The Jacksonville Jaguars rolled out their new-look uniforms Friday night, but everything about Blaine Gabbert felt the same.
The third-year pro, attempting to hold off Chad Henne for Jacksonville's starting quarterback job, sputtered through an ugly dress rehearsal in a 27-3 preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Gabbert hit on just 5 of 10 passes for 19 yards with an interception before giving way to Henne. We've seen it all before: Gabbert directed two consecutive three-and-outs, followed by punt. His fourth and final march was shut down by the pick from Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll. Gabbert was 1-of-3 passing on third downs. The lone completion was for negative yardage.
Henne took the field in the second quarter and led the Jaguars on a 16-play drive that chewed 7:16 off the clock and netted a field goal. He finished 8-of-11 passing for 87 yards.
Gabbert was plagued by drops, but he continued to look uncomfortable in the pocket. He still struggles to string together drives. The Jaguars can't justify trusting him in September barring a sea change in production over the next month. Henne isn't special -- not even close -- but he gives new coach Gus Bradley something steadier.
A deeper concern coming out of Friday's loss was the play of No. 2 overall draft pick Luke Joeckel, who was welcomed to the NFL by Cameron Wake. The Jaguars' big right tackle missed on a handful of blocking assignments, directly leading to disaster in the pocket.
Joeckel will be given a long leash to iron out the kinks. Gabbert's leash is much shorter.
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