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Keep in mind that the timing of Jacobs' abdominal injury last season was very detrimental to his development in the offense, and therefore his positioning on the depth chart early in the season. It was also during Jacobs' down-time from the abdominal injury that McCants emerged as a solid third wideout and red zone threat, making it that much tougher for Jacobs to break into the lineup.
I was disappointed to see Jacobs out again this week, but he's day-to-day, and he could very well be practicing again this afternoon. Jacobs isn't the only former Redskins draft pick who has had injury problems-- Betts (a 2002 second-rounder) was sitting out yesterday with a strained hamstring, and Cliff Russell (a third-rounder in '02) has been out all week with a strained hamstring. Betts will probably be out a couple more days, as will Russell.
Before this injury, Jacobs was catching a lot of short outs and hooks during the 9-on-9 and full-team drills. The reason nobody has really said anything about his catches is that he makes them look so routine and unremarkable. He generally gets good separation, and I have yet to see him drop a pass that he should have caught-- which is more than can be said for the other receivers outside of Coles and Thrash. That trio of Coles, Thrash and Jacobs has been the most consistent, in terms of their routes, separation and hands. Gardner and McCants have come up with some dazzling, acrobatic catches, but they have also had their share of dropped passes-- particularly McCants.
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