Chad Henne is now the starter in Jacksonville after getting the nod from his coaches for the third preseason start. This is the game where the starters play the most, and it is a vote of confidence that every quarterback wants to have. He has been in an open competition with Blake Bortles, and he has won the job by all appearances. He would need to fall apart in this upcoming game to lose the confidence of the staff, and that changes how the Jaguars will be run. Tom Coughlin may want to change things now that he has his man, and the Jags can correct their past mistakes.
Henne is a better player
The league has long suspected that Henne was the better player. Bortles has had brutal seasons where he could not spread the ball around, and a desperation offense merely gave him stats because the team could not do much else. He was effectively trusted with a team that he could not run, and he looked good for a split second because the team asked him to pass constantly. The team seems to be moving to a more solid passer in Henne.
Bortles was a mistake
Blake Bortles had all the draft grades coming out of college, and the Jaguars had to draft him because they could not pass up a chance to have a franchise quarterback on their team. Everyone reaches for quarterbacks in the draft when they are desperate, and the team has been desperate since they drafted him.
Bortles is likely a serviceable backup, but he is not the man who can lead the Jaguars to any place they want to go. The team will move on if Henne keeps the job, and they may want to trade Bortles to someone who needs help.
Henne has his chance
Chad Henne has been around the NFL long enough for this to be more than a second chance.
He could be part of a rebuilding project that would make him look like the modern-day Mark Brunell. Brunell nearly went to the Super Bowl with Tom Coughlin, and Henne could be that kind of player. They are remarkably similar, and it would be crazy for the Jags to think anything different. They can solidify their offense, and they can stop the silly mistakes that have lost them games in the past.
It could change overnight
Tom Coughlin is a completely different man since his stint with the Giants where he won two Super Bowls, and he is capable of bringing this team back to where it needs to be. He is likely at the heart of the Henne choice because he sees in Henne something that Bortles does not have: consistency. That consistency could lead the Jags to a division title this season.
