OFFSEASON MOVES YOU MISSED: JACKSONVILLE HOARDS RECEIVERS

by Zac, Throwing Into Traffic

Quick, without looking name the top three quarterback ratings in the league last year. The order goes Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and David Garrard. That’s right, David Garrard, the same guy who once held clipboards for Jacksonville Fats Leftwich, had the third best statistical year among starting quarterbacks, better than Manning, Romo, or Favre. What makes all of this even more interesting is that while each of the three quarterbacks he finished in front of have at least one premier receiving target (Greg Jennings is that guy for the Packers, old heads). Garrard, on the other hand, was throwing to Reggie Williams (who?), Dennis Northcutt (WHO?), and Matt Jones (who makes me so sad I felt the need to write an emo essay about it). Clearly, if they were going to make the best use of their newfound aerial weapon, the Jags were going to have to get a receiver to help out.

Of course, this is still a Jack Del Rio offense, which means two things:

1. Leather jackets are fashion forward.

2. There’s no way any money is going into getting a real receiver.

So instead of picking up a legitimate number one target, the Jaguars did something that, much like the rest of their offense, may be revolutionary in its apparent refusal to evolve: They’ve stockpiled receivers who, thanks largely to their own mediocrity up to this point, are faceless targets. Jerry Porter and Troy Williamson both signed with the team this offseason, creating what on paper looks to be a diet vanilla brand of receiving. But the funny thing is that this just might work (eventually, it won’t feel so weird to write that about Jack Del Rio coaching stratagems). Take a look at that starting lineup of wideouts. Reggie Williams, a big, fast receiver, is obviously the number one guy; he’s had the most experience and success in the offense. Alone, that’s not keeping a defense honest against the pass (from laughing at the idea of Reggie Williams as a downfield threat). Still, when you add to that mix Jerry Porter, a mid-sized target with well known downfield speed, at the two spot, and Troy Williamson, another burner, at the slot, things get more interesting. Marcedes Williams, a 6’7” tight end who’s entering his third year in the league after progressing nicely over the last two, is also in the mix as a target. Essentially, you’ve got an offense with absolutely no elite receiving threats, but four top rate number two receivers with astounding physical abilities. If Matt Jones doesn’t go on his usual six month period during football season next year, that number becomes five. Didn’t realize that? It’s ok, these Del Rio ideas tend to sneak up on people. Sometimes consistently looking like a clean shaven Geico caveman has its perks.

The experiment, of course, will be to see whether or not it sneaks up on defenses next year. Calling Garrard a game manager is the new saying a black athlete has “instincts” while a white athlete is “a scrappy worker”; deep down everybody knows he’s got the goods. So if Del Rio can stay committed to having a top flight ground game (a term that makes the Jaguars running offense sound much more fun than it is…watching Jaguars games is akin to watching footage of Chinese water torture…which I think is actually a game show in Asia…), defenses might find themselves forced into a gamble that they never had to worry about last season: Which one of those very, very fast 40 yard dashes do you ask a linebacker to cover?

Even more interesting is the fact that every one of these receivers has been asked to be a number one target (Lewis aside), and each has failed miserably at it. It’s a collection of lost souls in the land that time and deodorant forgot (if you don’t get that, book a flight to Jacksonville…ha, gotcha, Jacksonville hasn’t discovered flight yet). And while each of these men hasn’t been able to beat elite corners, odds are good that one or two of them won’t have to anymore. If these guys come out with the kind of chip on their shoulder that only a number one receiver cast away like he means nothing can have (cough…RANDY MOSS…cough), I’m not sure there’s a defense in the league that has the size or speed to match up with them across the board. Furthermore, after such miserable failure on other teams, these guys have to be willing to step into a number two role to dominate opponents, right?

Right?

And that’s just it. The big question mark isn’t on these guys’ physical abilities, but rather on their ability to get beyond the physical abilities they know they have. As a group of top-billing divas with freakish athletic gifts, this pass attack fails miserably. As a faceless mob that Garrard can sift through and use at will, hitting any receiver he wants whenever there’s an opening, this thing is deadly. No middle ground available with this squad. Maybe that’s what makes it so interesting: this thing is either fireworks or the Hindenburg, but either way there are going to be open flames all over. All I know is this: If Jack Del Rio makes this work, those suits he wears on the sideline are going to look a lot less silly on him.

Okay, that’s a lie, but it’ll still be pretty cool if it works.