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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- I came to the Jaguars' headquarters at EverBank Field in search of specifics.

Blaine Gabbert’s terrible rookie year was well-documented. But his new coaches believe he still can become a quality NFL quarterback.

What have they seen that fuels their confidence in him? And can we expect to see improvement in summer camp and fall games?

We’ve heard from coach Mike Mularkey about how he respected the way Gabbert dealt with all the negativity connected to his completion percentage of just over 50.0, the 40 sacks he absorbed, the 12 touchdown passes against 11 interceptions, his 14 fumbles (five of them lost) and 65.4 passer rating.

Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski offered some analysis of what needed fixing in this “Evening with the Coaches” talk early in the offseason.

I wanted to pick up on that.

Enduring early lumps is part of the deal for virtually every quarterback early in his career. Now, with a new start, tell me about what he’s doing better, I asked.

The initial request was a long shot, but I was still disappointed that Gabbert and his coaches were unwilling to show me one play on film -- comparing and contrasting what Gabbert did with it in last year’s training camp or during last season, and what he’s doing now. No, they don’t need to go into that sort of detail or offer that level of information. But what would it have hurt?

Short of that, Bratkowski offered the most detail in discussing Gabbert’s improvements so far, circling back to what he touched on in that chalk talk.

“Fundamentally, there were some times last year in his drops when he was getting a little bit long with his footwork and getting a little too fast,” Bratkowski said. “So what we’ve tried to do is get him to slow his feet down just a little bit, take shorter steps and stand taller in the pocket.

“Those are some things we identified when we first looked at him, and he’s improving on those things out there right now. You can see him carrying it into the actual plays we’re running in team situations.”

After a fast drop that took him too deep, he typically wound up shuffling forward as soon as he completed his drop, and his busy feet hurt his ability to make sound throws.

Gabbert said forming the new habit isn’t hard.

“The biggest thing all the quarterbacks are working on is just calming our feet down, staying in the pocket, not getting too long, not taking too long of a drop,” Gabbert said. “Because at some point in time, the angles get off with our offensive tackles when they’re trying to block a rush end …

“A lot of the footwork is dictated on the route concepts, the type of offense you run, the style of offense you run. And we have a different offense. We have different plays, and the drops go with those types of plays.”

Mularkey said the Jaguars' offense is about half installed at this point. Reporters are dismissed from OTA sessions once the team reaches the installation phase.

So, despite the reportorial desire to be shown, not told, those of us trying to track the team are left to rely more on conversations than observations regarding Gabbert and everything else.

In the handful of team plays I saw, one horrific pass stood out: a short throw over the middle that bounced well behind the intended receiver. At another point, as the quarterbacks threw to a couple of stationary receivers while running through some red zone possibilities, they were aiming for a target at the front left corner of the end zone.

The situation required a high, firm pass. After Gabbert’s first try wasn’t loopy enough, quarterbacks coach Greg Olson assumed the position of a cornerback the pass needed to get over. He stood with his back to the throw, an arm extended. But as he anticipated the ball’s arrival, he jokingly pulled his hands back to cover his head.

“Can I trust you?” he joked as he turned back to Gabbert, whose second attempt at the pass had cleared Olson and landed where it needed to, proving him trustworthy.

It was rhetorically symbolic, I thought.

"It really is about that to me, at any position with any position coach -- there's got to be a trust factor," Olson said. "He's got to feel that everything I tell him is meant to get him better. Three months into the relationship, I think we are developing that trust factor. If there is no trust there, you have no chance to grow."

Gabbert's teammates have big expectations for a big bounce-back after a rookie season that included the team's being sold and former coach Jack Del Rio getting fired during a 5-11 season.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a situation where a quarterback gets thrown into a starting role that early with the deficiencies in personnel that we had at that time, with a lot of things stacked against him,” said guard Uche Nwaneri.

“I think people kind of teed off on him. There were some things that he did that weren’t particularly the best, but, you know, he was a rookie. There were so many things happening that affect the quarterback as the result of protection, route running, guys getting open.”

Look, it’s somehow fashionable to say that the bad things Gabbert put on display last year serve as indisputable evidence he can’t be a successful NFL quarterback. I understand his footwork isn’t the only thing that gets sped up -- our assessments come faster than ever.

But judging a quarterback on 15 games and 13 starts with a bad team is simply too hasty.

