FOXBOROUGH – Gabe Jacas, we’re waiting.
Yes, there’s still plenty of time on the clock – we’re entering the 4th week of August, for crying out loud – but for a Patriots team in need of one of their edge rushers to pop, Jacas was given a ton of opportunities Saturday night and did very little with them.
“I mean, I think just still inconsistent.” Mike Vrabel said of Jacas’ not only tonight but over this last stretch of joint practices and preseason games. “I think that the effort is certainly there. The willingness. He is a very coachable player.”
Jacas started against the Eagles backups and, by my count, got 33 defensive snaps (24 in the first half), and was on all four special teams units. Philadelphia wasn’t game-planning for him (or anyone else for that matter). That meant plenty of chances to go one-on-one against fellow rookie Markel Bell and second-year pros Cameron Williams and Myles Hinton. Yet Jacas struggled to make an impact before the half; in fact, one of his most noteworthy plays benefited the opposition.
The Pats had just scored their first touchdown and had the Eagles pinned down at their own 15-yard line. Philly left Jacas unblocked off the left edge. Andy Dalton knew he was hot and got the ball out quick, but the second-rounder didn’t let up, taking two more steps before drilling the quarterback. While the defense celebrated what they thought was a Kindle Vildor interception (it wasn’t; the ball hit the ground), the referee threw that yellow hankie in Jacas’ direction, nailing him for roughing the passer. There was no argument from anyone on the Pats’ sideline.
“They were just saying like that’s just how the league is,” Jacas said of the message he got from the coaching staff. “Like, you know, any second that he throws the ball, you get him, they’re most likely to call that. So it’s a learning lesson for me. But you know, then again, just gotta be careful.”
A couple of snaps later, on a 2nd-and-10 from the 30, Jacas was again unblocked and got one of the two pressures I had him down for, but they don’t come much easier than that. Dalton wisely threw the pass away, and the Eagles punted two plays later.
“Precautions” was the word Jacas used when discussing that rep, and he added that he needs to “capitalize” on those aforementioned opportunities.
The only other time Jacas made Dalton uncomfortable actually came on
