FOXSports.com News for Jaguars

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:13:13 GMT

The Jaguars completed the last piece of their coaching staff with the hiring of Ron Prince as the team's assistant line coach. He'll work with offensive line coach Andy Heck, one of four coaches head coach Mike Mularkey retained from last year's coaching staff. Most of the staff, minus Mularkey, spent a week in Mobile observing and talking to players who were there to play in the Senior Bowl. The Jaguars' coaches closely monitored a number of the receivers in attendance, an area the team will need to address through free agency or the draft. It was by far the weakest position on the team last season, with only one receiver - Mike Thomas - assured of retaining a roster spot for 2012. The team will also search for an elite pass rusher. Aaron Kampman was pegged for that role last season but never fully recovered from a knee injury in November of 2010 which caused him to miss the final eight games of that season. Kampman played in just three games in 2011 and while the team held out hopes he would make it back to the field in the last half of the season, he eventually was placed on injured reserve in early December. It's an area that will need to be addressed, especially with last year's starter, Jeremy Mincey, currently a free agent. MEDICAL WATCH --LB Paul Posluszny who suffered a separated shoulder in the team's final game of the regular season, had shoulder surgery shortly after the season ended. He'll miss the team's offseason workouts and won't be available until camp opens in late July. --CB Rashean Mathis had ACL surgery late in the season and will also likely miss the team's offseason drills in April. A decision has yet to be made on defensive tackle Tyson Alualu whether he'll need knee surgery in the coming weeks.

NOTES, QUOTES

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:13:09 GMT

--One of the keys to Jacksonville's No. 6 ranking on defense in 2011, a vast improvement from its 28th place ranking the year before, was the team's ability to eliminate the big play by opponents. The Jaguars permitted just 51 plays of 20-plus yards by their opponents, the third lowest figure in the league. They permitted just 43 pass completions of 20-plus yards, second lowest in the league. --The Jaguars' offense struggled to score points throughout the 2011 season, but there was some reason for optimism in the final four games when the team scored 17, 19 and 41 points in three of those games. After scoring more than 17 points in just one game - a 20-point effort in a loss to Cincinnati - it was an indication that the offense might be improving. The 41-point effort in a win over Tampa Bay was especially significant. It was more points than the Jaguars had scored combined in their three previous games. They tied a franchise-record in the game when they scored 28 points in the second quarter, matching the previous team-best ever when they scored 28 points on Nov. 1, 1998 at Baltimore in the second quarter. For rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the youngest player (21) in the history of the NFL to have started at least 14 games in a season, it was a learning experience that continued to get better. "I learned a lot. I've got a year under my belt now," he said. "I started 14 games so a lot of experience comes with that. "I'm excited with where this team is going. Like I said, we're very close. Just get a few more pieces to the puzzle and we'll be a team that's playing very good football." --Maurice Jones-Drew accounted for a franchise-record 47.7 percent of the Jaguars offense in 2011, the highest percentage in the NFL. In 12 of the 16 games, he accounted for at least 40 percent of the club's offense and at least 50 percent in eight games. No other NFL player accounted for more than 40 percent of his team's offense in 2011. But don't worry about Jones-Drew being over-worked or that it will cut down on his carries in the future. He doesn't want to hear any of that. "I don't know what that is," Jones-Drew replied when asked about the shelf-life of a running back. "Remember, when I first got here, I wasn't even suppose to play running back. I was a returner. "When I got here, I talked to (former Jaguars standout) Fred [Taylor] about taking care of my body and staying as fresh as I can. It's been working out so far, so we'll see. I might be able to play forever. You never know." --The Jaguars defense forced 57 three-and-outs by their opponents in 2011, the second -most in the NFL. Only Cincinnati with 61 had more than Jacksonville. -- The Jaguars led the NFL with 23 players on injured reserve including five starters, four of them on defense. The defense was decimated by injuries in the second half of the season as the unit lost its starting cornerbacks (Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox), starting linebacker Clint Session and starting defensive end Matt Roth in consecutive weeks to season-ending injuries. The Jaguars had 17 players on their roster at the end of the season who were not on the 53-man roster on opening weekend. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, who served as interim coach the final five weeks of the season, said it took a total team effort, with a number of backups stepping up at the right time. "We talked about the 'next man up' mantra, so to speak," Tucker said. "Guys going down and other guys having to step in and fill roles. I commend these guys on this team. We had a lot of injuries but there was never an excuse, never an explanation of why we couldn't do something or couldn't get something done. "It was just guys staying focused, staying after it, doing the best they could do. I think that's something that can be built upon in the future because that's really what it takes to get the job done in football and in life." QUOTE TO NOTE: "You rarely ever see him get knocked back and for sure, no one individual is ever going to knock him back. So every time he goes down, he's going towards the goal line and I think that's an important asset because every inch in this game is important." - Jacksonville's newly hired running backs coach Sylvester Croom talking about the Jaguars Pro Bowl runner Maurice Jones-Drew.

