I don't want to see any of this tonight! Source: US-Presswire

Pass protection: The Jaguars will see premium rushers in the first weeks of the regular season (Jared Allen, Connor Barwin, JJ Watt, Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney, Carlos Dunlap – and that’s just the first 4 games), so the offensive line must be ready to protect Blaine Gabbert. Sadly injuries are a consistent problem here, especially at the LG position. Starter Will Rackley is out for 2-3 weeks, and his backup Jason Spitz was injured during last Friday’s scrimmage. It seems the Jaguars will start RT EBen Britton at LG again, and Cameron Bradfield will play at RT. The position is so thin, that the Jaguars now asked UDFA rookie DT Drew Nowak to switch from defense to offense, and play guard instead of defensive tackle. Also they moved the two backup centers, John Estes and Mike Brewster to the guard position.Not the best signs against one of the best pass rushing units in the league.

Eugene Monroe also sat out several practices with a leg injury. Brad Meester has been given some extra rest, because this will be his 13th season, so the Jaguars want to keep him as fresh as possible. The only good news is the return of Eben Britton who is finally 100% healthy after a back injury.

One of the area where Gabbert needs to silence his critics is pocket presence, but he needs to get better protection compared to last year. For the tackles (including Cameron Bradfield and Guy Whimper) it will be quite a challenge to handle Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Matthias Kiwanuka. The interior O-line will be more interesting to watch (mostly because I have no idea who will play at LG…). They will face Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard, Shaun Rogers, and Marvin Austin. At least Gene Smith can really evaluate the backup guards…

Rookies: Finally Justin Blackmon signed his rookie deal, but we will not see him play on Friday night. But don’t worry, there will be plenty of rookies to watch still. Since Austen Lane’s injury is keep him from action for the next couple of weeks, it is more and more likely that Andre Branch will start on Week 1 opposite Jeremy Mincey at the other DE spot. He will most likely face David Diehl. This could be a great matchup too see if Branch is really as good as advertised by D-line coach Joe Cullen.

"Legatron" Source: US-Presswire

Bryan Anger can salso start to silence those who criticized the surprise decision by the front office from last April to draft the punter at 3/7. Jaguars fans who watched him punt during training camp are already calling him “Legatron”. Let’s hope he can prove it 1 or 2 times. Of course I want to see the rest of the draft picks (LB Brandon Marshall, CB Mike Harris, & DT Jeris Pendleton) performing, but the players I really can’t wait to see to play are among the undrafted rookies. WR Kevin Elliott and LB Julian Stanford are looking more and more like locks in the final 53 roster. Elliott is maybe the 3rd best WR after Robinson and Shorts based on training camp practices. Stanford could easily be a new Russell Allen. Other than these two look for Ryan Davis (DE from Bethune Cookman), Antonio Dennard (CB from Langton), J.K. Scheffer (LB from Cincinnati), Matt Veldman (TE from North Dakota State), and Mike Brewster (C/G from Ohio State). Most likely all of them are long shots (besides Davis & maybe Veldman) to make the final cut, but with good performances in the preseason they can all made that decesion much more difficult.

Wide receiver battle: Besides the improvement of Blaine Gabbert, everybody is focusing on how the receiver group will improve. Last year they were clearly the worst unit (again) in the NFL. But this offseason Mike Mularkey asked proven WR coach Jerry Sullivan to join his staff and he immediately became the offensive version of D-line coach Joe Cullen.  His diligence, work ethic, league-round respect, and charisma all make him likable to players, coaches, and fans.  However despite the new faces in the receiver group (Laurent Robinson, Lee Evans, Kevin Elliott, Mike Brown and now Justin Blackmon) the group is still very inconsistent. The dropped passes are a consistent problem since OTAs, and not so long ago offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski even told reporters that “the passing game is not very good”. Laurent Robinson after a slow and rough start is slowly starting to get on the same page with Gabbert. And Cecil Shorts already overtook Mike Thomas on the depth chart. Kevin Elliott said before OTAs he will make the team, just based on his receiver skills. Well back then everybody thought he was overconfident, now people are starting to realize that actually might happen.

