NFL Notebook, Week 15: Lamar Jackson, rebuild candidates, mock draft and more

Not So Fun Under the Sun

The past decade has not been kind to the three Florida NFL teams. Since 2010, the Dolphins, Buccaneers and Jaguars have combined for two postseason appearances and four winning seasons. (Wins over Houston and Atlanta would give Tampa Bay a 9-7 record this year.)

The other side of the coin entails six collective top-three selections in the NFL Draft in that time. In fact, there was only one year when a Floridian team was not scheduled to pick in the top 10, and the Jaguars traded into it anyway when they jumped Miami at 15 by trading up from 16 to 10 eight years ago.

My point is that while it’s been rare for a Floridian team to make the playoffs, it’s quite the opposite for them to receive a high draft pick. I could go on about each team’s trends over the last decade when it comes to drafting, but let’s face it: It all ends at the same conclusion.

Florida has mediocre professional football teams.

Even the state’s premier college football teams haven’t been doing so hot. Despite a luxurious start to the decade, the Florida State Seminoles just endured their worst two-season stretch since 1975-76. Meanwhile, the Miami Hurricanes have struggled for relevance since their early-century dominance and finished 2019 with a disappointing 6-6 record.

Only the No. 9 Florida Gators, who also had some up-and-down seasons this decade, have been experiencing recent success as they prepare for the Orange Bowl versus Virginia.

Is there a reason for the state of Florida’s collective disappointment? Maybe it all stems from lofty expectations set by a population that lives and breathes football. High school football in Florida isn’t Texas-level big, but there are some heavyweights in the state, such as St. Thomas Aquinas and IMG Academy.

Maybe it’s a coincidence that five of the six biggest football organizations in Florida are all dwelling in clouds of disappointment. This might be a story I explore following the NFL season.