Great Minds Think Alike: Gene Smith Signs Ernest Wilford
by silencecs on Aug 25, 2009 1:40 PM EDT
in Jacksonville Jaguars News
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He's baaaack!
The former Jaguar veteran, Ernest Lee Wilford Jr, was resigned today to the Jacksonville Jaguars as a TE. Clearly, Gene isn't happy with the passing attack, and frankly, the move is a necessary one. We now have a TE who can actually catch the ball with consistency, and Wilford is a fine route-runner who has a solid rapport established with David.
The move itself is a low risk one. Terms of the contract haven't yet been released, but it's likely close to the veteran minimum. The salary will likely have no signing bonus to speak of, so in order to get paid, Wilford is gonna have to make the final 53. Again, the contract hasn't yet been released, so this is speculation on my part.
Gene continues to exhaust every option in his attempt to improve the roster in every way possible. Bringing back Ernest was a brilliant low risk maneuver. More in-depth analysis on Wilford's planned role and the contract itself as the details are released...
-Collin Streetman
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Just an average receiver and a retread....
but I guess he’s a good guy.
Not great news but very good news in my book
David could always find Wilford. David was at his best with Ernest out there. Holt, Williamson, Wilford. Now get that damn O-Line back and crack off some runs… We wil move those chains.
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Exactly. Matt Jones was just replaced...
Estandia or Angulo are now on Notice, unless the team moves Miller to IR. I feel better about the passing attack now. Wilford already played in Koetter’s system, so the learning curve shouldn’t be as steep.
The End Is Nigh... www.infowars.com
Miller to IR would be my guess
If Wilford is to make the final roster
No you get what you want
Collin. Do you think he will the final 53?
And what position will they use him? WR? TE?
I trust on Gene, so I’m no problem with him on board.
Now I’m looking forward to:
a; The Jack Del Rio show for the official explain
b; Jaguars This Week, what “the 3” think about this
3; And boy the Eagles game much more!
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Aug 25, 2009 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Wilford is a tweener TE/WR
Can play both but he isn’t ideal for them, I still like the move.
"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Great move
He adds stability to the passing game and at a price less than we would’ve had to pay 2 years ago. Good character and hard worker.
The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.
Vince Lombardi
THE BEST POINT MADE YET.
We get a known quantity, who if we would’ve resigned, we would’ve paid what miami paid (13 mil, 6 guar.). Now we get him one year later for dirt cheap.
The End Is Nigh... www.infowars.com
And he keeps the $6 mil Miami gave him.
Now Ernest, show us the moves
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But not those he
(not) made last year.
I’M would like to see him what he done against us a week ago..
Costs: Gene Smith is reaaaaaaaaly smart! Hats off!
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Aug 25, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Making room for Ernest
Seems the TE spot is getting pretty crowded. Any ideas on who gets cut to make room for Wilford?
by Jags-Fan-In-Chicago on Aug 25, 2009 2:44 PM EDT reply actions
DT Jonathan Lewis waived
to make room for Wilford per Jaguars.com
In the face of adversity, what you do from then on dictates who you really are...
by JagsNguyen on Aug 25, 2009 2:48 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
glad to see we are happy with our DTs
otherwise we wouldnt have released Lewis
"I’m going to punish him. If he hits me, fine, but if I catch him, believe me, I’m going to get the better shot." - Fred Taylor
I think he had no chance...
The DTs are looked not bad so far, as (for example I) expected. Sure they are far from making me WOW, but they were not very bad either specially against Miami!
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Aug 25, 2009 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Yea & he was also injured
& actually spent all 2008 on IR.
In the face of adversity, what you do from then on dictates who you really are...
by JagsNguyen on Aug 25, 2009 4:18 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Jonathan had no chance
and now the the other Dts will have increased reps
"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Blah
I guess tall and slow is better suited for TE. I was hoping never to see any of the fearful (not fearsome) foursome Jones/Williams/Wilford/Porter supercombo again, but I can see why Gene did this. I still don’t think he makes the final 53.
by MoveThoseChains on Aug 25, 2009 3:05 PM EDT reply actions
Even if he 'MovesThoseChains" ?
Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!
Haha
I’m all for keeping him if he does that. I really hope he does, because this team does need that role filled, and now that he’s with the team, I am rooting for him.
by MoveThoseChains on Aug 25, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions
He was a beast on 3rd Down for us in '07
All Ernest did was move the chains for us that year. I remember countless times us being in a 3rd down situation and Dave throwing the ball to Wilford to convert it. Trust me on this one, Gene did the Jaguars a huge favor by signing him. Now we can have him line up as a tight end and still give our recievers an oporunity to make a reception. That is definetely a win for the offense. HOLT/WILLIAMSON/ROOKIE LEWIS/WILFORD DREW/JONES as recievers on 3rd/4th down. That’s pretty good in my book.
Porter and Wilford never played together...
But I see your point… all were horrible. Don’t forget about all the smaller named faliures at the position. Charles Sharon, J. Broussard, Chad Owens.
