Yes, it’s Blaine Gabbert Week at the blog, where our next guest is Jeff Lageman, the Jaguars radio color analyst who played defensive end for 10 years in the NFL.

One of the topics I touched on with Lageman, 46, an ex-defensive tough guy, is Gabbert’s toughness, or supposed lack thereof.

In this Q&A with Kurt Warner, the NFL Network analyst said Gabbert often threw off his back foot when pressured, but said the issue “wasn’t about toughness.”

During Gabbert’s three-year career, however, others have offered a different viewpoint. Late in Gabbert’s rookie year, Mike Lombardi, a longtime NFL personnel executive, said Gabbert looked “scared,” had an “unwillingness to hang in the pocket” and termed his play “embarrassing” in an NFL.com article.

Prior to Lombardi’s withering critique, former Raiders and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, now an ESPN analyst, hit on similar themes during Gabbert’s fifth career start, a 12-7 win over the Ravens on Monday Night Football.

More than two years later, the questions about Gabbert’s grit haven’t vanished, so I asked Lageman if it was a fair criticism.

“Yeah, there have been a lot of questions about Blaine’s toughness and this ‘Oh, he’s scared in the pocket,” Lageman said. “The one that brought that to the forefront was Jon Gruden on a Monday night game. And once Jon Gruden said it, it became gospel: ‘Oh, this guy is scared in the pocket, he’s a scared player’ and all that stuff. I have a tendency to not want to question anybody’s toughness.

“One thing that stands out in my mind was his second year, at Houston, (linebacker) Brian Cushing drilled him out of bounds. I’m pretty sure it bruised Blaine’s ribs … But he took the hit, got up and immediately got right up in Cushing’s face and started jawing with him. “I said ‘Hey, I wish Jon Gruden could see this. Quarterbacks that aren’t tough, they don’t do that.’ … I’m kind of the last person who wants to question a football player’s toughness. If you’re playing the game, and you’ve been playing as long as guys have in the NFL, believe me, you’ve got a pretty damn good level of toughness about you.”

Some other highlights from Lageman:

On Gabbert’s ability to handle adversity:

“I think that’s something we’ll find out more going forward. Look, he never backed down here. He kept working hard last year once Chad (Henne) was inserted into the lineup and Blaine never got it back. He never pouted. He continued to work his butt off in practice. That was all positive with Blaine.”

On Gabbert’s pocket presence:

“I’ve talked to a lot of quarterbacks and I always ask them: ‘Is pocket presence something that can be coached because that’s something Blaine doesn’t have yet.’ And they say it can be coached and a lot of it has to do with familiarity in a system. Well, Blaine obviously didn’t have a consistent system for three years here in Jacksonville (three offensive coordinators), so we never were able to see him have a comfortable level with an offense, where maybe the pocket presence would improve.”

On Gabbert’s leadership:

“That’s kind of an ever-evolving role for a young person, especially when you walk in the door at 20, 21 years old and you’re expected to lead men that might be 35. And some can do it and some can’t. And that’s something he will have to work on. But one thing I do like about Blaine: He’s never been afraid of work. He’s never been afraid of competition. And I think when he shows up with the 49ers he’s going to impress people with his arm and his accuracy. They’re going to be watching him practice and they’re going to go ‘Holy s—, we only gave up a sixth-round pick for this guy?’”

More on Gabbert’s leadership:

“When I say leadership, I don’t mean he’s a bad leader. But it’s something he’s never had a chance to develop, especially in his first year when he was inserted into the staring lineup. To be a good leader, I think you have to elevate the performance of those around you to a level they hadn’t previously achieved. To me, that’s the greatest sign of a leader. That’s an area he needs to improve. Some of it is he needs to work at, and some of it comes from having success.

“The thing that a leader has to have, no matter what the position it is, he’s got to have success. If you don’t have it, players look at you and they doubt your ability and they think maybe somebody can do better job. For Blaine to accomplish that, yes, he has to have success, No. 1. But, No. 2, he’s just got to work on that as quarterback, to be a leader. I’m not saying he’s a bad leader, but that’s an area where he can improve.”

On Gabbert’s measurables:

“Some people might be laughing at the 49ers for giving up a sixth-round pick, at least the fans of Jacksonville who got down on Blaine so much. But there are so many things that a NFL quarterback has to have before he steps foot in the door. Those are the physical attributes and Blaine has those. Physically, he’s got a lot of tools. I think the 49ers did well in that trade. If you look at how he started, there is probably not a worse situation that a young quarterback could enter … I’m not trying to make excuses for him, but there were just a lot of circumstances that weren’t in his favor for him to have success.”