Negative vs. Positive Part I Jack Del Rio

by Tkopa on Jan 4, 2009 9:56 PM EST Comment 25 comments

Positive vs. Negative, it permeates our thinking. We see it in the posts, Shack Harris is ok, Shack Harris must go, Derrick Harvey is ok, and Derrick Harvey is a bust. I find these thoughts in my own thinking as I debate with myself. So why not bring it out in the open and debate it online. Let's have a discussion. Here is the first of my Positive/Negative viewpoints starting with Jack Del Rio.

Positive

Jack Del Rio is an angel and here's why:

• He turned a 5-11 team around and took them into the play-offs two of the next four years.
• After the turnaround season of 2003, he went 40-24 through 2007.
• He won despite mediocre drafting and lack of star power given him from the front office. He worked miracles.
• He is upbeat optimistic and knows the game well. He is a former pro-bowl player who can relate to players.
• He asks for and demands the best. He never lowers his standard.
• He is honest, smart, and upstanding. He is a good man to the core.
• Now with a good GM, he will show what he can do with good players.
• Jack Del Rio is a top line coach and we are lucky to have him.

Negative

Jack Del Rio paints a better picture than he really is:

• Twice, in 2006 and 2008 he lost control and his team fell apart.
• His overall record is 50-46, not inspiring.
• He is engaged in power plays and was instrumental in getting Shack Harris removed.
• He has been right there at the table in every draft and FA decision.
• He won with Tom Coughlin's team.
• He fires more assistant coaches than anyone and deflects blame.
• He is not a man to be trusted or lead a team to a Super Bowl.

So which is it? Is Jack the man or is Jack the part of the problem? I have mixed feelings. What are yours?

Poll

Jack Del Rio is the coach we will have when we go to the Super Bowl

Absolutely - JDR has proven he is in the top tier

66 votes

I don't buy it - he is no Tom Coughlin and never will be

41 votes

He might be - He needs two more seasons to prove his worth

114 votes

221 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

It's a complex problem

I think the best way to summarize this year was the culmination of first round bust after first round bust, little attention to an injury plagued defense, and injuries to the offensive line.

That being said, the way this team seemingly packed it in after the win in Denver that I thought was going to get the team back on track was troubling and falls on Del Rio’s shoulders.

"I smoke. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."-Bill Hicks

by FSBlueApocalypse on Jan 4, 2009 9:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I agree John

Why did Tony Dungy win 9 straight and we fell off the map? Tampa did the same thing as us, went 9-3 and then lost 4 in a row. The only factor is Monte Kifflin leaving and the players went into a funk.

Some coaches have it and some don’t. Some teams have it and some don’t. I am thinking it is more “type of players” than anything else.

Thanks for commenting!

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

by Tkopa on Jan 4, 2009 10:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

2007/2008

In the 2007 season when the Jags went 11-5 I would have agreed with the first part(positive), about how JDR is a great head coach. Now in 2008/2009 season I agree with parts of the second part(negative). What Del Rio needs is consistency, by being able to make the playoffs two or three years in a row. Next season should be a rebuilding season, but if the Jags aren’t back in the playoffs by 2011, Del Rio may be on the hotseat.

by Bestjagfan on Jan 4, 2009 10:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The defense was limp this season and the offense sustained too many injuries to linemen to run the ball effectively.

Plus our FA acquisitions were all busts and that can directly be attributed to Shack Harris. If Porter or Florence had worked out, then I believe that we are at least 8-8, but bothe were debacles and hurt the team’s chances.

by silencecs on Jan 4, 2009 10:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

No... I think the expectation is to make the playoffs next year...

Del Rio has stated that is his expectation, and it is mine too. We have the major pieces in place…
Great QB
Great RB tandem
Strong TE’s
one of the best linebacking corps in the league
A top 5 CB
A solid head coach…
We should make the playoffs next year.

by silencecs on Jan 4, 2009 10:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Some things on that

Great QB-eh, I’m starting to lay off the Garrard Kool-Aid. He showed some signs of becoming the inconsistent QB from 05 and 06 when he could have taken control of the job firmly yet still managed to let Leftwich back in the mix.
RB-Agree
TEs-Agree
LBs-Agree, though I hope we can learn to cover TEs soon
CB-Here’s my biggest thing. If the QB isn;t named Roethlisberger, has Mathis really been an elite CB?

"I smoke. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."-Bill Hicks

by FSBlueApocalypse on Jan 4, 2009 10:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't say it any better than Vic

Can’t block, can’t catch is not a good combination. It’s enough to make any quarterback look bad. If the problems get fixed and he’s still making bad mistakes then I’ll agree with you, but right now I’m not going to criticize him.

As for Rashean, he is a guy who has made his name off of interceptions and those will only come when a quarterback is under pressure and is forced to throw the ball before he wants to. That’s why he did so well in 2006.

by SoCalStites on Jan 4, 2009 11:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

agree - the most glaring need on this team is O line

by OGN on Jan 5, 2009 9:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If we don't address the O-Line

I will be very skeptical the organization knows what they are doing.

