Wide receiver Justin Blackmon’s signing couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jaguars.
Reports out of Jacksonville about the state of their passing game have not been good with quarterback Blaine Gabbert and the team’s receivers all getting called out for underperforming at various points. Years of hearing such reports turn out with varying degrees of success creates a natural skepticism until you can see a team with your own eyes.
When their own offensive coordinator says it, though? That’s a little easier to take without a grain of salt.
“There’s no doubt -- our passing game right now is not very good,” Jaguars offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said Monday. “It starts with the protection, drops, running routes properly. When you stand on the sidelines, a lot of times it looks like the quarterback, but I’ll be honest with you: In many cases, the quarterback’s getting fooled, or he’s under pressure and having to make decisions faster than you want him to make. But we’ve got time. That’s why we’re practicing. It’s a work in progress.”
Bratkowski’s a bit protective of Gabbert there and called out the receivers again later for dropping too many balls, running routes poorly and not being guys that the quarterback could count on. Positivity about Gabbert been a common and unsurprising refrain from the Jags this offseason -- Bratkowski called him the most improved played on the offense -- but it is impossible to evaluate whether he, the receivers or everything is the problem with the Jacksonville offense.
Thankfully, we only have to wait a few more days before seeing how they fair against the defending Super Bowl champs.