In their brief history the Jaguars have provided their fans with many memorable moments. The run to and through the playoffs in 1996 started a streak that culminated in 1999 with a 14-2 record and a second trip to the AFC Championship Game. During that run the Jaguars were 41-12. Not bad for a five year old franchise. Then the salary cap caught up with the Jags and the next five years yielded a 33-47 record. 

For the last five years the Jaguars appear to be attached to a yo-yo. A 5-11 season in 2004 was followed by a 12-4 season in 2005. Then 2006 ended with an 8-8 season. Then in 2007 the Jaguars again returned to the playoffs with an 11-5 season. That season included two wins over the Steelers at Pittsburgh and a playoff win. Hope for 2008 included the promise of a potential Super Bowl trip. Instead the Jags fell to 5-11 and the recently bright future for this team looks amazingly bleak.

Its times like this when I think of one of Joe Paterno's favorite quotes. "Your never as good as you look nor as bad as you look." The Jaguars were obviously not a Super Bowl caliber team and I suspect they are not as bad as most people feel they are right now.

The key this off season is for the Jaguar leadership to gauge exactly where they are over rated and exactly where they are not as bad as they looked. The answers are not as obvious as they appear.