Quick Bytes: Ken Kremer's in the Dog House, Derrick Harvey's still at home edition

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 8:44 AM EDT Comment 32 comments

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

Finally, after two weeks of sleeping on couches and floors your humble Jaguars Narrator (me) is moved into his home for the next many months. My absence, while unexcused, is no more, as I've replaced my hour long commute to work with a leisurely five minute drive to the office. Not that these details are important to y'all, but it's something.

Let's get down to business.

: How about those Jaguars? Yeah, I freaked a little after the Dolphins game, but the first half of the Tampa game made me feel a little better.

Quick Thoughts on the Tampa Bay game

Maurice Jones-Drew's injury, no matter how slight, is frightening. He's tough as nails, but seeing him leave the game with an ankle (injury) reminds us how fragile an NFL team really is.
Matt Jones can officially relax. He's gone from a likely cut to being the receiver we thought he would be when he was drafted. Now he's got to keep it up.
Reggie Nelson: Wow.
Fred Taylor looks like he's ready for November/December football. I don't expect him needing a game or two to get into top form, he looks ready to go right now.
It was nice to see Reggie Williams and Reggie Hayward on the field. R-Dub had little impact, but Hayward forced a fumble on the Buc's first drive. We need both of them.

: The Derrick Harvey Holdout continues. The Team's increased their offer to within one million dollars of what Ken Kremer wants. Jack Del Rio calls out Kremer for this nonsense. I agree, at this point you sign the deal and get to Jacksonville. I will say this, there are some who say that the city will hate Harvey for this. I continue to think that it's the agents that get the fans wrath, not the players, unless the players do something TO worthy.

: Roster cuts to 75 are tomorrow. Today's the day when the dream ends for a few players. If you're Alex Boston, Chris Brown, Jesse Mahelona, or Clyde Edwards, you've got to hide around the facility for awhile.

: I'm going to attempt to break down the film for the Jaguars-Bucs game and see what insights I can pull out. I'll be back in a few hours!

-Chris

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Hate Harvey?

Hate for Harvey will evaporate quickly if he turns into what we hope he will turn into. Look how things have changed for Reggie Williams and Matt Jones, and we had years to cry foul for they’re continued inclusion on the team. Now Reggie has come through, and Matt looks like he might. Harvey may have to go through some jeers early, but hopefully he gets it done when it counts. If not, he’ll be branded a Byron…

Oh poor Byron, he may become the name for future First round busts. Unless of course Matt Jones fails. Then he would be the penultimate bust.

by Pyrofish on Aug 25, 2008 9:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

Penultimate. Good stuff.

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hate for Harvey?

The only thing I hate Harvey for is not firing his agent. This is all about the agent, and not about what is best for his client. JDR said it best when he said that this is all about an agent trying to look good so he can attract future clients. The sad part is Harvey will sign before the regular season starts for the same amount of money he could have got months ago. While the agent will get his 3%, and somehow spin the signing to make it look like he got the best of the Jags.

Any news on the severity of Brian Iwah’s ankle?

by NASF on Aug 25, 2008 10:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Bad, from what I'm told

No details, but it’s not a good one. I suspect IR.

Harvey firing his agent would be a problem because there’s a 5 day waiting period before someone can hire a new agent. So if he fired Kremer, waited five days, then a new agent would have to jump in and go from there. I don’t know that it would speed things up.

Arguing over a million dollars is crazy to folks like us, there’s no reason they can’t split the difference.

-Chrs

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Firing Harvey's Agent

I have been saying that Harvey should fire his agent for about a month now. At this moment Harvey wouldn’t even need an agent to do his contract, because everything already has been done except to sign on the dotted line.

Thats bad news on Brian Iwuh injury. He is another one of those undrafted gems the Jags always seem to find.

by NASF on Aug 25, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

08 Jags

This will not be a popular post, but here goes. This team will finish 3rd in their division. They can’t touch the Colts and I truely believe the Texans will finish ahead of the Jags. I have 3 reasons for this.
1) WR – this position is worse that it was a year ago. It’s riddled with injury and unproven at best. Looking for Matt Jones to be the savior says it all.
2) D-Line. They don’t have the depth they had last year and they still cannot pressure the QB. Any team with halfway decent passing attack can shred this D. Harvey represents 4 picks not in camp and Groves is a situational pass rusher at best. He is too light for DE and will be physically dominated as was proven with the Phins game.
3) O-line is also showing signs of having issues. Measter injury hurts more than you know and LT is weak.