INSIDE SLANT

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:13:06 GMT

Jacksonville has most of its top offensive players locked into contracts for the coming season with one notable exception - kicker Josh Scobee. While most expect the eight-year veteran to re-sign with the club, most also figured that the team's veteran punter, Adam Podlesh, would re-up with the club the year before and he chose instead to sign a multiple-year deal with Chicago. Scobee is too valuable to the Jaguars to have a similar situation take place. He's been one of the league's most accurate kickers in his eight seasons with the Jaguars, converting better than 75 percent of his field-goal attempts in all but one season. Scobee led the team in scoring last year with 92 points, including 23-of-25 (92 percent) field-goal attempts, the second time in his career he's finished over 90 percent with his kicks. It isn't likely the Jaguars would use the franchise tag on him and probably won't have to. They'll make every attempt to sign him. For a team that was among the league's lowest scoring clubs, the Jaguars can ill afford to lose a player with Scobee's talents. What needs overhauling is the receiver position. Mike Thomas led the team in receiving with just 44 catches and was the only wideout with over 30 receptions. Thomas served as the team's No. 1 receiver for much of the season, but is more fit as a third choice. At least one veteran free agent receiver (i.e. San Francisco's Vincent Jackson) and a first- or second round pick at the position in the college draft is the likely scenario for the team. Last year's rookie, fourth-round pick Cecil Shorts, looked promising in camp and practices, but it never transferred to game-action. He finished with just two catches for 30 yards. The rest of the receivers group are all young with three years or less experience. Special teams standout Kassim Osgood was looking for more action as a receiver, but finished with just five catches for 42 yards. The Jaguars will also need to address the backup quarterback spot where Luke McCown is set to return for his ninth NFL season. But he's 31 years old and is a free agent. The team will have to decide if they want to keep him for a fourth year or look for another veteran quarterback to back up second-year starter Blaine Gabbert. Biggest question on the offensive line is whether center Brad Meester returns for a 13th season. He already holds the franchise record for most career starts and is the only player to have played 12 seasons with the Jaguars. He did enjoy a solid season in 2011, but at 35, the team may look for a younger, quicker fix at the position. Tackle Guy Whimper filled in for starter Eben Britton but will take a spot on the bench if Britton returns healthy from his back injury last year. Whimper is a free agent and has six seasons in the NFL. The Jaguars will try to re-sign him but won't overspend to retain him. The rest of the offense is secure with Gabbert; tight ends Marcedes Lewis, Zach Miller and Zach Potter; and a running back tandem led by Maurice Jones-Drew and fullback Greg Jones along with backups Rashad Jennings, Deji Karim and DuJuan Harris. It has to be solid because there are numerous shortfalls in the receiving group.

Scobee A Priority For Jags

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:31:50 GMT

T-U 2

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:35:13 GMT

GRADING GENE SMITH'S FIRST DRAFT AS JAGUARS GM It's one of the oldest cliches in the NFL books. They say it takes three years to properly grade an NFL Draft. So, Gene Smith's 2009 draft is open to criticism for even the most open-minded fan. I turned to ProFootballFocus.com, a fee-based website that grades every player on every play for every game. PFF evaluators don't judge technique, just the results of individual plays.

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Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:35:13 GMT

Coach and coordinator together once again;Mularkey comfortable with Bratkowski, who takes over

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:33:36 GMT

This isn't the first time Bob Bratkowski has undertaken the task of turning around one of the NFL's worst offenses. In 2001, the Cincinnati Bengals hired him after ranking 29th in yards per game. Like the Jaguars of 2011, the 2000 Bengals were worst in the league in passing yards per game. "It starts by getting your players to buy into what you're going to do," Bratkowski said. "And then there are certain things and beliefs that I have about physical play, learning what it means to finish a play and then it goes with the philosophy."

Jaguars Around the Web

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:34:29 GMT

Jags Are Biggest Underdogs

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:36:49 GMT

Ex-boss: Mularkey will be successful;Donahoe endorses Jaguars' choice; media reaction is less

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:39:54 GMT

Tom Donahoe, who was general manager of the Buffalo Bills in 2004 when he gave Mike Mularkey his first head coaching job, endorsed the Jaguars' decision to give him a second chance on Wednesday.

Mike Mularkey hired as Jaguars head coach;Former Bills head coach most recently worked as Falcons

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:39:48 GMT

It happened swiftly, just as Jaguars owner Shahid Khan said it would. Mike Mularkey will be the fourth head coach in Jacksonville Jaguars history, sources told the Times-Union on Tuesday night. The decision came 40 days after the Jaguars fired Jack Del Rio, who was in his ninth year with the franchise, after a 3-8 start this season. Mularkey interviewed in Atlanta on Tuesday, one of three offensive coordinators known to have interviewed for the position so far. Paramount for the Jaguars will be developing quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who the Jaguars drafted 10th overall in last year's draft, and Mularkey was part of the quick development of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.