In Depth 2017: Jacksonville Jaguars

In Depth 2017: Jacksonville Jaguars

After years of struggle, some experts thought the Jacksonville Jaguars could push .500 in 2016 and maybe even contend in a weak AFC South.

Those hopes were quickly dashed, as a brutal backslide by young QB Blake Bortles and an 0-3 start denigrated into a nine-game losing streak that eventually cost head coach Gus Bradley his job.

Still, through a disastrous 3-13 season, the Jaguars did play some pretty solid defense. And the offense still has some young, high-level talent. Can Doug Marrone rescue Bortles? Can Bortles recover and take this team on a long-awaited turnaround? Or will the next couple of years signal the need for yet another rebuild?

Luke Sims, editor of Black & Teal, shares his insights:

Zoneblitz: Heading into the season I don’t think I was alone in expecting the Jaguars to take a step forward this season. That didn’t happen. But there still seems to be some rising talent here. What was your assessment of the season?

Sims: 3-13 was definitely a disappointment, especially as the .500 goal was modest. Going from 5-11 in 2015 to 8-8 should have been achievable in the fourth year of a rebuild. Interestingly, the progress on the defensive side (the liability in 2015) did pay off. The Jags fielded a top defense in yards allowed and also managed to create some turnovers in the latter half of the season. There’s still room for growth, but the defense looks like it is in a position to be a strength going forward. The offense was the big letdown. Where there should have been progress, there was regression. With much of the same talent that brought an exciting 2015, it was easy to put blame on the coaches. Greg Olson was rightly canned and Gus Bradley’s long tenure as modern-era head coach with the worst record also deservedly led to his dismissal. If the Jags could combine 2016’s defense with 2015’s offense, they could be real contenders. There was just a disconnect there, even with 10 games being decided by seven points or less.

Zoneblitz: Was firing Gus Bradley the right move? (more…)

In Depth 2017: Jacksonville Jaguars

In Depth 2017: Chicago Bears

There was a Jekyll-and-Hyde nature to the 2016 Chicago Bears. They lost six games by one score – and then they lost six more by double-digit counts.

The end result was a 3-13 record – and the likely end of the Jay Cutler era in Chicago.

But Head Coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace will get another year to start showing some progress. And there is talent on this team. Three players made the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team. And several more players, such as WR Cameron Meredith, showed some promise. All this adds up to a team that may not be all that far away from being competitive.

How close? We asked Jake Perper, founder of Bears Backer and co-host of the Unnecessary Roughness Bears Podcast, to help sort that out.

Zoneblitz: How would you assess the 2016 season and was keeping John Fox the right move and how would you assess the work of Fox and GM Ryan Pace to this point? (more…)

In Depth 2017: Jacksonville Jaguars

In Depth 2017: San Francisco 49ers

Much like in 2015, San Francisco started the 2016 season with a dominant win. The rest of the season quickly turned into a dumpster fire, however, and the once-proud 49ers are again drafting at the top of the first round.

And, with the firing of coach Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke, owner Jed York is, once again, searching for new leadership.

How did the 49ers fall apart so quickly? And what will it take – and how long – to get this franchise headed back in the right direction?

Al Sacco, writer for 49ers Webzone, joined us to take a few questions.

Zoneblitz: Do you agree with the decision to fire coach Chip Kelly, after one season, and GM Trent Baalke?

Sacco: I think in a lot of ways, Kelly got a raw deal. He was stuck with one of the worst rosters in the NFL, and it was almost like he was bringing a knife to a gun fight every week. Even still, the 49ers were right to let him go, as they needed to start fresh. Also, when you bring in a new coach when your GM is on the hot seat, you’re bound to back yourself in a corner, which is what happened here. Baalke had destroyed the 49ers and had to go, but how can you tell a new GM they have to work with Chip Kelly? It wouldn’t have worked. Now they can just hit the reset button and try to build this thing the right way.

Zoneblitz: News reports indicate Kyle Shanahan will be the 49ers’ next coach. Would you be in favor of this? (more…)

In Depth 2017: Jacksonville Jaguars

In Depth 2017: Cleveland Browns

The 2016 Cleveland Browns, again, did not win a lot of games. But unlike some recent seasons, it appeared at times that this iteration might at least have a plan.

This team lacked talent and lost a lot of leads throughout the season, but under new coach Hue Jackson – the team’s fourth in five seasons – the team never stopped fighting. And when many had written off its chances of getting a win, the team came through in week 16 with a victory over San Diego.

So just where does this team stand? Thomas Moore, co-editor of Dawg Pound Daily, stopped by to share some thoughts:

Zoneblitz: It didnt result in a lot of wins, but there was at least periodically some fight from this Browns team. What was your assessment of Hue Jacksons first season?

Moore: Overall things went well in the first season under Hue Jackson.

This past year was never about wins and losses for the Browns, but rather it was about creating an opportunity for a full evaluation of the roster. The Browns are in the midst of the opening stages of a true, and much overdue, rebuild and a large part of the 2016 roster was made up of first- and second-year players. Getting those players on the field took precedence over winning.

Having said that, there were still enough moments that left Browns fans scratching their heads about Jackson. His offensive play calling was spotty at times as he went pass happy far too often, and made some strange roster decisions, but for now we’ll chalk it up to evaluation mode.

Zoneblitz: What do you think of the Paul DePodesta-led analytics group tasked with turning the team around? Have you gotten enough from a year of observation to get a sense for whether you think theyre headed in the right direction? (more…)

2016 Vikings = 1980 Raiders? Bradford reclamation starts soon

2016 Vikings = 1980 Raiders? Bradford reclamation starts soon

I had just gotten done throwing a theory out to my cousin Rich, an occasional contributor to this site, about how the 2016 Vikings bore some resemblance to the 1980 Raiders. Just then I heard a producer on 1500 ESPN radio in the Twin Cities theorize that newly acquired QB Sam Bradford may be in a similar situation as Jim Plunkett was during that season 36 years ago.

It’s not an apples-for-apples comparison. Plunkett had already been on the Raiders’ roster in 1979, though he threw just 15 passes. He was backing up Dan Pastorini, who had become Oakland’s QB when Ken Stabler was moved to Houston.

But Plunkett had struggled for eight seasons on mostly bad teams to live up to expectations after entering the NFL as the top pick in the 1971 draft. That’s similar to the path Bradford has been on. He was rookie of the year after being the top pick in 2010, but then tore up his knee twice and has since struggled to find the right fit. (He missed the entire 2014 campaign with a torn ACL, his second in as many seasons.) (more…)

What match-up do you want to see?

Conventional wisdom and the folks in Vegas are predicting a Carolina-New England Super Bowl. I wouldn’t have a huge issue with that – the Patriots were the league’s best team for the first three-quarters of the season before injuries set them back a bit. The Panthers have proven that even with a soft schedule, they are legit.

Truth be told, though, I’d prefer to see a couple different story lines play out. Peyton Manning is a shell of the QB he used to be, but I do have a soft spot for seeing legends go out on top. I’d also like to see guys like Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald rewarded for their years of toil on mostly bad to average teams.

What is your preferred match-up? Vote and then tell us why below.

What Super Bowl match-up would you like to see?

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