Jaguars left guard spot seems to be up for grabs

The focal point of talk no the Jacksonville Jaguars will be on the quarterback position, which is understandable, but there are still some other worry spots and places up for grabs. One of those spots is the left guard position, which currently is manned by veteran Patrick Omameh, but it sounds like his hold over the starting job is tenuous, at best.

“Patrick, I’d like to see come up and just take it. I think he struggled in the last game. That’s where we’ll look at a couple of things,” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone told reporters following Saturday’s practice. “For me, as a coach, I tell them, ‘Hey,’ -- the players know – ‘Hey, listen, you struggled last game. Listen, hey, I want you to do well. We’re going to see if this other guy can do well.’ I tell the other guy, too, ‘Hey, I want the best of whoever it is.’ For me, that’s what’s best for the team. I think it’s very simple like that. I think when you go the other way and you try to manipulate it, or to motivate in another direction – I think you’re going to have problems down the road. Same with the media. If I sit here and try to manipulate or try to get a message out, I’m not about that.”

The Jaguars were able to run the ball against the New England Patriots in the preseason opener, but against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday the team got pushed around by the Bucs defensive line and struggled to get positive yards. In particular Omameh struggled to handle defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, which is to be expected, but it essentially killed any run play the team had.

The team was without rookie running back Leonard Fournette who’s dealing with a toe injury, but even if he were playing in the game I’m not sure he’d have done much with out much the Bucs defensive line manhandled the Jaguars offensive line.

The left guard position was one of concern all offseason and it appears it’s nowhere near settled yet.