It seems like the typical cycle for Jaguar fans, and for fans of just about any other team in the National Football League this time of year.
Player X is released by team A, and a litany of people in venues from talk shows to message boards scramble to be the first to say their team must race out and sign this guy.
The latest example of this is Bob Sanders. The Indianapolis Colts announced his release, and within minutes of the first scroll, threads popped up on one of the message boards saying the Jaguars should pursue him. Others have suggested he is worth a look, and a minimal risk.
It is almost like these folks have completely abandon logic for the sake of signing a player who had some success in the league, and a name they recognized.
Bob Sanders is no doubt a player who deserved respect. When he was healthy and actually on the field, Sanders truly was a difference maker for the Colts defense. When he was injured, his presence was missed on the field, and it almost appeared to take the teeth out of their defense.
But, in 112 regular season games, Sanders was injured or missed playing time in nearly 70% of them. He managed to make it on the field 48 times between 2004 and 2010, the last 3 of those appearances spanning the entire 2009 and 2010 seasons respectively.
Sanders only managed to complete more than 10 games twice during his 7 years in Indianapolis. He played in 29 games in 2005 and 2007. That means he only managed to cobble together 19 more games over the course of the remaining 5 seasons. And this is the guy we should be pursuing?
It was suggested he could serve as a Band-Aid for the team. That would be fine if we only needed a guy to plug the hole for 4-6 games a year, and based on his history, that is a very generous suggestion.
There is no doubt Sanders is a talented player. He has proven to be the best when healthy earning the NFL defensive player of the year honors in 2007. But, in an era of ever increasing violence in the NFL, his position is particularly vulnerable to the types of injuries that have forced him to be sidelined for more than two thirds of his career in the NFL.
There is no magic cure that will suddenly transform him into an iron man capable of giving you 12-15 games a year.
The Colts recognize the fact that it is time to move on. Sometimes when a player is released, it is because he is done in the league. There is nothing left in the tank. They tried to stick with him after hinting the end was near last season. Their loyalty got them 1 game and a trip to the IR. Nothing is going to suddenly change for this guy, and for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a Band-Aid just won't do the trick this time.