Right now I see 3 clear locks on the final roster (If no injury happens) – Robinson, Blackmon and Shorts. Mike Thomas is a lock because of his contract, but his effort was often simply not enough in a couple of practices (although to be fair, he had a couple of good ones too). After these 4 I would list Elliott as the 5th, partly because he can be an effective special teams player as well. I expect the Jaguars will keep a 6th WR and that is wide open. Brian Robiskie, Lee Evans and Taylor Price all can make their case for themselves starting with Friday’s preseason game. I see almost no chance for Chastin West and UDFA rookie Mike Brown to make this team (although Brown can be a practice squad player later).

Running game: Of course the big national storyline is the holdout of Maurice Jones-Drew. But while everybody else thinks that the absence of last year’s leading rusher is a major blow for the Jaguars, the front office is still satisfied with the back currently practicing. So far Rashad Jennings is possibly the best offensive player in camp. He can run, catch and lately he is improving in pass blocking as well and performed really well in last Friday’s scrimmage. Behind him there is a brand new face in Jalen Parmele archived little so far in his career, but right now he is the Nr. 2 RB behind Jennings, ahead of last training camp’s sensation DuJuan Harris, and Richard Murphy who spent last year on IR. So far everything is pointing toward Parmele as the 1st backup after Jennings (and he could be the 3rd option if Jones-Drew returns). It will be interesting to watch if he can keep this status as the preseason progresses.

With the injuries along the offensive line, it is tough to predict how effective the running game will be no matter who is carrying the ball.  Can the Jaguars still run the ball well? I also wonder how many backs Gene Smith and Mularkey  want to keep on the final roster. If that number is 5, that could mean Brock Bolen might not make the team this time – Montell Owens, and the expensive, yet excellent blocking FB Greg Jones are my candidates for the other 2 RB/FB spots.

Time to shine Blaine! Otherwise that guy behind you gets a whole lot closer! Source: US-Presswire

And finally a few words about the QB: I wrote an article a couple months ago about bashing Blaine Gabbert becoming a new sport among some people who cover the league. That has gotten worse in the last few weeks, and I just don’t get why. Yes, the 2nd year QB had some bad practices early in camp, but he became better and better with almost every practice. He was (along with Jennings) the star of the scrimmage. He is starting to built chemistry with his receivers, especially Laurent Robinson. His mechanics are better, he is now taking charge of the offense. But all these improvements don’t seem to bother many members of the media, who still think that it’s just  matter of time until Chad Henne will replace last year’s 10th pick of the draft. Well the good news for Gabbert is that he can now quiet his critics by showing his improvement in decision making, footwork, pock presence and accuracy. Based on the scrimmage we can expect short range passes from him to boost his confidence, which is okay early, but sooner then later Bratkowski must let Gabbert use is cannon arm for deep passes as well.

The Jaguars plan to let Gabbert and the 1st team offense play throughout the 1st quarter, maybe early in the 2nd as well. I hope the promising improvements of the offseason will be recognized by everybody- Also this will be the first big test about how the young QB can handle the pass rush of the powerful Giants D-line. I expect some QB runs (Mularkey often asked former Steelers QB Kordell Stewart to plays like that that, while he was Pittsburgh’s OC) but Gabbert must handle the rush well in these preseason games because he will face a lot of good pass rushers early in the regular season.

There is another reason why he must perform particularly better than Henne on Friday. On Wednesday Tony Boselli, Jeff Lageman (and basically Jaguars fanbase) called out Michael Lombardi about his negative comments toward Gabbert. If Gabbert starts to  perform well “experts” like Lombardi (and the rest of the bunch who can’t stop bashing the 2nd year QB)will look really stupid really fast. However if Gabbert’s recent development does not show in the upcoming weeks and Henne outperforms him (I don’t think that’s realistic right now), the problems and perception of the Jaguars get much, much worse.

