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:46:26 -0000

Per the Houston Examiner:
(Among Texan FA's) Wide receiver Kevin Walter is the most in-demand. According to this note that appeared early this morning in the St. Petersburg Times, Walter has been linked to several teams including the Ravens, Bucs, Bears. Patriots, and Jaguars.

Holt and Thomas to be released

Rufio904 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:55:08 -0000

First Coast News Reports-

Jacksonville, Fla.-- The Jaguars will release two veteran players who "don't figure into the team's future plans," First Coast News has learned. Both Tra Thomas and receiver Torry Holt have been told they will be let go after the Super Bowl.

Thomas was brought in from Philadelphia this past off-season and Holt was added as well. On the season, Holt caught 51 passes for 722 yards and no touchdowns. Both hope to continue their careers.

welp, looks as if Troy Williamson still has a shot

Rufio904's Pre Combine Mock Draft

Rufio904 — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:02:28 -0000

1)Rolando Mclain LB- Why would you pass up on the guy who is supposed to be the next Patrick Willis?! Rolando Mclain is the best value at this spot and will be a leader on the D for a long time. Look at the national Championship game, he single handedly destroyed Texas.

3)Vladimir Ducasse G- At 6-5 336lbs Ducasse is a complete mauler in run blocking. Weaknesses in his pass blocking caused him to move to guard and a mediocre senior bowl performance hopefully pushed him back to rd 3 where the Jags will be targeting him.

4)Austin Lane DE- Lane has great size at 6-6 267lbs and can hold his own v.s. the run. Where he really excels is v.s the pass. Lane racked up 11 sacks at 1-AA Murray State and 9.5 tackles for loss. His 1-AA status will push him back in the draft. Side Note: New Jags Offensive Assistant Matt Griffin was Head Coach at Murray State When Lane first came there.

5)Arrterrus Verner CB- Verner might as well be mini-Rashean. He plays exactly like him, aggressive, great ball instincts and can capitalize on poorly thrown balls. What will cause him to drop in the draft is his size (5-10, 181lbs) and lack of elite speed(4.6 40) which causes him to need safety help.

6)John Skelton QB- Skelton is an NFL QB. At 6-5 250 lbs he is huge. He lacks accuracy but he has great footwork and a cannon for an arm. If he is not trusted into the starting line up, sits behind Garrard and works on his accuracy he could be a great future starting QB.

7)Bo McNally SS- McNally has led the Stanford D in Tackles the last 2 seasons. What McNally lacks in athletic ability he makes up with his toughness and aggressive play. He has the size to play SS at 6-0 208lbs but his speed will drop him to the 7th rd(4.68 40).

Kennedy Pola makes Lateral move,Signs with Titans

Rufio904 — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:47:20 -0000

The Titans hired running backs coach Kennedy Pola from the AFC South rival Jaguars on Monday.

Pola replaces Earnest Byner, who was fired over the weekend. Byner spent two seasons on the Titans’ staff.

Pola spent the last five seasons in Jacksonville, and Fred Taylor (2008) and Maurice Jones-Drew (2010) earned Pro Bowl honors during the coach’s time there. The Jaguars also totaled the third-most rushing yards in the NFL over that time.

“Kennedy is a fine coach, and I am very much looking forward to working with him to see the contributions that he can add to our staff,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement released by the team. “He did a great job with the running backs down in Jacksonville and he had an instrumental role in their run game.”

Pola has 18 years of coaching experience, including 12 seasons as a college coach and one year with the Browns (2004).

Bears Hire Mike Tice as Offensive Line Coach, Adam Schefter Reports.

Rufio904 — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:36:07 -0000

Bears Hire Mike Tice as Offensive Line Coach, Adam Schefter Reports.

Jack and Staff Sign Extension

Rufio904 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:57:18 -0000

Jack and Staff Sign Extension

Per Rotoworld

A Florida T-U source has said that Wayne Weaver has signed off on extensions for Jack Del Rio and his Staff. Details Have yet to be Determined.

Anthony Smith signed, Starks to IR

Rufio904 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:00:18 -0000

Anthony Smith signed, Starks to IR

Hope he can Guarantee some wins, to bad for scotty though.

Not our Derrick Harvey?

Rufio904 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:14:26 -0000

Not our Derrick Harvey?

the most feared player on our line? find out why.

Jacksonville gets an AFL1 team

Rufio904 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:36:12 -0000

Jacksonville gets an AFL1 team

The AFL will resume operation in 2010 and Jacksonville has been awarded a franchise.

*not jags related, but it is football!*

Paul Kuharsky Jumps on the Tebow Wagon.

Rufio904 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:16:46 -0000

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars lost 17,000 season-ticket holders after last season, a staggering number that could lead to blackouts for every home game in 2009.

