Bill Polian has long been regarded as one of the NFL’s premier team architects, and rightfully so.
The Indianapolis Colts President’s accomplishments with his current franchise alone are remarkable, but not to be forgotten from Polian’s illustrious career are overseeing a Buffalo Bills team that went to four consecutive Super Bowls and building the Carolina Panthers into a NFC finalist in the organization’s second year of existence.
At this point, it’s pretty clear that Polian is arguably the best NFL executive of his generation and a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However, recent historyย within the Colts’ division, the AFC South, shows thatย Polian might very well have a challenger in the near future or perhaps the present, whether the rest of the sports world realizes it or not.
His name is Gene Smith, the first general manager in Jacksonville Jaguars history. His first-place team will beย on displayย Sunday when the Jaguars attempt toย clinch their first division title since 1999 in a huge matchup with the Colts at Lucasย Oil Stadium.
By Drew Allen
Smith has been with the Jaguars as longย as they have been a franchise, working primarily as aย scout before being promoted to GMย following the 2008 season. Since then, the Monroeville, Ohio native has quietly assembledย a talented young roster through two drafts, particularly his first in April 2009. In fact, one might argue his 2008 and 2009 drafts haveย bested those of Polian.
Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Well, let’sย examine this a little more closely.
Each ofย Jacksonville’s first five picksย in theย 2009 draft (offensive tackles Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, cornerback Derek Cox and wide receiver Mike Thomas) are regular starters when healthy.
Monroe and Britton have excelled for the Jags at left and right tackle, respectively, bolstering the long-established run-first offense the team employs and helpingย running back Maurice Jones-Drew earn his first (and likely second) Pro Bowl selection. Knighton, who started all 16 gamesย in 2009, hasย anchored Jacksonville’s defensive line, plugging up rushing holes and adding a pass-rushing element to his game withย four sacks this season. Cox, like Knighton, started all 16 games asย a rookie and has been a terrific complement to veteran Rashean Mathis. Thomas hasย amassed 649ย receiving yards in 2010 and has beenย reliable at a positionย that hasn’t traditionally been good to the Jags.
While theย Colts found three quality starters themselves in theย same draftย (cornerback Jerraud Powers, wide receiver Austin Collie and punterย Pat McAfee), their draft asย a whole didn’t turn out quite as successful. The team’sย first two picks, running back Donald Brown and defensive tackle Fili Moala,ย haveย been up-and-down in their first two seasonsย andย have only started whenย teammates higher on the depth chart have been injured.ย Sixth-round pick Curtis Painter was draftedย mainly to back up Peyton Manning, but he has beenย largely unimpressiveย in the limited action he has seen, both at the end of the 2009 regular season and in the 2010 preseason. The twoย other selections in the class, defensive tackle Terrance Taylor and offensive tackle Jaimie Thomas,ย have been released by the club.
Have to chalk 2009 up to Smith and the Jaguars when comparing their draft to that of Polianย and the Colts. Fast-forward a year…
Smith turned heads last April when he made California defensive tackle Tyson Alualu the 10th overall pick in the 2010 draft, causing many analysts to accuse the Jaguars of reaching for a late first-round talent in the top 10. However, Alualu has silenced his critics and proven himself worthy ofย his draft position,ย having started all 13ย games and nearly matching his counterpart Knighton withย 3.5 sacks from the interior of the defensive line. We’ve heardย all about the “Williams Wall” in Minnesota; it’s lookingย like we might have to come up withย a catchy nickname for the Knight0n-Alualuย duo in Jacksonvilleย really soon.
As forย the Colts, Polian nailed his second-round selection ofย linebacker Pat Angerer, but theย executive himself has questioned the payoff of his first-round investment of defensive end Jerry Hughes to this point. While Hughesย is playing behind two Pro Bowl pass-rushers in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis andย probably wasn’t expected to be a major contributer right away, it seems the Colts wouldย have liked for him to crack theย rotationย moreย thus farย into 2010.ย Analysts point outย Indy’s offensive line, which has been a trainwreck this season, and mentionย Rodger Saffold, the St. Louis Rams’ rookie left tackle and second-round pick (who played college football at Indiana, nonetheless). While Hughesย still could develop into a playmaker for the Colts down the road, it sure seems like Saffold would haveย beenย a better option for anย immediate impactย in a position of need, whichย Indy certainly needs as Manning continues to age.
There’s no questioningย Polian’s legacyย or his greatness in evaluating talent. Many have questioned his decisionsย only to look like fools (see James, Edgerrin). However, his picks in recent years haven’tย reflected his history, particularlyย his selections ofย offensive linemen (Thomas, tackle Tony Ugoh, guards Mike Pollak, Steve Justice and Jamey Richard). Granted, Smith’s had much more favorable draft positions, selectingย in theย top halves of rounds while Polianย and the Colts have been stuck near the bottom. However, the productionย doesn’t lie; Smith’s picks have been producing consistently, andย only a handful of Polian’s picks in the same time span have done so as well. Could we be seeing the emergence of a new premier football mind?
We mightย get some answers Sunday.