I can’t say how exited I am, that football (even preseason football) is back, and finally we can watch real games instead of playing the guessing game. The season opener against the Minnesota Vikings is less then a month away. Let’s hope we will know a lot more about the ’12 Jaguars in the upcoming 4 games and hope that these revelations will be more postive then negative. Some people think Jacksonville is a mess, others (like me) think something promising and powerful is developing in North Florida. The preseason starting with this Giants game will bring us closer to the truth about which concept is more valid.

- Zoltan Paksa

When preseason rolls around and one of these unheralded rookies make a play, I want you to know exactly who that player is. Following is a very quick run down of the undrafted rookies signed after the 2012 draft.

Joe Banyard, RB, Texas El-Paso: A bit of a long shot to make the roster, but who knows? Maybe he gives someone a run for their money. Some quick hits: He ran a 4.46, had 25 reps on the benchpress, 35 1/2 vertical jump, and 10 ft. broad jump. He was selected All Conference USA Honorable Mention. He’ll be wearing #35.

Lee Barbiasz, OT, Northern Colorado: At 6’7 and 310 lbs., he is a very tall tackle. His strength concerns me. As big as he is he only totaled 24 reps. In 2010 Barbiasz was selected for All-Big Sky Honorable Mention. He’ll be wearing #72. To say he’s a long shot is an understatement.

Antwon Blake, CB, Texas El-Paso: I think this kid is from Jacksonville. Correct me if I’m wrong. He clocks a 4.39 40 yard dash which is promising. He’s quick-footed and has rare leaping ability according to profootballweekly.com. He recorded a 10 yard split time of 1.4 seconds and can keep up with receivers going deep. It’s hard not to root for a hometown kid isn’t it? According to the report, he will definitely need to be coached up but has the physical tools already in place. #38

Mike Brewster, C, Ohio State: This was the signing that made me jump out of my seat. He was a four year starter at Ohio State and was the only junior in college football history to be a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. He has a high football IQ, and doesn’t really have any holes in his game. He’s a better pass protector than he is run-blocker. Sounds great right? Then why did he go undrafted? Well…he does lack exceptional athleticism, his feet are bad, and his overall technique needs work. He is late seeing the second level, has trouble recognizing blitzing linebackers, and disengaging from his double team. Could he be coached up? I think it would be worth the investment. #60

Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

Jeremiah Brown, S, Wagner: Maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places, but the only thing I could find on this guy are his pro day results. He ran a 4.40, 19 reps, 37 1/2 vertical, 10’5 broad, 4.08 20 yard shuttle, 6.95 3-cone drill. The only thing I saw is that he played cornerback in college and Jacksonville has him listed as a safety. Ya gotta love it when a workout player gets a contract though. #30

Mike Brown, WR, Liberty: Yet another workout player who walked out with a contract, I believe Brown played quarterback in college. According to his coaches he’s a very competitive, coachable, athletic football player. He also has good leadership skills having been named offensive team captain for two years in a row. He played both quarterback and wide receiver before making the full time transition. #12

Ryan Davis, DE, Bethune-Cookman: A lot of people here are very excited about this prospect, and I’m gonna have to jump on the bandwagon as well after doing research on his collegiate career. He was named Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference defensive player of the year. He racked up 21 1/2 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks in his senior campaign. In other words he can rush the passer. I think he has a very good chance of making the team. #49

Antonio Dennard, CB, Langston: He’s patient with quick feet and very fluid. You can be fluid all you want, but if you’re a cornerback who only runs a 4.55 you’re going undrafted. Maybe his” football speed” is better. #16

