Jaguars' Blaine Gabbert Proves To Be Clutch

If the statistics provided by the TV broadcast on Sunday were accurate, then Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert would have won his first game while trailing in the 4th quarter, with the jaw-dropping TD pass to WR Cecil Shorts III with less than a minute remaining. Unfortunately, he did not. The defense gave the win away, or, maybe, Minnesota QB Christian Ponder really proves throughout the season that he is a stud and we understand that the Jags D, in fact, did not break down at the most important moment of the game..... I doubt it.

So, the team lost and now in the midst of 'overreaction week' we see a team with possibly more questions than we thought possible a month prior to the start of the 2012 season. Can the Jaguars rush the passer? I'm really not sure. Can the Jaguars survive without OLB Daryl Smith? They can but it's not pretty, much less effective. Can the Jaguars seemingly awesome depth at corner be effective? Not so far. Then there's all the questions regarding the offensive line. Unfortunately the whole line is a mess, except for LT Eugene Monroe who stonewalled maybe the best pass-rusher in the league in DE Jared Allen.

The only question we fans don't seem to be asking is this: Can young, now ascending, QB Blaine Gabbert play well in the clutch when the game is on the line? Well that's because we know he can.

I'll grant you--it only happened once. However, this is what you do with young players. You look to see glimpses of capability. He did it and now we all know that he is capable. I don' expect it every week but I know that if it gets close, I can relax and look forward to him making at least a few big conversions and possibly putting the team in position to win. I don't remember the last time I felt that way consistently about a Jaguars QB and it's maybe the most refreshing thing possible at this early stage in the season. I definitely find it more refreshing that a sloppy win. So, I take the positive, regardless of this one particular games outcome. It was an NFC matchup, the Jaguars can lose those.

I'm looking forward to the divisional match with the Texans this weekend that should be muy, muy exciting! Unless the offensive line reserves get Gabbert hurt!