Measuring Success: What the Jaguars Have to Accomplish in 2012

The Jacksonville Jaguars would love to win a Super Bowl in 2012, but I'm not going out on a limb when I say that's probably not going to happen. Anything is possible, but going from five wins to Lombardi-ville in a year would be one of the greatest turnarounds of all-time.

So, short of a championship, there are still things the Jaguars can do to ensure a successful 2012. If they can manage to check most of the boxes off this list, general manager Gene Smith will keep his job, and fans will feel good heading into 2013.

Blaine Gabbert Must Improve

The Jags don't need a good season from Gabbert, but they do need him to not be the worst quarterback in football.

Guys like Aikman and Eli Manning had bad rookie years, but by the end of year two, they were merely below-average. They went on to greatness from there.

The Offense Needs to Become League Average

The Jags invested heavily in offense, retooling the receiving corps. Last year, Jacksonville was 28th in points. They need to find roughly 116 more points this year to become a league-average offense. That's basically a touchdown a game.

They've dumped Del Rio-ball and have brought in Mike Mularkey to fix the offense. That ought to be worth a field goal a game right there.

The Team Needs to Win Eight Games

I know that's a high standard, but Gene Smith has been the general manager for three seasons now, and the team has won seven, eight and five games. This is year four, and if the playoffs aren't in the cards by year five, something is horribly wrong. There's no way you can give a fifth year to a GM who can't produce more than one eight-win season in his first four.

Justin Blackmon Must Have a Strong Season

I'm not saying the Jags should have unreasonable expectations, but they should be able to feel good about the trade up to grab him. They haven't had a real weapon in the receiving game in years, so if they can close the book on the 2012 draft comfortable that they got a future star, it'll be a big win.

The franchise can't afford for Blackmon to have the kind of struggles that Gabbert had in his rookie year.

The Defense Can't Go Backwards

The Jaguars had one of the league's best defenses in 2011, and while some regression is to be expected, the unit has to stay in the top 10. Building the offense only to see the defense collapse won't solve anything.

Shad Khan seems like a smart and patient owner, but he's well within his rights to demand progress from the team. That may not mean making the playoffs in 2012, but it should mean improvement. If the playoffs are to be a reality for 2013, then the Jaguars have to see some success this year.