The Jaguars are only responsible for the Jalen Ramsey debacle

Jalen Ramsey was quite the player the Jacksonville Jaguars were hoping to be when he placed in the top five in 2016. But now the double Pro Bowler wants to be eliminated.

It would be easy to say that his quarrel aside with Doug Marrone is the reason he asked for an exchange. The reality, however, is that the frustrations of the cornerback towards the team have been preparing for a long time. And frankly, how could they not be?

Twenty months ago, the Jaguars took part in the AFC championship against the Patriots. If it was not the case, the Jaguars would also have gone to the Super Bowl. In almost two years, everything has fallen apart.

Jacksonville has done everything possible to alienate its best players and create the disorder it currently has. Worst of all, the Jaguars are just bad. They have only won two of their last 14 games, and all of this loss has had a negative impact.

"I just want to fucking win," said Ramsey at a press conference less than 24 hours after the announcement of his exchange request. He did not say much else during his speech, a change of pace for a refreshing and honest player – sometimes to a fault – about his thoughts. This time, he did not need to clarify things, though.

The Jaguars are 0-2 and it is clear that Ramsey no longer has confidence in his ability to change things. It's hard to blame him, given the mistakes the team made by slamming its Super Bowl window.

Only one defensive player has benefited from an extension in the last 2 years

The 2017 Jacksonville season has been a success because of its elite defense. No NFL team allowed fewer points, yards, games or possession time per disc than the Jaguars that year. This defense imposed a record turnover of 33 crossings and finished with 55 bags.

Six Jaguars then took part in the Pro Bowl, all defensive: Ramsey, Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Malik Jackson, Telvin Smith, A.J. Bouye.

However, the only player who has been generously rewarded for the Jaguars' playoff run is quarterback Blake Bortles, who is subject to rotation. He signed a $ 54 million three-year contract with Jacksonville, with guarantees of $ 26.5 million, although he finished the 20th year of the passer of the 2017 season.

Not surprisingly, it exploded in the face of the Jaguars.

Bortles did not magically turn into a quarter that is worth that money. He continued to make too many interceptions and struggles when his injuries eliminated much of the offensive talent that surrounded him in 2018. He was released after the season and the Jaguars spent $ 16.5 million. dollars in salary space just so that Bortles is no longer in the team.

The important investment for the Jaguars during the 2019 offseason was again at quarterback. The team gave Nick Foles a $ 88 million, four-year, $ 50 million guarantee.

It's not the Jaguars' fault that Foles had a broken collarbone less than 10 minutes into the season. he is their fault that the overvalued contract is one of the main reasons why the salary cap space becomes low.

It was not until the end of August that a key defensive player finally got a contract. Myles Jack – a player who was not a member of the Pro Bowl sextet in 2017 – signed a $ 57 million contract over four years before the start of the 2019 season.

But between the AFC Championship race and Jack's extension, most of the dominant defense was drained of power. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson and safes Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church were all released, the defensive wing Dante Fowler Jr. was traded against the Rams and cornerback Aaron Colvin went on the attack.

Ngakoue, who collected 29.5 sacks in his first three seasons – more than any other player in his draft class – held training camp in the hope of a new contract and did not get one. . Ngakoue did not even represent half of Ramsey's mercurial personality, but expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of the negotiations.

Ramsey also expressed his desire to sign a new contract in 2019 and was told that it was not even worth asking.

This decision makes sense while Ramsey is under contract until the 2021 season, thanks to the fifth-year option of his contract with the recruits.

However, three of Ramsey's four picks in the 2016 NFL draft – Jared Goff, Carson Wentz and Ezekiel Elliott – have already signed lucrative extensions that place them among the highest paid positions in their respective positions. Meanwhile, Ramsey earns about $ 3.6 million in 2019, despite a strong argument as a half-corner NFL.

While he wanted an increase, Ramsey dismissed the idea that this was the reason for his exchange request. But he mentioned that he was happy to see Jack get an extension of contract and that he repeatedly told the media that Ngakoue deserved one.

Ramsey's dissatisfaction with Jaguars' alignment strategy is understandable, especially when the team is also terrible on the field.

Jaguars coaching lacks talent

One of the most surprising aspects of the Jacksonville defeat is the number of blanket defeats allowed by the previously dominant defense. For some reason, the Jaguars chose to play a disconcerting zone defense amount in 2018, which resulted in coverage failures.

That's also true in 2019. The Chiefs split the Jaguars in the first week, recording a total of 491 yards and 40 points due to gaping holes in Jacksonville high school.

The Jaguars' defense has too many veterans to make those kinds of mistakes, but it's also worth wondering why the team is playing this way. The success of Jacksonville in 2017 was no secret: he had twisted the teams in the front and blocked receivers with a pair of leading cornerback.

Ramsey is fed up with the team not coming back on what made it awesome in the first place:

Two decisions by head coach Doug Marrone on the 13 to 12 loss of the Jaguars against the Texans were called into question after the start of the match, opposing 0-2. The Jaguars chose not to follow Gardner Minshew's momentum, removing the ball from quarterback in a final conversion attempt. Marrone also chose to ignore Ramsey's demands for a challenge earlier in the game.

The latter caused an explosion on the sideline.

It is certainly as if the moment was the straw that broke the camel's back. If the Jaguars were still winning and dominating on the defensive, the quarrels would have been swept away, if that happened at all. Unfortunately, nearly two years of bad choice on the part of the Jaguars have led the molehill to quickly become a mountain.

The situation should not be resolved ASAP

This saga probably ends when Ramsey is traded. Jaguars are would have asked for two first round picksand there is a good chance they'll get it – or at least something close to it.

Meanwhile, Ramsey will continue to play football well. He said it during his press conference, and it is in his interest to continue to prove that it is worth a costly investment.

For now, it's a good situation for Jaguars. Ramsey's team-mates seem to be in the back, he says he's determined to help the team win, and if the Jaguars choose to trade him, his value will be just as high after the season as it is during the current season. .

Perhaps the Jaguars are making significant changes to the coaching staff and the front office before an exchange happens. It's no exaggeration to think that Jaguars can not win. And maybe a new diet would make Ramsey stay. Reconciliation is probably a long shot at this stage, though. In any case, there is no reason for the Jaguars to unload their best player while he helps them in the present.

Again, it's hard to trust the Jaguars to handle the situation otherwise than badly. Their complicated decision making has put them in this mess and it probably will not come out.