Jaguars Gab

Jags Add Free Agent Safety Pierson Prioleau

Matt Loede — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:04:00 +0000

The Jags have added veteran free agent safety Pierson Prioleau to the roster, signing him Wednesday and releasing QB Lester Ricard. Prioleau has spent 10 years in the leauge, the last three with the Redskins. Last season he played in 15 games, startng four and finishing the year with 38 tackles. He has also spent time with the 49′ers, and Bills. He comes to the Jags and will be back with former Skins and now Jags defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. He will also give the Jags some depth at the safety spot.

Jags get a C+ in the Draft Says Yahoo Sports

Matt Loede — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:26:29 +0000

Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports has graded the draft, and the Jags in his eyes have earned a C+. Here is the breakdown:

Picks: DE Derrick Harvey, DE Quentin Groves, LB Thomas Williams, CB Trae Williams, RB Chauncey Washington
Positives: Harvey and Groves
Negatives: Gave away took many draft picks.
Bottom line: C+. This is not a criticism of the players the Jaguars took. Harvey is one of the most dynamic pass rushers in the draft, capable of playing both outside and inside. He’s going to be a force. Groves is only a step or two behind. However, how quickly will these guys make it? The Jags are in position to compete for a title and there’s a good argument that they could have nabbed Dolphins DE Jason Taylor with some of those picks. It’s a pretty good bet that Taylor will have more sacks over the next two years than either Harvey or Groves. Maybe more than them combined.

Jags Were in Trade Talks with Fins for Taylor; Ended Up with Harvey Instead

Jesse Rios — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:24:01 +0000

Edgar Thompson, of The Palm Beach Post, reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars would not budge to trade their first round pick in this past weekend’s draft for the rights to the Miami Dolphins’ Jason Taylor. The Jaguars were at best offering a third round pick. Instead of obtaining Taylor, the Jags completed a blockbuster trade with the Ravens in order to move up to the 8th pick overall in the draft to select Florida DE Derrick Harvey. Harvey played like a monster at Florida and now will be reunited with his former coach, Jags defensive line coach Ted Monachino. The Canadian Press reported Monachino called Harvey a faster and bigger version of Baltimore Ravens DE Terrell Suggs.

Furthermore, The Times Union reported that the VP of Player Personel for the Jaguars, James “Shack” Harris, said on the pick, “In Harvey, we add an every-down end that has a quick first step. He has some pass-rush history with 11 sacks as a junior. This year, because Florida lost so many linemen, he was getting doubled a lot, and he still had 8.5sacks.”

Harvey said on getting picked by the Jaguars, “I was watching the draft with my family, and I saw the Jacksonville Jaguars come up, and I was like, ‘Oh, Jacksonville.’ I kind of figured they were going to pick me because they needed a defensive end.”

The Washington Post reported on their area-native’s happiness during the time of his pick when he was on the phone with Jags HC Jack Del Rio. “Coach, can you hold on a second so I can hear them call my name?” And Del Rio let him sink in the moment of cheers, screams, hugs and tears.

Jaguars Select DE Derrick Harvey With The Eighth Pick

Matt Loede — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:12:28 +0000

Jags Move Up and Grab DE Harvey with the 8th Pick

Matt Loede — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:19:00 +0000

The Jags had to give up an awful lot to do it, but in the end, they felt that highly about DE Derrick Harvey of Florida that they made the move with the Ravens to move up to the 8 spot to take him. Harvey is 6-foot-4, and 271 pounds, and last season at Florida had 8.5 sacks with 49 tackles and 17 tackles for losses. Some think that the pick is a stretch, and considering the team gave up two #3 picks and a #4 pick to get him, he had better live up to the hype for a defense that needs to get better to hang around in the AFC South.

Here is a scouting report on Harvey from NFLdraftcountdown.com

Strengths:
Excellent athleticism…Good size with long arms and the frame to get bigger…Has a great motor…Very quick with a great first step…Plays faster than he times and has a burst to close…Great instincts and awareness…Has terrific range and does a good job in pursuit…Does a solid job against the run…Has decent strength and power…Offers some versatility…Plays with a nasty demeanor…Awfully productive.

Weaknesses:
Lacks elite speed…Could stand to bulk up a bit…Needs to add some more moves to his pass rush repertoire..Can get overpowered at the point of attack..Will have to improve his hand use…Struggles to shed blocks once massive offensive tackles are able to lock on…Must do a much better job of protecting his lower extremities.

Notes:
Was a 5-Star recruit coming out of high school…Redshirted in ‘04 and saw limited action as a backup in 2005…Started five games as a sophomore while playing in a rotation…Recorded 3 sacks against Ohio St. and was named Defensive MVP of the ‘07 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game…Only started 18 college games…Is not quite as fast or athletic as Jarvis Moss but might be a better pro prospect…A prototypical 43 defensive end and might be able to play outside linebacker in a 34 scheme as well..One of the premier pass rushers available for the 2008 NFL Draft.

Where Does the Taylor to Jags Trade Stand?

Jesse Rios — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:54:59 +0000

Edgar Thompson, of The Palm Beach Post, reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars may not be interested in trading too much for Miami Dolphins DE Jason Taylor. As of now, a draft day trade doesn’t seem in the plans if the Jaguars are wanting to trade any of their second day picks. The Miami Dolphins and Bill Parcells know Taylor’s talent. Parcells has said he’s not trading Taylor, and Taylor’s expressed mixed feelings. All in all, Taylor hits 34 in September, and the defensive end still plays like an All-Pro worth a late Jags first round pick.

