Jacksonville Jaguars: Answering More Questions vs. Saints?

While the Jacksonville Jaguars step onto EverBank Field Sunday with the biggest test of the year staring them in the face when the New Orleans Saints bring their pass-happy offense to town, there is a shimmer of light that looks to be shinning on this team.

Yes, I said it. You all can actually stop rubbing your eyes and continue reading.

The Jaguars, mired in a two-game losing streak after a 16-10 loss on the road to Carolina, is looking at its coming out party, so to speak, this weekend.

Will the defense continue to play at a high rate that now has them fourth in the NFL in total defense?

Will we see a rookie quarterback, asked to take the shackles off the offense and do something so amazing that the fans and maybe the players will be stunned, look down field more often?

Will the special teams play improve? Can punter Matt Turk make amends for his flubbed punt last week and poor performance over the past two weeks? Can the Jaguars overcome an injury to Pro Bowler Montel Owens?

These are all legitimate questions to be answered and while the media (yours included) has followed what the Jaguars aren't doing, maybe we (or I) should look at some of the things they are doing.

The defense is better. Much better. Last season, the Jaguars had 26 sacks and 13 interceptions on the season. The team went out and tried to resolve its issues with early Christmas presents in the form of Paul Posluszny, Clint Session, Matt Roth, Dawan Landry, Drew Coleman and Dwight Lowery. They all, with maybe the exception of Session, have had some say in how the team has played so far with Lowery and Roth making the biggest contributions so far.

The biggest question tomorrow is not a simple one to answer—can this team play up to the performance it has so far and beat a much better team in the Saints?

The Jaguars played the New York Jets two weeks ago 32-3. The running game was solid but the passing offense was atrocious and then-starter Luke McCown could not get out of his own way, throwing four interceptions. The team looked "better" against Carolina, where the defense made super-rookie Cam Newton look human in the loss.

As a whole, the Jaguars are giving up just over 20 points per contest, but they are only allowing 280 yards combined during a contest. And note for the record, the top four teams in overall defense are from the AFC, which proves the point so far that the NFC will score points and its  best teams, Green Bay and New Orleans (ranked 27th in passing offense), are having issues stopping anyone.

But, if the team you are going up against is only scoring 9.7 points per contest, does that really make a difference? Gabbert can throw all day and possibly throw for over 300 yards, but if he cannot find the end zone, will it matter in this contest?

Personally, I don't think the Jaguars win this contest. And personally, I think besides a better defense, which is HUGE, and a running game that is stout (Maurice Jones-Drew is at midseason form) there are still huge questions with the offense. Until those questions are answered, this team will continue to tail spin.

But you cannot dismiss that what is happening may be a turn for the better.