JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it … Gary from Orange Park, FL:
We got ourselves a CONTROVERSY!!!!!
John: Well, there's no doubting you're serious – what with your subtle use of not only CAPITAL LETTERS, but exclamation points!! as well. That's VERY, VERY SERIOUS!!! But yes, that's pretty much where we are in the 2017 Jaguars Training Camp Quarterback Saga now. It festered and percolated cozily and controllably under the surface this week, but when Head Coach Doug Marrone gave backup quarterback Chad Henne first-team repetitions in Preseason Week 2 against the Buccaneers Thursday, it marked the beginning of a question that at some point before Week 1 must be answered: Who will start at quarterback? Will Marrone stick with Blake Bortles or will he go with Henne? Is it a controversy? Well, controversy is a pretty controversial word. But whatever it is, the Jaguars' quarterback situation is murkier than it was a week ago and whole lot murkier than it was a couple of hours back.
Tommy from Fernandina Beach, FL:
O-man ... O-line stinks!! D-line, no pressure ... same results!! UGH!!!
John: Those were pretty common takeaways from the first quarter and a half Thursday, and it was hard to argue. The offensive line struggled to run block early with the starters in the game, and the Buccaneers got pressure on Bortles in some big situations. And the defense? Well, it allowed 187 yards and 12 points on the Buccaneers' first three drives – and the score could have been worse than that. As middle linebacker Paul Posluszny said afterward, the defense just did not come out fast. The Jaguars' defense was without its top three corners – Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye and Aaron Colvin – and the absence of those players can't be overlooked. The absence of running back Leonard Fournette and wide receiver Marqise Lee offensively can't be overlooked, either. Still …
Jeff from Jacksonville Beach, FL:
Wow.
John: Wow.
David from St. Augustine, FL:
Face it, Zone. Marrone benched Blake Bortles Thursday. Don't deny it. Stop defending him.
John: I don't spend much time denying or defending things, but hey: now's not the time for parsing through details. The reality is Marrone didn't "bench" Bortles on Thursday, because the reality is that the plan entering the game Thursday was to give Henne time with the starters. This wasn't announced before the game because Marrone's not given to announcing such things before games. The reason he doesn't announce such before games is because he doesn't have to announce such things before games. But debating whether or not it was a benching is probably missing the main point. Whatever it was, it's clear Marrone and the Jaguars are trying to make sure they know who the best choice to quarterback the Jaguars. That remains to be seen. As Marrone said, this thing is up for grabs.
Jaginator from (formerly of) Section 124:
Jon Gruden shortly before half talking about the Jags: "It's tough to get excited." Truer words have never been spoken.
John: OK.
Terry from Jacksonville:
Say this for Marrone: The guy's got guts.
John: Yeah, I think that's fair – and I think it's fair to say Marrone means what he says when he talks about playing the best players regardless of circumstance. If we didn't believe him before, he must be believed now. A lot of people grew angry in the offseason when Marrone continued to go with Bortles despite fans' dissatisfaction with Bortles. But Marrone isn't or shouldn't be worried about fan reaction. He's trying to find the best player to play quarterback. Bortles has had ample repetitions. He has had some good series, throws and day in training camp and he has had some well-publicized bad series, throws and days. He hasn't been awful all the time, but he also hasn't been good enough to make this topic go away. Marrone with three preseason games remaining clearly believed that, and clearly wanted to give Henne a chance to see if he's a better option. That doesn't mean Marrone is done with Bortles. He made clear Thursday Bortles can still win the job. It does mean he wants to make sure he knows which quarterback is the better option. That does take some guts, though I'm not sure Marrone would see it as guts as much as it being the route the makes the most sense.
Nathan from St. Augustine, FL:
After the first preseason game, I asked if there was at least a chance that Henne could be the starter Week 1. You replied with a direct, to-the-point, no-time-for-small-talk answer of No. After another game of Bortles looking awful and Henne looking confident and making good throws that should have been touchdowns again this week, are we at least up to a maybe Henne starts week 1?
John: Yes.
Scott from Aurora, IL:
Henne just looks more confident, decisive, accurate, etc. He should be the starter going forward.
John: We'll see.