By: David Levin (@davidlevin71)

If we as fans have learned anything about the Jaguars during their OTAs is that this team has rookie head coach Gus Bradley’s stamp all over it.

From the moment mini-camp was opened for rookies and we hear the intensity in his voice or saw the encouragement he gave players during practice drills and stretching exercises, I became a fan of not only the team, but also the coach.

Maybe it is the Rah-Rah intensity that continues (yes, I talked about this before) to resound around the community. Whether it is people with Jaguars stickers on their cars or t-shirts sold at area sports stores, we are all buying into the Kool Aid.

OTAs are complete until next week, giving players and coaches a chance to rest a bit. But it also gives us fans a chance to soak in everything that has happened the last two weeks. We have seen rookies impress us with their speed. We have seen roster moves that shocked us (Montell Owens being cut). We have heard about two quarterbacks who are neck and neck in a battle for a starting job. We have seen a veteran signed to help on the back line (Marcus Trufant) and We have seen the neophyte franchise raid the New England Patriots of two starters on the defensive line last season.

That’s a lot of work in such a short amount of time. It certainly looks like Bradley has a particular way of doing things, which has the seal of approval of both the general manager and team owner. But most of all, the veterans who are still on the roster are buying into it as well.

And so are we.

If the changes we have heard about take place; Denard Robinson playing running back, Tyson Alualu moving to defensive end, Andre Branch being used in the hybrid “LEO” position and Lonnie Pryor having a shot to start at fullback, then this team should be improved over last season, if not be better than last year.

Yes, there is a difference.

Now, the best thing for this team is to come back next week and get right at it again. Maybe we see some more changes-for the better- and some things may shock us. But whatever happens, we all need to take the approach there will be improvement, and with it, we see more of our new head coach’s stamp of approval.

It should be our stamp of approval as well.

By: David Levin (@davidlevin71)

The greatest thing defensive-mind head coach Gus Bradley can hope for with his Jacksonville Jaguars is players stepping forward to “take” a spot in the starting lineup.

With new faces all over the defense and a new coordinator in Bob Babich, there is plenty of room to make a lasting impression.

One of the positions the team will be looking to fill is the “LEO” position, which was part of the defense Bradley made successful in Seattle. Looking at the current roster of defensive players. One player stands out to me as a “successor” to the role held by Chris Clemons in Seattle could be Jaguars defensive end Andre Branch.

When the Jaguars entered the offseason, there was much talk of needing a pass rusher to solve their line woes. For a team that had a “staggering” 20 sacks total last season, the infamous pass rush could not scare a high school offense, the draft pundits had linked them to Oregon pass rusher Dion Jordan. Jordan, a 6’6 and 248-pounder who could play on the line or in the middle of the defense on the outside.

Only problem with that idea, which did not come to fruition, is the team already had Jordan on the roster with Branch. The 2012 second round selection could solve a bevy of needs for this franchise. At 6’5” and 258 pounds, could Branch spend time on the line-- standing up or with his hand on the ground, or on the end as a pass rushing linebacker?

Sure he could. On this team, making the roster has as much to do with versatility as it does with talent. And although Branch did not have the stellar rookie season coaches envisioned for him last season, there is a hope he can recover from his time on injured reserve last season to be that “hybrid” and dominating defensive player.

He could be this team’s Chris Clemons.

There are changes expected with this team. While there are few players who are guaranteed a starting slot, Branch could earn one with solid play in training camp and with a solid preseason. If the Jaguars make changes with Sen’Derrick Marks or Roy Miller competing with Kyle Love for tackle positions on the inside and talk of Tyson Alualu moving to an end position where he will compete with Jeremy Mincey and Brandon Deaderick opposite Jason Babin, having Branch attack the “LEO” role like he terrorized quarterbacks at Clemson just make sense.

And could have a lasting impression on a defense looking to make some noise in 2013.

By: David Levin (@davidlevin71)

The greatest thing about having a young team is having hungry players looking for a roster spot. This year, the Jacksonville Jaguars may have the hungriest roster in the NFL.

That, my friends, is a good thing.

In the case of competition at wide receiver, that is a very good thing.

For the first four weeks of the season, someone will be standing on the line in the spot that will ultimately be held by Justin Blackmon. We all know the reasons for this, and is something we should not harp on. The Jaguars and Blackmon will take their medicine like men and soldier on.

Whoever the other receiver is, they will start opposite Cecil Shorts III, who should break the 1,000-yard barrier this season for this team.

There are six receivers who factor into this race. Here is a breakdown of how this should go down.

Mohamed Massaquoi should have the first shot at the position. The former second-round pick from Cleveland, signed with the Jaguars to fill a role in the slot and in three receiver sets. I also think he was signed, as the Jaguars knew (secretly) that Blackmon may have been in trouble. Massaquoi has veteran experience and should be the third receiver in this rotation.