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

by Tkopa on Jan 5, 2009 9:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i think we should adjust our expectations

I love the Jaguars, and I want to believe that we’ll be in the playoffs next year. With a healthy O-line, maybe we’ll be back in the mix, but I think it’s important to remember that as the Jaguars improve, most likely so will the rest of the teams in our division. It’s painful to remember, but we did finish last in the AFC South this year, three games behind the Texans (8-8).

by car-ramrod on Jan 4, 2009 10:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't see the

Titans improving. Collins isn’t getting any younger and soon there has to be a a changing of the guard or at least some controversy.
The Texans will get better and so will the Colts(especially their OL, unless Saturday decides to retire).

by Ewdtrey on Jan 4, 2009 11:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know about the Colts

Their future is completely tied with Peyton Manning and he’s not getting any younger. Now he’s had a couple knee surgeries so who knows how much longer he has

by SoCalStites on Jan 4, 2009 11:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree, the Colts are a team on the decline...

Their Defense is shabby and their WR’s are getting old… It is all about Manning though, and if he continues to play like he did this season.. he can will them to a few more playoffs.

by silencecs on Jan 5, 2009 12:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just not sure

that when next season ends, realistically speaking, we’ll be in the top half of the division. It will be hard for the Titans to improve on 13-3, but I would bet on them and the Texans to be the best of the AFC South next season. Unless they make big moves in FA, the Colts may be without Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy pending their retirement, and their terrible defense will be older and, unbelievably, that much worse. I guess the Jags are kind of a wildcard in my mind, which sort of fits given our history under Del Rio.

Having said all of that, I have no idea what next season will actually be like. Fuck.

by car-ramrod on Jan 5, 2009 1:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

But it's the offseason. And since there's Google, and there's also Megan Fox, well naturally there's:

by car-ramrod on Jan 5, 2009 1:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Some of the negatives are positives

Is it so bad he was instrumental in getting Shack fired? Absolutely not.

Is it bad that he fires assistant coaches? I prefer to look at that as accountability. I hate it when a coach is too attached to his assistants. Rod Marinelli in Detroit keeping his son in law as D-Coordinator despite him sucking? Tommy Tuberville and all his assistants and position coaches that he refused to replace at Auburn, being a large contributing factor to his ouster? And I could probably think of more, but it’s way too late at night to be thinking right now.

I’ve also never really believed in a coach losing control of his team, unless it’s something just awful, like Dallas this season. It’s the NFL. It’s professional football played by professionals. Was the 2006 season because Jack got coaching amnesia for 3 games or because the still-young backup QB crumbled and played horribly? Would you say that the 2008 Jags were a talented team that was ruined by a Romeo Crennel or Herm Edwards, or were they a team with injury and/or talent problems at most positions, especially along both lines where it all starts?

Let me put it this way – Tony Dungy was a chronic underachiever that never could quite seem to get his team far in the playoffs. He was fired, went to the Colts, then finally won with Peyton Manning. Did he suddenly start doing things radically differently, or does it turn out that it’s players and not plays? To build off of Vic, if your players can’t block, can’t catch, and can’t stop the pass, Bill Walsh would have a tough time looking good on your sideline.

by MoveThoseChains on Jan 5, 2009 5:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Behind every great coach...

has been a great QB.

by Jaghomer on Jan 5, 2009 7:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

just to name a few...

Knoll = Bradshaw; Dungy = Manning; Landry = Starbauch; Walsh = Montana…. It’s a pretty endless list.

by Jaghomer on Jan 5, 2009 7:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

movethosechains you hit everything on the dot.

by harveyismyboy on Jan 8, 2009 5:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

good positives

I like what you wrote on the positives and thought you were reaching for negatives. I think JDR can win with good drafting. His first 6 yrs have been sabotaged by bad drafts and free agent busts. The first 4 years were aimed at improving the offense by drafting skill players in the first round – that has Hack Harris written all over it.

by jagsrealist on Jan 5, 2009 5:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Positive thinking!

I wrote what I thought was out there that positive people would respond to the positives and negative thinking responding to the negatives.

I just wanted to see what the thinking is.

I am not sure about JDR myself. At times I think he is right there. But to be honest, I never saw a team look so bad as the Jaguars did in some of the games this year. Our team tok the field without caring about how they looked. It was embarrassing. I don’t know what Jack could have done different, but as he put it, “The product was not very good”.

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

by Tkopa on Jan 5, 2009 6:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think JDR is a good coach.

I think he has alot more positives than negatives. Honestly I think he could have done more by starting Garrard before coming in thinking he needed a rookie QB to take the helm. I am by no means saying that Garrard is an elite QB, but Tom Coughlin had him on the hook for a reason and JDR didnt realize what he had. The QB controversy over the years has been a big problem.

by indianajagfan on Jan 5, 2009 8:54 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

He is getting strong support in the poll

From the looks of the poll numbers, JDR has an 80% favorable rating with people ready to give him more time. He has fan support.

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

by Tkopa on Jan 5, 2009 9:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I really like JDR.

I love, and this you forgot to put on the positives, his aggresiveness to go for it in manageable fourth downs.

What coaches that are available are better than him? None to me. He is a great players coach and he can’t coach the injured players to get back out on the field. Stop hating on the guy. He’s here to stay and with a healthier season next year we’re in th playoffs.

And as for the rest of the AFC sOUTH, This is it for the titans. Collins is old and washed up. Young just flat out is not a good NFL QB and their Defense is aged in some spots. Plus, they rode luck this whole season. They wont get it again. Indy is on decline and really the only team with a promising future besides us is the Texans.

by harveyismyboy on Jan 8, 2009 5:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs