Did Jacksonville Waste Their Draft?
Prior to the 2010 NFL Draft, there was a lot of speculation about the Jacksonville Jaguars possibly drafting University of Florida QB Tim Tebow. Instead he was selected by the Denver Broncos. Jacksonville was at one point thought to be actively pursuing Tebow in the draft and at one point this off season even polled the season ticket holders to see if drafting the Florida quarterback would be a good idea. The fans that pay the bills said no.
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Instead of selecting Tebow at #10, Jacksonville selected Hawaii native, Tyson Alualu in perhaps one of the biggest reaches of this years draft.
I came across a blog post written by Kristi Dosh, of Forbes magazine writing under the column, inside the business of sports. Ms. Dosh wrote a post called The Tebow Effect, so of course I had to continue reading. Just reading her bio created strike one for me, she’s an attorney. As a Florida State Seminole Fan, strike two came right in the first paragraph of the blog, stating she went to law school in Gainesville. Ms Dosh is obviously knowledgeable about baseball having written a book about the game, but she has a problem grasping the game of football in the NFL.
She starts her blog post out with the usual blue and orange pom pom waiving Tim Tebow is the greatest college football player of all-time and don’t you doubt it litany. Yeah. Yeah. Then she starts into why the Jaguars should have drafted Tebow and this is where I think she misses the boat in her argument.
Yes, Ms Dosh is correct in here statement that Tebow jerseys flew off the shelves in April. Be careful if you buy one, you might catch on fire. What Kristi tries to ram home, is that Jacksonville should have drafted Tebow to improve the lackluster attendance and merchandise sales.
Jaguars season ticket holders already said no to Tebow in a vote. Would a few folks from Gainesville make the trip over to Jacksonville if Tebow were playing, definitely, but Tebow is not ready to start a game under center in the NFL yet, and might not be for a few years. Dosh seems to think that with a wave of a magical wand of her college hero, the seats in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium will somehow fill with fans- helping the struggling Jaguars. Not so much. And for the merchandise revenue, it’s all shared in the NFL, all that money on jersey sales would not go directly to Jacksonville.
In regards to her prediction that a home game against the Denver Broncos on September 12th will see the 67,000 seat stadium sold out? Please. The Jaguars had 7 of 8 home games blacked out last season, the only sell out? The final home game of the year against the then 13-0 Indianapolis Colts.
Jacksonville made the right decision not selecting Tebow at #10, though the same can’t be said about the selection of Alualu.
Smiley Deal Done, Hayward Crawls Back
The Jacksonville Jaguars completed their trade for Miami Dolphin OG Justin Smiley. The trade was predicated on Smiley passing his team physical which he obviously did. A player passing a physical is normally not a big deal, but given Smiley’s history of shoulder injuries, his passing was not a given. He has started 73 games in 6 seasons, but shoulder injuries caused him to be released first by the San Francisco and then traded by the Dolphins.
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Jaguars DE Reggie Hayward returned to the practice field Tuesday, after recovering from a broken fibula. Hayward told the media that he had serious doubts about returning to the field. “You’re always scared that you might not make it back. That’s always the question. Right now I’m doing a good job of answering them,” Heyward told reporters. Hayward is hoping to make it back on the field when the Jaguars start their season against Denver in September. Other than the broken fibula, Hayward has suffered a torn Achilles tendon.
Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio has told OG Vince Manuwai shape up, both with play on the field as well as his waist line.
Jaguars’ Mathis absent from OTA’s
Jacksonville Jaguars CB Rashean Mathis is absent from OTA but no one seems to care. Mathis had a big payday when he signed his contract, and just like several other players in the league, wants a new one.
Someone’s buying Jaguars tickets
With the Jacksonville Jaguars suffering the worst attendance in the league, at least someone is buying tickets, the state’s Republican party. Florida is undergoing a bitter fight for an open U.S. Senate seat between Governor Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio (R) and Kendrick Meek (D). Rubio was leading sitting governor Crist by double digits before Christ decided to run as an independent.
The Florida GOP underwent an audit of campaign finances and it was revealed that the party had spent 12,000 dollars on Jaguars tickets which were documented in American Express receipts. The spending habits of the party have been reviewed by multiple Florida newspapers since the results of the audit were announced.
On the receipts were also 5100.00 spent for a New York Yankees suite. The Jaguars do hold the distinction as being the only pro football team in Florida that tickets were purchased for, Tampa and Miami were left out.
This is a common practice by both political parties but at least someone is buying Jaguar tickets.
Jaguars McCown looking sharp in camp
Media participants to the Jacksonville Jaguars mini-camp this past weekend reported that QB Luke McCown looked crisp in his workout. McCown has had a history of looking sharp in practice but not taking his game to the next level on the field for gametime. Prior to joining the Jaguars, McCown was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he filled in for a few spot starts in the 2007 season for the Bucs and looked brilliant at times but simply baffled at others.
However, if the Jags don’t make a run for Denver Broncos QB Brady Quinn and David Garrard struggles early in the season, don’t rule out the possibility of McCown starting a few games.
