Yeah, you’re reading way too much into this. Derrick always has a even keel, laid back attitude. I go to UF. One day when I was getting a haircut, Harvey walked in. After a game he dominated with a sack or two everyone in the room was trying to show him love; joke with him. He stayed stoic and gave pretty much the exact same responses he gave to the media on Sunday. Thats just his personality. But as long as he brings it on Sundays I’m glad he’s on the team.

“So who is more motivated to play for the Jags?” and “Who in the long term will turn out to be a better player for the Jaguars?” are two totally seperate questions. I know that I ended up answering ‘Grooves’ because I thought the question was the same as you had in the blog. More motivated? Sure, it may be Grooves. Better player? Harvey, as I see it right now. He’s way more complete, and still has room to grow. I don’t see Grooves becoming an every-downs defensive end. Perhaps if we were to switch to a 3-4 he’d become the better player for the Jaguars. But as I don’t see that happening, as it stands Harvey will likely become the better player.

I think Harvey’s a really good player, I won’t say great, YET. In the 2006 season when the Gators had NFL talent surrounding him on the D-line, Harvey excelled. I haven’t analyzed the tape or anything but I assume that being a relative unknown allowed Harvey to get a lot of one-on-one situations. He obviously dominated in these situations. See the 2006 BCS championship game.

But I don’t think that Harvey is a transcendent player like Sean Merriman or Troy P of the Steelers. If the opposing team game plans for Harvey, he can effectively be erased from the game. I remember several times this season watching the opposing team march the ball up and down the field on the Gators as I prayed for Harvey to make a game changing play. Well that never happened. I know Harvey was playing with the one of the most inexperienced d-lines in college history (an undersized sophomore DE, a 5th string tackle, and a converted offensive lineman) and the worst secondary I have ever personally witnessed but it seems like a truly great player would make at least one unexpected awesome or game altering play.

Despite that last paragraph I think that Harvey will give the Jags a boost in the pass rush. Teams won’t truly game plan to stop him and he’ll surprise them with his athleticism and speed. However, I think that Groves will make a bigger splash in the NFL. He has a flare for the dramatic. He’s the type of player that will sack you, strip you, and return it for a touchdown; the stuff highlights are made of. This is not to say that Groves will be the better player, just the flashier player.

But at least it’ll make the other team need to game plan against Harvey. Last year teams didn’t have to game planagainst our DEs.:P

i voted for groves, just because he is a sack monster. he easily has the ability to become an every downs DE. the thing is, both players are going to be playing DE on the jaguars line, at the same time. i personally think theyre both going to wind up being great DEs. i just think groves will be slightly better.

I like Groves. Pro-Bowl Reggie Hayward was 225lbs when he entered the NFL. Groves had the enthusiasm when he was drafted, but he’s got to keep that fire. He’s got all the tools and some of the best veterans and coaches to learn from, all Groves needs is the desire to be the best DE in the league and he should fill out. He has less pressure to come in and produce like our first-round “reach” Harvey, so he can focus on his size and all the things associated with run-stopping.

I got the same feeling that Harvey wasn’t as excited to be drafted by Jacksonville but that should change. If it has to do with “team talent” or “superbowl potential,” he will soon realize that Jones-Drew, Feddy T., Garrard, Peterson, Mathis, Henderson..(get the picture?) are “team talent” enough and that the championship is within reach. His statement about helping them win more games allowed me to realize that he must not follow the Jaguars much at all. Take away a second-string loss and special teams failure to the Texans and getting jumped by the Titans and we not only surge to 13-3 but the race to division title looks much different.
Harvey should be fine but I think Groves has the true potential. He seems incontent to just work with what he’s got. I’ve got the feeling he wants to be pro-bowl caliber, and that’s great for us.