Jacksonville Jaguars: Realistic expectations with Chad Henne

The Jacksonville Jaguars provided Chad Henne a chance to win the starting quarterback job. What are some realistic expectations if he starts Week 1?

The Blake Bortles experiment in Jacksonville is officially up in flames. Actually, an argument could be made that the Frankenstein-like project was over last year. However, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach recently made it clearly official. Head coach Doug Marrone said the starting quarterback job is “up for grabs,” according to John Oesher of Jaguars.com.

Quite frankly, Marrone’s decision didn’t exactly come out of left field. After a horrendous 2016, Bortles has seemingly regressed even more. A video of him grossly overthrowing Allen Robinson went viral. From Robinson’s tone, it’s apparent that kind of mishap is commonplace in Jaguars practices.

What that means is there is a very, very real chance the Jagaurs enter the season with 32-year-old Chad Henne as the team’s starter. Henne started the team’s third, “dress rehearsal” preseason game against the Panthers.

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Henne played decently against Carolina. He compiled 73 yards. He completed eight of his 14 passes, and was largely unremarkable. However, being average may be enough for him to supplant Bortles as the starter.

First and foremost, there’s no arguing whether Henne is an elite quarterback. He’s not now, he never has been and he never will be. Henne hasn’t started a game since 2014, which was Bortles’ first year. The pinnacle of Henne’s career perhaps came in 2013. That year, Henne threw for 3,241 yards, 13 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, all while completing 60.6 percent of his passes.

I think it’s clear the statistics suggest Henne is an average backup quarterback. Throughout his career, Henne has compiled these unimpressive totals: 59.3 completion percentage, 12,931 yards, 58 touchdowns, 63 interceptions, 75.5 passer rating

Those numbers aren’t absolutely terrible, mind you. However, those numbers clearly indicate Henne is best suited as a backup. Furthermore, If the Jaguars enter the season with Henne, the team is essentially starting a backup-caliber quarterback in a division with Andrew Luck and Marcus Mariota. So if Henne winds up winning the starting job, what should realistic expectations be for the Jaguars?

Of course, it’s invaluable to mention the fact that Jacksonville has a talented roster (on paper). Allen Robinson possesses an insane ability as a vertical-thread, and is a legit No. 1 receiver. Allen Hurns resides next to Robinson, and he’s a nice player as well. Marqise Lee enjoyed a resurgent 2016 after a disappointing first two years.

The team also added the uber-talented, beast of a runner Leonard Fournette to carry the load at running back. Ideally, Fournette will develop into a top-level back.

Defensively, Jacksonville has a lot of talent. The team acquired Calais Campbell in the off-season. The ex-Cardinal gives the defense experience and leadership. Additionally, Jacksonville signed cornerback A.J. Bouye away from the rival Houston Texans. Jalen Ramsey played like a future All-Pro as a rookie, and Telvin Smith remains an unsung player.

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Essentially, the Jagaurs aren’t exactly barren in the talent department. The team could realistically win a handful of games based solely on the non-quarterback talent. In addition to the obvious talent, the Jaguars also have an overwhelming desire to actually succeed. That being said, there’s no denying quarterback is the position holding the Jaguars back.

In fact, you could certainly make an argument Henne gives the Jags a better chance of winning than Bortles does. While Henne isn’t going to make defenses change their game plans entirely, he’s less erratic than Bortles. Bortles provides the offense with a myriad of instability. Basically, it’s tough to truly gauge what kind of performance Bortles will have. With Henne, the Jags know they’re getting a solid, competent quarterback.

If Henne is as advertised, meaning an okay-but-not-terrible quarterback, things may not be as bleak for Jacksonville as some may think. This team has enough talent to mask quarterback deficiencies — to an extent.

Recently, Marrone mentioned he wants to run the ball frequently. He actually said he wants to run the ball every play, but was clearly being facetious.

“For me, I like to run the ball every play,” Marrone said, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco.

Frankly, the news of a heavy workload of Fournette is a good thing. Presumably, Fournette is a talented enough back to make a lot of good things happen. After all, Fournette is a bell-cow type back with an incredibly impressive skill set.

I don’t think it’s crazy to think if the defense and run game operates in an above-average fashion, Henne could very well lead Jacksonville to seven or eight wins. Obviously, that amount of wins won’t propel Jacksonville to the playoffs. However, the Jaguars currently don’t have a quarterback on the roster who can do that.

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By and large, Henne isn’t great, or even good, really. But Henne possesses enough experience and poise to help Jacksonville elude the cellar of the NFL. In conclusion, Jacksonville needs its quarterback to not be a disaster.  Presumably, Henne should be capable of doing just that. In my opinion, Henne can be the adequate bridge quarterback Jacksonville needs before finding a legit starter.