As exciting as the win was, the last thing that matters in a preseason game is the final score. You of course want to watch the starters in the early stages of the game, and watch individuals trying to make the team in the later part.

Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE

The Jaguars opened up Friday night’s game with a 9 play 80 yard drive. It was a bit more run heavy than last week’s opening drive, but similiar in execution. Rashad Jennings had some impressive runs. He had 6 carries for 42 yards all by his lonesome in the opening drive alone. He continues to prove that he is ready to be the lead back in Jacksonville. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry and ended the night with 62 yards on 11 carries. Blaine Gabbert continued to throw short and intermediate passes, but at a high completion rate. He’s playing safe, smart and very tough. He saw a little pressure in this game, but stood tall and delivered. He capped the drive off with a 16 yard bullet to 2012 5th overall pick Justin Blackmon for a touchdown. Speaking of Justin Blackmon, it’s apparent he’s an extremely physical receiver who is able to get separation at the line of scrimmage. He ended his night with 48 yards on 4 grabs and a touchdown. I saw two catches in particular where he was able to shake his defender, and it turns out he’s got a mean stiff arm. Just ask Curtis Lofton. Is Blackmon the answer? He’s definitely better than anything this team has had in a long time.

Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Drew Brees and the Saints more often than not answer right back because that’s just what they do. They were well on their way. They had some good gains on their opening drive. At first our linebackers seemed to have a very difficult time running with their arsenal of backs and receivers. Paul Posluszny did a good job of floating sideline to sideline, and whenever the ball carrier would burst through into the second level it seemed as if “Poz” was always there to either make the stop or chase him down before he could gain any more yards. Posluszny swatted down the pass that stopped the Saints in their tracks and forced them to settle for a field goal.

Blaine came right back and led his guys down the field for a 14 play, 66 yard drive. Colin Cloherty, who seemed to catch everything thrown his way, caught the 15 yard score. There’s a play in the 2nd quarter, however, that really caught my attention. 12 minutes and 55 seconds to go until the half. The Saints seemingly brought heat from everywhere. Gabbert didn’t flinch. He stood and hit Mike Thomas for a first down. That play in itself showed our quarterback’s progression. He actually looked like an NFL quarterback.

The Saint’s second drive of the night didn’t last very long at all. It was ended pretty quick by a Mincey sack forced fumble, and a Terrance Knighton recovery. The Jags took over in Saint’s territory, and while they didn’t get 6, they were able to get 3.

Later in the second quarter, Brees did take the field and pretty much threw the ball all over our defense. If halftime arrives and you hold the Saints to only 10 points…I’d consider it a small victory nonetheless.

Our starters on both offense and defense did well last Friday night. It’s clear that we will be running a lot of high completion pass plays and the running back by committee approach led by Jennings and Owens has been more than successful this preseason. Blaine no longer has happy feet and completed 13 of 16 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns which is highly encouraging. Our offensive line still needs to get healthy. Bradfield had a better game at left tackle than he did right tackle and Whimper was OK on the other side, but the Saints aren’t really known for their destructive pass rush. Yes, they can get after the passer just as good as the next team, but their defense isn’t feared or mentioned with the likes of teams like the Steelers or Ravens. Facing teams with more aggressive defenses like the Bears and the Texans will really put this line to the test and hopefully by then Monroe and Rackley will have returned and Britton will be playing his natural position at right tackle.

We still don’t seem to have a deep threat. That could come back to haunt us when facing offenses that put up a lot of points like the Patriots, Lions, and the Packers. We’ll have to find ways to score quick if we get caught up in a shoot out.

This year’s defense will be much like last year’s. They play very tough at the line of scrimmage, and have the potential to get penetration but have to do it more consistently. I’d like to see our defenders shed blocks a little better and do a better job of tackling. Too many times they’d get tangled and the ball carrier would just fly on by. The front 4 looks ready. Especially Andre Branch. He plays with speed and held his own against pro-bowl tackle Jermon Bushrod.

Yes, Tucker’s unit made the Saints settle for a field goal and forced a turnover but unfortunately for us if this were the regular season the Saints wouldn’t have taken Brees out at the half.

I don’t know why we didn’t, but Mularkey totally let the Saints get away with one. I believe it was Andre Branch who chased down Lance Moore and knocked the ball out of his hands. It was clearly a fumble. We can’t let those calls get away during the regular season. I’m confident we won’t. After all it’s preseason for the coaching staff too.

What’s the other thing we watch for in preseason games? Individuals and their position battles. You can really get a feel for what coaches think about certain bubble players by where they start in case of injury. For instance Kyle Bosworth was starting for Daryl Smith. Does that mean he has a leg up on young linebackers like UDFAs J.K. Schaeffer, Julian Stanford, and 5th round pick Brandon Marshall? Probably.

Looks like Mike Brewster is officially the back up center for BRAD Meester, and Kevin Rutland, not Antwon Blake, ran with our ones in nickle situations.

Speaking of rookies like Schaeffer and Blake…Schaeffer had a nice 2 yard TFL and Blake had an AMAZING tackle on a punt return stopping the PR in his tracks for no gain. If they want to make this team, they better play special teams.

