Well, the 2017 Season is over and it went better than almost anyone could have imagined. We went from 3-13 and picking in the top 5 year after year, to being edged out in the AFC Championship by the Patriots. The Jags are now one of the top teams in the League, and the off-season tasking looks to be quite different than the past.
Management - The Shad Khan/Tom Coughlin/Dave Caldwell triumvirate seemed to work without a hitch. There was never the slightest hint of friction during the year. Management that is unhappy with the GM and/or scouting make changes after the draft, and the Jags made no changes in that area.
Coaching - Jags choice of Doug Marrone seems to have worked out almost perfectly. The Jags kept both offensive and defensive coordinators last season during last years purge. And both seem to have had much success. The DC, Todd Wash got voted as Coordinator of the year by other NFL Coaches. I hope when everything is evaluated, I hope an honest look at coaching is done also. There seemed to be 4 or 5 coaching related things that occurred during the AFC Championship that seemed to contribute to the defeat.
First, getting a delay of game after a time-out. It cost us a crucial first down as we were driving at the end of the first half and turned the ball over to Pats who scored a TD. This issue raises it's head fairly often so it needs to be addressed. Second, we may have the best man coverage corner duo in the league, yet often we go into soft zone coverage which always seems to burn us. Corner AJ Bouye commented on this after the loss. Third - We have a speedy back in Corey Grant. The Patriots seemed to be confused on how to cover him, and then he never got called on again. Fourth, the offense seemed to go conservative/predictable in the second half which led to their being almost completely shut down. Fifth - One of Bortles main attributes is his ability to run for gains. In the Championship, he never ran once.
And two of those points leads us to the biggest question of next season.
Quarterback - Turns out Blake Bortles is a pretty decent QB after all. In 4 years, he's had 3 different OC's. With Nate Hackett now staying on, it appears Bortles will finally get stability in that area. The question is, however, is "pretty decent" good enough, or do the Jags need to look to improve? Almost everyone assumes that backup Chad Henne will be gone.
While we're on this topic let's address the salary cap. Jags are finally spending a lot of money. By no means are they up against the cap, but they can't be big spenders in Free Agency this year unless something big happens. Let's say for example, they can't go after Cousins, unless a big contract like Bortles goes.
I get the feeling Blake is well liked by the team and coaching staff for his hard work, and toughness. But I also get the feeling that part of the reason for the conservative, predictable offense in the second half was a mild distrust of Blake. Blake is also not the most accurate passer in the world.
So the QB question will be the main topic of the off-season.
Wide-Receivers - We have a lot of them and a lot of questions. DeDe Westbrook and Keelan Cole would seem to be locks, because they are young, fast and cheap. I assume the Jags would like to re-sign Allen Robinson who is a Free Agent and coming off ACL surgery. The question will be for how much? If he signs most people think one of Allen Hurns or Marquis Lee will not be back. (i'd probably choose Lee to go)
RB- Almost no one expects Chris Ivory to be Jag next year. He is expensive and redundant. If the pick up anyone it's probably a late rounder.
Offensive Line - Caldwell and Marrone kept saying the OL was better than people thought and turns out they were right. I still kind of expect a 2nd or 3rd round road grader to appear in the draft.
Tight End - This is the position most mock drafts have us addressing. Marcedes Lewis is getting old, current tight ends were serviceable but not standouts.
Defense - We might lose Aaron Colvin (Safety) as a Free Agent. He want to be a corner and corner is covered here. Most people think our too defensive need is a speedy linebacker to replace Paul Posluszny.
So that's where we stand. Schedule looks very tough next year.