Why Did Jags Give Blaine Gabbert the Ball Over Maurice Jones-Drew on Final Play?
The Jags are a paltry 3-7 this season, and at least part of their poor record is due to bad coaching. Not only was their play calling atrocious to end their 14-10 loss to the Browns Sunday, but the Jags also exhibited poor clock management.
The Jaguars had one timeout, a 3rd and 1, and the ball at the Cleveland 5 with 41 seconds left Sunday. They were trailing the Browns 14-10 and needed a touchdown to win the game. They handed it to Maurice Jones-Drew who ran for 3 yards and a first down. Inexplicably, Jacksonville allowed 28 seconds to pass before running another play. They called for another Jones-Drew run and he gained a yard taking the ball to the one. They finally used their last timeout to stop the clock with eight seconds left.
Facing a 2nd and goal at the one, Blaine Gabbert threw incomplete for Jason Hill in the end zone. The Jags then had a 3rd and goal from the one with only three seconds left. They had one play left. One. And they needed a yard to win the game.
They had a choice: give the ball to running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who is second in the NFL in rushing. Or, put the ball in the hands of Blaine Gabbert, who has the worst passer rating in the league.
They went with the obvious choice: they gave it to the awful quarterback. Mike Thomas shook his defender in the end zone and got open, but Gabbert predictably missed the throw.
Why should we be surprised by the outcome? Gabbert’s accuracy is atrocious. He can’t make routine throws. If he could, he wouldn’t be averaging a pathetic 137 passing yards per game.
I’ve already seen enough of Blaine Gabbert to know he’s not going to be a good NFL quarterback. The sooner the Jags realize this, the better off they’ll be in the long term.
