Jaguars: Where does Gardner Minshew land in new QB rankings?
By David Levin
Jaguars rookie Gardner Minshew did nothing this week to move up in the most recent FanSided.con NFL quarterback rankings.
It’s tough being a part-time NFL starting quarterback. Jaguars rookie Gardner Minshew is learning that on the fly this season. In his ninth start with the black and teal, Minshew did not have the magic to help his team overcome the Los Angeles Chargers at home, falling 45-10.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the team and a growing trend for an organization that has lost those five games by 17 points or more – the worst streak in the NFL since the 1986 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For some perspective, I was 15 years old at the time.
The sparse crowd in attendance were hoping for some of those Minshew Moments that defied explanation, but instead got an offensive showing that looked more like my father’s old Datsun trying to rumble through cold weather in Washington, D.C.
Minshew showed up on FanSided.com’s most recent NFL quarterback rankings 23rd overall. The good news is the sixth-round draft pick didn’t move down ion the list. The bad news his pedestrian performance did not help him move up the board.
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"“Minshew struggled against Los Angeles, throwing for 162 yards on 4.4 YPA,” writes Matt Verderame. “After starting the season on fire, Minshew has slowly regressed back to being a borderline starter.”"
The regression isn’t just with Minshew, it is also a symptom of the lack of creativity on offense from coordinator John DeFilippo. The lack of a tight end in the offense hurts this scheme. The offensive line has been durable, but it also has not given Minshew, or Nick Foles for that matter, time to set up in the pocket to make plays downfield.
Even with his lack of success on Sunday, head coach Doug Marrone did praise his rookie signal-caller for what he did accomplish on the field.
"“The one thing about Gardner that I’ve always appreciated is that you never really see him make the same mistake twice,” Marrone said when he addressed the media immediately after the game.“I was really happy with the ball security that we worked quite a bit. I think there are little things that are going to make him better as he gets out there and it’ll make him better this week.”"
The Jaguars coaching staff made the move to replace Nick Foles with Minshew at halftime of the team’s 28-11 loss to Tampa Bay two weekends ago.
Marrone told the local members of the press last Monday his plan is to stick with the rookie the remainder of the season.
"“Again, obviously he can escape and we’re going to try to get those guys around him to be in better position for him to make more plays. So, I can’t say enough about him,” Marrone continued. “It’s a tough situation that we’re in, the quarterback situation. I think he’s gotten better in his time when we were working with him, and I just think you’re going to see him grow each and every week.”"