Will Jaguars will have opportunities in 2013, but expect balance. Source: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

When a coach makes the jump from college to the NFL there is always a level of similarity between what the coach did with his college players and what he implements at the professional level.  There are also a number of new things.  Whether it is a coach like Chip Kelly who is a certified football mad scientist or simply a Jedd Fisch jumping from one offensive coordinator gig to the same role with the pros, there is bound to be some similarities and some differences.

Unlike Kelly, Fisch is moving from a less noticed offense (I never thought I would say that about the Miami Hurricanes) to the NFL and brings with him a level of mystery.  For Kelly it was always “what will he do this week?”  He had the national attention as a head coach at the University of Oregon.  Fisch, however, was quietly putting together a strong, well organized offense in Miami.

So, what was he doing down there?  What will he bring with him to the Jacksonville Jaguars?  What will the NFL force him to change?

The most noticeable thing about Fisch’s offense with the ‘Canes is that they were balanced.  Miami ran the ball more in Fisch’s first season but then switched to passing more in year two.  While this is usually indicative of either playing ahead or behind, the 6-6 (2011) and 7-6 (2012) records don’t really show a powerful team either bullying opponents into submission with a strong running game and clock management or constantly playing catch up with the passing game.  The goal, it seemed, was to rely on the running game, particularly when ahead, but to be as balanced as possible when trying to get ahead.

Fisch played close games in losses, but won games by an average of 16.7 points over his two seasons with the Hurricanes.  The ‘Canes 12 losses over Fisch’s two seasons were by an average of 10 points.  The two major outliers (losses of 39 and 38 points in 2012) draw the average up from 5.1 points behind.  Miami wasn’t a high flying offense under Fisch, but they did manage to either grind the opponents down with the running game or to put it out of reach with the passing game.  Here is the best strength of his offense in Miami, his ability to scheme for advantages.

College quarterbacks aren’t all Geno Smiths.  Some of them aren’t all that great.  Fisch had Jacory Harris in 2011 and Stephen Morris in 2012.  He managed to make both look good.  Harris completed over 60% of his passes and Morris came close.  Most impressively, his quarterbacks played smart.  Morris racked up 21 touchdowns to just seven interceptions just one year after Fisch coach Harris to an impressive 20:9 ratio.  Harris was undrafted in 2012 and is a free agent in the big leagues while Morris figures to be drafted at some point in 2014.  While a lot of touchdowns were scored by the passing game, the average of 1.8 and 1.9 passing TDs per game in two seasons was only slightly above the 1.5 and 1.6 rushing TDs per game in those same seasons.

The point is that Fisch, while not tooting his horn, was able to run an effective attack with quarterbacks who aren’t widely acclaimed as big weapons.  Fisch plays to their strengths, either winging it or using the quarterback as a game manager, and he relied on the running game when it was suitable.

By all accounts, the Jaguars figure to be a fast temp offense under Fisch.  There will be some no huddle, there will be some “sugar huddle,” and there will be balance.  The NFL will likely up the tempo for Fisch’s offense from Miami, but that’s a good thing.  I think, based on Fisch being a balanced collegiate coordinator, that the Jaguars have an enigma entering 2013, and that’s a good thing.  The team has been predictable for too long and with a coordinator playing to the strengths of the team with a balanced approach, they can finally rely either on the game manager abilities of their quarterbacks (let’s be honest, Blaine Gabbert isn’t a game changer) or they can rely on the running back stable to shoulder the load.

Then again, this offense is completely under wraps and I could be completely off.  I think he could really let Gabbert wing it, as he has in college in some games, but I’m seeing a bit more cautious, balanced approach as the probable product on the field.  As much as this is a quarterback driven league, if you don’t have the quarterback to drive the team then you rely on the running game.  Fisch demonstrated he can do either during his time in Miami, but whether he can rely on someone like Gabbert in 2013 is completely different.  Fisch used some gimmicks and aggressive approaches in some games (check the ‘Canes vs North Carolina video) in college, but I think the NFL will force that to be toned down a bit.

- Luke N. Sims

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Nov 4, 2012; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert (11) throws the ball during the first half of the game against the Detroit Lions at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Blaine Gabbert’s third season with the Jacksonville Jaguars is likely the one that will define the rest of his career. He’ll either do better and continue playing pro football (whether second string or otherwise) or he will show that teams should probably move past the former 10 overall pick and he may be more suited for bagging groceries.  Step one is winning the starting job.  The biggest part of winning the open quarterback competition that head coach Gus Bradley is instituting will be understanding offensive coordinator Jeff Fisch’s new offense.

