After winning their season opener over the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars have looked like the young and inconsistent squad that many expected them to be at the outset of the 2011 NFL season. Offensively, the running game has been fairly solid. The Jags are averaging 127 yards per game, the sixth highest mark in the league. The passing attack however is a work in progress. Blaine Gabbert has not been disastrous, but as one might expect, he’s had his struggles. Jack Del Rio is pleased with the direction of the offense under Gabbert though, so don’t expect him to be on a short lease or anything anytime too soon.
Defensively, the Jaguars have fared well outside of their sloppy play in a 32-3 blowout loss against the Jets. Jacksonville is in the top half of the league against both the run and the pass, and if you remove the one performance against New York, has allowed just under 18 points per game.
Del Rio’s squad will face an interesting test in Week 5, a game that might indicate what type of team the Jaguars really are this season. The Cincinnati Bengals are coming to town, and while that looks like a very winnable game on paper, the Bengals are a tougher out than most people realize. Now, nobody believes the Jaguars are quite ready to compete for a playoff spot in ’11, but they do have enough talent on both sides of the ball to take care of business at home against visiting teams with young quarterbacks. Like Jacksonville, Cincinnati is just that — a team relying on rookie Andy Dalton to not put the team behind the eight ball with frequent mistakes. Jags fans will either go to bed Sunday night feeling optimistic about their football team or dejected by the prospects of a long season following their fourth consecutive loss.
Here are the Friday injury reports filed to the league by both Jacksonville and Cincinnati.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-3)
OUT: CB Derek Cox (groin), RB Montell Owens (knee)
Doubtful: TE Zach Miller (shoulder), WR Kassim Osgood (hamstring), G Jason Spitz (quadricep)
Questionable: S Courtney Greene (neck), DE Aaron Kampman (knee)
Probable: DT Tyson Alualu (knee), T Eugene Monroe (shoulder)
CINCINNATI BENGALS (2-2)
Doubtful: CB Kelly Jennings (hamstring), LB Dontay Moch (foot)
Questionable: S Jeromy Miles (groin)
Probable: S Chris Crocker (knee), S Taylor Mays (illness), T Andre Smith (foot), T Andrew Whitworth (not injury related)