Here’s my list about what I’ll be focusing during the game:

Justin Blackmon’s Debut

Finally the Jaguars 1st round pick of ’12 will taste the atmosphere of an NFL game. Blackmon has been practicing in full pads since Monday. He struggled early in the week (as expected), but reports came that he looked better and better as the week progressed. I’m not sure how much playtime Blackmon will get against the Saints and at which position (as a Z receiver or in the slot), but I hope he’ll show a little flash with his great talent.  Earlier in OTA’s and minicamp Mularkey said that when Blackmon knew what was going on he performed well, but when he didn’t, he looked lost. It will be interesting to see if this is still the case.

Also it will be interesting to see who’s playing time will be limited in this game. Mike Thomas and Cecil Shorts got the snaps in Blackmon’s absence and Thomas had a great game against the Giants. Some have suggested that Blackmon should play in the slot early in his career, and let Shorts play in the Z receiver position. That would mean a 3 WR set, and I don’t know the Jaguars want to use that often or at this point.

Speaking of wide receiver, after the Gianst game there were a couple roster moves at the position. Lee Evans,  Taylor Price and Charles Gilbert were relased and the Jaguars added Demetrius Williams to the roster. I think the Jaguars have the 5 but more likely 6 receivers almost set for the final  53 men roster. Laurent Robinson, Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts III are guaranteed locks. Mike Thomas made a good case for himself at the Ginats game. Kevin Elliott and Brian Robiskie (who also had a good game last Friday) are battling for the final position, but since Ellioott can contribute on special teams as well (and they need some boost there after Kassim Osgood was cut earlier this year), the Jaguars will likely take all 6 players. Mike Brown needs a good game to make for a case for himself as a practice squad player. Meanwhile Chastin West can make this team only if one or two of the 6 WRs I mentioned get hurt.

 Offensive Line Issues

What happened to Guy Whimper? Source: US-Presswire

Many experts said the Jaguars were thin at O-line before camp even started. Now it seems injuries are testing the depth here very early. The injury bug bit the interior very hard as Will Rackley, Jason Spitz, and John Estes all can’t play. Estes could possibly end up on IR. This wek LT Eugene Monroe had a head injury (most likely a concussion) and even Eben Britton was seen limping (luckily only from being dehydration). Still, the Jaguars are now very thin at the left guard position. If the Jaguars don’t move Britton to this position, they have just UDFA rookies here. Mike Brewster, DJ Hall and Drew Nowak (who was a DT 2 weeks ago) seem to be the most likely fits. At tackle the team can take a deep look at Cameron Bradfield if Monroe does not play against the Saints – most likely that will be the case; there is some buzz around the 2nd year OT from Grand Valley Sate, he may even become a starter and not be just some jar on the shelf.  Even with these players I have concerns about how this patchwork O-line will protect Blaine Gabbert or help in the running game. The O-line with Monroe and Estes allowed 8 sacks (six sacks and two fumbles, one recovered) last week.  That is way too much, even if we consider how great the Giants’ pass rush is.  Now Uche Nwaneri & co will face Will Smith, Sedrick Ellis , Curtis Lofton and Cameron Jordan. Their job will not be any easier this week, especially at the Superdome in front of one of the best audiences in the NFL.

The even bigger fear is, who will play during the second half? At tackle there are backups Daniel Baldridge and the totally forgotten Guy Whimper… but who will play at center or guard in the second half? If Meester is benched for rest, Mike Brewster must take over at center. That means Nowak and Hall will get at least a half  or even more playing time at guard. The Jaguars also signed Josh Beekman this week as well. Chad Henne and Jordan Palmer could be in for a very rough night.

The old-new D-line 

Tomorrow Tyson Alualu will play for the first time since his knee surgery in the offseason. Most likely Terrance Knighton will also return to the starting lineup, since he was dominating against the Giants 2nd tier Offensive lineman (which indicates he is ready for more). But maybe the most interesting matchup will be the Jaguars starting DEs(Jeremy Mincey & Andre Branch) vs. the Saints tackles (Zach Streif and Jermon Bushrod).  Bushrod struggled against New England last week and he is considered to be a better OT than Strief. Joe Cullen praises Branch’s development in camp, so it will be interesting to see if that will show in QB hits or sacks. Also Aaron Morgan is continuing to make a strong case for himself as the 3rd best DE  right now. He finished with a team high 1.5 sacks last Friday. Keep your eye on him. D’Anthony Smith also looked promising in his start at DT. It will be interesting if he can dominate the at the level Knighton did last week.

Who will be Jennings’ backup? 

Sadly Maurice Jones Drew is still holding out,  so the Jaguars are now seriously planning for the regular season without their best offensive player. Luckily his backup, Rashad Jennings, plays really well, and it seems the starting RB position is a no brainer even without Jones-Drew. However the next player on the depth chart is the real question.  Jalen Parmele was really good in camp and during the scrimmage, but he looked lost vs the Giants. DuJuan Harris, who backed up Jones-Drew in the final games last season also struggled. So the Jaguars now moved two time Pro Bowler and special teams ace Montell Owens to be the 2nd RB on the depth chart. Owens is a very intelligent player, with great hands and good blocking skills. But as a runner the Jaguars have barely used him in previous seasons.  That is a major concern to me. So the backup RB position is up for grabs still between Owens, Parmele, Harris and Richard Murphy. And let’s not count out Keith Toston who played really well in the 2nd half last week.  So there are plenty of candidates, but the most welcomed development would be if Maurice Jones-Drew ends this standoff and returns to the team. If that happens, all of sudden the Jaguars will have one of the best 1-2 punches on the ground…

QB watch 

I thought Gabbert looked like a totally different player in the opening drive last week. Even the massive crowd of critics accept this.  He was efficient, made good decisions, and converted four 3rd and long situations in the opening drive against the Giants starting defense. Of course the critics found him on the fumble in his 3rd drive and accused him of a “chuck and duck” in a situation when every other QB would act the same. In fact Eli Manning just did the same in that game and nobody noticed… Seriously I wonder what this kid did to the media to earn such one sided criticism…  Anyway he can tone down the criticism with another great performance against the Saints. Sadly, the New Orleans defense kept the Patriots to 7 points last week, and that was in New England. Imagine how fired up the team and fans will be at home…

Also it looks like there will be a QB competition which involves Chad Henne. But instead of challenging  Gabbert he must defend his position against Jordan Palmer, who looked quite good in the 1st preseason game.  If this is the case versus the Saints (and if Palmer even plays, considering that the starters will play the entire first half) that’s not too good a trend for Mr. Henne. If Henne plays above average (and he will play behind a very, very shaky offensive line) things could turn into a QB controversy. At least at the backup QB position….

- Zoltan Paksa

Soem were wondering why he didn’t play on Friday against the Giants.  Well we just got our reason.

This is an indication that the team is satisfied with the current group of receivers.  Evans wasn’t great for the Ravens last year (including the AFC Championship game-winning drop) and may be forced into retirement unless a starved team takes a swing at him.

Also waived today was wide receiver Taylor Price.

- Luke N. Sims

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