Podcast: Previewing Jags’ QBs, thoughts on McAdoo addition, and Khan’s new London comments

James and Smith preview the most important position on the Jags’ roster (quarterback) and how Ben McAdoo could help the position.

Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I jumped back in the recording booth for episode No. 2 of the “Bleav in Jags Podcast.”

This week we previewed the Jags’ quarterbacks as Gardner Minshew II and Nick Foles are set to battle for the No. 1 spot. We dove into their pending competition, when a starter could be named, who could be the favorite, and much more.

Afterward, we discussed the Jags addition of Ben McAdoo and the impact he could have in the quarterbacks room, whether it’s on Minshew, Foles, or both.

With the saga between Khan and the fans of the Jaguars still fresh on everyone’s minds, we also discussed his recent comments to via the Black News Channel, as he stated he wants to take the pressure off fans in Jacksonville with the games played in London.

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3 things to know about new Jags QBs coach Ben McAdoo

The Jags have a new quarterbacks coach in Ben McAdoo who has had quite an interesting career prior to signing.

The Jacksonville Jaguars filled another vacancy on their staff Tuesday night as former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo signed to take the team’s quarterbacks coach vacancy. With the team having an unusual season behind center in 2019, McAdoo will now be charged with getting the best out of Gardner Minshew II and Nick Foles, who will battle to start this offseason.

With McAdoo being such a key hiring for the Jags, here are three things to know about the veteran assistant who will return to coaching after a few years off:

He’s been in the league for 16 years

McAdoo initially entered the NFL as a quality controls coach in 2004 with the New Orleans Saints and has worked his way up the ranks. It was there where he met and was interviewed by current Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who he followed to San Francisco and Green Bay (where McCarthy became a head coach).

While in Green Bay as a tight ends coach (2006–11) and a quarterbacks coach (2012–13), McAdoo saw the Packers have great success including a victory in Super Bowl XLV and numerous playoff runs. However, his biggest achievement was getting to coach Aaron Rodgers for two years, who he grew a solid bond with (which we’ll bring up later).

McAdoo’s last stop before Jacksonville was with the Giants where he got his first crack at being an offensive coordinator (2014-15). In just his second year with the role, he propelled the Giants to having the sixth-highest-scoring offense in the NFL. Eli Manning also had career highs in passing attempts, completions, and touchdowns that season.

Of course, that led to the Giants promoting him to their head coaching role in 2017. Initially, he was able to have some success in his first season by aiding the team to their first playoff berth since 2011. Unfortunately after that, the wheels fell off in 2018 and he was fired but there are certainly some good achievements on his résumé.

Minshew, Foles, and Fournette all given same odds to win MVP in 2020

Three Jags on the offensive end currently have 150/1 odds to win MVP, which means a lot of work needs to be done for the team.

According to BetMGM, even the Jacksonville Jaguars’ top stars will be longshots to win the MVP award in 2020. Whether it’s quarterbacks Nick Foles or Gardner Minshew II or running back Leonard Fournette, all three were given the same exact odds of 150/1, which are the same figures future rookie selections Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert received.

After two consecutive disappointing seasons, it isn’t exactly shocking to see each of the Jags’ top stars with such low odds because the Jags have a lot of work to do around them to become postseason contenders. Both Minshew and Foles will have a battle to start this offseason, but even when that is decided, they’ll need upgrades on the offensive line, at tight end, and at receiver. The Jags’ offensive line woes also apply to Leonard Fournette as well.

As for those who topped the list, Patrick Mahomes came in with the best odds to win the annual award, with odds of 4/1. Behind him were quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson, who had odds of 5/1 and 6/1, respectively.

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Nick Foles’ wife, Tori, announces pregnancy via social media

The Foles family will be expanding by one this June!

Tori Foles, wife of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles, announced Sunday via Instagram that their family would be welcoming their second child this summer.

“Baby Foles isn’t hiding anymore!” Tori said in the photo’s caption. “Coming in June. We are so grateful and excited to give Lily a little bestie.”