Gabbert is not going to be Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman. But those guys were awful as rookies, too. Manning threw 28 interceptions, and his Colts were 3-13. Aikman threw 18 interceptions and didn’t win a game for the Cowboys.

Two things struck me as I spoke with Gabbert that I think are significant for right now.

Several times he talked about how’s he’s having fun, how football is fun, how the new offense is fun.

And he still looks and sounds the part -- he’s got confidence as he talks, and in the way he carries himself. He doesn’t look like a broken guy. He looks like a kid ready to go give it another try.

The biggest issue is dealing with the rush. Olson said the team is trading some seven-on-seven passing situations (where there are no linemen) for team periods where Gabbert has to feel pressure and sort it out. In drills without defenders, a coach or an equipment guy typically charges at him with flailing arms.

"For a guy coming out of a system in college where he wasn't only in the shotgun, but they had him lined up 7 yards deep, it was new to him last season," Olson said. "We're just hoping he'll be more comfortable with that environment, coming out from underneath center, taking a drop with an oncoming rush. That's all you can hope for right now, is the comfort level gets much greater. And it's been good."

Not having OTAs and minicamps didn’t hurt Cam Newton when it came to posting big rookie numbers for the Panthers, and it didn’t stop Andy Dalton from leading the Bengals to the playoffs.

Gabbert didn’t get off to the same kind of start, and maybe he’ll never earn his way into a conversation about the top quarterbacks of the 2011 draft class.

He’s getting that OTA time now. There is time to build slowly. It’s a different deal.

I wondered if Gabbert was appreciating the pace now, or finding himself anxious to get to the Jaguars' Sept. 9 opener in Minnesota, so he could do something to start to erase the dud of a first season.

“Everybody’s eager,” he said. “When you have a season where things don’t go the way you want them to, you’re always eager to get back out there. But it’s a process.”

The important people are willing to give him the time to go through it. The rest of us will just have to wait.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Jaguars in 2012.

Dream scenario (10-6): Mike Mularkey’s offensive scheme does for Blaine Gabbert what it did early on for Matt Ryan in Atlanta. Gabbert silences his stable of critics, playing with newfound poise and confidence and finding himself in situations in which he’s comfortable and can show off the arm that was a big reason he was a top 10 pick.

The second-year quarterback is well-protected as he works his way through progressions and spreads the ball around to a much-improved receiving corps headed by Laurent Robinson and Justin Blackmon. With the passing offense faring far better, Maurice Jones-Drew's hammer hits even harder because his carries are less predictable.

Defensively, the team is healthy all season long in karmic payback for last year’s slew of injuries.

Defensive tackles Tyson Alualu and Terrance Knighton put it all together, with middle linebacker Paul Posluszny playing great behind them, and no one can even ponder running up the middle against the Jaguars. Rookie second-rounder Andre Branch provides a serious boost to the pass rush, and the linebackers get involved in pressuring the quarterback. When they don’t get a sufficient push, the coverage holds up.

And rookie punter Bryan Anger regularly hits bombs and pins teams deep, semi-justifying his third-round draft status.

Mularkey wins coach of the year as the Jaguars qualify for the playoffs.

Nightmare scenario (4-12): New coaches, a new system and new receivers don’t make for a new Gabbert, and he struggles in his second season much as he did as a rookie. A rough start means the fan base calls for backup Chad Henne, and Mularkey finds himself in a tough spot with a quick quarterback controversy.

Henne eventually gets the call but doesn’t play much better, so the team is over-reliant on the run game. The defense, meanwhile, can’t overcome the lack of a pass rush. It gives up too many passing yards and too many big plays because quarterbacks have time to wait for targets to break open. Then the Jaguars begin to blitz more to amp things up but pay a price by giving up big plays out of high-risk, high-reward situations.

Owner Shahid Khan, used to life as a businessman who wins, says or does something controversial that makes things even messier. The Jaguars actually finish a game worse than they did in Jack Del Rio’s final season, leaving Denver’s defensive coordinator shrugging and people removing some responsibility for 2011 from him.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Weapons and protection. Protection and weapons.

In any fair-minded conversation about what around Blaine Gabbert needs to improve for him to fare far better in his second season as the Jaguars' quarterback, those have been the two huge themes.

And the weapons have been upgraded. The team brought in free agent receiver Laurent Robinson and traded up to draft receiver Justin Blackmon fifth overall.

But they did nothing of note on the offensive line outside of adding undrafted free-agent center Mike Brewster, who shouldn’t see the field on offense if he makes the team.