The off season was geared towards generating some explosiveness on offense – folks – the talent ain’t there for this. Walker and Williamson simply can’t catch balls in actual games. They look great in practice though! Porter, has not proven to be #1 receiver and is hobbled with injury.

prediction – this team goes 9-7 maybe 10-6 and will miss playoffs.

by OGN on Aug 25, 2008 11:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

OGN

This must be your first season of watching football if your basing everything on EXHIBITION games. Have you watched the Colts play? They look like they couldn’t beat a high school football team. The Colts have the worst preseason record over the past 5 years, and the best regular season record over that same period of time.

Teams have a very different agenda during the preseason than they do during the regular season. Unfortunately for you OGN, you haven’t realized that yet.

by NASF on Aug 25, 2008 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, at least you think the Titans will be last.

So there’s that.

In all seriousness, when has Porter shown he can’t catch balls? I’ve not seen him drop a single pass in the preseason. Cause he’s not been on the field, therefore I can’t pass judgement. Williamson is a risk, but you know what, it’s a 6th round risk, so I’m OK with it.

Frankly, all we need is the WR group to on occasion keep an extra guy out of the box. If we get the same performance or slightly better than last ear, this team will go deep.

But, I appreciate your opinion. I’ll punt on this and say we’ll know in two weeks.

-Chris

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Poor comparison...

I’ll agree that the d-line is a challenge from last year, but have we really saw Williams defense scheme and how he plans to use the players?

As far as the receiving corp, what magic yard stick is this comparison drawn to? Last years?

The offensive line weekness is definately due to Meester’s absence. Hey… he’s good whaddaya gunna dew?

Nope… my complaint is still punting. Podlesh you ain’t feeling my love brother.

by Jaghomer on Aug 25, 2008 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jaghomer

An interesting note to pass along about Podlesh. According to Jeff Laggeman, Podlesh is only taking a two step drop now. He also mentioned Joey Z is snapping the ball differently, depending on the formation. These are the kinds of things the team is experimenting with, while the games don’t count.

by NASF on Aug 25, 2008 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was under the impression

that Podlesh was always a 2 step punter? I remember reading something about it when we drafted him and how it one one of the things we liked about him. Maybe he went to a 3 step last season after being a 2 step in college?

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Aug 25, 2008 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Del Rio

Commented about this on the JDR Show. Podlesh has a really fast release, so they’ve got him using two steps because it gets the ball out quicker.

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OGN...

how is the Texans o line and which qb do they have that has the experience to get into the playoffs?

by Jaggernaut on Aug 25, 2008 1:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The 2008 Draft

Ignoring Derrick Harvey for a moment, does anyone see anything of value in the 2008 draft? This isn’t a negative question, but an honest one. Will Thomas or Trae Williams have any value? Will Chauncy Washington have value?

I have watched Quentin Groves a lot and the other teams seem to be making highlight reels for themselves when teamed against him. He gets tossed on the ground a lot. Has anyone seen a glimmer of hope here?

Sometimes teams strike out in the draft and sometimes they strike it rich. I’m asking because my thoughts are, without a strong performance from Derrick Harvey, I’m not sure I see anything.

by Tkopa on Aug 25, 2008 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Its' WAAYYY too early to tell anything about this years draft class...

Other than maybe Maurice Drew, who was the last player that we drafted that you could see great things during his first few preseason game ?

by pksiv on Aug 25, 2008 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe not too early... according to PFW

“We’re hearing there’s a realistic chance that DEs Quentin Groves and Derrick Harvey — the latter unsigned as of this writing — will be the only two of the Jaguars’ five draftees to make the final roster. Some of those picks, however, should earn spots on the practice squad”

by Tkopa on Aug 25, 2008 10:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Groves is rough.

But he’ll get it together. I’m sure of it.

-C

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ease up on Q Groves

They’ve said over and over that they’re putting Groves in positions that they’re pretty sure he won’t win, yet. They want him to know now that he isn’t as good as he might have thought he was. Failure breeds innovation, they want him to learn technique, gain strength, get it done. Notice how every time someone asks JDR about Groves, coach starts smiling. JDR has said that they’re showing Groves what the dirty work feels like. Meaning what it’s like to be an every-down DE. He’ll revert back to a pass-rush guy as soon as regular season starts.

