NEW ORLEANS—Blaine Gabbert looked confident, fearless and efficient in executing the Jacksonville Jaguars offense in the team's second NFL preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on Friday night. In other words, he looked nothing like the skittish quarterback he was for most of his 2011 rookie season.
It didn't matter that the Jags were without their best offensive player, running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who is in the midst of a contract holdout. They stayed balanced with a strong rushing attack to help their second-year QB, and he didn't disappoint in coolly playing off it against the Saints' first-team defense in a noisy road environment.
"It's night and day from last year," Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis said. "He is showing that when he has time, he is able to deliver the ball. He's able to go through his reads and make the throws. Kudos to the offensive line and big kudos to Blaine. He's been impressive."
Gabbert (13-for-16, 112 yards passing, two touchdowns, 135.4 passer rating) drove the Jaguars to 17 points on his five first-half drives. With Rashad Jennings playing the role of Jones-Drew pounding away on the left side of the line, Gabbert took advantage of the resulting comfort zone and play-action opportunities.
He stood in the face of the Saints' pressure, instead of scrambling hastily to escape it. He used the true go-to No. 1 wide receiver he didn't have last season—rookie first-round pick Justin Blackmon—to make himself look good. When it wasn't there downfield, he found a sneaky good checkdown option in unknown tight end Colin Cloherty.
That was all on display right away, after Jennings reeled off 22 yards on two carries to send Gabbert on his way. He showed the necessary good chemistry with Blackmon, first in a short 8-yard pass to the left and then zipped him a laser for 16-yard touchdown on a tough third down.
"He's a great target, a big, physical receiver," Gabbert said of Blackmon. "He showed you what he can do after the ball is in his hands. He's going to play a huge role on the offense."
Where did this Gabbert come from? The addition of Blackmon has helped, as has improved play from first-round left tackle Eugene Monroe. But the biggest development was bringing in new head coach Mike Mularkey to work with Gabbert in his first full NFL offseason.
Mularkey knows the Saints' defensive personnel well and how to exploit them from his previous gig as the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator. So it was a good opportunity to get Gabbert going with a game plan that Mularkey often used to quickly turn Matt Ryan into unrattled starting quarterback.
While Gabbert continues to make the transition to a pro-style offense from the college spread, it is not in the Jaguars' best interest to unleash a wide-open passing game just yet.
With Jones-Drew or Jennings playing the role of Michael Turner—a power runner to set up an effective short-to-intermediate passing game—Gabbert will stay in a position to succeed.
"He stands in the pocket. The protection for the most part has been very good," Mularkey said. "We got to stop some of the penalties we're creating down here in the red zone, making it tough on ourselves, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the way they performed in the first half."
There will be a time when Gabbert will be called upon to let it fly, when both he and Blackmon are ready for it. For now, however, it is major growth for Gabbert to just consistently show a pocket presence.
It will take some big plays and big wins from Gabbert in regular-season games for critics of his rough beginning to come around on the idea that he will be the Jaguars' decade-long solution at quarterback. But you can bet Gabbert's own renewed confidence gives Jacksonville officials a lot more confidence they made the right draft decision.
I'm in no way comparing Gabbert to Rogers, but so far he's looked vastly different from the guy people saw last year. He had so many things stacked against him last year: major injuries along the line, subpar WR's, terrible coaching (he had a WR coach as a QB coach). This Jaguars fan is optimistic.