Most blamed the sluggish economy. Some pointed to the slumping team. Either way, team owner Wayne Weaver has to find a way to get them back.

Weaver told The Associated Press this week that drafting Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who grew up in Jacksonville and has top-ranked Florida seeking its third national championship in four seasons, is something he will consider next year.

Think LeBron James in Cleveland. James, from Akron, Ohio, turned the foundering NBA franchise into an Eastern Conference power and made the Cleveland Cavaliers the hottest ticket in town.

"Star power is incredible, and Tebow is an iconic figure,"

Weaver said, noting that Brett Favre's arrival in Minnesota prompted about 7,000 season-ticket sales. "That's very compelling. He clearly is an outstanding football player and would be an asset to any football organization."

Weaver pointed to Tebow's popularity, marketability and leadership skills as reasons he would be a perfect fit in Jacksonville. Weaver also believes there's no doubt Tebow will play quarterback at the next level.

Weaver already has started to hear chatter about drafting the 6-foot-3, 240-pound left-hander who has broken several school and Southeastern Conference records.

It was one of the first questions asked when he spoke at a business luncheon Monday. There are "Draft Tebow" stickers circulating the city. And that rumor about the Jaguars commissioning a survey to see what affect Tebow would have on ticket sales?

"I don't know that it's actually a survey," Weaver said.

This much is certain: Weaver expects the Teb

ow talk to increase between now and April's NFL draft.

"The game is such an important part of this community, and Tebow is such an iconic figure that people would legitimately think, 'Wouldn't it be great if he was a Jaguar," Weaver said. "I'd be silly to sit here and think that's not going to be a huge thing.

"Clearly there's going to be a groundswell for Tebow, and we'll have to make that evaluation if we have a draft pick that's going to be anywhere near him."

Tebow's draft stock is routinely debated. He has taken every meaningful snap from the shotgun formation, has a long windup, throws sort of sidearm and finishes each pass with a leg kick. His arm strength is average and his ability to read defenses is questionable.

But his accuracy, durability and determination to be an NFL quarterback might be hard to overlook -- especially for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville's ticket woes are arguably the worst

in the league. There's virtually no chance for the team to avoid blacking out Sunday's home opener against defending NFC champion Arizona, and the situation looks just as bleak for the other seven home games.

Teams normally need to sell out games 72 hours before kickoff to prevent a local television blackout, and Weaver doesn't even anticipate getting a deadline extension from the NFL -- something that prevented blackouts in Arizona, Cincinnati and Oakland last weekend.

"We're far enough away that I don't want to send any false hope out to the community," Weaver said.

It's the latest setback for a franchise that doesn't have a lucrative, naming-rights deal for the stadium, already covered up nearly 10,000 seats to reduce capacity and lower ticket-sales requirements, and faces constant speculation about relocating to Los Angeles.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has seeming

ly made Jacksonville the poster child for blackouts.

"It's no fun to be in that position," Weaver said. "It is what it is. I'm not going to hang my head. I'm going to work hard and keep doing everything we know how to do to get out there. We've got to realize we're in a difficult economy and do everything we can do to make it affordable."

The Jaguars have tried just about everything.

They didn't raise ticket prices. They focused on group sales. They created value meals at concession stands. They offered season-ticket packages for half the games and recently introduced a "flex pack," which allows fans to buy tickets to any three games and save $30.

The response has been minimal.

Jacksonville mayor John Peyton showed up at practice Wednesday and appealed to fans to buy tickets.

"The viability of this team in our city is critically important,

" Peyton said. "The Jaguars have become part of the fabric in this city. It's hard to imagine not having this team here and we need to do a better job citywide supporting this team."

The five-county Jacksonville area has 1.3 million people. It wouldn't seem like a stretch to find 60,000 to attend Jaguars games, especially since there's no other major league teams competing in the area.

It wasn't a problem when the franchise started in 1995. But after the newness wore off and losing seasons followed -- the Jags have made the playoffs twice in the last nine years -- attendance started to dwindle. The economic collapse and last year's 5-11 record have season-ticket

sales at an all-time low.

Weaver said the market was hit hard because it only has two Fortune 500 companies, CSX (No. 240) and Winn-Dixie (No. 340), and lots of service-based industries.

"The people who own our tickets are families and small businesses, and they're the ones going through the toughest time with tight credit and other things," Weaver said. "We're not in this by ourselves. But we just felt it worse because of the size of our market."

Weaver insists he's committed to Jacksonville and sees signs that things will turn around.

The father of a 14-year-old boy recently called Weaver to let hi

m know his son spent all summer working odd jobs so he could afford season tickets.

"This young man is so passionate about the Jaguars," Weaver said. "He's grown up with us. That's all he knows. There's thousands more like him out there that are growing up with us. As they come of age and they have their own disposable income, they're going to start buying season tickets."

It might happen sooner if Tebow comes to town.