Very rarely does a franchise’s decision not to draft a singular player determine its fate.
However, we are currently in the midst of one of these instances. The Jacksonville Jaguars, in a series of monumentally bizarre quarterback decisions may have sealed their fate as a former NFL franchise.
First off, when given the opportunity to do so, the Jaguars passed on Tim Tebow in the 2010 draft, instead opting to stay with incumbent QB David Garrard and draft a quarterback in the 2011 draft, which turned out to be Missouri rookie Blaine Gabbert.
Prior to the start of the 2011 season, in a risky move, Jacksonville made the decision to release Garrard outright, putting the reins in the hands of Blaine Gabbert in 2011. The Jaguars have struggled mightily to produce on offense, leading to today’s firing of long-time, dead-man-walking head coach Jack Del Rio.
Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, rolling off win after win behind the leadership of Tim Tebow, as ugly and unconventional as that leadership may be.
With a new multi-million dollar facility in the works in Los Angeles, the future of many of the league’s underperforming small-market teams is hanging in the balance, and the Jaguars are certainly no exception.
The NFL is all about finances and the bottom-line, and Jacksonville had a wonderful opportunity to bolster its regional fan base in 2010 by drafting Tim Tebow and giving him the opportunity to become the face of its franchise, and they chose not to do so.
Watching the Jacksonville-Houston game on Sunday afternoon, it was obvious that there were a large number of empty seats– a number made even larger given that there were large sponsorship placards covering up several sections of stands throughout the stadium.
Poor fan attendance is more often than not a direct reflection of a team’s lack of success both on the field and in the front office. Will these failures, including the decision not to draft Tim Tebow in 2010, lead to the end of the Jaguars franchise?
Will Jacksonville somehow continue to hang by a thread even though fan support seems to be waning with every passing year?
Time will tell.
Either way Los Angeles will have an NFL expansion franchise soon, and a move from Jacksonville is definitely an option that will be considered.
Technorati Tags: denver broncos, jack del rio, jacksonville jaguars, NFL, pro football, tim tebow
Original Story:
http://www.fanattic.net/football/was-...
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November 30, 2011
