When the Jaguars take the field in Week 1, it will be Blake Bortles starting at quarterback, and Chad Henne as the backup. That's the word from coach Doug Marrone on Saturday morning.
Henne started the third preseason game. And although the numbers alone didn't show it, he was a little better out there -- just seemed less likely to struggle and put the offense in holes each week. He finished 8 of 14 for 73 yards while taking 3 sacks. He led one touchdown drive that relied heavily on a fake punt.
Bortles looks better in the box score: 12 of 16 for 125 yards and a touchdown. He led another scoring drive late in the fourth quarter, while also throwing an interception over the middle of the field and another on a failed 2-point conversion.
Aside from the fact that Bortles faced Carolina reserves and Henne the starting defense. most of the younger quarterback's successful throws were safe little outlet passes. A nice touchdown toss from in close and a couple of big plays to open receivers over the middle. But in general he looked hesitant and like he was playing to avoid mistakes. Understandable, but he's not playing with any confidence right now.
Henne threw two perfect rainbows to his receivers, one a 37-yard catch by Allen Robinson, the other a pass to Keelan Cole that would have probably gone for a long touchdown, except Cole dropped it.
Bortles has a lot more mobility than Henne, and I think that was probably the key differentiator. The line is terrible. But most likely, he'll either play his way out of the job or get injured, putting Henne or perhaps third-stringer Brandon Allen in the lineup. Or maybe somebody else entirely.
All in all, it looks like reason not to expect a bounce-back season from Allen Robinson. The passing game isn't going to be good. And no good sense of how significant Leonard Fournette's foot injury is, but that's going to work against this team having the kind of running game it hopes to have.
The first-team defense didn't look good against the Cam Newton-led Carolina offense, either, surrendering a fairly easy touchdown drive.
In short, I don't think I'll be selecting many (any?) Jacksonville players in upcoming drafts. Looks like it could be another tough year.
--Andy Richardson