I liked the protection converted defensive lineman Drew Nowak provided but as the game went on, particularly on the last drive of the 4th quarter, he seemed to get sloppy.

Keith Toston was on his way to having a very good game with a long run of 40 yards. He would have been on his way…until he injured his hamstring. Hopefully it’s not serious.

The two players on the 2nd and 3rd team defense who really impressed me were Chris Prosinski and 2012 7th rounder Jeris Pendleton. Prosinski ended the night with 5 tackles and made some nice ones in space. He showed good pursuit and good hustle. Pendleton is a very large man and totally collapsed the pocket on one play. I hope there’s room for him on our already crowded defensive line rotation.

Chad Henne had a poorly thrown ball intercepted. Then he was attacked out of nowhere by one of the Saint’s 2nd teamers. Henne actually did alright though. Yeah he got knocked down, but dragged down the back up defender with him using one arm. The best part was when Henne walked to the sideline. Did anyone else see Gabbert say to Henne, “man…f*ck that guy.”?

Palmer threw the game-winning touchdown. He hit receivers Chastin West and Mike Brown on the game winning drive, but the Saints didn’t help themselves much by committing several penalties. It looks like Palmer took a page out of the Gabbert playbook and hit Kevin Elliot in the end zone for the game before getting drilled. Palmer’s numbers were much more pedestrian this time around and that’s putting it nicely…but one threw a pick and the other won the game. Just stating facts.

So almost all of the local news stations are bragging about being 2-0 in preseason. That’s just how starved this city is for a winning team. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone bragging about that. It’s preseason. Don’t get caught up in the hype. We don’t know how this team will perform come regular season.

We DO know:

-Gabbert HAS improved

-The offense includes a healthy dose of run/pass

-Losing MJD hasn’t hurt us

-Rashad Jennings can carry the load

-Our defense and kicking game SHOULD be two of the best in the league

And that’s something to be excited about. It’s enough to get this fan base excited about football again and hopefully revitalize the city’s passion for this team.

-David R. Johns

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

Training camp starts THIS WEEK. That was fast wasn’t it? This is what separates the men from the mice in this intense Jacksonville heat. Everyone picks an underdog to pull for, and the foundation for this season’s team will begin to be put in place this week. Excited yet?

The obvious part of training camp is training camp battles. The fusion of incumbent starters, back-ups, role players, recently acquired free agents, and rookies all come together to duke it out for a position on the roster. The obvious battles (ie. wide receiver) will be heavily watched.  I’m taking the time this week to single out three battles that I just can’t wait to see.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Fullback: Greg Jones vs. Naufahu Tahi vs. Brock Bolen

Don’t be deceived. This will still be a run heavy offense, or at least I hope it is. Greg Jones is a staple on this football team and the community. He’s been with the team since 2004 and has blocked for both Fred Taylor and MJD…that’s some pretty nice company. Brock Bolen has been solid as a key reserve and special teamer, and during the offseason Tahi joined the team. Tahi has been with the Vikings since 2006 meaning he has some pretty good company as well having blocked for Adrian Peterson. The acquisiton of Tahi shows me that the front office could in fact be exploring a less expensive option. Or who knows? Maybe Bolen shows more in camp than both of them. This team isn’t afraid to carry two fullbacks meaning come the season opener one will no longer be sporting the black and teal.

Cornerback: The Field

The top three spots are locked up. Cox, Ross, and Mathis will be seeing the field a lot in 2012, but do we want a repeat of 2011 when both starting corners go down and the other guys backing those spots aren’t ready?

This team has some pretty good young corners who simply just need more experience.

- I’ve been a of Kevin Rutland ever since he made the team as a UDFA last season. I liked what I saw from him in spot duty. He even recorded an interception.

- Ashton Youboty is a seasoned veteran who spent five years in Buffalo. I like his experience, but I think he’s gotten as good as he’s going to get.

- William Middleton is kind of our jack-of-all-trades cornerback. He can play the nickel and plays on all four special teams units. That could play in his favor when the final cuts roll around.

Mandatory Credit: Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE

- Mike Harris has quite the uphill climb to unseat one of these guys, but if he has a higher ceiling look for him to really push Rutland.

After those four corners in particular we have a couple of UDFAs in Antwan Blake and Antonio Dennard and recently acquired Reggie Corner from Buffalo. Next man up.

Defensive Line: D-Line rotation

Ok, much like the secondary we know who our starters are. Mincey, Alualu, Knighton, and Branch (hopefully). But what about the overall rotation?

- How healthy are D’Anthony Smith and Austen Lane? Is the clock ticking with these guys?

- Will we see more in Aaron Morgan’s development?

- John Chick sure did look very good at times last year…I’d definitely like to see more of him in the mix.

- Anyone else look into Jeris Pendleton’s story? How can you NOT pull for this football player?

Anyone out there think Branch will start? I do.

I’d like to spark some debate. What battles are you looking forward to, and you can’t say wide receiver! Anyone out there going to the scrimmage next week? I’ll be on vacation and will be attending practices when I can. Anyways, let’s get it goin’ fellas! Anyone on the roster who you hope is gone in 2012??? Anyone you think will surprise us??? Surprise cuts??? Post in the comments section!

-David R. Johns