Starting Blake Bortles, Too Little Too Late

The Jacksonville Jaguars wasted the first three games of the season by sitting rookie quarterback Blake Bortles behind incumbent Chad Henne. Henne probed to be a poor offensive leader and poor producer at the quarterback position. While the Jags had intended for Blake Bortles to learn behind Henne for a full season, after the second game it was obvious that the team needed to move past Henne.

Yet the team stuck with Henne until midway through week three. That game, against the Indianapolis Colts, was the low point for Henne’s season and maybe career. The offense couldn’t move the ball and he was a miserable four of seven for 33 yards. That’s an entire half of offensive production. Bortles instantly lit things up in the second half in relief.

The Jags moved on from Henne and Bortles got his first start on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.

Unfortunately, it’s too little too late.

The Jags didn’t win under Bortles either, but they looked far more involved. The game was competitive until after the half. Bortles put together an impressive game that saw him complete 78% of his passes. That’s the best completion percentage from a debut in 60 years. Things sputtered and died all the same, but the potential is certainly there.

Those first three games look more and more like lost snaps that could have gone to Bortles. Snaps that could have helped him to develop beyond the already solid player he is currently. Every rep counts and Bortles is learning at a tremendous pace right now. Some mental lapses still occur (like the two interceptions in Sunday’s game) but Bortles will get past that with time and, most importantly, experience.

The Jaguars will be far more competitive with Bortles under center going forward. If the team had been able to see that initially and taken a gamble on the rookie then maybe the Jags would be even better off right now. It’s a hypothetical, but giving the young quarterback more opportunities to learn and grow would have been wise. Now at 0-4 the Jaguars may have waited too long for him to put it all together and strong together some victories.