Jaguars are doing right thing by sitting Bortles, starting Henne

This has nothing to do with Bortles sitting on the bench, watching Henne and learning the craft of being an NFL quarterback. Seriously, what's Bortles going to learn from Henne? How to throw more interceptions than touchdowns during his career? How to complete less than 60 percent of his passes during his career? How to have an 18-32 career record as an NFL starting quarterback?

No, this is about public relations, maximizing Bortles' chances of winning over a beleaguered fan base and doubling the amount of buzz the team creates this season. You see, there is no down side to starting the year with Henne in the lineup.

On opening day, fans are going to be pumped up no matter what. And so you trot out Henne for, say, the first four games — at Philadelphia, at Washington, at home against the Colts and at San Diego — and let him be the one who gets pummeled, starts the season 0-4 or 1-3 and incurs the wrath of fans.

That's when you announce that Bortles is going to become the starter for a home game against the Steelers. The fan base becomes re-energized with veteran star Big Ben Roethlisberger coming to town to face Big Blake Bortles — the young quarterback whom is often compared to Roethlisberger.

When Bortles is inserted into the starting lineup, it will create a whole new buzz among the Jags fan base. Not only that, but Bortles gets the benefit of becoming the starter during a stretch of games when the Jags play three home games in four weeks against more beatable opponents (Steelers, Browns, Dolphins). The one road game during that stretch is against another mediocre team — the Tennessee Titans.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ja...412.column

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