Who is the Jaguars right tackle of the future?
by Adam Stites on Sep 29, 2011 6:41 PM EDT
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Jacksonville Jaguars Del Rio says Eben Britton will continue his role at left guard.
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Following Wednesday's practice Jack Del Rio said Eben Britton will continue as left guard, although he primarily took reps at right tackle while Eugene Monroe nursed a shoulder injury. Guy Whimper filled in at left tackle for Monroe.
It appears as though the Jaguars are content to have Britton continue his role at LG and it has nothing to do with the back injury that held him out of their week one game. So, as Alfie pointed out on Twitter, the question bears asking: is Britton replacing Rackley because of Rackley's poor play or is Whimper outperforming Britton? Probably a combination of both.
It seems obvious that the Jaguars would be looking to find the best offensive line combination they can. Between Rackley's early struggles and Whimper's strong performance so far as a pass blocker, Britton to LG makes sense. But if Britton settles into his role as LG well what will the Jaguars line look like in the future?
The ideal situation for the Jaguars would be for Rackley to continue to improve and eventually take over for Meester at center. If not, they could also have Rackley take over at right guard and move Nwaneri to center. But that leaves the right tackle position.
At 28, Guy Whimper is young enough to be a starter for the Jaguars for the foreseeable future, but the Jaguars could go with other options. Undrafted rookie Cameron Bradfield was very impressive in preseason and could grow into a starting role. Or the Jaguars could address offensive tackle again in the draft or free agency.
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I envision this in 2012
LT: Monroe
LG: Britton
C: Rackley
RG: Uche
RT: Whimper
Alex Gordon is really good
Blaine Gabbert is really good
MJD is really good
Never forget Matt Treanor
by tiquanunderwear on Sep 29, 2011 6:43 PM EDT reply actions
I'm smelling a renegotiation for Britton
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Hmmmmm
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by tiquanunderwear on Sep 29, 2011 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Britton is a 2nd round pick on his rookie contract
At this point he has been paid any signing bonus and is playing for yearly min salaries. What is there to renegotiate?
by cathousecrazy on Sep 29, 2011 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions
he's due $750K next season... as a tackle
guards typically get paid less.
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There's absolutely no way
You tell a guy in his last season to take a pay cut when he’s due $750K. He would just say, “No. Cut me if you don’t want to pay me.” He would get a contract much bigger than $750K somewhere else.
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he's going to want to re-up next year, right?
getting pushed inside kinda kills any leverage, dontcha think?
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It definitely hurts him
But he wont get that new contract until the 2013 offseason, I don’t think. We’ll see if that’s even with the Jaguars.
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Come on Fish
get your facts straight first. Even on our own team we had 3 guards being paid more than 3 mil. .75 is chump change.
sorry, I'm in fiscal year end mode. (Govt. worker) Forgive me
trying to cut money where we can.
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it would offset the $5M you owe JDR
zing!
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Counting Meester out?
He seems like the same player he’s always been, I suspect there are a few more years in the tank.
Can Garrard play QB?
I still smell a comeback
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apparently not good enough to warrant being on a roster in 2011
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Really??
Garrard had a passer rating of 90 last year and set the franchise record in TD passes, I’m sure half the league would kill for their QB to play like that.
and they are. Any takers out there?
(cough cough) (crickets chirping)
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It never ends
"HULU: An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy"
Real fans don’t need a reason.
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by TheTealDeal on Sep 29, 2011 11:00 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think he has probably had some interest
Thought you hit it on the head regarding his uncertainty about his future and unwillingness to be a stop-gap.
I can tell you he is significantly better than Dan Orlovsky who the Colts signed, or Brodie Croyle, who also worked out recently for them. There are plenty of teams that would grab him as a back-up, and maybe a handful that might be interested in him as a potential starter, but I doubt he wants to have a competition.
Hard to argue that Jackson or Whitehurst in Seattle are better players. That is a long way from home for a family man with a kid on the way though
LOL
Franchise record for TDs…that never gets old. Look at our franchise’s history of QBs. As has been pointed out many, many times, Garrards “record” for TDs s good for like 15th most in the NFL last year.
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Thats true
But its also true that his TD percentage was near the top of the league
So you actually can’t dismiss it so easily
Could be medical
With Garrads back issues it may due he can not pass the physical and/or not wanting to risk permanent damage.
I like Britton as a guard
even though he was drafted as a bookend tackle, whatever it doesn’t always work the way you thought it will. He’s a road grader suited for the middle. Rackley is a rookie from Lehigh who is adjusting to the NFL, I expected him to take some time. Who would have thought that Whimper would have become so solid? I remember Giants fans mocking us before the game last year about him.
Britton has looked like a guard since we drafted him
He isn’t a good enough pass blocker to play tackle. I would normally say he struggles with speed, but this season, he just hasn’t been very reliable; he was beaten by Charles Johnson (an end) on Greg Hardy’s sack/safety, and it was on a power move. Rookie DT Terrell McClain gave him fits throughout most of the first half. He was a bit better in the 2nd half, but he still had some issues. Wilkerson was destroying him in the Jets game when they were matched up.
