Blaine Gabbert came into his rookie season projected as one of the most NFL-ready of the big quarterback class of 2011, but his rookie year was disappointing, especially to Gabbert.
“There’s always a bunch of things you’d like to do differently,” Gabbert said this week. “You’re going to make mistakes throughout the season. You just have to try to limit those mistakes.”
There has been plenty of blame to spread around in Jacksonville, as the team had a disappointing 5-11 record last season, and a lot of the fingers have been pointing at Gabbert. He also admitted this week that he played the entire season with a toe injury, but he didn’t use that as an excuse.
“Everybody has those at some point and time,” Gabbert said. “It’s your job to be out there playing.”
He was definitely out there playing, starting the team’s last 14 games last season, but went 4-10 as the starter. Despite running back Maurice Jones-Drew leading the league in rushing with 1606 yards, the Jaguars ranked last in the NFL in total offense. Gabbert was ranked 34th in the league in passing efficiency, so there’s clearly room for improvement.
“You can’t worry about what everybody is saying about your game,” he said. “You’ve just got to focus on the things that you can control and the things you can improve on.”
The Jags have a solid running game and as a team ranked 12th in the league in rushing. Their defense was ranked 6th in yards allowed. But they were dead last in passing yards, and dead last by a comfortable margin. They averaged just 136 passing yards per game. Tebow and the Broncos were the only other team under 179 yards per game, and their offense was… unconventional, to say the least.
Officials with the team, including new owner Shad Khan and coach Mike Mularkey, insist Gabbert is their guy going into next season, but the team did sign Chad Henne as the backup, and Mularkey said after the signing that Henne would compete for the starting job. So it appears that the job is Gabbert’s to lose, but there is going to be competition.
“I trust Gene Smith and Mike Mularkey’s word that if they say I’m the starting quarterback, then I’m the starting quarterback,” Gabbert said. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t have to go out there and work hard and compete every day. This business is competitive. You have to perform on a daily basis. That’s how it should be and that’s how it will be.”
In order to help Gabbert, the Jaguars also signed Laurent Robinson as a free agent from the Dallas Cowboys. After a few unspectacular years in Atlanta and St. Louis, Robinson had a break out year last season, catching 54 balls for 858 yards. His 15.9 yard per catch average and his 11 touchdowns showed that he has the ability to be a playmaker.
And with the NFL draft coming up later this month, the Jaguars are expected to look for another wide receiver, as the passing game remains their greatest area of need. The Jaguars hold the number 7 pick and the number 38 pick in the first two rounds, and one of those picks is likely to go on a receiver.
With another year and a full offseason under Gabbert’s belt, and an improved receiving corps and a new coaching staff, owner Khan hopes to see a very different result on the field for his first year with the team. Mularkey was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta for the last four years, and they had the 8th best passing offense in the league last year. All this could be good news for Gabbert, who has all the parts around him to make everyone forget last season.
“My expectations are definitely higher this year,” Gabbert said. “I have a full offseason ahead of me and a great coaching staff. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.”
