Jimmy Smith losing Job?

[Guttpuppy]

This can't be right, he's always been reliable.

Jimmy Smith has been the biggest part of the Jaguars' passing game since the second season in team history, but Smith finished a preseason littered with dropped passes with, yet, another drop and Del Rio addressed the matter in his postgame press conference.

“You saw what you saw. It wasn't a reaction to the play,” Del Rio said when asked if the dropped pass prompted the coach to take Smith out of the game, “but he did drop it. He's had too many drops. We expect him to catch it. For anybody on the roster, you've got to produce.

“It's not an ultimatum,” Del Rio added. “We're in the production business. Now that our roster is stronger, we may rotate guys more freely.”

http://www.jaguars.com/story/4616.asp

[emteesee]

I'll go out on a limb here and say Matt Jones outperforms Smith this year. They like the kid too much. He gets down the field just as quickly and presents a 6'6" target with "brilliant" hands (how the organization describes him). I think they want to give him a shot this year not next, and Smith is giving them the excuse they need. Plus Jones is hard to bring down in the open field.

Wide receiver sleeper of the year imo.

[skibrett15]

haha. No way. If that happens (injury aside) I'd do anything you asked. Smith is their best receiver and will have another productive year despite his age.

[cordscords]

i read that before i drafted today. took him in the 7th with my flex spot. not concerned.

[benm3218]

well, if for whatever reason he is not performing, it is not unbelievable to think he would not get played as much.

It is also a fact that he has dropped a significant number of passes. I think it is only smart to notice these things and take note, not just blindly ignore them and choose to pretend all is the same.

I certainly don't mean this sarcasticly or irritatingly. Just am making the point, that you cannot ignore the facts.

[emteesee]

When I said out on a limb I meant it. Just a sleeper pick, nothing more. No disrespect to Jimmy, he's been a solid FF receiver for years.

I agree though that you can't ignore the facts. Jimmy had 10 drops last year and has struggled this preseason. The Jags are committed to trying different things on offense due to a poor offensive output last year. Add to that the guy's 36 years old. Not 31, or 33 - he's 36. The fact that people have called him out to underperform for a couple of years now doesn't mean it won't happen forever. If not this year than next imo.

Odds are still good he has a great season, but you can't deny it's a ripe situation for a changing of the guard.

[Ricky_Christ]

I think this is most likely his last big year, but I feel very confident about his consistency/potential this season. Any time a wideout is dropping too many balls, of course you're going to hear about it. But Smith is a talented veteran, I believe he'll get you your FPTs over the stretch.

[bagobonez]

I'll go out on a limb here and say Matt Jones outperforms Smith this year. They like the kid too much. He gets down the field just as quickly and presents a 6'6" target with "brilliant" hands (how the organization describes him). I think they want to give him a shot this year not next, and Smith is giving them the excuse they need. Plus Jones is hard to bring down in the open field.

Wide receiver sleeper of the year imo.

I'd say you're going out on a twig, not a limb. I don't see what the hype is about Jones. Sure, he's got great measurables, but there are dozens of guys who have great measurables that never amount to anything. He's never played the position in his life, yet he's supposed to know how to run crisp routes and set up experienced veteran defensive backs?

He's not draft worthy in my opinion. Not this year at least.

[emteesee]

All right, a twig. I disagree about him not being worth drafting, although I would try to get him 12th round plus. I picked him up off WW and I think he'll sit on my bench for quite awhile. If he doesn't ever break out I'll drop him during the season.

I think a T.E. with W.R. speed is hard to ignore. The biggest thing that makes me think he may be worth a pick is that they ran a Moss-type lob it up corner route to him in the endzone a lot in the Senior Bowl practices and a lot in Jaguars practices. He caught a similar pass in a preseason game. He's got a 40 inch vert and is at least 6 inches taller than most CB's. I could see him getting isolated wide and catching a few T.D. passes from the 5 - 20 yard line.

[skibrett15]

somebody who catches "a few" Tds isn't really worth drafting if thats what you expect of him.