The End Is Nigh... www.infowars.com
I have that Broussard TD against the Titans forever seared in my memory
Because it happened again. By any of them.
by MoveThoseChains on Aug 25, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I think the most important part
is that David knows Wilford and they have had chemistry before…if Wilford makes the team and is able to become the receiving TE that we all want Lewis to be then that might open up the passing game more for Holt and company.
"I’m going to punish him. If he hits me, fine, but if I catch him, believe me, I’m going to get the better shot." - Fred Taylor
Jaguars want him as TE most likely
So Marcedes can focus on the blocking now?
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Aug 25, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions
Zach Miller and Wilford will be pass catching TEs i guess
"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
No he'll continue focusing on dropping balls.
Marcedes has had all the time in the world to get it together and he still finds a way to drop ball after ball in crunch time.
If there were any doubts or concerns about Gene
I think there isn’t any now especially for me. I love wilford and its great to have him back.
"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
I like him at TE
I didn’t like pushing out a WR draft pick, but at TE, gitter’ done. I keep waiting for TE’s to get hands, and that’s something Wilford has had for us in the past. Not much in the YAC department, but he can find, and cross, the sticks, and catch the ball. Good call.
He's a viable threat in the offense
I was always curious why he didn’t catch fire with Miami. Maybe the system there didn’t suit him, but he was always a proven commodity here in JVille. I thought we should have resigned him instead of letting him leave, but now we get him cheaper. I’m sure this signing makes a lot of fan’s happy in the south endzone. What was his fan club called anyway? I remember fan’s sitting there had a banner up for him back in those day’s.
JDR called him
‘Big E’ on the video. I’ve always been a fan of Wilford too. He was the unsung (by everyone but Jags fans) hero of 2007. Between him and the running game, they were our offense.
not unsung by knowledgable Jag fans
I think people need to understand the Jauars never cut Ernest Wilford. They simply let the market set his price and he made $6 million plus in free agancy. Ernest and the jags have always been on good terms.
The jaguar organization did not see $6 million in value and correctly stepped aside but never cut him or did anything but appreciate his contribution. The process worked very well for Ernest.
He wants to play football. I hope he is the same guy we remember and he stays healthy. Welcome back.
Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!
Jack just said
in the “Jack Del Rio Show” answering to a caller who asked about the connection between Zach Miller and Wilford:
Ernest will be here tomorrow. Zach sadly can not. It means to me Miller’s injury is an issue(even it is not season ending), and Wilford is filling in for his place
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Aug 25, 2009 6:41 PM EDT reply actions
-Puts in cd in cd player-
This sounds like disturbia (by Rhianna) but i like it.
"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
The Flavour of the Day is Turf. - Courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars
A couple of you have it right
This is all about the injury to Zach Miller. I hope it’s not IR for him but I fear it is. This secrecy about injuries in pre-season is probably necessary, but still sucks.
Great
We get back a slow receiver who has mastered one route and one route only; the five yard hitch.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
hey buddy, that five yard hitch moved the chains
Don’t discount this guy, I’ve been an avid fan since ‘05. I can’t speak for his play while he was a Dolphin, but when he was a Jag he was an good football player for the team. If he can come back and play at the level he was before leaving, mark my word’s you will all be cheering his name on Sunday. He won’t go deep but he sustains drives and catches almost everything thrown his way. Nobody is a bigger fan of him than David. He probably **** his pants when he heard he was back in town as a Jaguar. A lot of Dave’s success passing on 3rd down was the result of EW making clutch catches for him in 2007. Gene made a good move and Collin called it. Nice one bro. Gene is the man. After our struggles this last game on 3rd down conversions, this is a smart signing to improve in that area.
If He Produces
Then I’m fine with it. But only three catches last season for Miami with an over 6 million contract. Sounds like a major free agent bust to me. Now, like I say with every player on the roster: I would love for him to prove me wrong.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
That's my memory of him
So I was pretty stunned when I saw on jaguars.com that his career average yards per reception is 14.1. Again, tall and slow is fine for a TE. I just hope he can block enough too.
by MoveThoseChains on Aug 26, 2009 2:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Ernest goes to camp!!!!!!!!!!
Oh i was really upset to see him leave after 07’. We brought in Porter and let our most dependable reciever go…..Good ol’ Shack. He didnt fit in Miami’s scheme very well. Our system in 07’ was short, methodical passes that moved the chains and ate the clock up. Ernest was perfect for this. Now that David has finally realized he has to take chances and throw the ball deep from time to time, our system has somewhat changed. Now when we just need a first down, Ernest will be there. Yes he will be our pass catching tight end, who isnt afraid to get hit, and will hold on to the ball. I love Marcedes as a run blocker and because he is a Jaguar. But come on man, your like 8 feet tall and you look like a train is gonna hit you every time you hear footsteps. Ernest is a huge asset and addition to the TE position and I bet he makes the final 53!!!!!!!!!!
frankDUBZ aka Frank Silba
I see Ernest as more of a Winslow TE
not much blocking but good in traffic catches. Go to guy. David must be happy.
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