So why are we expecting Gabbert to benefit from better protection when he’ll be operating behind a line made up of the same guys? The one significant change will be the return of right tackle Eben Britton, who missed 12 games last season because of a herniated disk.

“It’s a different offense, it’s a different scheme, it’s different coaches, it’s a different offseason,” coach Mike Mularkey said. “There are a lot of different things going on. We run a different offense here and we will do what we have to do to protect him.”

Right guard Uche Nwaneri said running backs will be more involved in blocking the edges, that the protection schemes are called using numbers instead of words and that there are a lot more small nuances that will allow the Jaguars' offensive line to have more control in reacting to what a defense is doing.

Gabbert took 40 sacks last season and the Jaguars allowed 44. Not all of them were on the offensive line, of course. Placing blame for sacks can be subjective. Gabbert often held the ball too long or moved into trouble.

The progressions in the new offense should give him the ability to get rid of the ball more quickly when he needs to, and his pocket presence should improve. (More on that and Gabbert coming soon.)

Britton’s return and a season of experience for left guard Will Rackley should also help reduce the number of sacks the Jaguars allow.

“It’s about all five guys working in unison,” Nwaneri said. “With injuries and with young talent out there, that can shake up consistency at times and those are some of the things we dealt with last year. This year I think it’s going to be a lot better.

“We’re going to have a healthy line, a young guy like Will will know what’s expected and how to prepare for games. It’s going to give us a better opportunity to succeed.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Did the players really win much when they reduced offseason workout obligations in the new collective bargaining agreement?

Sure, less work is better in some ways, and a bigger offseason is certainly an upgrade for a lot of players in a lot of ways.

Sure, parameters need to be spelled out and restrictions put in place to keep teams from abusing players’ time or making them feel they need to be doing things they don’t really have to.

But a scene from Tuesday at the Jaguars’ OTA session was telling.

These light, two-hour practices end promptly at 1 p.m. with three short blasts of a horn.

But Monday, running backs coach Sylvester Croom and Rashad Jennings were lingering. It’s what a lot of coaches and players do after practices during the year. Stay after a bit to go over something, to get a question answered or to make a correction.

“I turned around and I didn’t even realize they were still on the field after 1 p.m.,” coach Mike Mularkey said. “I’m like, ‘You can’t be out here!’ I had to pull them off and I hope my gesture of ‘get-off-the-field’ was big enough that the cameras saw me.”

Props to Mularkey for being a stickler on the rules.

He said he’s had to pull Croom and receivers coach Jerry Sullivan off the field that way so far, because by force of habit coaches work with guys after practice and players ask for such time.

Now the Jaguars' new head coach has to monitor such things.

In “concessions” the players “won” from owners in the negotiations that produced a 10-year labor agreement, did they really want to ensure a running back who wanted to couldn’t spend an extra minute with his coach before leaving the field on May 23?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It’s easy to be skeptical about positive injury news in May.

But I am buying the enthusiasm about Rashean Mathis here.

The veteran cornerback who tore the ACL in his left knee on Nov. 13 spoke with reporters on Tuesday.

He said he’s running, cutting and jumping while eagerly looking forward to a June 4 appointment with Dr. James Andrews.

“It’s responding great, I haven’t had any setbacks,” Mathis said. “I’ve never had an ACL injury before, but the guys around me who have had it say that I am way ahead of schedule. They’re surprised what I am doing at this time.”

If that doctor's appointment goes as well as he expects, he believes he’ll be able to participate, at least to some degree, in the team’s June 12-14 minicamp.

“To me, that would be remarkable,” coach Mike Mularkey said after an OTA session Tuesday at the team’s headquarters at EverBank Field.

“As long as they give him the go-ahead -- and really the player, too, feels good about it, that’s important as well -- I’m sure we would let him go. I’m sure he’d probably be limited, too. Since it’s the last, basically, three days of the offseason going into a five-week stretch. ...

“With the time that’s coming where you can’t do anything with the team, so I think it would be outstanding if he could get some work done with the team. I think it would be good with his teammates when it’s all said and done. We’re still on path for that.”

Mathis is heading into his 10th season with the Jaguars. He’s a consummate professional who won a starting spot as a second-round draft pick out of Bethune-Cookman in 2003.

Now he’s in line to compete with newcomer Aaron Ross, a free-agent addition who was part of two Super Bowl wins with the New York Giants.