For Gabbert, this is the third offense to learn in his career.  He has learned the Dirk Koetter approach during his rookie season, the Mike Mularkey/Bob Bratkowski system in year two, and now a scheme from Fisch who was called up from the college ranks.  Koetter was not in Jacksonville to groom a young quarterback.  Mularkey and Bratkowski were brought in specifically for Gabbert.  Fisch is here to make sure that the Jaguars can field an offense with whomever is under center, whether it’s Gabbert or not.

Fisch’s time in the college ranks should be helpful with Gabbert, especially since he is still a young quarterback in the NFL. But his ability to communicate effectively with young 20-somethings isn’t what is going to help Gabbert.  What will help Gabbert will be the fact that at the end of the day if he can’t fulfill what Fisch needs from his offense, Fisch will move on to the next best man on the roster.  Gabbert isn’t a sacred cow in Fisch’s offense.

So far, Gabbert seems up to the task of learning all there is to know about his third offense in three years.  Jaguars.com senior writer John Oehser had this to say about Gabbert:

Gabbert wasn’t close to perfect early in the week, but by Thursday, he looked comfortable in the offense and seemed to have one of his better practices. Throw after throw Thursday you could tell why this guy was a Top 10 pick. There is special ability there. Again, it’s one practice, but there’s a reason Gabbert is being given a chance to compete. He’s a first-round talent, and it would be ideal for this franchise if he develops into a solid starter.

While some love is expected from the team’s own media source, finding Gabbert comfortable in a new offense will do wonders for him as he battles for the starting spot.  It’s the first crucial step in an offseason that will affect what he does for the rest of his career.  Comfort is key.  As he continues to learn the offense he will then be able to focus on doing better and better until he wins the jobs and is named starter.

Now, will he?

- Luke N. Sims

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July 27, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert (11) and quarterback Chad Henne (7) during the first afternoon of training camp practice at Florida Blue Health

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a big question mark at quarterback because Blaine Gabbert hasn’t proven to be “the guy” yet and Chad Henne showed he most likely is not the guy during last season.  There are a lot of solutions ranging from drafting a quarterback to finding a college free agent but ultimately it will fall down to whomever impresses the coaches the most.  For Gabbert and Henne that began this week with the voluntary minicamp.  The competition begins now.

Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch is installing his new offense and the Jaguars’ players are trying to show that they know enough about what they learned in the meeting room to translate well onto the field.  ”We have two guys competing as hard as the possibly can to put themselves in position to be the starting quarterback. I think they need to have tunnel vision. I think they need to focus on what they can control and not focus on really anything other than that,” Fisch said.  From now on Gabbert and Henne are fighting for that starting job.

It’s going to be a long process and this week won’t be the only week of practice for Gabbert or Henne to stand out.  They have been splitting reps with the first team and Fisch is not yet prepared to comment on how they are both doing in relation to each other.  In response to the queries Fisch responded, “I appreciate what the fans want to hear right now, but we’ve had one practice, and we’ve had whatever amount of meetings – seven?”

Fisch made it clear that right now there is no favorite for the spot.  The competition is just beginning and the analysis is just beginning to roll in.  The goal right now is to just get better on a daily basis.  ”We don’t worry about that (the competition).  My goal is to go out and get better every day. That’s what it boils down to. That’s everybody’s goal on this football team. Our biggest focal point is getting better on a daily basis,” said Gabbert.  Both he and Henne have taken the tunnel vision required of the competition and are in it, trying to show what they can do as best as they can.

Henne seems equally fine with the competition and his role in it.  Based on his explanation he is pleased that the position is  entirely open as it gives him a fair shot to show he can be an NFL quarterback again:

I’ll just be out there competing every day to make the decisions for the coaches and the general manager. That’s the only thing you can ask for as a professional athlete, is competition. It’s only going to make you better. There’s going to be a lot of pressure, but if you’re a quarterback you want that pressure, because there’s pressure on you at all times. That’s what makes us grow and become great quarterbacks.

The competition is open and Henne hopes that it stays that way.  ”I hope so – that’s what they said,” he said when talking about the open competition.  He may not have the ability to hold the coaches to their word but he definitely can keep his play at a high level and show that it’s worth keeping open.  Henne is not the favorite in my mind, but if he outplays Gabbert then he still deserves the shot to start.  We’ll see how things develop further down the road.

- Luke N. Sims

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