Kevin Elliot, WR, Florida A&M: He was a three year starter awarded all conference honors his senior season. He snagged 41 balls for 720 yards and 5 touchdowns. He’s an adequate sized receiver who is more of a possession pass catcher. He can make catches while swarmed with defenders and provides his quarterback with a good-sized target at 6’2 202 lbs.. He’s an aggressive downfield blocker on special teams and is willing to sacrifice his body to lay a block. One setback to his game, however, is that he had average production on the small school level. He lacks burst and only has one speed. #87

Chris Forcier, WR, Furman: We certainly signed a lot of wide receivers didn’t we? As referenced before, this will be the battle to watch. Forcier is yet another workout player to get a contract. He played two years at UCLA. He red-shirted in 2007 and played sparingly in 2008. Forcier is from St. Augustine. Is that considered local? #13

DJ Hall Jr., G, Texas State: He was an FCS All-American selection in 2010 and was a four year starter at Texas State. He earned All-FCS Independent first team honors in 2011 and was an All-Southland Conference First Team selection as a junior and sophmore. #61

Dontrell Johnson, CB, Murray State: Johnson has been nominated for several awards: 2011 Top FCS Special Teamers-Sports Network, 2010 FCS Punt Return Average Champion (22.80), 2010 College Football Performance Awards Elite Punt Returner, and 2010 All-OVC Newcomer Team…and those are just a few. Seems like we might be interested in his return ability? #43

Drew Nowak, DT, Western Michigan: He earned All-MAC Defensive Player of the year in 2011. He totaled 8.5 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss. He was also named third team All-American. #64

Odrick Ray, DE, Tulsa: He’s a bit undersized, but plays tough. He is aggressive at the point of attack and has the ability to knife through blockers. He’s quick and explosive in his overall game, but he doesn’t use his hands well and has a tendency to be engulfed by blockers. Was signed after his workout last weekend. #69

Donovan Richard, LB, South Carolina State: Standing at 5-11 he seems a bit short to be a linebacker, but the coaching staff must have seen something in him seeing as how he was signed after his workout much like Ray, J. Brown, M. Brown, and Folcier. He does have some speed running a 4.40. He finished his career at South Carolina State playing in 46 games, racking up 308 tackles, 15 pass break-ups, and 6 interceptions. #47

J.K. Schaeffer, LB, Cincinatti: He was selected to 2011 All-Big East Conference First Team. He is a tackling machine, ranking 3rd in 2011 having 8.8 tackles per game. He finished with 105 tackles, the 3rd time he’s broke the century mark. He had 12 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 6 pass break ups, 9 pass defended, and 3 forced fumbles and recoveries. Quite the senior season. #59

Julian Stanford, LB, Wagner: Recorded a 10 yard split of 1.44 seconds, a 42 1/2 vertical, 10 ft. 8 inch broad, short shuttle time of 4.14 seconds, and a 3-cone drill time of 6.71 seconds. His athletic ability alone earned him a spot on the training camp roster. #57

Matt Veldman, TE, North Dakota State: He visited Jacksonville during pre-draft visits. Standing at 6’7 he’s a very big target. He started all 15 games in the Bisons’ run to the NCAA Divison I FCS Championship. During their road to Division I FCS glory, he reeled in 26 passes for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fun fact: Veldman earned MVFC Special Teams player of the week during the 2011 season for blocking a field attempt against Southern Illinois. #85

Kendrick Adams, DE, LSU: Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country did a write up on Mr. Adams. According to Mr. Crow’s report, Adams was rated in the top 5 for his position in the 40 yard dash running a 4.66. He was supposed to be a starter, but was a starter in “name only.” Apparently he’s a solid run stopper, but his versatility across the line stops there. He’s good at recognizing plays, but lacks the athletic ability to execute. He does, however, fit the “smart, disciplined, and smart” role which Gene Smith really appreciates. Not a bad flier to take coming from such a distinguished program as LSU. #66

So those are just some quick hits on the other rookies on the roster. In truth, all of them are a long shot to make the team, but ya never know right? If anything some of these players could push for a roster spot making the veterans entrenched in front of them work harder.

-David R. Johns