“You always compete in this league,” Mathis said. “My mentality besides like a couple years, maybe, you always know that a competition is a possibility. And sometimes it’s been made known, whether or not it’s been made publicly known. ...”

“You approach it like you approach any other thing: Handle what you can handle. Stay healthy is the main thing. If I can, the rest will take care of itself.

As for the guy Mathis will need to hold off ...

“Aaron is a very good player; that’s a great pickup for our team, our defense,” Mathis said. “He’s a very good guy. He knows football. He has football savvy. He comes from the Super Bowl champs; he’s used to winning. I was impressed with him the first day I saw him.”

The winner of Mathis versus Ross will start opposite Derek Cox.

The other guy will be slotted as the nickelback. It should be a quality battle.

Houston Texans

The Texans became at least the fifth team to beg off of being the subject of HBO's "Hard Knocks" series, John McClain reported. The Texans join the Jets, Redskins, 49ers and Falcons as teams that have declined to be on the show.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts signed Justin Anderson, the Georgia guard whom they selected in the draft's seventh round, and David Legree, an undrafted quarterback from Hampton University. Indianapolis also waived tight end Brody Eldridge.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags' offense is primed for a big jump this season, at least from the vantage point of linebacker Clint Session. "I have never seen an offense since I've been here as precise and as accurate as they are now," Session told Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union. "They're looking like the greatest show on turf compared to what it was last year."

The Jaguars remain a candidate to appear on HBO's "Hard Knocks" for the first time. Jacksonville participated in a similar program that aired on NFL Network in 2004, and have said they would be willing to be the subject of the HBO show.

Mike Mularkey says he has learned to stop worrying about what he can't control in his second stint as a head coach, writes Ganguli.

Tennessee Titans

Citing the mad-scientist-like abilities of offensive coordinator Chris Palmer, receiver Nate Washington predicted that the Titans will be more pass-oriented than in the recent past. "Coach Palmer has been in the lab all offseason,” Washington told the Tennessean. “He’s been licking his chops to get back to us, so you can tell on his face that he has some different things up his sleeve. I think this is going to be a pretty explosive offense."

Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray finally gets a full offseason to install his own schemes, writes Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press.

The Titans want second-year linebacker Akeem Ayers to improve as a pass-rusher, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Jaguars and why.

Blaine Gabbert can deliver some big-time passes.

In a rookie season when he was on the field sooner than the Jaguars initially intended, the offensive framework a young quarterback needed was not in place. Injuries on the offensive line meant less-than-stellar pass protection. The receivers were a motley crew. Mike Thomas’ play dropped off after he got a new contract. Tight end Marcedes Lewis' play dropped off after he got a fat new contract.

Gabbert played poorly, drawing criticism for being panicky and, worse, scared. It’s too early to brand him. But the Jaguars' efforts now center on maximizing his chances to succeed.

He needs to pull his game up to at least average to justify the faith of Jaguars management and coaches. The Jaguars added Justin Blackmon and Laurent Robinson to the receiving corps. They’ll get Eben Britton back on the offensive line. A healed-up defense will do a better job at getting Gabbert and the offense the ball back and in better field position.

Coach Mike Mularkey, offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski and quarterback coach Greg Olson are spending the offseason working with Gabbert. Come the season, they will craft game plans that give him the best chance at success.

The issues that contributed to holding him back have all been addressed. It’s time for us to see some of those big-time passes.

Houston Texans

The Texans don't plan to hand the starting kicker's spot to rookie Randy Bullock, drafted out of Texas A&M in the fifth round. Rather, special-teams coordinator Joe Marciano told SportsRadio 610, Bullock will have to beat out veteran Shayne Graham. "He has to compete to make the team first," Marciano said, per the team's official site. "If he can beat Shayne out, then I think he’s going to be very good for us."

Defensive lineman Hebron Fangupo, a free-agent signee from BYU, hopes to impress coaches during upcoming rookie camps. “I’m excited to compete with a top-notch offense and defense,” Fangupo said. “I’m ready to learn all I can from coaches and players, and I believe being able to compete with such great players can help my game tremendously.”

Indianapolis Colts

Owner Jim Irsay, on Twitter, said he sees the franchise "taking shape" and that the Colts' defensive front seven "could impress" in the new 3-4 defensive scheme.

