Nationally there has been a lot of negative talk regarding the Jacksonville Jaguars. Some of it may just be the national media talking out of their asses without having actually seen anything on the ground in Jacksonville and some it may very well be warranted. However here are the 4 biggest positives I’ve seen so far in training camp in the pre-season:
1. Blaine Gabbert – Gabbert was undoubtedly one of the biggest question marks coming into camp. His rookie year was for lack of a better word dismal. He shied away from hits, made poor decisions when throwing the ball, and was virtually dead last in every important statistical category. However all of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A big one. The Jaguars’ offense was in shambles last year. Due to the holdout Gabbert barely saw training camp and just two weeks before the season, the QB he was supposed to be sitting behind and learning from for at least a year, is cut from the team. Fast forward to week two and Blaine is making his first NFL start behind an O-Line riddled with injuries and a receiving corps that could barely pass as backups on any other team. That is simply a recipe for disaster. Blaine could only go up and that’s what he’s done. He’s been making good throws in both camp and in the first pre-season game. He steps up in the pocket more confidently when making throws and with the two shiny new targets of Blackmon and Robinson he actually has someone to throw to.
2. Rashad Jennings- I have always been high on Jennings. He had a good year in 2010 behind MJD with 459 yards rushing on only 84 touches with 4 TD’s. He’s also averaged 5.4 yards per carry over his career. Last pre-season he suffered a severely sprained knee which forced him to miss the entire 2011 season however this year he is back at full strength. With Maurice Jones-Drew still holding out Rashad Jennings has found a window of opportunity to perhaps earn a few more carries this season. Jennings is a much more bounce it to the outside kind of a back which is a nice compliment to MJD’s between the tackles type of running. The two paired together is almost reminiscent of MoJo’s first two seasons when he was paired with Fred Taylor. I’m not saying that Jennings is of Taylor’s skill level but perhaps with a few more carries he can become a big contributor to the Jacksonville offense.
3. Brian Anger- Ok this may not be one of the “biggest” positives I’ve seen so far but the kid is worth a mention. I would like to go on record that I in no way support the Jaguars decision to draft a punter in the 3rd round, but if they had to make a stupid decision at least they made a good stupid decision. The gut can punt a football, and I mean seriously punt it. His kicks always seem to have a hang time in the 4.8 sec area and go about 50 yards. In the game against the Giants he had a punt muffed which was recovered by the Jaguars and in turn resulted in a Jacksonville touchdown. I’m not saying that a punter is going to win the Jags a lot of games this season, but with the amount of time they could be spending deep in their own territory I imagine he could come in handy.
4. The Atmosphere- That’s right #4 isn’t even a player. It’s the environment the players are in. There have been countless stories of how bad day to day activities were handled by the Del Rio regime. Players were unhappy, Coaches were unhappy, and there was just a general negative vibe around the team. However with both a new coach and new owner there is a buzz about the team. The word rebirth has been thrown around on several occasions. Jaguar great Tony Boselli likened the excitement in the community to that of an expansion franchise. People are excited for Jaguar football this year and I have to say, I’m one of them.
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