 

Foles will be entering his second season with the Jags after signing the biggest free-agent contract in team history last season worth $88 million. He unfortunately sustained a broken collarbone Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs, which sidelined him until Week 11 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Foles will once again be given an opportunity to start in 2020 as he and Gardner Minshew II are set to have a battle this offseason. Both will be learning from a new offensive coordinator in Jay Gruden, who signed with the team last month after previously being the Washington Redskins’ head coach.

Gardner Minshew talks about how Jags made him comfortable in his first start

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II had arguably the best rookie campaign of any first-year quarterback from the 2019 class and a lot of his success came early in the season. Most (including himself) weren’t expecting him to have to …

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II had arguably the best rookie campaign of any first-year quarterback from the 2019 class and a lot of his success came early in the season. Most (including himself) weren’t expecting him to have to start Week 1 of the regular season, and it was even more shocking to see the success he had in his early stages.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, Minshew explained just how he put together his impressive Week 1 performance where he went 22-of-25 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He also elaborated on why he was to be successful beyond that point and it simply was due to the support of the staff around him.

“So, going in I didn’t have any reps with the first-team but I had some great people around me coaches-wise,” Minshew said. And then Nick [Foles] [helped tremendously], being able to watch him and how he prepared. In the first game, Nick goes down and I was going over [the plan] with my quarterbacks coach [Scott Milanovich] and he says, ‘All right, circle all the plays you like.’

“I feel like I was really put in a position to succeed by those guys and I cannot be more grateful for the people around me.”

While the Jags’ staff received a lot of criticism, the offensive staff actually deserves the least amount of blame because of the hand they were dealt during the first half of the season. However, John DeFilippo was still fired while Scott Milanvich took a job to be the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.

Minshew’s ability to catch on fast was something fans praised him for in the early stages of his NFL career, and with a new offensive coordinator coming into the mix in Jay Gruden, it appears he has the ability to make another quick transition. If he can make that transition, it’s hard to imagine that veteran Nick Foles could win his job back after a season where Minshew flashed multiple times and finished on a high note.

Jaguars find themselves at No. 28 spot of ESPN’s super-early power rankings

The Jags aren’t too high on ESPN’s power rankings but they at least have to options at quarterback.

The 2019 NFL season is officially over but that doesn’t mean it’s to early too start looking at next season. That’s exactly what ESPN did as soon as Super Bowl LIV ended by releasing their super-early power rankings.

Jacksonville Jaguars beat writer Mike DiRocco discussed the Jags’ outlook as they came in at the No. 28 spot. In a nutshell, he explained that one reason to be positive about the team was the fact that they have two proven quarterbacks heading into 2020, which is a problem other teams would gladly take in today’s type of league.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

2019 record: 6-10

Reason for optimism: The Jaguars have two quarterbacks who have proved they can win games in the league. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl with Philadelphia and Gardner Minshew won more games (six) than any other rookie QB in 2019. Foles struggled when coming back from a broken collarbone and got benched but has played well in long stretches before. Minshew could very well be the Jaguars’ QB of the future. Coach Doug Marrone will have to choose between the two — but that’s much better than trying to figure out ways to win games without having one reliable quarterback.

The Jags and both quarterbacks will have a new offensive coordinator after naming former Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden to the staff last month. However, for Nick Foles, it shouldn’t be an issue as he’ll be entering his ninth season.

Gardner Minshew II, who will be entering his second season, also will be ready for the change as he recently spoke out about this offseason’s upcoming competition at the Super Bowl.

“I got two and a half months right now to work my tail off to be as ready as I can be for my team,” Minshew said to Pro Football Talk. “We’ll show back up and I’m gonna try to prove I’m the best guy for my team and that I can help us win games. Anything beyond that is beyond my control.”

Once the Jags settle things behind center, they won’t necessarily be out of the clear though as either quarterback is going to need upgrades to the offensive line and some more weapons. There also needs to be upgrades at defensive tackle and linebacker.

Still, with how the league works, the key will be the quarterback position first and foremost. If either Foles or Minshew wins the job and can be a top-15 player at the position, that would be huge in improving the team in 2020.

NFL.com explains what Jags need to do to dethrone Chiefs

The Chiefs will be the AFC’s top team in 2020 and to dethrone them the Jags must have a solid offseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were the first team in the 2019 regular season to get a chance to see if they could go toe-to-toe with the AFC Champions in the Kansas City Chiefs and it wasn’t a pretty outing, to say the least. It then became clear that the Chiefs were miles ahead of the Jags and the regular season further proved that point.