Indianapolis grabbed tight end Andre Smith off waivers from the Bears; he's expected to be part of new coordinator Bruce Arians' five-tight end offense, Brad Wells notes for Stampede Blue. The Colts also waived cornerback Mike Holmes.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, absent from the Jaguars' voluntary workouts, wants a contract extension, coach Mike Mularkey said. "I wish he was here. He knows we wish he was here," Mularkey said. "His teammates have talked to him about it. It's a personal decision. There's nothing I can do about it."

Tuesday's first day of organized team activities saw Jacksonville's first-round draft pick, receiver Justin Blackmon, going full speed with quarterback Blaine Gabbert and the first team, according to the Jags' official site. A sore foot that bothered Blackmon during rookie minicamps seems to have been helped by new cleats.

Defensive tackle Terrance Knighton apologized Tuesday for the club incident last month in which he suffered an eye injury that has kept him out of offseason workouts. Knighton said the vision in his injured eye has improved substantially. “It’s progressing a lot faster than they thought it would,” Knighton said. “I plan on being ready by training camp."

Tennessee Titans

A number of players, including quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker, have signed on for coach Mike Munchak's "Strikes to Stop Diabetes" charity bowling event, set for June 14. The tournament will pair a Titans player or coach with a four-person team, with proceeds going to the American Diabetes Association, the team's site reports.

Center William Vlachos, a free-agent signee from Alabama, has been impressed with the Titans' O-line after doing some film study. “I've been watching film for a couple days and my jaw's on the floor,” Vlachos said. “They're just so physical, the effort they bring every play is outstanding.”

Mike Mularkey and his wide receivers coach, Jerry Sullivan, have had some time to consider their group and decided in the past couple days that Jarett Dillard is not part of the solution at a spot where the team is looking to upgrade.

That’s two players the Jaguars once thought would be a help at receiver they’ve dumped. Kassim Osgood, a quality special-teamer Gene Smith thought could grow into an effective receiver did not do so after he was signed in 2010 and was cut earlier this offseason.

Now Dillard is gone. He was drafted in the fifth round in Gene Smith’s first draft in 2009 when the Jaguars put a lot into receiver. Mike Thomas was a fourth-round pick, Dillard a fifth-rounder and Tiquan Underwood a seventh.

Only Thomas remains.

No. 5 pick Justin Blackmon should lead the group with free-agent addition Laurent Robinson. Thomas should now be the No. 3, which is the best role for him. They’ll round out the group with Taylor Price, Brian Robiskie, Lee Evans and Cecil Shorts in line for the fourth spot and beyond.

As for Dillard, he dealt with some injuries and never really flashed. A fifth-rounder is hardly a guarantee and has to have done more to stick heading into his fifth season considering he was due about $1.3 million this season.

The Jaguars cut five others in addition to Dillard: quarterback Dan LeFevour, safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, receiver Nelson Rosario, receiver Jarrett Boykin and defensive end Frank Trotter.

They added seven who were part of the recent minicamp on a tryout basis -- quarterback Jordan Palmer, fullback Naufahu Tahi and defensive tackle Odrick Ray, receiver Mike Brown, receiver Chris Forcier, linebacker Donovan Richard and defensive back Jeremiah Brown.

A look at what came out of the Jaguars' rookie minicamp:

• Receiver Justin Blackmon didn’t practice Sunday because of a sore right foot, says Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. Coach Mike Mularkey praised Blackmon’s ability as a “natural catcher” and the way he adjusts to the ball.
• Mularkey said the Jaguars will sign two to five of the players who participated on a tryout basis. Stellino reported that fullback Naufahu Tahi will be one of them. He has spent parts of five seasons with the Vikings.
• Like veteran corner Rashean Mathis, rookie defensive end Ryan Davis is trying to make the Jaguars after playing at Bethune-Cookman. Davis feels a connection with defensive line coaches Joe Cullen and Paul Spicer, says Stellino.
• There’s no progress on a new contract for kicker Josh Scobee, who’s not signing his franchise tender, says Tania Ganguli. Scobee’s agent denies that Sebastian Janikowski’s contract is an issue. The team will have to keep another kicker for OTAs while Scobee remains unsigned. Ultimately, they’ll strike a deal or Scobee will sign the tender.
• Controversial draft pick Bryan Anger consistently hung his punts in the air for 5.1 seconds, reports Stellino. Anger had good humor about all the grief the Jaguars have taken for drafting him in the third round. Obviously, he hopes to quiet those critics with his performance.

» NFC draft analysis: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South


Despite talk of grabbing the best player available, it’s funny how often needs and picks seem to line up.