Del Rio said on the possibility of a trade with the Dolphins, “In the history of our league, rarely are talented players that still have a lot to offer, rarely are teams willing to part with those players.”

A reason why the Jaguars might not trade their first or second+ round pick for Taylor could be for the same reason that the Jaguars didn’t go after former Chiefs DE Jared Allen. Thompson reported that Jags HC Jack Del Rio cited that he wouldn’t want to take on that player and deal because it will disrupt team chemistry. Allen, now in Minnesota, gets $31 million guaranteed for his new contract with the Vikings.

Del Rio said on trading and paying for Allen, “You’re talking about making him the highest-paid guy in the history of the franchise. What message are you sending to your locker room in terms of the type of people you’re rewarding?”

Jaguars Release S Lamont Thompson

Jesse Rios — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:21:55 +0000

The Jaguars released S Lamont Thompson yesterday after re-signing S Gerald Sensabaugh last week. The move to release Thompson comes as a surprise as the Jaguars have been attempting to bolster their secondary in this offseason. And with the Jags opting not to re-sign S Sammy Knight earlier this year, and the recent release of Thompson, it looks like the Jags will add a safety in this month’s NFL Draft. The three safeties remaining on the Jaguars roster are Reggie Nelson, Gerald Sensabaugh and Jamaal Fudge. Thompson, like Knight, was with the Jaguars for only one season. But Thompson played only three games totaling 10 tackles and just missed out on the chance to replace Knight this season. Expect the 2002 second round draft pick to be receiving a call to play NFL Football in 2008.

2008 Regular Season Schedule: Jacksonville Jaguars

Jesse Rios — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:45:10 +0000

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2008 Regular Season Schedule was released today at 2 PM. The game times below are listed in Eastern Time:

WEEK 1 1:00PM Sunday, Sept. 7 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
WEEK 2 1:00PM Sunday, Sept. 14 Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 3 1:00PM Sunday, Sept. 21 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
WEEK 4 1:00PM Sunday, Sept. 28 Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 5 8:15PM Sunday, Oct. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 6 4:05PM Sunday, Oct. 12 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos
WEEK 7 BYE
WEEK 8 4:05PM Sunday, Oct. 26 Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 9 1:00PM Sunday, Nov. 2 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cincinnati Bengals
WEEK 10 1:00PM Sunday, Nov. 9 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Detroit Lions
WEEK 11 12:00PM Sunday, Nov. 16 Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts
WEEK 12 8:15PM Sunday, Nov. 23 Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 13 8:30PM Monday, Dec. 1 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans
WEEK 14 1:00PM Sunday, Dec. 7 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Chicago Bears
WEEK 15 12:00PM Sunday, Dec. 14 Green Bay Packers @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 16 8:15PM Thursday, Dec. 18 Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars
WEEK 17 12:00PM Sunday, Dec. 28 Jacksonville Jaguars @ Baltimore Ravens

Jags Re-Sign S Sensabaugh

Jesse Rios — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:46:27 +0000

The Jaguars are working to add depth to their secondary before the upcoming NFL Draft. In that effort, S Gerald Sensabaugh, out of North Carolina, signed a tender offer with the Jags last Tuesday. Sensabaugh was a restricted free agent and is now entering his fourth season with the team after being drafted in the fifth round in 2005. He has started 11 games for the Jaguars. In playing 34 games, Sensabaugh has totaled 86 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble and recovery, and 17 special teams tackles. Sensabaugh was placed on the injured reserve in mid-September after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 2.

Done Deal; Garrard Gets Seven-Year, $60 Mil Deal

Matt Loede — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:32:17 +0000

The Jags must have some serious confidence in QB David Garrard, as today they made it official, giving him a seven-year deal worth $60 million. “I pretty much had to say, ‘Let’s go ahead and wrap it up. I’m done,”’ Garrard said. “It’s too much stress on me and my family. My wife was done five weeks ago. She’s already been on board with everything. We just kept working on it and I finally just said, ‘You know what, I’d rather be happy now, have the city happy now, have the team, the organization, the owner happy now than trying to string something out having everybody on edge.”

The deal that Garrard was looking for was similar to that of Cowboys QB Tony Romo, who got a six-year, $67.5 million dollar deal back last season. Garrard completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,509 yards and 18 touchdowns last year after he was given the starting job when the team decided to let former starter Byron Leftwich go. Garrard threw just three picks all year, and wrapped up the year with a QB rating of 102.2

When you look at what transpired and how David responded, I think that’s what’s most impressive,” caoch Jack Del Rio said. “A lot of people may have gotten down, gotten down on themselves, gotten bitter at me for the decision. Any number of things could have taken place that would have led to a different outcome. What you see is a young man that persevered, ultimately a coach that saw something, took a shot with him, and now we’re together here for the foreseeable future here in Jacksonville, and tied together and hungry for more.”

Garrard has been with the Jags since 2002, when he was the teams fourth-round pick. He has played in 40 career games, throwing for 6052 yards and 26 touchdowns and 16 picks. He’s got a career QB rating of 87.7.