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Mailbag top question: How should Luke Joeckel's development be gauged?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It’s time for the Jacksonville Jaguars mailbag question of the week.

There’s no prize, other than the knowledge that your question piqued my interest the most. That should be enough, anyway.

@ESPNdirocco: The main thing to look for regarding LT Luke Joeckel is consistency. Other than some mechanical issues with his hands, that has been his biggest problem.

In watching him during the preseason, I think he has been better in that area. He did get beat badly by James Harrison in the preseason opener but he played pretty well against the New York Giants and Detroit Lions.

Another area to watch is his strength. He's athletic and moves well but his weakness has been handling bull rushers. That's something he worked on in the offseason by gaining some weight.

Joeckel is going to give up sacks. That's going to happen. Nobody is going to go an entire season without giving up a sack. So you have to accept that. That's partly why Joeckel has gotten criticized so heavily. He can play well for most of the game but he'll get beaten badly for a sack and that's all anyone (including me) remembers.

One thing that would help, too, is fans and media stop holding him up to the standard of Tony Boselli. He was one of the greatest offensive tackles to play the game and since he's still around the franchise it's a constant reminder of how Joeckel isn't in the same league. That's okay, though, because the Jaguars don't need him to be elite. They just need him to be average, and based on what I've seen from him this preseason he's moving in that direction.