Nothing more humbling to a rook than being put on his butt repeatedly ;-) Harvey needs some of that too, and unfortunately won’t be able to get it during preseason.

by Pyrofish on Aug 25, 2008 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sometime what you see isn't what you see

Now that I think about it, you are right. This is a process of developing a player, not a failed draft pick. I’ll be patient and let the development happen. Thanks.

by Tkopa on Aug 25, 2008 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

here, here

I won’t stay a Harvey hater, but by your reasoning there should be some consequences & repercussions for his hold out.

by Jaghomer on Aug 26, 2008 7:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I completely agree

I was the one who said they should be reducing his offer by half a million for each week he stays out. He loses value for this season every day he isn’t here. Camp is the time to make mistakes. Hell, camp is when they try to force you to make mistakes so you can learn from them. Harvey is killing his rookie season IMO. He could be great in 09…. guess we’ll see

by Pyrofish on Aug 26, 2008 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good News Chris

I just heard on Jaguars.com in JDR press conference, that there were no significant injuries from last nights game. So that should mean that Brian Iwuh’s ankle is not that serious.

by NASF on Aug 25, 2008 2:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

WOOOOO

Good Stuff! I’m always glad to be wrong about injuries!

-Chris

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey I'm no pro here on punting

but I think this year like last year, there will be the occasional battle for field position. I would just like to see more 50+ yarders than 40 yarders. I know you don’t punt for the end zone on every punt, but man if you are back at your 20 yard line and your punter shanks one for 30-35 it hurts.

by Jaghomer on Aug 25, 2008 3:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Punting

I did some punting back in high school….
and I would be more concered about how he was droping the ball, then how many steps hes taking. The drop is the most important part of the kick, other than the actually punt.
Watch to see if he has good spin on it, if its wobbling end over end on every single punt, he needs to improve.

By the way, how serious were the injuries to the two Tampa Bay players last game?

by kujo24 on Aug 25, 2008 5:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Do you have any insight...

On the 2 step v. 3 step methods?

-C

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 25, 2008 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OGN

I knew I wasn’t going to be to popular but I stand by my statements. Look to last years playoffs for a season preview. Without a legitimate passig threat, teams are going to load up on the run like Pitt and NE did. You also have to factor in the degree of difficulty the Jags schedule brings this season.

Porter has had surgery on hamstring. Do you honestly think he’ll be 100% for the season? I also stand by my earlier comment – Porter has not proven to be a #1 with the Raiders. Right now the best you can say about the Jags WR corps is the dreaded ’P" word - loaded with potntial but not proven.

LT is a glaring weak spot as well.

I hope I’m wrong. Time will tell.

by OGN on Aug 25, 2008 6:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

OGN

Not sure why your not getting it. Like I said in my earlier post to you, this is the PRESEASON! You don’t make judgments based on what you see in meaningless games. If you did then you would think that the Colts year in and out for the past five years would go winless.

The O-line especially will look bad during the preseason because they are not scheming or watching game tape. Barnes will be just fine along with the rest of the line. Maybe you just started watching the Jags, because the line has looked bad every year before the season starts. Barnes was above average LT last year, he didn’t all of a sudden forget how to play. The man has all the reason in the world to excel being that this is a contract year for him.

The WR core was average at best last year, if anything it will be better with the addition of Porter. The million dollar question is when will Porter be back, and how long will it take to get a chemistry going with Garrard.

The gloom and doom based on what you see in preseason football OGN, makes me wonder how long have you watched football for. Its nothing personal, its just for anybody that has watched football for awhile, would know not to make any conclusions when every year its the same stuff you will see at this time of year. Especially a team that has a lot of posistions already settled, unlike the Fins.

by NASF on Aug 25, 2008 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I remember last year

The pre-season looked bad. I didn’t thik they had a chance. The opening games were not things of beauty either. Tennessee and Atlanta and were were lucky and relieved to be 1-1. Then it started to click and the huge wins over Kansas City and Denver and the season was off and running.

You are right NASF. I do not yet have a trained eye to watch the pre-season. I am not quite sure what I am seeing. Is it real or is it an experiment? Is David trying new passes and new routes with the receivers or is he missing? Is Quentin Groves bad or is he getting a lesson in what he needs to learn? I do know Matt Jones looks like a reciever who wants to catch the ball and David Gerrard has trouble with the long ball. That is all I really learned.

by Tkopa on Aug 25, 2008 10:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Time will tell

12 days, 16 hours, and 50 minutes till the end of the first Regular season game. It can’t get here fast enough!!!!!

by Pyrofish on Aug 25, 2008 11:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No – you’re good , I’m not taking this personal. I have the same misgivings about what team you’re watching or more specifically, what talent level is being displayed. How can you not see that this team has some glaring weaknesses. I assure you that at the very least, I’m as big a Jags fan as you are.

by OGN on Aug 26, 2008 1:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs