by Fred Seely
Staff Writer
Where does Wayne Weaver think the Jaguars, Tim Tebow and the National Football League will be next year?
In order: winning, playing quarterback and playing.
Again, in order, as the Jaguars owner talked Wednesday morning to the Rotary Club of Riverside at the stadium:
• “We are an ascending team. We have one of the league’s youngest teams and last year’s disappointment (losing the last four games to miss the play-offs) could have been the result of the long, grueling season. They weren’t used to that. Now, they’ve had another year, and we have a 3-4 year window that should produce a winning team. If we all just do our jobs, wouldn’t it be great to stand here with one of those big gaudy (Super Bowl) rings.”
• Tebow “will be playing quarterback in the NFL next year, though it may take 2-3 years before he’s ready to start.” Will he be with the Jaguars? “We rate all the players at every position and put them on what we call a ‘value board.’ If he’s at the top of the board when we choose, we take him. In his case, we might fudge a little and take him if he’s close.” Then Weaver said, “The question you need to ask is ‘Where is he on your value board?’ Well, no answer this morning.”
• The NFL still doesn’t have a labor agreement with the players for 2011, leading to speculation that the season might be canceled. “I think we’ll be playing,” said Weaver. “There are a lot of reasonable people involved. They know that losing a season doesn’t help anyone.”
Weaver also said the Jaguars might trade down from their 10th place in the upcoming draft in order to get additional selections.
“The draft sets up well for us because there’s depth at the places where we need players,” he said. “We don’t have a second-round pick (traded away last year) and we’ll listen to anyone who wants the 10th place if they come up with an attractive offer, maybe a 15-16 spot and another pick.”
About 70 Rotarians and their guests made the club’s annual off-site visit and also heard Jaguars Senior Vice President Tim Connolly announce a “Teal Deal” coupon book that will go to all season ticket holders.
“There’s over $2,000 in value, and the coupons are to places that you want to go,” he said.
The book will be formally announced next week and will be sent to ticket holders in June. The coupons include restaurants, fitness centers, golf courses and clothing stores.
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