Jacksonville Jaguars: An Open Letter to Wayne Weaver

Dear Mr. Weaver:

As a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and a writer who covers them on a daily basis, I am torn between my love of your team and the direction it has taken in the past nine seasons, most notably under the direction of your head coach and the two general managers, Shack Harris and now Gene Smith.

Please understand my words are harsh and my feelings are hurt. I am hoping you could shed light on what is happening within the organization to make me understand why things are as bad as they are.

We started this season with a lockout and questions about how the draft would be affected, and then the staff surprises everyone by selecting Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert with the 10th pick, a shrewd move and one most of the fan base thought would improve this team for the future.

Then, you kept your promise and stockpiled the team on the defensive side of the ball with players like safety Dawan Landry and linebackers Paul Posluszny and Clint Sessions. The additions of defensive linemen John Crick and Matt Roth and Jets defensive backs Drew Coleman and Dwight Lowery have been great.

But they also haven't put wins on the scoreboard.

Where was the help at receiver? Do you really think Mike Thomas is the answer? Jason Hill has caught two touchdowns in as many games, but he is average as best.

Where is the vaunted tight end, Marcedes Lewis? Why isn't he being used in your passing attack? What about Cecil Shorts, a rookie receiver who caught everything in the preseason but has only been a factor on special teams?

Why wasn't a receiver or two or three added to this roster, at least for competition?

Mr. Weaver, I ask you these questions because you are the owner. All decisions are under your signature and effectively, you are signing the paychecks. You have the ultimate power. But wait, there is more.

I am concerned about the running game and Maurice Jones-Drew. How he is being held to a carry count and when the game is close or on the line, he has been on the sideline while Deji Karim has been in the game.

I am not trying to disrespect Mr. Karim at all, but MJD is the one people pay money to see. When the game is one the line, we as fans want to see the best players on the field.

And while we are on the subject of offense, have you looked at our output lately? I know you said last week that everyone within the organization would be taken a look at, but are you looking at yourself as well? You let David Garrard go for reasons described as the popular quarterback not being able to come back from back issues and he looked poor in the preseason.

Was this a knee-jerk reaction? Last time I looked, our rookie looked lost on the field and after the Pittsburgh game, I am not sure the 22-year old gives us the best chance to win. I mean, that is what we are trying to do, right?

Could it be, that with games like a 16-10 loss to Carolina, a 30-20 loss to Cincinnati and a 17-13 loss to Pittsburgh, David Garrard would have won these games, because he has veteran experience and well, he knows something this team is short on: clock management. There does not seem to be a sense of urgency with this club. That is what is killing the team right now.

I am sure you would agree.

And finally, Mr. Weaver, I have to ask about the state of the team. We have a weak fan base and small market to promote this team. We have a team that is sinking and a coach who is about to be relieved of his duties.

Will we be able to fill the stands for the Monday Night Football game without having to ask a business like Winn Dixie or Wal-Mart or Budweiser to buy the tickets so everyone can see it on television?

There are a lot of issues with the team and I know you have your finger on the pulse of your brand, but the last thing we as fans want to see is you give coach Jack Del Rio another year to coach or allow general manager Gene Smith to draft an all-small school team for us in 2012.

We need top players on offense. We need better play on the offensive line because our tackles, Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, have not lived up to the hype. We need to see you and the organization make better decisions.

And we need them now. Because each day the problem exists, the harder it becomes to fix and all that does is lead to a thinning fan base.

Thanks for your time.

Best

David M. Levin