Of 31 picks, I count four that don’t technically qualify as addressing needs: Jaguars fifth-round linebacker Brandon Marshall, Titans fifth-round tight end Taylor Thompson, Jaguars sixth-round cornerback Mike Harris and Colts seventh-round quarterback Chandler Harnish.

We saw the Texans replenish at outside linebacker, on the offensive line and at kicker and add to their options at receiver. The Colts loaded up on help for No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck -- seven of their other nine picks bring offensive players to Indianapolis . Jacksonville addressed its big needs right out of the chute, then made a couple of odd selections. Tennessee didn’t take two players at the same position.

BEST MOVE

The Jaguars came into the offseason in dire need of upgraded weaponry for Blaine Gabbert. They started last season with wide receiver Jason Hill as a starter, and he was cut before the season ended. Mike Thomas was miscast as a top-of-the-group guy when he should be a No. 3. Cecil Shorts showed he needs a lot of time to develop.

Mike Mularkey hired a solid receiver coach, Jerry Sullivan. He’s a tremendous upgrade from Johnny Cox, who was quickly fired after Jack Del Rio was dismissed during the 2011 season. Free agency brought Laurent Robinson, who should help, and Lee Evans, who’d be gravy if he can revive his career.

The Jaguars successfully sold pundits on the idea they’d be trading down, then only gave up a fourth-rounder to move up from No. 7 to No. 5 to draft Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon. He’s a dynamic receiver who can catch balls outside his frame and cause matchup problems.

Outside of Luck, no team in the division got a player who can cure an ill better than Blackmon can fix what ails the Jacksonville offense. Now it’s on Gabbert to show he can effectively get the ball to the new star receiver.

RISKIEST MOVE

The Titans didn’t touch a defensive end until Scott Solomon in the seventh round, and they didn’t add an offensive lineman at all. And pass rush and run blocking were two areas that qualified as weaknesses at the end of last season.

Tennessee hosted Scott Wells, Chris Myers, Jeff Saturday and Dan Koppen and saw all four sign elsewhere. On Saturday, coach Mike Munchak made those meetings sound like information-gathering get-togethers rather than courtships, a stance that’s pretty insulting to veterans who wouldn’t waste time making visits without the possibility of a contract.

The defense of incumbent starters on the interior -- Eugene Amano and Leroy Harris -- has entered a new round now. Munchak said the team felt no “dire need there” and that “we have guys we can win with.” Still, watch for a key undrafted addition or free agent or two.

The Titans added one big piece this offseason to its insufficient pass rush in the form of free-agent end Kamerion Wimbley, who was a cap casualty in Oakland. He may provide a big boost but also probably shouldn’t be on the field for every play. Tennessee’s only attempt to bolster itself on the edges came with the 211th pick, end Scott Solomon from Rice.

The Titans face a pretty good slate of quarterbacks this season. Those passers may have a lot of time to throw.

MOST SURPRISING PICK

We hit it hard Saturday night, but the Jaguars' selection of Bryan Anger in the third round was a baffler. Yes, the team will benefit from a big leg and stands to gain field position.

But Jacksonville overrated special teams’ impact by deciding to draft Anger so early rather than addressing other needs where it could have selected a player with a chance to play.

The Jaguars have a recent history of messing up at the position, and teams that struggle with stability at a spot are prone to overreach in an effort to correct it.

I believe that’s a good piece of what happened here. They could have gotten him or a punter who still would have been a big upgrade later.

The Jaguars found Terrance Knighton, Derek Cox and Will Rackley in the third round in Gene Smith’s previous three drafts. They are all starters who affect games more than a punter can.

They can rationalize this pick. And we can stridently disagree.

FILE IT AWAY

Six receivers came into the division -- Blackmon, Kendall Wright in Tennessee, T.Y. Hilton and LaVon Brazill in Indianapolis and DeVier Posey and Keshawn Martin in Houston. That’s two first-rounders, two third-rounders, a fourth-rounder and a sixth-rounder.

The countermeasures?

Just two incoming cornerbacks -- Titans fourth-rounder Coty Sensabaugh and Jaguars sixth-rounder Harris.

Secondary depth could be severely tested by good quarterbacks and receivers, especially when the division faces the NFC North and the high-powered passing offenses of Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago.

