The Jaguars have released 33-year old WR Torry Holt, 35-year old OT Tra Thomas and 32-year old DT Rob Meier.  Holt only played one year with the Jaguars and he wasn’t the answer to their ongoing problems at WR.  He played in 15 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 51 passes for 722 yards (14.2 avg) but oddly enough he didn’t have any TD grabs.  OT Tra Thomas played in 8 games (3 starts) last season for the Jaguars who have decided to go young at tackle.  DT Rob Meier didn’t play at all last season for the Jags.  He played in 138 games in his career with the Jaguars and he finished up with 228 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 21.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.  The Jaguars did the right thing in getting rid of these guys who just didn’t look like they could help the team much in 2010.

The Jaguars picked 9 players in last April’s NFL Draft and 8 of them helped the team in 2009.  It all started in the first round when the Jaguars selected OT Eugene Monroe (#8 overall) out of Virginia.  He played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Jaguars in 2009.  Monroe will team with 2nd round pick Eben Britton (#39 overall) out of Arizona to give the Jaguars a nice foundation for the O-Line for a long time.  OT Britton played in 15 games (all starts) as a rookie last season for the Jaguars.  DT Terrance Knighton (3rd round, #73 overall) out of Temple had a solid rookie year for the Jaguars.  Knighton played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last season and he finished up with 45 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  CB Derek Cox (3rd round, #73 overall) out of William & Mary stepped right in for the Jags and played well as a rookie.  He played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last season and he made 72 tackles, defensed 11 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  WR Mike Thomas (4th round, #107 overall) out of Arizona stepped right in as the Jaguars #3 receiver last season and he could be moving up the depth chart for 2010.  Thomas played in 14 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 48 passes for 453 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 12 times for 86 yards (7.2 ypc) for the Jags last season.  WR Jarrett Dillard (5th round, #144 overall) out of Rice was solid for the Jags before he got injured.  He played in 7 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 6 passes for 106 yards (17.7 avg).  TE Zach Miller (6th round, #180 overall) out of Nebraska-Omaha really stepped up late last season and he could start in 2010 for the Jaguars.  Miller played in 14 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 21 passes for 212 yards (10.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards last year.  RB Rashad Jennings (7th round, #250 overall) out of Liberty really stepped up as Maurice Jones-Drew’s backup in 2009.  He played in 15 games for the Jaguars last season and he carried the ball 39 times for 202 yards (5.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 16 passes for 101 yards (6.3 avg) last season.  WR Tiquan Underwood (7th round, #253 overall) out of Rutgers played in 3 games (0 starts) last season for the Jags and he didn’t catch any passes.

GRADE FOR 2009:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+

I have a gut feeling that the Jaguars are going to draft QB Tim Tebow out of Florida in the first round of the NFL Draft next April.  Even if the Jaguars do draft Tebow I think they should keep David Garrard around for at least one more year as the starter.  Garrard played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last season and he completed 292 of 477 passes (61.2%) for 3,395 yards with 13 TD passes and 9 INTs (84.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 72 times for 283 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs in 2009.  Garrard has now played in 72 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,170 of 1,915 passes (61.1%) for 13,269 yards with 66 TD passes and 39 INTs (84.9 QB Rating).  Garrard has also carried the ball 314 times for 1,467 yards (4.7 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his career.  I don’t see Garrard being a back-up so he would have to go if the Jaguars decide to rebuild.

28-year old Luke McCown is a solid back-up.  He played in only 3 games for the Jaguars last season and he completed 1 of 3 passes (33.3%) for 2 yards without a TD pass or a pickoff (42.4 QB Rating).  McCown has now played in 15 games in his NFL career and he has completed 143 of 241 passes (59.3%) for 1,619 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 INTs (74.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for 157 yards (7.5 ypc) in his career.  If forced into duty I think McCown would do a decent job for the Jaguars.

This game wasn’t as close as the final score shows as the Jags scored on the last play of the game.  David Garrard was so-so in this game completing 22 of 39 passes for 202 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 40 yards (8.0 ypc) in this game.  Maurice Jones-Drew led the way for the Jaguars on the ground in this game with 82 yards on 16 carries (5.1 ypc).  Rashad Jennings pitched in with 3 carries for 9 yards (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 31 yards (10.3 avg).  Rookie TE Zach Miller (8 rec, 69 yards, 2 TDs) and rookie WR Mike Thomas (7 rec, 65 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Jaguars in Cleveland.  The Jaguars finished up with 328 total yards on offense (131 rushing, 197 passing) in this game.

The defense got pushed around by the Browns who were determined to run the football at that they did.  LB Daryl Smith (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Anthony Smith (9 tackles) led the way for the Jags on D yesterday.  Rookie DT Terrance Knighton finished the season strong with 5 tackles and 4 tackles for a loss against the Browns.  The Browns finished up with 300 total yards (214 rushing, 86 passing) in this game.  The Jaguars finished this season with a 7-9 record finishing last in the AFC South.

It’s amazing to me that the Jaguars still have a chance to make the playoffs with a win tomorrow and a lot of help from other teams.  The Jaguars are spinning out of control having lost three games in a row.  The Jaguars have not won a game in temperatures under 28 degrees since the 1994 season so they are behind the 8-ball already heading into Sunday’s showdown with a Browns’ team that is on a three game winning streak.  The Jaguars will rely heavily on Maurice Jones-Drew against a Browns’ D that is allowing 145.5 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  If the Jaguars are effective in getting the running game going then David Garrard will have the time needed to make some plays down the field against the Browns who are allowing 247.9 yards passing per game.

On defense the Jaguars will have to gang up on running back Jerome Harrison who has rushed for 434 yards over the last two weeks.  If the Jaguars can stop the Browns running game then they can force them to throw the ball then they can force Derek Anderson into making some mistakes which he is very good at.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 21, JAGUARS 20