[Note by River City Rage, 11/06/08 4:39 PM EST ]From the department of credit where it's due: Michael Wright of the Florida Times Union broke the Peterson story. Other folks aren't giving him credit for reporting it, but I certainly will. Thanks Mike for the hard work!
What. Is. Happening. In. Jacksonville. Seriously. All I want to do is enjoy my post-election-victrory hangover and instead I'm getting bombarded with emails and phone calls about the meltodwn and destruction of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not to mention the strange turn of Big Cat Country into a political blog. Which will never, ever, ever happen again.
I don't even know where to begin.
1. The Locker Room Shuffle: Justin Durant and Daryl Smith got moved out of the "linebackers corner". Unless George Wrightster is moving from tight end to linebacker, Jack Del Rio is breaking up the cliques in the locker room. Then again, Daryl Smith was moved between Matt Jones and Jerry Porter, who really inspired confidence in the seriousness of the team with their giggling and laughing during the post-game press conference. About damn time. The play of our linebackers has been a disaster from day one. Especially Mike Peterson.
Speaking of...
2. Mike Peterson's dismissal: Long story short. Mike Peterson celebrated a sack that a: was caused by the Quarterback tripping over his linemen and b: was actually credited to Derrick Harvey. He's not been with the team, and frankly, should be cut. Mike's been a distraction with his contract and will not be with the team next season. I don't see a compelling reason to keep him on the roster if he's going to be a problem in the locker room. Cut him and move on.
3. Injuries: John Henderson and Fred Taylor are more hurt than they've let on. Henderson has an MCL issue, which might help explain some of the lousy push on the defensive line.
But let's be frank. This team is cascading toward irrelevance. Jack Del Rio is secure for obvious contractual reasons, but James Harris and the rest of the front office should probably think about updating their resumes. I'm not a "fire X" kind of fan, I know how unpredictable the NFL is and that calling for someones head won't help prepare the team for playing the Lions on Sunday. That said, a team that was playoff bound during the preseason is now on the doorstep of making NFL history. The Jagaurs could very well be the first team to lose back-to-back games against winless teams.
There's a lot to muck through here. None of it is good. If you told me three months ago that by November 5th I'd be starting to think about blowing up this team and starting over, I'd laugh in your face.
The NFL. Not. For. Long.
-Chris