THAT JAGUARS FANS BLOG: Back to business as usual for Jaguars

Hello Jag Nation. When we last met the Jaguars were in the middle Tebow watch 2012 which thankfully ended with Timmy being traded to the NY Jets and heart broken Gator fans crying their eyes out in their cans of Natty Light. There are still some of those who are in disbelief but the rest of Jag Nation is glad to see that the circus has moved on to New York. Where do we go from here? Khan says we get over it and continue with our off season plans to develop an elite team and I for one am happy to hear him say that. In about 30 days the NFL draft will be here and that's where our focus will need to be. NFL players and coaches cannot have contact on the field until April 16. That is a little over 20 days away. Once April 16 gets here its time for guys to meet with their coaches and for teams with new coaches that means issuing of play books and study time. I for one cannot wait to see what Jaguars QB coach Greg Olson and WR coach Jerry Sullivan have in store for their respective positions. Its no secret that those positions need some key development for the Jaguars. In his rookie season, Blaine Gabbert threw 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Jaguars best receiver was Marcedes Lewis who after a breakout 2010 Pro Bowl season that ended with 10 TD, had a 460 yards in 2011 with no touchdowns. Needless to say the Jaguars need work. Last week the Jags posted video from An Evening with the Coaches event. Offensive Coordinator Bob Bratkowski pointed out some mechanics that he was anxious to work on with Gabbert. One thing he said was he wanted Gabbert to "stand tall in the pocket".

There's work to be done on both sides of the ball. The Jags last season put together a #6 ranked defense. That defense has 10 returning starters including corner back Rashean Mathis and defensive end Jeremy Mincey. They have made a new addition to the defense in former New York Giant Aaron Ross. With Rashean coming off an ACL injury it makes sense for the Jags to bolster the corner back position. Ross and Derrick Cox with Mathis in his role will make for a formidable secondary. The big question for the defense is where does Aaron Kampman fit in? in the past 2 seasons Kampman has had 3 knee surgeries. Kampman was only active for three games last season before being placed on injured reserve. When he first signed with the Jaguars Kampman was a beast at defensive end before tearing his ACL in practice. He comes with $4 million price tag this season if the Jaguars keep him. The draft could be used to find his replacement. The Jaguars did not address defensive end during free agency.

Gene Smith's philosophy in building through the draft will be how that position is addressed. Possible targets at that position are Melvin Ingram from South Carolina or Quienton Coples from UNC. But if the Jags do that in the first round where does that leave room for a wide receiver? This is a big game of chess to Gene Smith. One thing I do admire about GM Gene is his draft sense. He has always made surprising moves in the draft that make Jags fans say "Oh I see what you did there..." I would not be surprised if Gene some how winds up with two second round picks in the draft and addresses either the defensive end or wide receiver position with that extra pick. He's crafty like that. As for wide receiver, we all would like to see Justin Blackmon or Michael Floyd get picked up by the Jags. I personally would like to see them pursue Stephen Hill. But we will have to wait until April 26 to see what happens. The NFL awarded compensatory picks today. The Jaguars did not get any so its just 7 picks that we have to get our new rookies and make them Jaguars. Lastly Nike takes over on April 1 as the NFL's new equipment supplier. They have been very tight lipped as to what changes are coming to the uniforms. I can't wait to see what changes have been made. Meanwhile New Era has released their newly designed draft hats and sideline hats, Take a look at the Jags hats and tell me what you think.