2012 Jacksonville Jaguars Preview

2012 Jacksonville Jaguars

I really don’t know who the Jaguars are going to beat this year. They went 5-11, and I know that there will be some freak games where they win, but honestly, this team kind of sucks. I have never been a believer in Blaine Gabbert, and their best player, Maurice Jones-Drew, is in the middle of a holdout that could very well prolong into the season. They have a couple of weapons on the outside in first round pick Justin Blackmon and free agent signee Laurent Robinson at receiver. The defense played surprisingly well last year for how bad of a team they had, so that’s a bright spot. To me, the only way that the Jags have hope is if Gabbert really improves this season and proves me wrong. But looking at the roster as is...it looks like it will be a long season. Like a top three draft pick kind of season. That’s what you get with a bad team and a first year head coach.

Offense

The Jacksonville offense is not good. That is, they won’t be if Blaine Gabbert again doesn’t step up, and move out of the laughable QBR range that he’s in. With a young quarterback and a couple of nice targets on the outside, the passing game has room to grow, but I don’t think it is anywhere near formidable yet. The running game for the Jaguars was fantastic last year, when their workhorse MJD led the league in rushing yards. However, he still has not reported to camp, and it is unclear when he will show up. So for now, backup Rashad Jennings will take over, and try to produce as best as he can for the foreseeable future. Justin Blackmon will be a solid wide out in time, but for now it is fair to not expect great things. He will probably have 50 catches for 600 yards and 4 touchdowns. Give or take.

Defense

The Jacksonville Jaguar defense isn’t too bad. They can definitely hold their own and keep the Jags in plenty of games. They are led by middle linebacker Paul Posluszny, and still have Rashean Mathis as their main corner, but there is not much star power in this unit. They were able to finish 6th in the entire league in yards per game allowed, a fact that is made even more impressive when you think about how much they were on the field, as the offense could not sustain drives. If they can maintain similar success and the offense can improve, then this team can be ok, but I just don’t see it this year.

Schedule

After a 5-11 record last year, you have to think that without MJD, this team will probably not have a better record than that. I already have said that the Cleveland Browns will have the number one pick in the draft next year, but I’m rethinking that a little bit right now. It looks bad, with games against the AFC East and the NFC North, where there are six potential playoff teams out of the eight that the Jags will face. Let’s see how they do.

Week 1: L at MIN (they would win if it was at home)

Week 2: L vs HOU

Week 3: L at IND

Week 4: W vs CIN (on CIN preview, I had CIN winning--changed my mind)

Week 5: L vs CHI

Week 6: Bye

Week 7: L at OAK

Week 8: L at GB

Week 9: L vs DET

Week 10: W vs IND

Week 11: L at HOU

Week 12: W vs TEN

Week 13: L at BUF

Week 14: L vs NYJ

Week 15: W at MIA (another change)

Week 16: L vs NE

Week 17: L at TEN

So that’s 4-12, just good enough to not the worst team in the league. That’s being nice, too; I guessed those four wins. For the games that I’m changing, like the CIN and the MIA game, those records will be updated when I have my complete final standings post. Anyway, the point of this post is that the Jaguars will not be good. Sorry, Jacksonville. Should have traded for Tim Tebow. Maybe you good sell tickets that way. After my bold prediction, I’m going to end the AFC South by previewing the Tennessee Titans.

Bold Prediction: For however many games he starts at running back, Rashad Jennings will average 70 rushing yards a game. So if he starts 8 games, he’ll have 560 yards. And 4 touchdowns. And if he plays all 16, he’ll have 1,120 yards and 8 touchdowns.