Dolphins vs. Jaguars: Jags come out flat, QBs disappoint

The final score in a preseason game means nothing, but the Dolphin’s 27-3 win over the Jaguars Friday night was about as lopsided as the score. The Jaguars came away with more questions than answers on offense, but the defense looked to have the potential of a solid unit even without a consistent pass rushing threat. Here are some more observations.

• No quarterback stood out – Both Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne got snaps with the “first team” offense (granted without Cecil Shorts, Justin Blackmon, and MJD) and neither quarterback impressed. Gabbert was victimized by a coupe drops, including the interception caused by Will Ta’ofu’ou, but he kept most of his passes short and didn’t take any shots downfield. He wasn’t as bad as his stat line indicates ( 5/10 for 19 yards and an interception) but he certainly wasn’t good. Chad Henne had a much better overall stat line (8/11 for 87 yards) but most of his yardage came against the Dolphin’s second team defense. Without their full complement of weapons it’s hard to come away with much from these two performances when they were both so underwhelming.

Gabbert didn’t get much help but he didn’t do much to inspire confidence. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Gabbert didn’t get much help but he didn’t do much to inspire confidence.

• Denard Robinson can play – He’s still making the transition, but it’s easy to see why the Jaguars decided to announce Denard as a running back at the draft. He has great vision in tight spaces and has quick feet capable of pushing between defenders at the line of scrimmage. It will be fun to see what kind of gadget plays Jedd Fisch concocted for him in the regular season.
• The defensive line might be really good – The Jaguars have almost a completely new defensive line and it looked impressive against a shaky Dolphins line. Free agent signing Sen’Derrick Marks got pressure early and often and both big guys up front – Roy Miller and Kyle Love – held the point well. Jason Babin looks the part of an edge pass rusher and should be able to get pressure with the tackles penetrating inside so well.
• Luke Joeckel looks like a rookie playing a new position – Obvious statement is obvious but the point is to not rag on the rookie too much. He’s always been a left tackle and switching sides isn’t trivial. He got beaten early by Cameron Wake, one of the best pass rushers in the league, but he got better as the night went on.
• Chris Prosinski and Andre Branch are probably not on the roster week 1 – Maybe the new staff wanted to see if Prosinski really is that bad and they found out Friday night. Prosinski conceded most of the yards in the Dolphin’s first touchdown drive, culminating in a ‘should-have-been-intercepted’ touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller. Andre Branch was also basically non-existent, which is troubling against a leaky Dolphin’s offensive line that gave up a sack to D’Anthony Smith of all people.

We’ll have more extensive analysis with some Pro Football Focus numbers coming up soon.

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89