He is better than Rackley right now, but he isn’t as fluid and I doubt he holds him on the bench after a year in an NFL offseason program. There are other candidates to be unseated in Nwaneri and Meester, but Meester has played well since last year and Nwaneri looks a little better. He hasn’t lived up to that contract, but he is a solid guy.
The lineup next year depends entirely on how much Rackley develops, because we don’t have a star on the offensive line. Monroe could be on the way though, he played well outside of those penalties, and Gabbert ran right into Johnson on the sack. Depending on Bradfield and Estes, the team may need a lineman again sooner than any of us would like.
I think Britton is still getting back into football shape, because he seems to lack some of his old power right now. I think he will be a good guard for us if he can get a bit stronger, but he will never fix his lateral agility to the point that he can be more than adequate at tackle.
quite a few really good tackles have been beaten by Johnson
He didn’t get that contract just based on his looks.
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No doubt
But theoretically, at guard he should be able to hold his ground on an inside move by an end, given that there is less space to attack. I’d almost feel better if he whiffed, but has had issues with power thus far.
And I felt like I made it clear that the issue went well beyond Charles Johnson, who is an excellent player (though Monroe did a nice job against him); McClain was a serious problem for the Jags last week. Now, it is also possible that the Panthers found themselves a player there, and I am inclined to believe that they did, but Britton struggled man. I mean he had some real issues.
I also said I think he will play better, but still, he needs to play better.
I think Jack is right in that he has a nasty temperament and he can finish blocks, but he needs to be more consistent. If he isn’t, then like I said, we better hope our young, unheralded backups can man-up next season, or we are going to be looking for starters on the line in the next two drafts/free agency period.
That is assuming that Rackley and Monroe pan out: We can upgrade over Uche. Meester is gonna begin to decline soon. Whimper is a temporary fix, at best, and he has just been OK. Britton has to solidify something on the line.
We are gonna need a new tackle regardless. And a receiver. And an end. And a corner.
Wilkerson was matched up against Rackley in the Jets game...Britton didn't play guard at all in that one
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by CaliforniaJag on Sep 30, 2011 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Britton played TE
And he saw Wilkerson 3 or 4 times. If you won’t take my word for it, I can fire up the replay site and give you the times and quarters, but I am telling you, I was at the game and Wilkerson doesn’t stick to one side.
Rackley was matched up on Devito and probably Pouha more than once, and he may have Pitoitua also
So no, that is not the case. Wilkerson is a rush end at 5-technique, and the Jets line him up wider than most guys who play that spot to take advantage of his ability to get after the QB
I should say "TE"
I know it was a tackle eligible situation
7:11 2nd quarter (Britton is beaten down the line and Wilkerson makes the tackle)
Last play, 2nd quarter (Britton stones him on the back side)
10:45 3rd quarter (Britton is beaten to the designed point – based on Jones’ lead – but MJD cuts it back for 10)
That’s three matchups, but honestly after checking out the Jags offensive plays, I am mostly struck by how well the line played, including Rackley. Wilkerson made 3 nice stops in the game, but other than that, he wasn’t much of a factor.
So I should've said
That Wilkerson destroyed him once in 3 plays. Guess it resonated more in person
But Rackley didn't see Wilkerson all that much
And he stuck it to him in the run game, aside from a play when Monroe lets him go and Rackley runs past him
So being that our O-line hasn't been horrific so far
this is a good problem, right? Granted, I can think of two sacks that could have come in more convenient parts of the field…
I'd like to hear about Rackleys play this year
Just haven’t had the opportunity to take more than a superficial look. Anyone want to fill me in?
Alfie has mentioned his struggles a few times
And he has at times, as he doesn’t have the strength to finish guys yet and has made some mental mistakes in protection and at least one big failure to adjust on a running play against the Jets.
But he does do a good job working to the second level, and he has played pretty well given the jump in competition. I don’t know that there is a huge drop-off between Britton and Rackley right now, but Britton is stronger, has more experience, and is probably going to be better as the season wears on because he is really just getting back to full-contact and that makes a big difference.
I think Rackley has played well enough to show the team they made the right move drafting him when they did. He hasn’t been bad, but he isn’t one of the five (or more appropriately, three, given his position) best guys on the line yet.
I remember in preseason against Kyle Williams there were a few plays where he was able to hold him off and make his block (a pleasant surprise), but he also got rag dolled twice. He had trouble with Wilkerson in the Jets game, but so did Britton and Whimper.
As I mentioned earlier
Britton really needs to work back into shape, because based on Rackley’s display thus far and the way he played against Carolina, they are both liabilities right now.
Very well summarized
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by Adam Stites on Sep 30, 2011 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions
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