A promising preseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars came to a crashing halt in Thursday night's 48-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
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Quarterback Blaine Gabbert took steps forward in back-to-back wins over the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, but he backslid against the Ravens, going just 11-of-21 passing for 117 yards. The positive for Jacksonville is Gabbert's early chemistry with rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon, who hauled in four catches for 72 yards on the night.
Blackmon has been around for just a few weeks, but Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey wants the group to take a page out of the rookie's playbook.
"I thought he played well again. He made the catches. We need more guys doing what he's doing," Mularkey told Vito Stellino of The Florida Times-Union. "When the ball is in the vicinity, we've got to make catches. He's doing that. We need more than one guy to do what they did. When the ball is tightly covered, we need to make the plays. We didn't do that, and they did."
Gabbert is saddled with the blame when Jacksonville fails, but he can't do it alone. There isn't a lot of talent at receiver. Laurent Robinson was a ghost Thursday. Brian Robiskie is an ongoing project who didn't work out in Cleveland. Mike Thomas led the team in catches last season, but he's a No. 3 at heart. It's not hard to see why Mularkey wants more players like Blackmon.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
