Gregg Williams out in J-Ville

Smootsmack:

I have heard similar rumblings about Del Rio and Tice. Here is what would give me pause if I owned the Jags...


Mike Tice has a nickname around all of the NFL. His nickname is "Meathead". Do you really want a head coach who is known far and wide as "Meathead"?


We shall see...

I watched the Jags/Colts game tonight. Since I had no particular favorite in the game - - other than the fact that I love to watch the way P. Manning operates in the pocket - - I decided to focus on the Jags defense to see what it said about Gregg Williams.

Here is my conclusion - after watching the game and then watching the second half over again on tape:

Either Gregg Williams completely changed his defensive philosophy or...

Gregg Williams does not have the personnel to run the defense he ran here in DC or ...

Gregg Williams has been told what the defensive scheme has to be and his job is to call the defenses play-to-play.


The Jags played zone blitz a lot; that was a rarity here in Washington.

The Jags sold out to stop the run against a Colt team that is much more dangerous passing than running. The Williams' defense here seemed to focus on trying to take away an opponent's strength and not to accentuate its weaknesses.

When Manning completed his first 16 passes in the game, the defensive coverage didn't really change at all. Manning wound up something like 29 for 34 and about 350 yards for the game. The Jags never adjusted. That is not a typical game for "Gregg Williams' defense."

I do not know what is going on in Jax but that team definitely needs a bunch of changes. There is a lot more talent there than their record would indicate - - particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

As I said elsewhere, Jax is a financially strapped franchise. Because the Skins had to pay off Williams this year, his hiring in Jax as defensive coordinator was essentially a "freebie" to them. Maybe they hired him just as a caretaker?

I tried to watch GW's defense as well. Didn't get to analyze it much, but I don't know that it's so much the game plan/scheme, or just that the team morale is low & they lack on field leadership. The Jags this year are earily similar in their fortunes as the Skins of 06, they even have the same D coordinator.

GW looks a bit fatter & older, this season must've worn him down. If Blache retires (which really could be quite possible) I wonder if it would be possible to get GW here. It seems he could work w/Zorn, but would danny & vinny bring him & would he come back after all that's been said & done?

freddyg12:

I think Gregg Williams will be hired back here on the same day that Marty Schottenheimer takes over as head coach once again.

I don't think those bridges are merely burnt; I suspect they have been nuked.

The winds of change blow in Jags country.

ESPN - James Harris resigns as Jacksonville Jaguars personnel head (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3789799)

He should have been the HC here. I think he learned from Gibbs on how to manage players, he was quoted in an interview a couple of years back explaining how he had learned. I don't know if he would have kept Saunders as the O.C., but if he had, Collins would have been the starting QB and the offense probobly would have resembled how it was at the end of last season. Maybe even better in the redzone with Saunders calling 100% of the plays.

I would bet you're right about Collins; however, with Collins near retirement we'd have seen JC starting within a couple of years... except this time he'd be a master of Saunders offense having watched Collins run it close up. (I figured at the time Saunders would be retained because I thought he and Williams had a lot of respect for each other). Alas, it was never meant to be and I'm past it. Under Zorn JC has the best possible shot of becoming an elite QB IMO and if they make this WCO thing work we're gonna fly.