Two of the youngest franchises in the NFL will battle as the Jacksonville Jaguars visit the Carolina Panthers. The Jaguars are coming off a 32-3 thrashing by the New York Jets and head coach Jack Del Rio has now made the move to first round rookie QB Blaine Gabbert. The defense played stellar against the Jets, but they were put in very difficult spots by incumbent QB Luke McCown’s costly turnovers.
It looks like the Panthers have found their QB of the future, but they have still started the season 0-2. While Cam Newton has injected life into the franchise, he has been surrounded by a surprisingly below average running game and a defense which has huge holes up the middle. They took the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers to the limit last week, and they will look to carry that momentum into this Week 3 match up with the Jaguars.
1) Rookie QBs: Cam Newton vs. Blaine Gabbert
It may be odd to say that the No. 1 pick in the draft has exceeded expectations, but Cam Newton has done just that in his first two NFL games. Expected to be a work-in-progress, Newton has already shown that he is capable of carrying a team on his back. He currently ranks fourth in our PFF QB rankings (+10.8), and he’s an amazing 10 for 15 for 370 yards on throws of 20 yards or more downfield.
Newton has struggled when pressured as his NFL QB rating falls to 30.2, compared to 108.5 with no pressure. Like most rookie quarterbacks, Newton has seen his fair share of blitzes as teams have sent an extra rusher 34% of the time. It will be a different look this week against the Jaguars who have blitzed only 12% of the time. They will rely on their front four to create the pressure needed to slow Newton down.
Gabbert is getting his first start after making his NFL debut in relief of McCown last week. It has been an odd set of circumstances surrounding the QB position in Jacksonville after David Garrard’s late training camp release and McCown’s plunge into the starting role, but it appears the job is now Gabbert’s. One of the knocks on Gabbert coming out of Missouri was his lack of accuracy down the field so he will have to prove that he can throw the deep posts, that are the staple of the Jaguars offense, accurately. He will also need to find a complement to Mike Thomas who has been targeted on almost 40% of Jaguars passes through the first two weeks. Expect to see some early quick screens and short throws as offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter gets Gabbert into the flow of the offense.
2) Charles Johnson vs. Eugene Monroe
Charles Johnson is coming off a monster 2010 season where he rated as our second highest 4-3 DE at +44.4. One of the most coveted defensive players in free agency this summer, he signed a six year, $72 million contract to return to Carolina. Johnson has picked up right where he left off, especially in the pass rush department, notching 9 pressures and 2 QB sacks in the first two games. He will move around the defensive front, but he will spend a lot of time matched up with left tackle Eugene Monroe.
Monroe was very inconsistent in 2010, but he’s had a strong start to 2011 allowing only one QB Hit in two games. He’s also been stellar opening holes in the running game (+1.7 Run Block). The Jaguars are hoping Monroe has finally made strides to become the cornerstone LT they envisioned when they drafted him ninth overall in the 2009 draft and this week will be a good test of it.
3) Maurice Jones-Drew vs. Panthers Linebackers
As always, the Jaguars offense will likely go though Maurice Jones-Drew, and the Week 1 match up with the Tennessee Titans is a perfect example of how the Jaguars want to play football. He carried the ball 24 times for 97 yards, so expect him to get plenty of work this week as the Jaguars will feed him the ball to take the pressure off Gabbert.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, they will be shorthanded in trying to stop Jones-Drew. After losing starting MLB Jon Beason for the season in Week 1, another starting linebacker was placed on injured reserve this week as Thomas Davis tore his ACL for the third time in two years. It’s an unfortunate break for Davis and Carolina will replace him with Omar Gaither. Dan Connor has taken over at MLB and hopes to build off his own injury shortened 2010 (+15.4). James Anderson joins Connor and Gaither and he will be counted on heavily, being the only original starter left and leading all 4-3 OLBs with 61 Stops in 2010.
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