In the crazy, topsy-turvy world of the NFL, sometimes fans just need someone to talk to. So once a week Mag senior writer David Fleming will exchange emails with one lucky (we think) reader. If you'd like to have an email exchange with Flem, click here and pour your pigskin heart out. Go ahead, Flem's listening. And be sure to check out the weekly Flem File on Page 2 tomorrow and every Wednesday.
Dear Flem: I really need to get some stuff about the Jaguars off my chest. These may seem like the ramblings of an insane person, but whatever, I really need to voice my opinion. Can you help me?
— Brian Stone from Kings Bay, Georgia
FLEM: Go ahead, Brian, I'm listening. Why don't you start from the beginning.
BRIAN: The first Jags game I ever went to (You can Google it) was on December 8, 2002. They were playing the Browns when Tim Couch was starting (huge laugh here). With one second left, Couch threw a 50-yard bomb to Quincy Morgan, and the Browns won 21-20. I did not attend a Jags game for the next two years.
FLEM: Well, you and lots of other people. What are your thoughts on the giant tarps at the stadium? Why don't more fans show up? My guess: the beach. Honestly, I love football but if you said you can go to the beach for free or a football game for $500, I'd take the beach most times. Any idea?
BRIAN: I think the reason they don't come to the games is because they realized that Mark Brunell isn't there anymore, so when the Jags fall behind in the fourth quarter, everyone can just go to bed instead of having to endure an agonizing 45-minute ride back to the house.
FLEM: Regarding this year, I hate to say this, but the Jags really were on the doorstep and then, like, a week before the season, they lost four or five of their top seven linemen. I normally don't let teams use injuries as an excuse (look what Bill Belichick did in New England), but the Jags lost their mojo when this happened, and when they couldn't run the ball, well, that was all she wrote.
BRIAN: It's enough that we're Indy's light-weight opponent every season, but now we're getting stomped by the Titans AND the Texans? Looks like we'll be sitting in the cellar for a while here in Jacksonville.
FLEM: I don't think so. I think they'll be back in the mix next year, mainly because they didn't panic, fire everyone and start over for no good reason. That's not to say they don't need to upgrade, where should they start?
BRIAN: Jacksonville needs a decent wide receiver that doesn't waste our cap space (Jerry Porter) or do illegal things and get caught (Matt Jones).
FLEM: Good call. I have yet to see Matt Jones get open and make a catch in anything other than mismatched coverage. He's like an NBA shooter who can't create his own shot.
BRIAN: Why trade Marcus Stroud? The move made absolutely no sense, and they traded him to Buffalo for a pick they had no clue would work out or not. Everyone knew that Stroud puts up at least decent stats every year, and nobody thought that Rob Meier would be an every down type of guy. Not only that, but look who they got from the pick: Derrick Harvey. Wow! What a huge factor he's been all year.
FLEM: Letting Marcus Stroud go was the right thing to do. He's too old and banged up for the kind of long-term money needed to keep him. Stroud's still a good player, but that was a good, tough decision the Jags made.
BRIAN: Then there's Gerald Sensabaugh. I think he has let up the biggest plays on defense all year. The Jags must have the worst negotiating skills out of any team in the league. We always seem to pick up the guys who just had an average year last year; (Porter, Hugh Douglas, I can go on.) I think we are only second to the Raiders in that department.
FLEM: You don't want your team mentioned in the same sentence as the Raiders in any situation. Okay, so this will probably run right before New Years, why don't you give me some resolutions for the Jags in 2009.
BRIAN: So if I type up some resolutions, you'll put it on espnthemag.com?
FLEM: Yeah, um, that's kinda the point of this whole thing.
BRIAN:
10) Get a GM that can recognize talent.
9) Get a wide receiver that is quick and has decent catching skills. (I hear T.J. Houshmandzadeh from Cincinnati will be a free agent).
8) Get an offensive line with some depth. Their whole offensive line was hurt this year. I understand that. But seriously, get some backups that are sufficient.
7) Secondary. Build it around guys like Reggie Nelson and Rashean Mathis, and get those guys some help.
6) Draft a young quarterback. Remember, they passed on Brady Quinn twice last year, and in 2004 picked Reggie Williams over Ben Roethlisberger. How's that worked out so far?
FLEM: Passing up Quinn twice counts as two very good moves, in my mind.
BRIAN:
5) Get a good Defensive Coordinator. It became quite obvious why Mike Smith got a head coaching job and why Gregg Williams didn't.
4) Get a tight end that can catch. Marcedes Lewis drops everything that's thrown to him in the red zone, WHERE IT COUNTS.
3) Get a new punter. Pretty self-explanatory.
2) Get a clear cut set of leaders in their locker room. Mike Peterson disrupted the entire season with his backtalk towards Jack Del Rio. There needs to be someone who tells Peterson when to shut his mouth.
1) Hire scouts that previously/currently work(ed) for the Steelers. It's clear we need to rebuild the D, and who better to scout players than the guys who built Pittsburgh's current shut-'em-down attack?
FLEM: Good call there. The Steelers scouting staff is second to none. How good are they? They're so good they made Bill Cowher the hottest coaching prospect in the game right now.
BRIAN: But in reality, we will probably end up signing Junior Seau or someone else way, way past their prime. Just like it happens every year.
In case you missed it: Flem chats with a tortured Bills fan.