The face of the franchise, MJD was forced to look on from the sideline for most of the 2012 season.  Source:  Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Over the next week or so we will be going through the Jacksonville Jaguars 2012 roster to try and find the problems that led to the franchise’s worst-ever record: 2-14.  There were so many problems with this team that it goes well beyond one article. So, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll take it one position at a time.

This time: running back.

Here are the other parts of the series: QB, OL, WR, TE

To say that the running back position was bad for the Jaguars in 2012 would be an understatement.  To say that the running back position was atrocious may even be an understatement.  The Jags’ rushing attack was worse than atrocious, it was…well, it was bad.

The year started off in poor order with a holdout by Maurice Jones-Drew.  The guy failed to make a practice until the week before the third preseason game and even then it was accepted that backup Rashad Jennings would be making the first start for the Jaguars.  Jennings was injured during the game and Jones-Drew was back in the limelight until week six when, two plays into the game against the Oakland Raiders, he was sidelined for the rest of the season.  Nobody could adequately replace him.  The worst part of it all is that Jennings was supposed to be able to carry the load if MJD continued his holdout.  After a league-low 2.8 yards per attempt it was beyond underwhelming to see Jennings struggle to fill MoJo’s shoes.

That was the major problem for the Jaguars at running back: depth.

MJD finished the 2012 season as the Jags’ top rusher despite missing every snap after the second offensive play in week six.   Jennings had 15 more attempts than MJD and 131 less yards.  To give you an idea of the utter dominance that MJD had in comparison to his backups, let’s look at their stats:

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until late in the season – after Jennings and Jalen Parmele were not working/injured – that the Jaguars discovered that their special teams ace, Montell Owens, was a decent running back as well.

Keith Toston came on strong late in the season, but it was too late for the Jaguars.  Source: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

A major problem for the Jags was poor offensive line play.  When coupled with the inferior vision and patience of Jennings compared to Jones-Drew, major problems began to occur.  Jennings was hit early in the backfield and could not recover, he averaged most of his yards after being hit (1.9 average yards after contact) either at or near the line of scrimmage.  Jones-Drew had been better at seeing holes and bursting through them (12 broken tackles), but Jennings was not equal in that ability (five broken tackles).  Only Keith Toston truly excelled at bursting through tackles (three broken tackles on 17 carries) to gain more yards and post a healthy 4.4 yards per carry.

The main problem with the inability of the Jaguars to run the ball was that much of the team’s identity is associated with grinding it out.  MJD is a workhorse back with big play potential.  He sets the tone for the entire offense.  Without him, the Jags ground to a halt.

But an injury to one star player (some would say the only star player) should not derail an entire offense.

If your identity is to run the ball, then the depth at running back has to reflect that.  Unfortunately for the Jaguars Parmele, Jennings, and Murphy all failed to provide the depth needed.  Owens really turned it on later in the season but was the primary ball carrier for just weeks 14, 15, and 16.  Originally listed a fullback for the season, the Jaguars failed to identify the talent on their roster before it was too late.  The same can be said for Toston, who was cut after the preseason (despite a strong effort) and did not carry the ball until week 17.

The Jags were woefully unprepared at running back for the 2012 season and were exposed for it.  For a team that has long relied on the running game, this may have been a bigger oversight than anything else during the last season of GM Gene Smith’s tenure.

Next up, we’ll look at the defensive tackles.

- Luke N. Sims

Feel free to leave comments on here or visit us at Facebook or Twitter!

You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims

The team had some lofty expectations for Jennings…which he failed to meet.  Source: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Rashad Jennings was supposed to be the man after a great 2010 season averaging over five yards per attempt.  This season he has been lackluster, to put it mildly.  He has 283 yards on 101 carries which comes out to a terrible 2.8 yards per attempt. Despite carrying the ball 25 more times than MJD, Jennings still has 131 yards less than Jones-Drew.  Jennings has not lived up to his hype or his potential this season.

Jalen Parmele was the next running back to get a shot at replacing Jones-Drew.  Parmele had a disappointing preseason but showed up to play in the regular season.  He had one start before being placed on injured reserve.  His 40 attempts for 143 yards and a 3.6 yard average was a vast improvement over Jennings.  The offense felt more powerful, more fluid, and smoother with Parmele in the backfield.  Of course, that all changed when he landed on IR with a leg injury.

Montell Owens is the fourth running back to get a start for the Jaguars.  He will be the third running back to start at least two games this season.  Owens has been an improvement over both Jennings and Parmele, albeit on a smaller sample size. Owens is traditionally a special teams player, but, when called upon, he has done well back at running back.  Owens has 21 attempts for 120 yards with a healthy 5.7 yard per carry average.  That average is demonstrative of both experience and skill, but from a player that the team would rather have covering punt returns.  Despite having the best average besides MJD on the team, Owens will likely not be an heir apparent for Jones-Drew.

In fact, none of the players who have started at running back for the Jaguars will likely be the heir apparent.  One doesn’t qualify as a serviceable backup, the other barely does, and the third is meant for another position.

Jones-Drew is getting older.  He isn’t the youngest playmaker around anymore, but he is still a massive talent.  We don’t know if injuries will continue to hamper his career or if this is a one time thing.  Either way, the Jaguars need to get some talent into that backfield.  The players they had their this year have been underwhelming.  Against the Dolphins I hope we see another strong day of running from Owens, but he is not going to be that man at running back; he is needed elsewhere.

This season has been rough, and as much as we need a new offensive line, new defensive line pieces, and a better corps of cornerbacks, the running depth back problem needs to be addressed as well.

- Luke N. Sims

Feel free to leave comments on here or visit us at Facebook or Twitter!

You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims

Already listed as questionable for next week’s game against the New York Jets, Jennings is becoming a victim of his own underperformance and being prone to injury.

Jennings missed all of last season due to injury, lost his starting spot this season due to injury, and is now injured again this season.  While it is common for running backs to have their bumps and bruises, when your job is to be the man when Maurice Jones-Drew needs a rest/is injured, it is nice for a team to not have to delve deeper into the depth chart because you have injury problems.

That said, a gifted back with an injury concern (maybe it isn’t a problem at this point in Jennings’ career just yet) will probably stick with his team for some time.  However, a back that is underperforming and injured is far less likely to get a new deal and stay with a team for an extended period of time.  Jennings’ 2.8 yards per carry on 101 attempts suggests that the potential we saw in 2010 (5.5 yards per attempt on 84 carries) may no longer be there.

As much as Jennings is liked among the Jaguars community, I would not be shocked if we didn’t see him back in black and teal next year..

- Luke N. Sims

Feel free to leave comments on here or visit us at Facebook or Twitter!

You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims