my opinionated take on the Jaguars prior to camp really ramping up for the new season

An in Depth Look at the Jacksonville Jaguars
--Robert Bach, Jacksonville Jaguars

As Training camp starts up I wanted to look at what I believe the Jacksonville team may look like. This will attempt to set a preliminary depth chart for the Jags. I will try to explain my thoughts on each position and the battles I see taking place. We will start at the top with the Quarterbacks.

With the start of the season Byron Leftwich is right where he should be at. He is "THE MAN" in Jacksonville. He has the biggest and most accurate gun of all the QBs on the Jags roster.  He also has the biggest heart of the QBs and is a true leader in my opinion. This season he will prove to everyone that he deserves the starting job. He will finally have a few targets that actually get open and can run. With that plus the emergence of the running game in Jacksonville he will lead the offense to the playoffs once again.

David Garrard had his chance to permanently take over the starting job and his meltdown at the end of the season showed why he is a backup QB and not a starter.  He may have done slightly better if he had better receivers than provided by the Jaguars last season. David has heart too jus in the fact of overcoming Crone's Disease and surgery to get back into uniform. He is a back up right now in my opinion.

I am worried a bit about Quinn Gray. He was placed on the PUP list. I thought it was a minor problem until today when it was announced the Jags went out and signed a free agent QB. Quinn this year I thought might have a chance to unseat Garrard at number two. Now I question if he will even be with the team come start of the regular season.

The new guy on the block is free agent Tim Couch. He was not much of a starter but he may make a good backup who knows. He may be there to light a fire under the guys we do have and he may be there because Quinn is hurt worse than I figured.

Let us now move on to a running game that was great last year and looks to be even better this year. The Jaguars are deep at running back.  They have the one two punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. They will, barring any injury, be the starters. Greg Jones will be returning from injury, there is also Alvin Pearman, LaBrandon Toefield, Derrick Wimbush, Montell Owens and undrafted rookie D.D. Terry. Competition for the roster spots should be intense this year at camp.

Now we can look at the spot that all eyes will be watching this year with great interest.  Ten players in all make Wide receiver a highly competitive position. Reports from the first few days of camp have veteran WRs Matt Jones and Reggie Williams working with the second team. I am not sure if they have been relegated to second team as a result of the injuries and lack of production on their part or if it is an attempt by the WR coach to motivate them to produce more on the field.

Mike Walker, Dennis Northcutt, and the surprise from spring Charles Sharon ran with the first offense.  Regardless of the reasons, Walker was impressive these few days of camp and will have a chance to continue to show off his abilities.

Veteran Kyle Brady is gone so that opens up the Tight end position for someone to step up and show they can handle the blocking duties and maybe even catch a ball or two. It is now time for Mercedes Lewis to step up and show he was worth the pick the Jags used on him. They have Jermaine Wiggins and Greg Estandia at TE also. George Wrightster is still recovering from Labrum Surgery. Estandia`s size may make him ideal for the Jaguars TE slot so keep your eyes on his progression through camp.

The Jaguars are so deep at O Line that there are teams waiting for the cuts to come just to take a look at the players Jacksonville lets go. The starters are tackle Tony Pashos joining guards Chris Naeole and Vince Manuwai, center Brad Meester and left tackle Khalif Barnes. The remaining spots will be highly contested among these players, Maurice Williams, Dennis Norman, Dan Connolly, Ryan Gibbons, Stockar McDougle, Richard Collier and fifth-round draft pick Uche Nwaneri,  and Seventh-round draft pick Andrew Carnahan.

How good the Jags Defensive line is depends on how well two key players do after suffering ankle injuries last season. The Starters most likely will be Reggie Hayward,  John Henderson, Marcus Stroud, and Bobby McCray. Stroud is recovering from an ankle injury and Hayward is recovering from an Achilles tear. Provided they do well the other players in the possible rotations are second-year man James Wyche and pass-rush specialists Brent Hawkins and Kenny Pettway and veteran steady Paul Spicer at Defensive End. The Jags have Rob Meier, Tony McDaniel and fifth-round pick Derek Landri backing up Stroud and Henderson at Defensive Tackle.

The Jaguars are solid at Linebacker.  Mike Peterson is returning from a torn pectoral muscle. Daryl Smith and Clint Ingram are the other Starters.  Justin Durant has been compared to Timmons signed by the Steelers and should compete for playing time.  The rest of the Linebacking crew are Nick Greisen, Tony Gilbert, Jorge Cordova, Pat Thomas, Brian Iwuh and rookie Chad Nkang. Jacksonville should have no worries at linebacker at all.

The Starters at Defensive back are set and the only question is can Gerald Sensabaugh and rookie Reggie Nelson replace Deon grant and Donovan Darius. That question will only be answered as the season plays out. The backup safety is Josh Gattis and he may even push for some of his own playing time you never know. The starting corners of course will be Rashean Mathis and Brian Williams. The competition after the remaining DB spots will be between Terry Cousin, Scott Starks, Dee Webb and Chris Roberson, Jamar Landrom, and Rashod Moulton.

The Jaguars Kicker is Josh Scobee and their punter is Rookie Adam Podlesh. The Punt retuner will be Dennis Northcutt. The Kick returner will again be Maurice Jones-Drew.  The highest level of competition will be on coverage teams as players will try to add to their value to the team by being strong on coverage. This may end up being where a few players that may have been cut find a home.

This is where I see the jaguars right now and we will see how all of this pans out as camp continues. I am actually looking forward to a great season for the Jags and I expect along with a lot of others here in Jacksonville no less than a playoff berth and a possible run at the big game. We will see how those expectations play out soon as the season is fast approaching.