If you ask Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell about the team and
his plan for 2014, he refers to the changes in this team as part of
“Step 2” in the process of building a winner.
Those change and the
next step in the process is to continue with the foundation he and head
coach Gus Bradley have built together and define the strengths and
weaknesses of this team - all of which seem to need a tweak or an
overhaul as the Jaguars just completed a 4-12 where Bradley and his
players finished the season 4-4 in the second half.
There is the
belief within the “brain trust” of the team that a “modest” free agent
class can be signed and again this franchise will build through the
draft where it looks like it hit on all of its draft picks from 2013,
although some may take longer than others to grasp everything being
asked of them by Bradley and the position coaches.
What makes 2014
better than 2013 is the fact all coaches were retained, there is a
blueprint to work from and the coaching staff will get an advantage on
scouting senior talent when they coach the South team in the Senior Bowl
in Alabama. Just a side note, it could be argued that 2009 was the best
draft class of former team general manager’s career in Jacksonville.
That was the same year the Jaguars and then head coach Jack Del Rio
coached the South Team and worked to analyze the seniors on draft
boards.
As part of this new part of the growth and development of
this team, Caldwell stated in a story in the Florida Times-Union and to
the media following the end of the 2013 season…
Players like
linebacker Paul Posluszny and tight end Marcedes Lewis will be retained.
It was once thought that these players, because of their contracts,
might be casualties. There is also talk that defensive end Jason Babin
might not be back. The Jaguars need him to be here next year, in my
opinion. Babin told the Florida Times-Union he understands what the team is trying to do here and may be open to renegotiating his contract to stay.
Two
of the other issues the team must still deal with are what to do with
quarterback Blaine Gabbert and when will wide receiver Justin Blackmon
will be reinstated.
Gabbert has been a bust so far in the three
seasons he has been in Jacksonville. He should be released or traded
before the season.
Blackmon is suspended for violating the
league’s substance abuse policy for a third time. There is no word yet
when the NFL might reinstate him and whether or not he will be released
by the Jaguars.