before the draft, and general manager Dave Caldwell felt comfortable enough to trade up two spots to grab him with the 36th overall pick when he starting falling.Jack missed most of the tea

Following his teams fourth straight MLS defeat, Toronto FC president and general manager Kevin Payne maintained he has confidence in the ability of the club to make a playoff push and said fans can expect "several acquisitions" who will be "among the best players in the league" around the July 15 summer transfer window. Speaking Monday on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor, Payne said his squad has been competitive in every MLS game – just like he said it would be upon his arrival -- but has made simple mistakes at pivotal moments that have resulted in lost points. "We have been in every single game in MLS," Payne said. "We have managed to find a unique series of ways to shoot ourselves in the foot, but I actually dont think weve been outplayed in a game yet this year." Payne said he understands the frustration of the teams supporters, who have yet to witness a home win at BMO Field this season, but said he thinks the club is close to turning things around. "I understand that theres frustration, I dont blame them for being frustrated. Our fans deserve better than this. I do think our fans, while theyre very frustrated this year with the group, I do think they recognize the improvements that have been made in the attitude, in the cohesiveness of the group, the fact that weve been competitive." Despite sitting 11 points outside of a playoff spot, Payne is confident his team will find a way to battle for a post-season position. "I do believe by the end of the season we will be in the conversation for the playoffs," he said. "Weve dug ourselves a bit of a hole, but I think that we will with a win or two well be able to crawl out of that hole rather quickly," With just one win in its last 25 MLS matches, Payne admitted there is a confidence issue within the team and said management is conducting an ongoing evaluation of the team to find out which players from the previous regime will remain with the club. Despite undergoing a massive off-season overhaul which included more than half the 29-man roster being overhauled, more changes are in the offing. "We have to get some better players," Payne said. "This team for the prior two years was not good at all and part of the reason for that was that it didnt have the right players." According to Payne, the top priority will be an attacking midfielder, "someone in the middle of the park to pull the strings for us." Besides someone in the middle of the filed who can create offensive opportunities for both himself and others, Payne mentioned he would also like to add an attacking player out wide and a defender. He said the lack of results have been discouraging, but he is encouraged by how the players have bought into Ryan Nelsons philosophy and followed the instructions of the coaching staff. "Its a little frustrating, I know the players are frustrated, but Im more heartened than disheartened by how theyve responded to the things weve asked them to do." Next up for Toronto FC is a visit to New England to take on the Revolution, the team they currently sit directly behind in the Eastern Conference. Cheap Panthers Jerseys . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Stitched Panthers Jerseys . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. https://www.panthersjerseycheap.com/ . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Florida Panthers Gear . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Panthers Jerseys 2021 . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Myles Jack can finally settle into a position, maybe even a starting role.After spending all of training camp learning the nuances of playing middle linebacker, Jack moved to weak-side linebacker for the preseason finale. He spent a month there and then switched to strong-side linebacker two weeks ago, before the Jaguars (1-3) beat Indianapolis in London.Now, coach Gus Bradley expects him to stay there for a while. The Jaguars, coming off a bye week, play at Chicago (1-4) on Sunday.I just have to answer the call and continue to keep up with my studies, Jack said Wednesday. Im going to try to make the most out of the opportunity and make the most of the position.Jack will officially play the Otto spot in Jacksonvilles 4-3 defense. Its a strong-side linebacker who hovers near the line scrimmage and is mainly responsible for setting the edge against the run.Its not the ideal position for Jack, a second-round draft pick from UCLA who is expected to eventually replace veteran middle linebacker Paul Posluszny. But it will get him on the field more often this season.He definitely has a big upside as we knew that when we drafted him, defensive coordinator Todd Wash said.Jack might even supplant Dan Skuta in the starting lineup. Skuta sat out the victory against the Colts with a sore hip, but was not on the injury report this week.Jack has six tackles and a pass defense in limited action. He played well against the Colts, especially considering he had just picked up the position.Hes had to learn a lot, thats for sure, Posluszny said. When its all said and done, hes going to have a great understanding of the defense because hes learned multiple positions. The good thing with this newest move, him being on the outside, his job will be very specific, so it shouldnt be an issue for him.dddddddddddd He has the physical skills. Its about taking the time and learning the techniques hes going to have to use.The Jags believe Jack is the franchises future middle linebacker. But since Posluszny has been better than anticipated in pass coverage, the team has been working to find other ways of getting him on the field.Jack was considered one of the best coverage linebackers in the draft, but slipped to the second round because of uncertainty about his right knee. He tore a meniscus last September and missed the remainder of his junior season. He left school in early October to rehab in Phoenix.The Jaguars checked his knee three times before the draft, and general manager Dave Caldwell felt comfortable enough to trade up two spots to grab him with the 36th overall pick when he starting falling.Jack missed most of the teams offseason conditioning program because of NFL rules regarding college graduations, so he had a lot of catching up to do before training camp to get in better shape .Getting a grasp on all three linebacker positions has been his problem since.At the end of the day, this is what I signed up for, Jack said. I feel like knowing all three positions gives me kind of like a whole perspective of the defense. It allows me to really see where everybodys at and kind of feel the space in and things like that. I think its very beneficial. It just comes down to me applying myself.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '