Line draws upon lackluster start

So what if it was just the first preseason game? The Jaguars' offensive line deserved to be called out after a shaky showing in Monday night's 12-9 loss at Miami, according to veteran guard Maurice Williams. "Every guy in our room knows we need to have a better performance," Williams said. "As offensive linemen, we take the challenge." The offensive line struggled to recognize blitzes against the Dolphins . And even when they knew what was coming, the Jaguars couldn't consistently pick up the rushers. Pressure came up the middle, with Dolphins defensive tackle Jason Ferguson sacking quarterback David Garrard on Jacksonville's second series. Miami rookie free agent Cameron Wake, a two-time Canadian Football League defensive player of the year, blew past Jaguars right tackle Tony Pashos on several plays. The situation led to criticism from Garrard, who in three series netted one first down, 22 yards passing on seven attempts and 10 yards rushing. "I was trying to tell them that if they can keep me upright, we can move this ball and do some big things," Garrard said after the game. "It didn't look good. The critical times [are] when we have to be able to pick up the blitzes and have everybody on the same page. We've got to do better with that." But will they? The Jaguars haven't had solid offensive line play in more than a year. After paving the way for Garrard's breakout season in 2007 and the second-most rushing yards in franchise history (2,391 yards), the offensive line lost center Brad Meester for six games in 2008, and guards Vince Manuwai and Williams sustained season-ending injuries in Week 1. The Jaguars strengthened the unit during the offseason. They added free agent Tra Thomas and used the No. 8 overall pick on Eugene Monroe and a second-round selection to draft Eben Britton. Those additions, combined with the healthy return of all the injured players, are expected to bring the offensive line back to 2007 levels. But so far, and it's early, the transformation hasn't occurred. "For me, it starts in the trenches," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "Certainly, that cohesiveness in the front five is something we are looking to have. I talked to the guys about the fact I thought we were a little measured Monday night with our line play. The pad level got a little high, and we weren't really coming off together. Those are things that will come as a unit with the reps and the hitting we're getting in camp. We should see improvement. To be what we want to be offensively, we need that unit to lead the way to allow David time, allow our backs room to run, allow our receivers to do their thing." Garrard said the offensive line wasn't the only unit that struggled with blocking assignments against Miami. Garrard explained that when the team lines up before a play, Meester points out the defender the line is sliding toward, which means the running backs "have to know that they have these guys now." "There were a couple of times [defenders] moved a little bit on us, and [that] messed up their reads," Garrard said of the running backs. "So we just have to make sure everybody knows exactly who they have." The Jaguars didn't game-plan for Miami's blitzes. And the team is still plugging in multiple players for evaluation, such as Thomas, Monroe, and Uche Nwaneri, in addition to holding out Manuwai as he recovers from last year's injury. "I don't really see them struggling," running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. "They went against a duo that you don't really see every week [in] Joey Porter and Jason Taylor, but it was great work. Obviously, people are going to see the bad part just because of what happened last year. You're looking for us to come out there and be 100 percent. You just don't wake up out of bed and be 100 percent. We're working to do that." michael.wright@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4657 BUCCANEERS AT Jaguars When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Where: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Radio: WOKV (690 AM, 106.5 FM) PHOTOS View a gallery of pictures from Jaguars training camp. jacksonville.com/photos