Should the Jaguars start Blake Bortles immediately?
By Evan Massey
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, and were happy with his preseason performance. Not only did he play a solid preseason, he actually outperformed current starting quarterback Chad Henne. Despite the fact that he was obviously the better player during preseason action, the Jaguars appear convinced to start Henne over their first round pick.
It would be one thing if the Jaguars had seen Henne stay neck and neck with Bortles, but that wasn’t the case. Allowing a rookie quarterback to sit for his first season isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but allowing him to play and gain valuable experience after he has proved himself ready is a big part of the development process. Should the Jaguars change their minds and start Bortles immediately in Week 1?
Bortles finished preseason action completing 32 of his 51 passing attempts for 521 yards and two touchdowns, while not throwing a single interception. He was very smart with his decisions and looked like an NFL ready quarterback. Those numbers show that he is at the very least statistically ready to get out on the field, and he definitely deserves to have his performance noticed by the Jaguars.
While the success that Bortles has shown in the preseason is obvious to the fan and analyst, teams don’t always allow those numbers to change their plans. Bortles is the quarterback of the future for the Jaguars, and they don’t want to take any risks as far as playing around with his confidence should he be knocked around as a rookie. Henne likely isn’t going to give them a chance to make the playoffs, but they are more focused on giving Bortles the chance to learn more about the NFL game from the sidelines for at least the first part of the year.
There have been examples in the past where a rookie quarterback saw his future completely changed by taking a beating and playing poor football, the main one being David Carr with the Houston Texans. That being said, the Jaguars have a much better all-around team put together and Bortles showed during the preseason that he can handle pressurized situations. Jacksonville can come up with as many excuses as they want about Bortles not being ready, but he has shown otherwise on the field.
What do the Jaguars have to lose at this point in time? After the strong showing that Bortles had in the preseason, they should have their final answer on the starting quarterback situation. Henne has already shown that he is not a playoff caliber NFL quarterback, while Bortles has shown to have a strong arm that has the potential to make him a franchise quarterback.
Despite the fact that Bortles has shown the Jaguars that he should be the starter, it isn’t a terrible thing to see a franchise stick to their decisions and not sway back and forth. The Jaguars seem convinced that sitting Bortles is the right decision, and while it’s good that they are convinced and won’t budge on their decision, it is unfortunate that they have settled on the wrong decision. Russell Wilson had the same type of buzz surrounding him as a rookie in Seattle, and head coach Pete Carroll decided to give him the chance. After a Super Bowl win and improvement in his first two seasons, it is obvious that giving the younger quarterback a chance isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing connections is that Jaguars’ head coach Gus Bradley was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator when Wilson was a rookie. Bortles isn’t the same type of player, but he is an obviously better quarterback than Henne has a chance to be. It seems to be very concerning that the Jaguars are basing this decision on something other than what they have seen from both quarterbacks on the field.
Even if Bortles did come into the season and struggle as the Week 1 starting quarterback, the Jaguars would have the option to sit him down and replace him with Henne and allow him to learn from the bench. If that doesn’t happen and Bortles continues to play the type of football that he showed in the preseason, then the Jaguars would be giving their franchise quarterback more experience. There simply isn’t a situation where the Jaguars could lose by putting Bortles on the field immediately.
Some of the NFL’s best quarterbacks have been put out on the field early in their careers and struggled. Peyton Manning was put out on the field by the Colts immediately and didn’t play too well to start his career, but no one will argue what the end result has been. Even if Bortles has a rough first season with the Jaguars, it doesn’t mean that his future will be ruined.
Needless to say, the Jaguars will be handling this situation wrong if they continue to make Bortles sit the bench when he is the better player. Fans, analysts, and even fellow players have seen that Bortles outplayed Henne during the preseason. It seems at this point in time that the Jaguars are the only party that hasn’t seen the success that Bortles has had to this point.
Quite simply, the Jaguars need to change their mind last minute and start their rookie quarterback. Giving him the extra experience to start his career will help him out in the long run, and the Jaguars will be a much more competitive football team with him on the field. Jacksonville’s concerns are understandable, but they are not real concerns.
When everything is said and done, the Jaguars are trying to move forward in their rebuilding process. Bortles is the player that they decided to draft to be their quarterback of the future, and they need to put him out on the field. He is obviously the Jaguars’ best quarterback and there is no reason to believe that Henne will magically become better once the regular season starts.
There is no question that the Jaguars should go ahead and start Bortles in Week 1.