The Colts have no proven corners beyond Jerraud Powers. The Texans lost Jason Allen, who played a reasonable amount. The Titans need to unearth a new nickelback now that Cortland Finnegan is gone. Only the Jaguars have fortified the spot, adding two-time Super Bowl winner Aaron Ross, presumably getting Cox and Rashean Mathis back healthy and drafting Harris.

The AFC South is a big running back division, but it’s become more equipped to sling it and may not have the people needed to cover offenses with a lot of downfield weapons.

“It tells you that this is a wide-open league, the offensive focus is on scoring points probably more than ever,” Titans general manager Ruston Webster said. “It’s becoming more of a quarterback-wide receiver league probably every day.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been accused (occasionally by me) of not doing well enough in assessing how the rest of the league's teams value some players the Jags draft.

Some personnel people around the league say the Jaguars simply don’t care about that. In a way, I admire them for it. Don’t be overly concerned and influenced by the forces around you, by the competition. Do your own thing. Bank on your convictions.

But when it comes to taking Cal punter Bryan Anger in the third round, the Jaguars absolutely should care about league context.

I know at least one other team had him rated as a fifth-rounder.

Anger is the first punter to go in the top 100 picks since 1995, when Todd Sauerbrun went in the second round to Chicago, 56th overall.

There is a reason for that.

It’s important that you don’t punt terribly. But it’s not so important that you punt fantastically, certainly not important enough that you sacrifice the chance to improve at a position that could be on the field for three downs a game.

“I think it will be evident when you get a chance to see him punt: He’s got a strong history which I feel will transfer to this level in helping us defensively with the yardage we can gain in field position,” general manager Gene Smith said.

“… He’s the player in that round at your pick that you feel can upgrade your football team. I think that’s an easy decision for me, to get a starter in the third round.”

Calling a punter a starter is beyond a stretch.

The Jaguars' defense played 970 plays in 2011. The Jaguars' offense played 958 plays. The Jaguars punted 99 times.

“I think it’s first downs that you gain,” Smith said in a further defense of the pick. “And I feel like in the third round it’s not a round that you always get proven starters.”

Really?

In Smith’s three previous drafts, he picked four times in the third round. Guard Will Rackley, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and cornerback Derek Cox are starters. The only nonstarter, defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith, has missed his first two seasons with injuries.

The Jaguars averaged 41.9 yards per punt last season, 31st in the NFL. They averaged 36.5 net yards per punt, 28th in the NFL. Those numbers were, in part, a testament to the team’s foolish conclusion that greybeard Matt Turk was the man to replace Adam Podlesh, who left for Chicago as a free agent.

The Jaguars cut Turk after five games, going with Nick Harris the rest of the way. Harris was 3 yards (and 5.1 net yards) better per punt than Turk had been.

A longer punt is easier to cover, so this is too simple.

Nevertheless, here is my counterproposal to drafting Anger 70th:

Jacksonville uses an average punter and boosts its net average to what was the midpoint for 2011. By my calculations, that would give the Jaguars an extra 15.5 net yards a game. Then use the 70th pick on an offensive lineman who, as part of a better scheme, could help cut the Jaguars’ sack yardage in half. That would give the team an extra 10.3 yards a game, and also help young quarterback Blaine Gabbert not worry so much about getting crunched.

The overall gain from my plan -- not just estimating the average that will come with a big leg, but actually factoring in context -- would be better.

The goal is not to punt, and you drafted a punter. That was the first thing a reporter in Jacksonville said to coach Mike Mularkey after the pick.

“And hold, hold for extra points,” Mularkey said. “If you want to write about him, he’s a really good holder for extra points and field goals, and he just so happens to be a difference-maker when it comes to punting.”

Oh, he holds, too? Well, that changes everything.

No, actually, any guy on offense with good hands, starting with your backup quarterback, should be able to function as a holder.

Maybe Anger is the league’s best punter and holder for 15 years.

Even if he is, it says here there will be at least three dozen players among the picks after Anger who have more impactful careers than he will. And that’s a modest 20 percent of the 183 guys we’re talking about. If the Jaguars missed on him by two rounds, maybe it’s 64 players. It could be more.

Are the Jaguars, coming off a 5-11 season, good enough that they can pass on such potential people? They are not. Perhaps they are expecting Gabbert to be terrible again, knowing they’ll be punting a ton and being proactive?

They need more guys who can score touchdowns or stop touchdowns. Get more guys who can get you first downs and you’ll punt less, kicking more field goals and scoring more touchdowns. Get more guys who can stop a third-down run or break up a third-down pass and you’ll be fielding punts, not covering them.

