The NFL delivered an unintentional slap in the face to the winless Jaguars back in September when they asked Jacksonville to strip rookie Denard Robinson of his "OW" designation on the team's depth chart.
The tag stood for "offensive weapon," a position the league doesn't recognize -- at least not in Jacksonville.
It hasn't been an easy campaign for Robinson, the former Michigan quarterback who underwhelmed as a Wildcat operator early in the year while struggling with turnovers. Coming out of the bye week, coach Gus Bradley hasn't given up on Robinson, designating him as the backup to Maurice Jones-Drew for the second half of the season.
"He gained our trust as far as ball security, and he had a really good work of practice before the San Francisco game and we said, 'All right, let's get him in there and see what he can do,'" Bradley said this week, via The Florida Times-Union.
The plan, according to offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, is to hand MJD the ball 20 times a game with another 14 going to Robinson.
A tad optimistic, we fear.
Jacksonville has scored a combined 36 points in the first half this season while ranking last in the league in scoring. They're on pace to finish with fewer points than the 0-16 Detroit Lions of 2008.
That's no model for running the ball 34 times a game, but the larger message here is that Jacksonville hasn't given up on Robinson. For those of you aflutter for Sunday afternoon's Jaguars-Titans tilt, it's something to look forward to.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" "stuck a fork" in the Raiders' 2013 chances.
