Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Football Focus 2013 Review – Quarterback
By Daniel Lago
Oct 6, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; A Jacksonville Jaguars trainer examines the left arm of quarterback Blaine Gabbert (11) during the first half against the St. Louis Rams at The Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
With free agency on the horizon, it is as good a time as any to take an in-depth look at the performance of each position group on the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013. As a standard metric to start the conversation, Pro Football Focus grades were used to get an initial look at how each player fared in the 2013 regular season. Specific information about how Pro Football Focus comes up with their grades is available in their FAQ.
Today we look at arguably the worst position group on the Jacksonville Jaguars – quarterback. Going into the season, general manager David Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley decided to give the reigns to third year player Blaine Gabbert over seasoned veteran Chad Henne. The logic was sound and hard to argue with – the Jaguars knew what they had in Henne, and it was time to see if there was anything left to salvage in the Gabbert experiment. It turns out that it didn’t really matter who played quarterback, because they were both pretty bad.
| Snaps | Compl. % | Yards | TD | INT | Yds/Att | Pass Grade | Overall Grade | NFL Ranking | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Henne | 921 | 60.6 | 3241 | 13 | 14 | 6.4 | -20.2 | -21.0 | 70 (out of 70) |
| Blaine Gabbert | 161 | 48.8 | 481 | 1 | 7 | 5.6 | -9.7 | -11.1 | 62 (out of 70) |
Chad Henne ended up with the worst grade of any quarterback in the NFL, but Gabbert was without a doubt the worst quarterback to start a game in 2013. Despite playing 760 less snaps than Henne, Gabbert had about half the negative overall grade of Henne. That may not mean much until you realize that the overall grade is cumulative over the season – Gabbert’s extrapolated grade with the same amount of snaps as Henne would have been a staggering -63.5.
We won’t spend too long discussing the quarterbacks because neither guy is in the franchise’s long term plans, but it seems like at least Henne will be back in 2014. Gabbert has no reason to be on the roster even in training camp since he hasn’t shown anything to indicate he can be a functional backup let alone a starter.
Even by standard metrics (completion percentage, TD/INT, Yds/Att), the two quarterbacks were pretty terrible. It’s no secret that the Jaguars need a massive upgrade at the position, and they will assuredly take at least one quarterback in the 2014 draft.
2013 Position Grade, Quarterbacks – F
-Daniel Lago
Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89