Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert sounds positive but needs to improve – NFL News
Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback Blaine Gabbert boasted a positive message out of their Atlanta Falcons game but probably has a sense of realisation that there is still a plenty of room for improvement for him.
The second-year QB managed to connect to seven out of 12 passes for 64 yards but looked instable in some of the throws and even fumbled once.
Lucky for the Jaguars that they managed to beat the Falcons, finishing the game on a positive note overall but a view of Blaine’s performance might not be encouraging for coach Mike Mularkey.
Mularkey, the first-year coach with the Jaguars, had rued mistakes made by some players including Blaine in the loss against the Baltimore Ravens, which were rectified to an extent in the next.
Blaine, who fumbled on the opening play, said of the situation:
"Whenever you can string together that many plays is a positive. We'd like to finish that with a touchdown, of course. But the ability to execute for 10 or 11 minutes consecutively is pretty good."
He added:
"That's a play I have to hit. Laurent is wide open and we have to find a way to get him the ball. It's one of those where it's a matter of two inches. We are perfectionists and we will get that corrected."
With the preseason phase done now, the Jaguars are heading to the regular season, starting on September 09, and the phase is going to be a real challenge and test for the QB.
Although the Jaguars are embarking upon a new journey – with new owner, coach and other officials and players – all eyes are focused on Gabbert. The higher expectations from him this season have stemmed from his poor showing in the past season.
He had remained consistent in failing last year, replacing the team’s veteran leader David Garrard, who was out with an injury scare. Coach Del Rio did not have a choice but to stick with the rookie as a starter in spite of receiving criticism from media
and commentators, and eventually lost his job amid the poor performance by the team.
Now Mularkey has given the keys again to Blaine, hoping he does not disappoint him.
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