Mike Mularkey hates excessive celebration penalties as much as fans do, and he's willing to shell out some cash to prevent them (via WTEV 47):

"Every time a player scores and hands the football to a referee, head coach Mike Malarkey donates $250 to the Ronald McDonald House. And the Jaguars matches it."

We've all heard about the ongoing contract dispute between Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jacksonville Jaguars' front office. It comes down to a couple of contradicting beliefs. Jones-Drew believes that he deserves more money after leading the NFL in run yards last season, and the Jaguars believe he should honor the remaining two years on his contract before they begin negotiating a new deal.

Whether Jones-Drew actually deserves more money is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that the Jaguars aren't budging, and Jones-Drew has quickly been forgotten by many Jaguars fans.

Part of Jones-Drew's image issues arise from the unforeseen-but-foreseen-by-some high level of play from backup running back Rashad Jennings. Since becoming the de facto starting running back, Jennings has shown the ability to carry the workload formerly supported by Jones-Drew.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have waived wide receivers Lee Evans and Taylor Price, according to a tweet by Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. The team signed Evans to a one-year deal this past April, and despite suiting up for this past Friday's preseason game against the New York Giants, Evans didn't play a down, and won't in north Florida this season. The team has also parted ways with Taylor Price, who was claimed off of waivers from the New England Patriots during the 2011 regular season.

Lee Evans had previously played for new Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey in Buffalo, and was Mularkey's first draft choice, when Evans was selected 13th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. Evans would play in western New York from 2004 to 2010, before being traded to the Baltimore Ravens prior to the start of the 2011 season.

There's an elephant in the room that I'd like to address. It was put there by the national media, and I'd like to push it back out the door.

That elephant, of course, is the idea that if Gabbert doesn't pan out, the Jaguars will have the opportunity to draft Matt Barkley to replace him.

That's simply not going to happen.

He wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert was on full display Friday night, and the early returns from Gabbert's offseason work is encouraging.

Blaine Gabbert was just 5 of 10 with 62 yards and a touchdown, but the real story was his command of the Jaguars' offense. Last season, Gabbert looked uncomfortable most of the time, and he often succumbed to phantom pressure.

Last night, Gabbert only threw off of his back foot one time, and there was very real pressure in his face. The pass fell incomplete at the feet of a receiver. The only other big mistake was Gabbert's fumble. On that play, Gabbert was unable to find an open target down the field. Instead of simply eating the loss, Gabbert scrambled back in the pocket before being stripped by a defender behind him.

The most encouraging play of the game for me also happened to be an incomplete pass. On his first passing attempt of the year, Gabbert was hit by pressure straight in his face. Instead of bailing out of the pocket as he would have last season, he stood in the pocket and delivered the ball. Even though it was incomplete, it illustrated perfectly a big change between the Blaine Gabbert of last season and this year's version.

It wasn't a perfect performance, and there was a lot more to the Jaguars' game than Blaine Gabbert's performance, but we have a week to digest all that other information. The good news is that Gabbert, for the first time in his career, looked like he owned the Jaguars offense, and he was miles ahead of backup quarterback Chad Henne. There's still work to do, but it appears that Gabbert may be a serviceable player after all.

Tonight the Jaguars kick off their 2012 campaign by hosting the New York Giants at Everbank Field.

The Jaguars have consistently been ranked as one of the worst teams in the NFL, largely due to a perception that Blaine Gabbert can't get it done as their starting quarterback.

Jacksonville will be looking to establish an identity early on, and that leads us into our first point of mention.

1) Establish the run with Rashad Jennings

Maurice Jones-Drew may not be with the team right now, but backup running back Rashad Jennings could be a starting runner on a lot of teams, and right now, the starting job is his. The Jaguars will look to him to provide their offense with some balance in an effort to stall the Giants' pass rush.

2) Protect the passer

Jennings plays a big part in protecting Gabbert, but ultimately, that responsibility comes down to Eugene Monroe, Eben Britton, Brad Meester, Uche Nwaneri and Cameron Bradfield (Will Rackley is out). The Jaguars are fielding what should be a solid group, but their pass protection can be suspect at times. That needs to change tonight.

Michael Lombardi is my hero. Credit to Big Cat Country for the video find.