Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio responded to a question about quarterback David Garrard starting the opening week against the Tennessee Titans by saying, "Yeah, David's our starter. That's what I said all spring." This of course, led to the declaration of the quarterback competition being over and the questioning if one ever even existed. The reality is, one existed and still exists. David Garrard has still got to hold off rookie Blaine Gabbert and he can slam that door shut with a good outing against the Buffalo Bills.

"I told him the truth: 'We drafted a very talented guy. It's your job to hold him off,'" Del Rio told Garrard after the draft. "That's the nature of the business. I can't pretend it's a certain way or make any promises."

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Heading into the third preseason game, one of the big points of emphasis to watch for the Jacksonville Jaguars is their offensive line. It's a unit that's struggled so far in two games, albeit without starting right tackle Eben Britton. In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Jaguars and then new general manager Gene Smith decided to draft offensive tackles with their first and second round picks. At the time, it was a great low-key coup to help build for the long-term. With the first pick (8th overall) the Jaguars selected left tackle Eugene Monroe. With their second round pick (39th overall) they selected right tackle Eben Britton.

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Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts was one of the stars of training camp. The "Boys of Summer" as some of us used to refer to the wide receivers who looked great in OTA's and mini-camp. With the lockout this year however, there of course was no OTA's or mini-camp, just training camp. There have been many "Boys of Summer" in the past, too many names to count that flamed out once the pads went on and contact was allowed. Not Shorts though, he's looked great when he's been on the field, even in his first preseason game.

Against the Atlanta Falcons, Shorts notched five receptions for 52 yards playing primarily with the first team offense. I wrote earlier in the week and tweeted during the Jaguars game against the Falcons that Shorts very well could be the team's best wide receiver.

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The quarterback "competition" is officially over! Jack Del Rio today reaffirmed to the media that David Garrard is the Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback. So, it's over right? If David Garrard goes out and struggles and turns the ball over again against the Buffalo Bills and Blaine Gabbert lights it up, there will be absolutely nothing to talk or think about, right?

"Yeah. David's our starter. I said that all spring,'' Del Rio told the media when asked if Garrard would start the season opener.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line was supposed to take that next step in the 2011 season, with young tackles Eben Britton and Eugene Monroe expected to take that next step. They should finally be gelling with a veteran interior and really step up their game. Two games into the preseason, and the offensive line is still looking rough. Part of the reason it's looking rough is because it's not the line they expected to have.

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Saying that there is a battle between Blaine Gabbert and David Garrard for the starting quarterback job in Jacksonville is not an indication of having an agenda. If that's the case then CBS's Pete Prisco, SI's Peter King and the Times-Union's Tania Ganguli and Gene Frenette have an agenda as well. It's a simple reality that there is a battle for the Jaguars quarterback job and that neither player has done enough to lock up the spot at this point.

The difference in level of play between Garrard and Gabbert has been minimal at this point and it is likely that the third preseason game will be paramount in the Jaguars organization's decision between the two. But what if they continue to play at a similar level? What if at the end of preseason, the team deems the Jaguars chances to win exactly equal with Garrard as it is with Gabbert? Who gets the job in that scenario?

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Now that it's not just me saying that Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert has a legitimate chance to overtake veteran quarterback David Garrard for the starting position, there's a false pretense that's consistently floating around that just doesn't make sense. There seems to be this belief that if David Garrard is the starter in 2011 the team will compete for the playoffs, but if Blaine Gabbert starts they're a 5-6 win team.

If Blaine Gabbert wins the opening day job however, that means he's as good or better than David Garrard as a rookie.

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Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert got the start last week against the New England Patriots in place of quarterback David Garrard, who was nursing a back injury he suffered a week prior. Garrard returned to practice on Sunday, but it seems Blaine Gabbert is still getting quite a bit of snaps with the first unit.

Jaguars rookie QB Blaine Gabbert got some work with the first team during practice Tuesday. He had worked with the starters previously in camp, but this was some of the most extensive work he has gotten with the "ones" since starter David Garrard returned from a back injury.

According to some accounts of practice, Garrard hasn't been particularly sharp since he's returned to practice, either.

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