Montell Owens receives Contract Extension: Good money after Bad!

by River City Rage on Jan 21, 2009 4:26 PM EST in Jacksonville Jaguars News

Montell Owens: New contract for a hard worker

The Jacksonville Jaguars made quite a few mistakes in the 2008 offseason, especially in regards to contracts. Players felt that hard workers were cast aside for expensive free agents or massive investments in players with only one true outstanding year (David Garrard). This puts the Jaguars in a delicate position of having to offer contract extensions and restricted free agent tenders for the 2009 roster in a way that helps resolve some of the issues from last season.

The Jaguars took a good step in that direction by signing Special Teams ace and Fullback Montell Owens to a contract extension, with the terms (as usual) unreleased. I won't sweat the numbers though, Owens deserves every penny, no matter how big. This is a good insurance policy to protect the Jaguars from an injury to Greg Jones, Fred Taylor or Maurice Jones-Drew, as he's ready and willing to line up anywhere in the backfield. He's a player who seems to get better the more time he spends on the field and will hopefully be rewarded with an increase in the rotation in 2009.

Of course, this signing also makes me wonder about Fred Taylor, as Greg Jones is likely seen as a player to move from fullback to running back should Taylor leave the Jaguars. Owens would move to full time full back should this happen.

Anyhow, here's a tip of the hat to one of my favorite Jaguars, if anyone deserves a raise, it's Montell Owens!

-Chris

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Cool

I’m glad to hear it and hopefully he’ll give us a good fake punt run again in the future.

by Adam Stites on Jan 21, 2009 4:40 PM EST reply actions

Finally a good news!

Montell was very good even in this bad season. SI’s Peter King even named him to his All Pro roster not so long ago, because of his great performances in the special teams this year.
I’m glad that the Jaguars reached an agreement with him!

by Zoltan from Budapest on Jan 21, 2009 5:08 PM EST reply actions

You know

this may be the opposite of everyone elses thinking, but I think we would be better off allowing Owens to take over the RB duties, obviously only as MJD backup, and continue using Greg Jones as a FB.
Greg Jones is probably the best FB in the league and I don’t think Owens is any slower than Jones, if at all.
Look at it this way, having Greg Jones at FB means we can have our best players (Greg Jones and MJD) on the field more often. I’d rather have a tandem at RB, but I think MJD at full time is better than a MJD-Jones tandem, assuming Owens is left back there to block. However if Anthony Cotrone does come back and he plays nearly at the level Greg Jones has been or we get someone like Q Johnson from LSU, then I would be ok with making GJ the second RB.

by Ewdtrey on Jan 21, 2009 5:50 PM EST reply actions

Greg Jones moves the pile

I would LOVE to see Greg Jones get the ball more often on 3rd and shorts or even just to mix it up while MJD shakes and bakes. Jones is extremely underutilized when used solely as a blocker. If you recall, he was a top ten pick before breaking his leg as a devastating RB for FSU. There’s several college and NFL highlights of him absolutely steamrolling some lithe defensive backs (namely that poor sap from UNC) and even the Browns LB Andre Davis took such a shot that he had to sit out for a few plays. So instead of sending all 5’ 7" 208lbs of MJD into a swarm of lineman, why not slam 6’ 1" 254lbs Jones through the wall when we need 4 or 5 feet. How many times did we use Jones last year as anything but a human shield? 2 rushes and 15 catches.

by Jags-Fan-In-Chicago on Jan 22, 2009 10:39 AM EST reply actions

Who would block for him?

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by Tkopa on Jan 22, 2009 11:25 AM EST up reply actions

Believe it or not

MJD is actually the better the short yardage back.
It’s not about plowing people over with size, or moving the pile because you’re not going to do that against 4 guys that weigh 300 lbs with a bunch of LB’s that weigh just as much as you. It’s about finding a hole and then moving the one person that tries to fill that gap. Not to mention when you have someone like Greg Jones back there and you know its going to be a run you stack the middle of the line, and Jones doesn’t have the speed that MJD has to get outside as well.
Contrary to popular belief I think Greg should be an in-space player. The reason is because he can run over DB’s and if he’s only being chased by one player he can make a big gain. Not to mention people don’t expect 254 lbs guys to play in space. When MJD gets out there, people notice.

by Ewdtrey on Jan 22, 2009 4:09 PM EST up reply actions

Believe it or not

I completely agree with every point you just made. MJD is great in traffic and is able to wiggle through the tight spots. As a DB I think I’d rather try to tackle MJD rather than Greg Jones out in open space, not that either one would be an easy tackle at all.

by Adam Stites on Jan 22, 2009 4:44 PM EST up reply actions

Agree

You couldn’t be more correct on your evaluation of the Jags, and Montell, I was not only lucky enough to play with Mr. Owens in college, but know him as a person-he is everything the NFL should want in a player and human being-I would make a guess that the Jags coaches and administration made this offer to Montell because he makes your team better, athletically, and socially. Considering in today’s NFL climate, with top team in talent not making the playoffs (Cowboys), it is clear that team chemistry and player character has gained some stock. Montell adds to both of those categories.

by MAINE FB on Jan 22, 2009 8:06 PM EST reply actions