Those were the comments of Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio after his team’s loss to Miami in their exhibition opener. It’s not the kind of start Del Rio was hoping for, but it’s not the end of the world either. But, as we’ve said before, in order for the Jaguars to be a competitive team, several things have to fall in place all at the same time. The most important of those is the progression of quarterback Byron Leftwich, and right now, that’s not happening. Nobody doubts his work ethic and his off season study was stellar but so far in this camp, including his opening quarter on Saturday night, Leftwich isn’t yet ready for prime time. He studies, he works, he’s diligent, but he’s still a second year quarterback who’s going through his first training camp (he held out last year.)

Blessed with neither speed nor a quick release, Leftwich will have to rely on his size, his “escapability” in the pocket and his decision making to beat defenses. Right now, he’s a little tentative and doesn’t have the shuffle of a Dan Marino down in order to find throwing lanes. And the wind up aspect of his throwing motion, especially on long throws; give the defensive pass rush that extra look at the ball that’s sometimes all they need. In fact, David Garrard looked like the best quarterback on the team Saturday night, and this just 6 weeks removed from surgery for Crohn’s disease.

Garrard is completely different from Leftwich. He is mobile and has the speed to get away from defenders. He’s decisive in the pocket and his delivery comes from his shoulders and above with no extra movement of the ball in the pocket. The Jaguars coaches have harbored this notion that Garrard could be their Rob Johnson, bringing a high draft pick next year, the final season he’s under contract. Perhaps they should look at him in a completely different light, one that shines on him as a contributor to the Jaguars on the field instead of through the draft. Doug Johnson didn’t show much in his debut in a Jaguars uniform, and Quinn Gray has consistently shown that he could have a role in the NFL given enough reps. He did that again against Miami.

Fred Taylor was a bright spot, especially with his long cutback run. But did anybody else notice that Taylor ran straight out of bounds instead of cutting it back up at the end of the run to take on the defensive back? Perhaps it’s because it was the first preseason game, but Fred’s done that in the past for no reason. He has the size to run over just about anybody if need be and hopefully will do just that when it counts. Greg Jones can play and once he gets comfortable with playing on a field where everybody is big, strong and fast, he’ll be a force. The Jaguars showcased him as a running back as opposed to the pounding fullback many people thought he’d be in pro football.

On defense, the Jaguars are hoping to build on the pieces already in place. Two draft picks made an impact right away. “Daryl Smith; always around the ball. It was nice to see (Bobby McCray) come around the corner,” Del Rio commented after the game about his second and seventh round picks. Smith is expected to compete for a starting spot at linebacker while McCray was considered a long shot to make the team but showed speed on the edge, something the Jaguars have been missing. Of course the glaring problem the Jaguars have is in the kicking game. Josh Scobee was a fifth round draft pick, brought in to become the Jaguars third straight rookie kicker. But he missed his first two attempts, one from 24 yards and his kickoffs were short. Converting drives with three points and field position are what gets it done in this league and the Jaguars haven’t been consistent in those areas in three years. They must not be happy with Jeff Chandler, because nobody’s talking about him as the solution. So Scobee will perhaps get another chance against Tampa Bay but Del Rio said it best, “We're looking for somebody who can get that done for us. He'll have to do better than that if he's going to be our kicker.”