Sam Kouvaris: Jags should roll the dice, start Bortles

Henne unimpressive; Bortles as starting QB gives Jags best chance

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It would be great to say that the Jaguars are improving and you can see things coming together as they finish the third preseason game and break training camp for 2017. The problem is, that would be a lie.

I keep thinking of my friend and former Jaguars linebacker Tom McManus, who was fond of saying, “I’m not a big fan of hope,” when it came to talking about a football team getting better. Fans might be hoping the Jaguars look below average so far because not everybody’s in the game, but it looks like more than that.

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“You are what you earn” is probably a better saying when it comes to pro football, and so far the Jaguars have earned a reputation of a team with “a long way to go,” according to their head coach, Doug Marrone.

Not settled at quarterback or offensive line, the team was supposed to be built on its defense this year, but so far, that hasn’t materialized. And Marrone hasn’t put a timeline on naming a starting signal caller.

OPPOSING VIEWPOINT: Mark Brunell says Chad Henne should be Jaguars' starting QB

“You’d like to say yesterday, you know what I mean?” he said in his post-game press conference. “You know, again, I’ve got to do the best job for the organization and the best job for the team. I’m not going to put that pressure on myself to say, 'Hey, listen, I need to do this.' I’ve got time, but again, obviously, you’d like to make the decision quickly, but you want to make sure you make the right decision. That’s the most important thing.”

Starting Chad Henne at quarterback gave the Jaguars an authentic look at what he might be as a starter.  Through the first half, it wasn’t much, as the biggest offensive play for the Jaguars was a fake punt.

I’m not sure why you’d run a fake punt in the preseason, but Corey Grant’s burst up the middle at the end of the first quarter put the Jaguars in a position to tie the game at 7. They did that on a short Chris Ivory run after an exchange of penalties and a scramble by Henne. Not much from Henne or the offensive line, but they did tie the game.

By contrast, the Panthers scored on their opening drive with some solid blocking, crisp running and a couple of throws by Cam Newton. Seeing his first action of the preseason, the 2015 NFL MVP is coming off shoulder surgery and looked like he was ready to play in his only series.

It was hard to tell if the Jaguars were out of position or just getting gashed up front, but Carolina moved the ball at will on the ground scoring on a 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the game.

In the first half, Henne officially was 8-of-14 for 73 yards. One key drop by Keelan Cole cost him a completion and some yards, but he followed that with a nice throw and an equally impressive catch by Allen Robinson.

Other than that, Chad didn’t bring much different to the equation than he has in the past, or what Blake Bortles has shown recently.

“I felt like my decision-making was good for the most part,” Chad said. “There weren’t any poor decisions I felt. I feel like sometimes, maybe just step up a little bit and avoid some of those sacks. Get the ball out a little bit quicker. It’s just good to get back out there. Obviously, there are things we can correct out there and can improve on. Ten points are still not enough.”

Starting the second half, Bortles went three-and-out in his first series, but the play calling there was pretty unimaginative and Carolina, using a lot of second-team players, had no problem defending.  In fact, while Blake was playing with the Jaguars' first team, Carolina’s defense was a blend of their second and third-team players in the second half. 

And it still wasn’t great. The Jaguars' offensive line didn’t win consistently up front, and I still can’t figure out why, if you’re going to give Luke Bowanko a shot, why not at his natural position of center and move Brandon Linder back to his guard spot? Nonetheless, the play calling left much to be desired.

On third-and-17 from midfield in the third quarter, a draw play to Grant was the call.

Really? When you’re trying to figure out who your starting quarterback is going to be? Marrone said that was the call from the sideline as the team was playing “situational football.” Either way, a bad call and a bad decision.

So the Jaguars seem kind of stuck. Henne didn’t light it up, and Bortles looked about the same. Save for a trade or something weird happening before the season opener, Doug Marrone will have to decide which one of those guys “give us the best chance to win.” And since Henne looked like the Henne of old, Bortles seems to have the potential to have a bigger upside.

“I don’t know if it can get any worse than that,” Bortles said of his mindset and what happened last Thursday against the Bucs. “As a quarterback in the NFL, that’s probably the last thing you want to hear. I think you can roll over and lay down or you can keep working, grinding and trying to win that spot back. So, you have two options, and I think you pick one and you go. It’s tough. I think you’re getting dealt a certain hand, and it’s your decision, and you chose to do what you want with it. You can put your head down and continue to work and continue to fight and go out and play.”

Who knows what will go on behind closed doors in the next week or so, but you know what you’re getting with Chad Henne, and it doesn’t light a fire under anybody.

Blake might be all over the place, but at this point, he looks like the guy who, at least on a good day -- and I know that’s a lot of qualifiers -- gives you a chance to win.

Or lose.