NFL PREVIEW: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Jacksonville Jaguars

By KELCI BAKER, EIHSS SPORTS

Last year: 5-11, 3rd in AFC South, missed playoffs

The Jaguars will have an entirely different look coming into the 2012 season with not only a new owner but a new coach and new uniforms as well. It doesn't seem like the Jaguars could fall any more than they already have. After the last season Jack Del Rio lost his job and the team was sold by Wayne Weaver to Shad Kahn. They finished last in the NFL in passing with 2.179 yards as well as total offense at 259.3 a game. The defense did improve though from No. 26 in 2010 to No. 6 in 2011. If they can maintain the defensive and improve offensively, the Jaguars could be a hopeful to win the AFC South. But that is a BIG if.  There should also be a more balanced attack on the offense this upcoming season. Their NFL ranking for the passing game at 32nd needs to get much closer to the ranking for their rushing game which was 12th.

Bob Bratkowski leads the offense with a pro-set style. They'll feature more of the running game with Maurice Jones-Drew , the NFL's leading rusher last season. The offensive line was unable to stay healthy last year but if they can manage that this year, Jones-Drew might become even more of a threat. He'll also have Rashad Jennings who missed last season due to a knee injury. What's unsure is how effective the passing game will be compared to last season. With the acquisition of two wide receivers, Laurent Robinson and Lee Evans, and the selection of another in the draft, Justin Blackmon in the first round, it all looks positive but that might all change once the season gets underway. With talented receivers behind him, the next question is whether quarterback Blaine Gabbert will be able to deliver.

Even though it seemed they were set on the defensive side of the football, the Jaguars still choose four defensive players out of their six picks in the draft. The pickup of veteran cornerback Aaron Ross and re-signings of defensive end Jeremy Mincey and veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis seem set. Three starting linebackers will be returning and Russell Allen will be there and ready as a replacement. Tyson Alualu had offseason knee surgery so it's uncertain if ready he'll be to play this upcoming season. Tackle Terrance Knighton suffered a serious eye injury after a nightclub altercation this offseason. This could cause him to be sidelined until training camp. Last year, Knighton was reported to be 30 pounds overweight and now his time sitting out might make that worse. Andre Branch, a second-round pick at defensive in, is likely to start.

Special teams’ coordinator John Bonamego had to deal with issues surrounding veteran kicker Josh Scobee who couldn't reach an agreement on his new contract. The Jaguars decided to use their franchise tag on him. Fans weren't pleased when they picked a punter, Bryan Anger in the third round at No. 70 overall because they believe there were other more important spots that needed filling.

With a new coach came a new assistant at almost every position for Jacksonville with a few exceptions including Mike Mularkey. Also included is Tucker who served as interim coach in the last five games of last season. After words, he openly campaigned to make that job permanent. Gabbert figures to greatly improve upon his rookie season by receiving the passing game knowledge of Bratkowski and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson.

2012 Draft Recap

WR Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State was the Jaguars best of six picks in the draft. He brings a dimension to the passing game that was highly needed.

WR Justin Blackmon. Oklahoma State.

First round. 5th pick overall.

DE Andre Branch. Clemson.

Second round. 38th pick overall.

He led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 10.5 sacks last season. He'll fill the teams need on defense because he's so physical as a pass-rushing end.

P Bryan Anger. California.

Third round. 70th pick overall.

Anger averaged 44.2 yards a punt last season. He was also the best in the East-West Shrine game where he averaged 60 yards on three punts.

LB Brandon Marhsall. Nevada.

Fifth round. 142nd pick overall.

He'll serve as a strong, physical backup linebacker

CB Mike Harris. Florida State.

Sixth round. 176th pick overall.

A solid tackler who excelled on punt and kick-cover teams

DT Jeris Pendleton. Ashland (Ohio) University.

Seventh round. 228th pick overall.

He played two seasons at a junior college before finishing two more years at Ashland. Pendleton is 28.

The Jaguars will look to improve on a third-place finish in the AFC South heading into the 2012 season.

Led by second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville faces a division that will have a completely different complexion now that Peyton Manning is out of the picture. The Colts, who have been perennial favorites in the South for over a decade, will likely be led by Andrew Luck and will try to reassert themselves after a terrible 2011 campaign.

