wco81 wrote:Bingo_AlphaMan wrote:Ray_Dogg wrote:
He’s shown to be ineffective at that position as well. I think there are more productive players than him at 75% of our dline spots. Meaning...Buckner, Armstead, Mitchell, Jones and Blair. Run stuffing is gonna be Mitchell and Jones > Thomas. Pass rushing DT is gonna be Buckner and Armstead > Thomas. Armstead beats him on length alone as a DT. Getting those long arms up in the passing lane.
Blair > Thomas at big end.
This leaves LEO and Marsh. Marsh is so awful they really should just put Thomas there. It’s the only spot on the line where I feel he’d be an upgrade over what we have. Then Thomas needs to work on shredding and agility. Him bulking up has done nothing but make him even stiffer.
I think we should go hard after Dante Fowler Jr. when he becomes a free agent.
Hmm, UFA after this year. Doesn't he get a 5th year option?
In any event, he'll be 25 next August. So I would think if the Jags don't re-sign him to a big deal, they'd just tag him.
The Jags declined his '19 option.
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He was arrested in March '16 on charges of an assault on an officer/EMT in Miami Beach but charges were later dropped after a completion of a pretrial diversion program.
His play in '16 steadily declined by all measures after trying to come back from the ACL tear and was disciplined/benched at times for a string of unnecessary roughness/unsportsmanlike penalties the year he came back and scolded for a handful of offside penalties which were deemed "stupid" penalties by coaches and teammates.
The next off-season their DC, Todd Walsh, was interviewed and credited him for "maturing a lot" and being more focused on football details. That was on June 19th. Not one month later, on July 18th, he was arrested on misdemeanor charges of simple battery and mischief for getting out of his car, hitting a man, knocking off his glasses, and stepping on them. He also was accused of taking the man's groceries and throwing them into a lake after said man criticized Fowler's driving.
Later that day it was revealed that Fowler had been issued at LEAST 10 traffic tickets dating back to December '15. An investigation revealed he once was caught driving 98 MPH in a 55 zone and another citation was for careless driving, causing $1,500 in property damage.
Weeks later, training camp opened. More disciplinary issues with Fowler. He was ordered to run laps for slapping the ball out of Chad Henne's hand and was sent to the sideline during a joint practice after committing a bad face-mask penalty and "getting into it with the Patriots."
Then it was revealed he would, in fact, be charged with 3 misdemeanors for the aforementioned issue. He ended up pleading no contest to "simple battery and mischief charges" for the incident and was sentenced to probation and community service.
He graded out across the board as one of the worst DEs in football that year despite 8 sacks.
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He sat out the entire '18 off-season program with an upper body injury.
He was then suspended in July for the opener for the stomping incident.
One month later in August, he and Ramsey were suspended one week of practice for fighting and a violation of team rules.
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He's played limited snaps after the week 1 suspension but has finally put some good grades together it appears but in limited time. He's played in only 62 snaps this season (50 passing, 11 run).
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Maybe he finally puts everything together but you're really taking on a lot with him.
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And I'll admit. Pre-draft I was into his ability and the on-field package. I liked him a fair bit. I didn't love the fit he got and I didn't advocate for him as high as he went but I liked parts to his game.
I wouldn't be a big advocate for him any more now after all the trouble and chances he's gotten.
There's NO WAY the Jaguars tag him any more regardless of ALMOST anything he does this season barring one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history IMO. Up until a couple weeks ago, it seemed as if it was a virtual certainty he was headed out the door and there'd be a divorce after this season, according to every single report I've been able to find to read.
If he finally strings something together maybe they'll revisit it, and maybe he'd be willing to rehab his image in Jacksonville since they are the ones most familiar with him, but he's got a LONG ways to go before too many people should get too excited about him IMO.
Who was trashing 