Now, here we are just a few days away from the Super Bowl and the Chiefs have proven to be the force most thought. Regardless of the outcome of the Super Bowl, the Chiefs will be the team the Jags and every other AFC team will look to dethrone with their high powered offense.

NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal recently posted an article stating what each team needs to do to dethrone the Chiefs, and for the Jags, the solution comes down to moving on from the past and making some tough personnel decisions.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Get unemotional about past personnel mistakes.

Jaguars general manager David Caldwell is getting another chance to re-shape the roster after the departure of Tom Coughlin. To move forward, the team needs to make some tough choices regarding some of the moves Coughlin and Caldwell made over the last few years. They have a raft of cap-related decisions pertaining to veterans like cornerback A.J. Bouye, guard Andrew Norwell, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, wide receiver Marqise Lee, linebacker Jake Ryan and possibly even running back Leonard Fournette. The Nick Foles-Gardner Minshew QB conundrum won’t be easy to solve because of Foles’ contract, but the arrival of new coordinator Jay Gruden was a big step in the right direction. Jacksonville has prized continuity to a fault over Caldwell’s seven seasons, resulting in one campaign with more than six wins. Before Caldwell gets to spend his three top-50 draft picks in April, he needs to honestly assess what’s gone wrong.

The Jags are about $3.2 million over the cap according to Over the Cap, so Rosenthal is right about the moves they need to make to get them out of the negative. Releasing Marcell Dareus, who would free up $22.5 million, is clearly where they will need to start but they can’t stop there. They will need more cap space to address a couple of needs in free agency, pay Yannick Ngakoue and pay their rookie draft class. That said, decisions will have to be made on the other names Rosenthal mentioned.

With nine picks in both 2020 and 2021, it’s time for general manager Dave Caldwell and the front office to stop relying on free agency at the capacity they have and look for more bargains on the open market while also being precise in the draft. With Tom Coughlin out of the picture, that sounds like the path Caldwell will take this year as he told ESPN 690’s Brent Martineau that the Jags will look to be “wise” in free agency.

“I think this could be a quick flip,” Caldwell said about a turnaround. “I think if we make wise choices in free agency, and it might not be market-setters, but wise choices, then we’ll follow it up with a good draft. We have all the way up until the beginning of September to have the roster set so it’s going to be a fluid thing, but we have to make the right choices all the way up to the trade deadline and in the middle of [the regular season].”

Another key variable in taking down the Chiefs will be defensive coordinator Todd Wash. Several coordinators have figured his scheme out and Week 1’s game proved the Chiefs were amongst that group. He’s going to have to adapt and improve as a coordinator in 2020 because the Jags probably won’t have the defensive talent they did in 2017.

Gardner Minshew says he’s ready prove to the Jags that he’s the answer at QB

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II had a busy day Wednesday, making various rounds with multiple media personalities who are attending the Super Bowl in Miami. One stop included speaking with the Pro Football Talk duo of Mike Florio …

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II had a busy day Wednesday, making various rounds with multiple media personalities who are attending the Super Bowl in Miami. One stop included speaking with the Pro Football Talk duo of Mike Florio and Chris Simms.

With the Jags once again opening up the competition for a starter at quarterback this spring, the soon-to-be second year player was asked about his mindset heading into 2020. As expected, it appears he’s mentally ready for the task and will be doing his best to overtake the veteran and once again be the Jags’ No. 1 signal-caller.

“I got two and a half months right now to work my tail off to be as ready as I can be for my team,” Minshew said. “We’ll show back up and I’m gonna try to prove I’m the best guy for my team and that I can help us win games. Anything beyond that is beyond my control.”

Over the course of the next two months Minshew stated he’ll be preparing for the NFL season by training in Naples, Fla. with Ken Mastrole, who trained him for the NFL Combine last season. Afterward, he’ll be tasked with learning a new offense as Jay Gruden was named the team’s new offensive coordinator this month.