But Jacksonville must take this opportunity to establish itself as a contender in a very competitive division that also features Houston and Tennessee.

The 2012 schedule holds a fair amount of challenges for the Jaguars—they'll face the AFC East, but fortunately, they get the tougher games at home and the softer ones on the road. The biggest challenge on the docket looks to be a road matchup at Green Bay.

Here's a look at all that the Jaguars' 2012 schedule has to offer.

Schedule

Week 1 9/9: Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings, 1 ET, CBS
Week 2 9/16: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans, 1 ET, CBS
Week 3 9/23: Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts, 1 ET, CBS
Week 4 9/30: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 4:05 ET, CBS
Week 5 10/7: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears, 4:05 ET, Fox
Week 6: Bye
Week 7 10/21: Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Raiders, 4:15 ET, CBS
Week 8 10/28: Jacksonville Jaguars at Green Bay Packers, 1 ET, CBS
Week 9 11/4: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Detroit Lions, 1 ET, Fox
Week 10 11/8 (Thursday): Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts, 8:20 ET, NFL Network
Week 11 11/18: Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans, 1 ET, CBS
Week 12 11/25: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans, 1 ET, CBS
Week 13 12/2: Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills, 1 ET, CBS
Week 14 12/9: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets, 1 ET, CBS
Week 15 12/16: Jacksonville Jaguars at Miami Dolphins, 1 ET, CBS
Week 16 12/23: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots, 1 ET, CBS
Week 17 12/30: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans, 1 ET, CBS 

 

ACTIVE ROSTER

 

