On the first play from scrimmage on Sunday, the Jaguars gave up a 28 reception from Kyle Orton to tight end Daniel Graham.
After the first two possessions for the Chargers on Monday, Antonio Gates had 3 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. That included a 34 yard reception that very much resembled the play made by Graham. Needless to say, Antonio Gates is a dangerous weapon for the Chargers and containing him has to be one of the top priorities for the Jaguars heading into Sunday's matchup in San Diego.
The Jaguars have had problems with defending against tight ends in the pass game long before the Broncos game. Here are the stats put up by tight ends against the Jaguars in 2009:
| Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs |
| Dallas Clark | 11 | 134 | 1 |
| Vernon Davis | 6 | 69 | 1 |
| Owen Daniels | 5 | 38 | 1 |
| Chris Baker |
2 | 32 | 1 |
| Dustin Keller | 6 | 58 | 0 |
| Bo Scaife | 7 | 52 | 0 |
| Alge Crumpler | 5 | 37 | 0 |
| Robert Royal | 2 | 34 | 0 |
| Randy McMichael | 3 | 32 | 0 |
| John Carlson | 2 | 31 | 0 |
| Shawn Nelson | 1 | 25 | 0 |
| Anthony Becht | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| Joey Haynos | 2 | 15 | 0 |
| Jared Cook | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| Ben Watson |
1 | 14 | 0 |
| Daniel Fells | 2 | 11 | 0 |
|
Jacob Tamme |
1 | 8 | 0 |
| Joel Dreessen | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Stephen Spach | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Leonard Pope | 1 | 5 | 0 |
|
Gijon Robinson |
1 | 5 | 0 |
| TOTALS |
64 | 645 | 4 |
4 touchdowns is not a huge number. The problem with these numbers is the amount of big catches with large amounts of yards after the catch. The Jaguars' problems with tight ends can be attributed to poor tackling and mismatched linebackers that are unable to cover the tight ends.
Whether or not the problem is fixed or will be fixed is still unknown, but the early returns didn't look too promising. Look for the Jaguars to rely on newly acquired David Jones and/or safety Anthony Smith to prevent Antonio Gates from repeating his 4 catches, 54 yards and a touchdown performance of 2007.
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