While Foles has way more experience than Minshew, many fans are actually hoping he’ll win the job and the possibility of it happening isn’t that unrealistic. He had arguably the best rookie season of any quarterback from the 2019 NFL Draft class going 285-of-470 (60.6%) for 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and six picks. He was also able to register a .500 record as a starter (6-6) after replacing Foles during the first half of the season, then replacing Week 14 and beyond.

Should Jags reach out to Bears about a Nick Foles trade?

There are a lot of coaching connections to Nick Foles in Chicago which could make them a candidate to trade the veteran to.

The Jacksonville Jaguars decided to mutually part ways with offensive coordinator John DeFilippo Monday and his departure led to more speculations about Nick Foles’ future. Ultimately, DeFilippo ended up taking a job with the Chicago Bears as a quarterbacks coach, and with the struggles of Mitch Trubisky, the Jags would be wise to see if DeFilippo wants to bring Foles to the windy city with him. 

In addition to the connection with DeFilippo, Foles has a connection with several others on the Chicago Bears’ staff, including head coach Matt Nagy, who was an offensive quality control coach for the Eagles during Foles’ rookie year in Philly.

However, it was during Foles’ time in Kansas City that the two got to establish a stronger connection as Nagy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. Back in January of last year, Nagy praised Foles who was heading toward free-agency where the Jags eventually landed him. 

The last connection worth mentioning when looking at the Bears staff is Foles’ connection with Bill Lazor, who is the Bears’ offensive coordinator. He too is a former Eagles assistant who has worked with Foles during his time in Philly (2013) as a quarterbacks coach.

Another reason the Bears could be open for a trade is because of their lack of draft picks in 2020. In exchange for taking Foles, the Jags, who are loaded with eight 2020 draft picks could offer them something within the top-100 picks. The Bears only have one selection in the top-3 rounds (pick No. 50) partly due to the Khalil Mack trade and moving up to select running back David Montgomery last season. That said, they could be swayed with a third-round selection in addition to acquiring Foles. 

The last key thing to consider is the Bears’ salary cap. Unfortunately, they only are projected to have just under $21 million in cap space, per Spotrac. However, the retiring of offensive lineman Kyle Long will help add to that as would moving on from veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara, which would save $9 million. Of course, other moves could be made as well but we’ll have to wait to see with the Bears are working with financially in the coming months. 

When looking at Foles’ 2020 salary, he has a signing bonus of $6.2 million due and a base salary of over $15 million to be made. With the signing bonus being on the team who originally signed the player (Jacksonville in this case), the Jags would still have to pay a good chunk of Foles 2020 salary if traded. That still would be better than outright releasing him, though. 

Now, we’d like to hear from you all. Should the Jags look into trading Foles to the Bears? Give us your thought in our Jags Wire forum. 

Jags given second-lowest odds to land QB Tom Brady in 2020

When March 18 arrives this offseason, fans could be glued to their favorite NFL football outlets as the 2020 free-agent class is predicted to have the strongest group of quarterbacks in history. Of course, at the top of the list will be Tom Brady, …

When March 18 arrives this offseason, fans could be glued to their favorite NFL football outlets as the 2020 free-agent class is predicted to have the strongest group of quarterbacks in history. Of course, at the top of the list will be Tom Brady, who will have the last two years voided off of his contract come mid-February.

Despite his questionable status 2020, however, many feel he’ll return to the New England Patriots when it’s all over, while a few others feel he could be snagged by another franchise. According to BetOnline, that franchise likely won’t be the Jags as they are listed with 25/1 odds to land Brady in 2020. That’s a figure tied for second-worst with the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The only team with worst odds than Jacksonville was Washington, with odds of 33/1.

With Nick Foles on their roster and carrying a dead cap hit of about $34 million and Gardner Minshew’s impressive rookie campaign in the books, it makes a lot of sense for the Jags to have such low odds in the Brady sweepstakes. Additionally, the Jags could be enticed to see Minshew with more talent around him after a rookie campaign where he made Pro Football Focus’ All-Rookie team.

If there ever was a time for the Jags to take a swing at Tom Brady, it would’ve been last season as they made Foles the highest-paid free-agent in franchise history. Then again, it’s kind of hard seeing the 42-year old wanting to play for anyone aside from the Pats, let alone a team that was coming off a five-win season at the time.