Jordan Shipley was re-signed by this team after a stint with the franchise at the end of last season. Shipley is diminutive at 6’0” and 188 pounds but will give the team speed in the slot. I also think he helps in the return game.

Ace Sanders was drafted in the fourth round (a pick that could have been Matt Barkley) to give this team true speed in the slot and in the return game. At 5’7” and 178 (he is smaller than me). he is the scatback-type of player this team needs to shake up its return game. He will be used in four and five receiver sets as well.

Denard Robinson will be used primarily as a runner, but the team will take advantage of his size in the slot and in the underneath pattern in the red zone. If Robinson is effective a receiver out of the backfield, it gives the quarterback one more weapon at his disposal. Look for Robinson to also be involved in special teams.

Taylor Price was signed off the street as a free agent from New England, but spent his time in Jacksonville last season on IR. He could figure into this mix. If Price, who is 6’1” and 195 pounds is used in red zone sets, he could become a solid possession receiver.

Tobias Palmer is a rookie free agent who did not get drafted out of North Carolina State. Why, we aren’t sure. The man has 4.31 speed in the 40-yard dash and did not get drafted. Look for him to stick as the sixth receiver and possibly make plays in five-receiver sets.

By: David Levin (@davidlevin71)

Justin Forsett came from Houston. Marcus Trufant from Seattle. Brandon Deaderick and Kyle Love came to Florida by way of Boston and the Patriots. What do these players all have in common? Besides they now have homes here in Jacksonville, they were all part of winning programs in other cities where football is a “winning” commodity, where communities wrap their arms around their teams like they are the blanket they grew up holding.

These players know about winning, know about the playoffs, know what it is like to play past the new year and some know what it is like to play in a Super Bowl.

Fancy that happening here in Jacksonville.

One of the greatest things about bringing in new talent to a city that is looking for a new identity is the players brought in have a backstory. They have a purpose. Eventually, that purpose, along with 52 other players is to win a Super Bowl, to put the Jaguars on the map and to prove football matters in this town.

For so long, Jacksonville has been a small-market joke in the NFL. National media coverage is sparse, unless the team is being sold or Jack Del Rio and Mike Mularkey are being fired or Justin Blackmon is in trouble off the field. There will be at least 29 new members of this team when the regular season starts and the fans here in town may need a scorecard to keep up with everything that happens in the next three months, but it should make for some interesting fodder, at least locally.

And the back story each player tells will add to that excitement.

Is winning contagious? Yes. Is winning the reason these men play the game? Is there a reason why these free agents bring with them a winning attitude? Yes, because it is ingrained in them from other franchises and now, it is their turn to pass it on here in Jacksonville.

While skill and size and strength is vital to a team’s success, mental awareness and the desire to succeed is just as key. These free agents and those who have come before them, know that a solid recipe of winning is easier to swallow than something cracked, damaged and broken.

If the message is delivered effectively, half the battle will have already been won and that also means putting the best layers on the field will be the only thing holding this franchise back from having not only a winning record, but also a winning attitude.

Climate and culture is everything in the NFL.

By: David Levin (@davidlevin71)

I am often amused at what reporters and columnists can and cannot say when it comes to the NFL, OTAs and the secrecy of what happens when the practices are closed to the public. While coaches are tight-lipped and “hush hush” about what happens with new schemes, new offenses and what the teams hope to accomplish before the start of the preseason, fans already know more than they should because social media has become the NFL and the sports world’s worst enemy.

There were twitter reports last week about Denard Robinson behind center, taking snaps with the Jaguars in OTAs. That may not have been what Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley wanted to get out into the world of everyone’s newest friend (Twitter) but it happened and while I agree with Times-Union Jaguars writer Ryan O’Halloran about what can be reported about in OTAs (nothing) and what cannot be said (everything).

The name of the game is winning in this league and it is a reporter’s job to report everything they can to give the fans and the reader or follower as much information as they can to not only sell copy, but to better their fan base.

I am just as guilty, using social media to get my work out into cyberspace, as this is the best way to communicate with you about what my thoughts are and what stories I am writing.

It’s a godsend and a curse at the same time.

While writers still need a good relationship with coaching staffs and their own bosses, there is a fine line each reporter takes. And with Adam Schefter using Twitter and Facebook every five minutes it seems to report on what he has seen and heard over the last few days, there are others who use the social media outlets to let us know Robinson is taking snaps and the former quarterback may be used in those pivotal plays.

It truly is a no-win situation.

Social media helps the NFL, doesn’t always help the franchise a reporter covers and again still draws in hundreds of reads, just to see if something has changed.

Twenty years ago, this was not a worry, and the Internet was something of an anomaly. There was more secrecy and not as level a playing field as it is now where any team can be awful one season and a Super Bowl champion the next. Social media has helped level the playing field in the NFL. It just so happens the equality of the outlet has come through the words of reporters as well as the things coaches teach their players and don’t necessarily want us to know beforehand.