Chad Henne Makes Me Eat My Words

November has been a bag of mixed nuts. I got married this month. My new wife and I went on a seven day cruise to the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, and St. Maarten. During the month of November I’ve attended two Jaguars home games. I’ve had two cars break down on me. The motherboard on my computer is shot so I’ve had a hard time getting in my posts on time. It’s been up and down to say the least.

At least the next game was better than this one.  Source:  Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The first game of November I attended was that of the Thursday night variety. We all know what happened, but that’s not what I want to discuss in today’s post. My brother bought five tickets to this game. Upon our arrival, we were told that the tickets were invalid. Customer service told us that we did not pay for the tickets which was weird seeing as how we had the tickets in our hands. They almost didn’t let us into the game, but had a change of heart. We missed the entire first quarter and needless to say…we were very disappointed. Guest services treated us like criminals and were very rude.

The day after, my brother called the guy who sold us the tickets. He said since we paid with cash, there was no paper trail so they didn’t validate them. This explanation still makes no sense whatsoever. Could someone please explain? I’m still under the impression he stuck the cash in his wallet and just handed us the tickets without validating them to show no proof of an actual sale going down. To make it up to us he gave us five more tickets to the next Jags home game which just so happened to be this past week’s match up against the Titans. He just didn’t get square with us…he gave us five touchdown club tickets. The BEST seats I’ve ever had to any NFL contest. I was mad at the entire organization up until last Sunday.

So all of this aside let me eat my words. I’ve been wrong about a lot this season. Chad Henne looks like he’s determined to make the most of his second chance. He stands tall in the pocket. He’s not scared. When faced with pressure, he stares it down and either guns it out or takes the sack like a man.

My whole “8-8” theory was wrong. Way wrong. However, these last five games are crucial to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Henne’s got a lot to prove and this is his opportunity to prove to Khan, Smith, and Mularkey that he is the starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

There’s some wins left on the remaining schedule. We play the Jets, Dolphins, and this week, the Buffalo Bills. We play the Titans again, and how miraculous would it be if we could pull off an upset over the New England Patriots?

Am I blinded by the first home win of the season? Am I a victim of the moment? YES. What I saw last Sunday was an up-to-date NFL team that could push the ball downfield. Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon could be the 1-2 punch our offense needs. Yes, there’s work to be done. The trenches on both sides of the ball MUST be reinforced this offseason. I’d take that over “finding another quarterback” any day of the week. The other quarterback could already be on the roster, and my oh my have I been wrong about you Chad Henne.

This team has a grand opportunity to get hot late in the season and become that team to look out for next year. There’s players to be evaluated. Pride is on the line. We could really make a splash by becoming high scoring, competitive, and explosive.

This of course boils down to the quarterback position. Henne’s career has been plagued by inconsistency and injury. I for one am very excited about what the next five weeks hold for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Are you?

-David R. Johns