Mike Mularkey Wants Consistency From Blaine Gabbert

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey has seen some good things from quarterback Blaine Gabbert while going over his film. "There are flashes where we know it's there," Mularkey told John Oehser of Jaguars.com on Tuesday. "It absolutely is there on tape what he's capable of doing. We just want to get it done more consistently."

Consistency was no doubt a big issue for the rookie quarterback during the 2011 NFL season. There were a few games where Gabbert would have a drive and just march the offense right down the football field for a touchdown in a handfull of throws and make it look easy, hitting a "Wow" type throw or two on the drive. The problem was, on the very next drive it didn't look like Gabbert could hit the broad side of a barn. That's where the consistency and something that was harped on tons last year, poor mechanics, came into play.

"I'd like to see some of the things mechanics-wise that we will address with him that we have all seen on tape," Mularkey told Oehser at the NFL owner's meetings. "The things he's been doing, we'd like to see it more consistently the way we want to do it. There are flashes there when he has done that. The throws, the decisions and all of that, they are there."

Unfairly to Gabbert, there is going to be extra pressure on him from some of the contingent of fans and a lot of media members because of the Jaguars flirtation with Tim Tebow a week ago, before Tebow ultimately chose to go to the New York Jets. Gabbert's mechanics, most notably his footwork, is a big area he should be working on this offseason as he gets ready to head into his second NFL training camp.

The hope is that without an extremely shortened offseason and the benefit of mini-camps, OTA's, and a full training camp regimen with a staff dedicated to making Gabbert succeed, he'll take some massive steps from his poor rookie season. Adding players like wide receiver Laurent Robinson to the mix and potentially other receivers should help as well.

From what I am told, Gabbert is currently working out in the panhandle at Athletes' Performance and has some materials that Mularkey has provided him with about some of the concepts of the Jaguars offense, so Gabbert has a bit of an idea of what to work and focus on. "We've given him material to look at, but you might as well give somebody a Spanish book and say, ‘Go ahead and learn it,''' Mularkey told Oehser. "I don't think it's to that extreme, but now he's going to hear a lot of the things he has been reading. Now, you have to go, ‘Here's what they mean.'''