Do those things, and getting a few additional yards when you have to kick the ball away doesn’t mean so much.

Know where you have a chance to add guys who fit that bill?

With the third-round pick you just used on a punter.

Too often the Jaguars are a punching bag or a punch line.

This time, they deserve it.

Justin Blackmon will create his own identity.

But personnel jobs in all sports require a degree of comparison. Jacksonville Jaguars GM Gene Smith looks at Blackmon and sees a receiver who falls between Anquan Boldin of the Ravens and Hakeem Nicks of the Giants.

He’s a player who, along with free agent addition Laurent Robinson, can change the team’s offense and the way teams have to defend it, Smith told Jacksonville reporters.

“I think when you get a chance to win on the outside when you’re getting some single matchups because they stack the box in the inside, and even for your tight end when you can draw a safety away from the tight end it creates opportunities inside for you,” Smith said. “Not just in the running game but the inside passing game.

“So I think now we get an opportunity not only to win inside but outside and that’s when you become very difficult to defend; when you have a balanced offense with the ability to win inside and outside. I think that’s where we’re at and I know our offensive staff, with some of the receivers and (receivers coach) Jerry (Sullivan) here, we clearly feel we’ll take a large step towards a lot more play making in our offense.”

Beyond skills, Blackmon will bring attitude to the Jaguars.

“I like the way he lines up and says the guy across from me can’t cover me,” coach Mike Mularkey said. “He just has an edge to him. He has a confidence and air about him that you like receivers to have. I’ve been around receivers like that who have that and that right there gives you a chance to be able to make plays every time you line up and call his number.”

While Blaine Gabbert's rookie year was a nightmare, he won’t be a bust.

That’s the opinion of Pete Prisco, the Jacksonville-based national NFL writer for CBSSports.com, who thinks Gabbert will be generating a completely different buzz in a year.

The reality is that at times Gabbert was jumpy in the pocket early on last season. But that waned as the season moved along, as he became more comfortable. I say most of the problems were brought on by bad mechanics and a bad system.

It's fixable. Gabbert will not be a bust -- even if most of you think he will be.

In fact, I will go as far as saying that a year from now you will be talking about him as one of the rising quarterbacks in the league. I say that because he is smart, has a big arm, can make all the throws and spins his head. He's also willing to put in the work.

It’s easy to say it will be hard for Gabbert to shed the soft label that got attached to him in his rookie year. I don't feel as strongly as Prisco about a Gabbert reversal. I do feel strongly that he deserves more time to prove himself.

If Gabbert makes strides under a trio of new coaches -- head man Mike Mularkey, coordinator Bob Bratkowski and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson -- and strings together a couple good games, he can flip the conversation pretty quickly.

The Jaguars open at Minnesota, against Houston and at Indianapolis.

We’ll quickly see if Gabbert can stand in against rushers like Jared Allen, Connor Barwin, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

"You watch what he does this year," one player told Prisco. "All that stuff got way overblown. He's on a mission to prove everybody wrong. I've seen guys who aren't tough. He isn't one of them."

Reading the coverage…

Houston Texans

The Texans will play in prime time four times, plus on Thanksgiving, says John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

We won’t really know what the Texans think about Garrett Graham until we see how the team addresses tight end in the draft, says Nate Dunlevy of Bleacher Report.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts, typically all over the prime time schedule, have 15 kickoffs at 1 p.m. says Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star.

There are going to be season tickets available for the Colts this year, says Chappell.

"This group of (offensive) linemen will be able to accomplish far superior run blocking, should hold up better against the beefier defensive linemen that tended to cause pressue up the middle on the quarterback, and is better-suited to support (an Andrew) Luck-style offense," says Brett Mock of Colts Authority.

Jacksonville Jaguars

“The first practice of the coach Mike Mularkey era Tuesday featured a Brad Meester Super Bowl pep talk, a new haircut for Blaine Gabbert and questions about Maurice Jones-Drew’s absence,” says Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.

Defensive tackle Terrance Knighton can see out of his injured left eye again, says Tania Ganguli of the T-U.

The Jaguars are not on the Monday Night Football calendar, says Ganguli.

After the top six picks, the draft looks unsettled, says Stellino.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans’ first month of games is full of challenges, says John Glennon of The Tennessean.

Tight end Jared Cook has the perfect pick for the Titans -- another South Carolina guy, defensive end Melvin Ingram. The story from Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.