#	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Exp.	College
66	Adams, Kendrick	DE	6-5	252	23	R	Louisana State
50	Allen, Russell	LB	6-3	238	26	4	San Diego State
93	Alualu, Tyson	DT	6-3	295	25	3	California
19	Anger, Bryan	P	6-3	202	23	R	California
76	Baldridge, Daniel	OT	6-8	308	26	1	Marshall
72	Barbiasz, Lee	OT	6-7	308	24	R	Northern Colorado
14	Blackmon, Justin	WR	6-1	210	22	R	Oklahoma State
38	Blake, Antwon	CB	5-9	198	21	R	Texas-El Paso
44	Bolen, Brock	FB/RB	6-0	232	27	4	Louisville
56	Bosworth, Kyle	LB	6-1	236	25	3	UCLA
78	Bradfield, Cameron	OT	6-4	308	24	2	Grand Valley State
90	Branch, Andre	DE	6-5	265	22	R	Clemson
60	Brewster, Mike	C	6-4	305	22	R	Ohio State
73	Britton, Eben	OL	6-6	308	24	4	Arizona
30	Brown, Jeremiah	S	5-10	198	22	R	Wagner
12	Brown, Mike	WR	5-10	200	23	R	Liberty
48	Cain, Jeremy	LS	6-1	245	32	7	Massachusetts
97	Chick, John	DE	6-4	255	29	2	Utah State
46	Cloherty, Colin	TE	6-2	252	24	1	Brown
2	Coutu, Brandon	PK	5-10	195	27	2	Georgia
21	Cox, Derek	CB	6-1	195	25	4	William & Mary
49	Davis, Ryan	DE	6-2	260	23	R	Bethune-Cookman
16	Dennard, Antonio	CB	5-11	190	22	R	Langston
87	Elliott, Kevin	WR	6-3	215	23	R	Florida A&M
62	Estes, John	C	6-2	293	25	3	Hawaii
83	Evans, Lee	WR	6-0	210	31	9	Wisconsin
11	Gabbert, Blaine	QB	6-4	235	22	2	Missouri
36	Greene, Courtney	S	6-0	215	25	4	Rutgers
61	Hall, Jr., D.J.	G	6-1	312	23	R	Texas State
40	Harris, DuJuan	RB	5-9	208	23	2	Troy
34 d	Harris, Mike	CB	5-10	188	23	R	Florida State
41	Heath, T.J.	CB	6-0	188	24	2	Jacksonville State
7	Henne, Chad	QB	6-3	230	27	4	Michigan
79	Irvin, Corvey	DT	6-2	295	27	2	Georgia
6	Issac, Rod	DB	5-10	202	23	2	Middle Tennessee State
23	Jennings, Rashad	RB	6-1	228	27	4	Liberty
32	Jones-Drew, Maurice	RB	5-7	210	27	7	UCLA
33	Jones, Greg	FB	6-1	265	31	9	Florida State
54	Jones, Joshua	LB	6-1	235	23	R	Elon
96	Knighton, Terrance	DT	6-3	330	26	4	Temple
26	Landry, Dawan	S	6-1	212	29	7	Georgia Tech
92	Lane, Austen	DE	6-6	265	24	3	Murray State
89	Lewis, Marcedes	TE	6-6	272	28	7	UCLA
25	Lowery, Dwight	DB	5-11	212	26	5	San Jose State
53	Marshall, Brandon	LB	6-1	238	22	R	Nevada
27	Mathis, Rashean	CB	6-1	195	31	10	Bethune-Cookman
63	Meester, Brad	C	6-3	292	35	13	Northern Iowa
29	Middleton, William	CB	5-10	190	25	4	Furman
86	Miller, Zach	TE	6-5	236	27	4	Nebraska-Omaha
94	Mincey, Jeremy	DL	6-4	265	28	5	Florida
75	Monroe, Eugene	OT	6-5	306	25	4	Virginia
58	Morgan, Aaron	DE	6-4	250	23	3	Louisiana-Monroe
99	Mosley, C.J.	DL	6-2	310	28	8	Missouri
39	Murphy, Richard	RB	6-1	215	25	2	Louisiana State
64	Nowak, Drew	DT	6-3	300	22	R	Western Michigan
77	Nwaneri, Uche	G/C	6-3	310	28	6	Purdue
24	Owens, Montell	RB	5-10	225	28	7	Maine
5	Palmer, Jordan	QB	6-5	230	28	4	Texas-El Paso
34 o	Parmele, Jalen	RB	5-11	225	26	3	Toledo
98	Pendleton, Jeris	DT	6-2	315	28	R	Ashland University
51	Posluszny, Paul	LB	6-2	242	27	6	Penn State
88	Potter, Zach	TE	6-7	265	26	3	Nebraska
15	Price, Taylor	WR	6-1	195	24	3	Ohio
42	Prosinski, Chris	S	6-1	208	25	2	Wyoming
65	Rackley, Will	G/C	6-3	310	22	2	Lehigh
69	Ray, Odrick	DE	6-4	275	23	R	Tulsa
81	Robinson, Laurent	WR	6-2	205	27	6	Illinois State
70	Robinson, William	OT	6-5	305	27	3	San Diego State
18	Robiskie, Brian	WR	6-4	212	24	4	Ohio State
20	Ross, Aaron	CB	6-0	197	29	6	Texas
22	Rutland, Kevin	CB	6-0	193	24	2	Missouri
59	Schaffer, J.K.	LB	6-0	232	22	R	Cincinnati
10	Scobee, Josh	PK	6-1	210	30	9	Louisiana Tech
91	Selvie, George	DE	6-4	270	25	3	South Florida
55	Session, Clint	LB	5-9	248	27	6	Pittsburgh
84	Shorts III, Cecil	WR/RS	6-0	202	24	2	Mount Union
95	Smith, D'Anthony	DT	6-2	300	24	3	Louisiana Tech
52	Smith, Daryl	LB	6-2	248	30	9	Georgia Tech
67	Spitz, Jason	G/C	6-3	298	29	7	Louisville
57	Stanford, Julian	LB	6-1	230	21	R	Wagner
45	Tahi, Naufahu	FB	6-0	262	30	6	Brigham Young
80	Thomas, Mike	WR	5-8	198	25	4	Arizona
85	Veldman, Matt	TE	6-7	255	23	R	North Dakota State
17	West, Chastin	WR	6-1	217	25	2	Fresno State
68	Whimper, Guy	OT	6-5	315	29	7	East Carolina
31	Youboty, Ashton	CB	6-0	192	28	7	Ohio State