I’m not trying to give Harvey any excuses, but there is no one on the team with more than 2 sacks. He can’t be expected to generate a pass rush all on his own. And I think we can all agree that our defense is not consistently getting any pressure on any QB. An effective pass rush needs a push from every player who’s going after the QB. When a line can get that push, then someone should be able to get around their block and make a play. If no one is getting any push, you can’t expect numbers from anyone. If Harvey was on a team like the Steelers, he would probably look a lot better. It’s the same thing that our secondary is going through. They look terrible because of the lack of pass rush.

That said, I’m pretty happy with Groves so far. I’m not sure about this since I don’t get to see all the games, but he hasn’t played as much as Harvey, right? Considering that (assuming I’m right) and his size, and again, the way the rest of the team has played, he’s been pretty good.

To me the issue isn’t if he was worth the 8th pick, its the extra picks they gave up to get him and then he had all the leverage in contract negotiations. With #26,71,89,125 were 4 potential players that could have helped this year and cost less than Harvey and been in on time to learn their craft. Groves was drafted by the wrong team and is better suited to be a 3-4 linebacker.

A majority of Harvey’s “rich” contract is incentive laden and based on his stats he hasn’t received many of them lol. so if he does good then yea he deserves that payday! but if he does poorly he will get paid as such… also compared to the 7 picks above him all getting above 50 mil. I’m surprised we were able to get him to settle at a max. of 33 mil. (thats including incentives) and only 17 mil. guaranteed.

also a knock on him on draft day many people forget about is that he was going to have to grow into his body since he doesn’t fully realize his size and can still add on about 10-20 lbs. of muscle to help his bull rush and burst off the edge. and he missed all of TC and the preseason and practices that are usually key for a rookies’ development and he has proven to be a fast learner and picked up our system. so this offseason and the span until next season he will have some 1v1 time with Monachino, some time in the weight room, and just time learning technique and skill.

also it takes a year or so for most DE’s to develop and looking at all the other DE’s out of this draft he has similar #’s without the advantage of TC and preseason/practices. his best football is ahead of him and next season he will be a force to be reckoned with IMO!

also Groves needs to put on some weight but not let it affect his speed since I can envision him as a Dwight Freeney type RDE and Harvey playing lights out LDE! and getting another DT with Big John to collapse the middle can only help IMO!

most people just see his contract #‘s and bash him as a bust before finishing a full season (remember last year when Nelson looked like a greenhorn each game being out of position every other play lol) but in reality its only when he puts up sacks and stats that he will get the majority of that money… I must give credit to out finance people at the FO since they found a way to protect our cap if Harvey wasn’t the savior in his 1st year like he was supposed to be! he will be a good player for years to come IMO!

I don’t look at his contract to say he’s a bust. I look at the draft picks that were traded away to get him. Its pretty obvious we could have used those picks to upgrade this roster. Harvey may have fallen to 26 and we get him anyway or Jags go after best available at 26. Harvey was a reach at #8.

Nice job OGN. Gotta love a guy that backs an opinion with stats. Not sure why the Jags are so bad in the 1st round and then do such a GREAT job in later rounds. Some of our 2nd round picks have been amazing. I’ve been one of those fans that have thrown Harvey “under the bus.” But I have to agree with many of you—certainly can’t blame everything on Harvey..and it takes more than one season to be a good DE. That said, I still say he’ll be a bust. Rookies that hold out make me nervous. Harvey certainly has talent—but a rookie hold out speaks volumes about his character. Garrard takes less money so he can get into camp and a rookie holds out. Just can’t get past it. Especially after giving up so much to get him. But we’ll have a healthy OL next year and get back to our power game. Our year over year improvement will be dramatic! Hopefully Harvey will do something he didn’t do this year. EARN his starting spot by working his tail off in training camp. In any case, he’ll have a very hard time providing enough value to warrant his cost (in draft picks). I hope I’m posting next year about how wrong I was about him because I bleed teal. After this disappointing season, those players that truly care will come back with a vengeance. Training camp will be intense, and you’ll know right away who’s going to step up. Can’t wait.