I would never do two link dumps in a row. That said, here’s a great story on Season 4 of Breaking Bad that I couldn’t pass up.
According to this article on the CBSSports.com blog ‘Eye on Football,’ recently-drafted quarterback Blaine Gabbert probably shouldn’t be expecting to see the field outside of pre-season games, and maybe the occasional snap or two, only with the exception that projected starter David Garrard is injured or suddenly just falls off the face of the Earth or something.
Jacksonville’s head coach, Jack Del Rio, says it’s all a matter of development and readiness, and in all honesty, the man makes a great point.
"“In a perfect world, I’d like to see him not have to play this year in terms of having time to develop,” Del Rio told Dan Pompei of the National Football Post. “That doesn’t mean I would keep him on the bench if I thought he was the best option to win. Ideally he’s able to get that time to develop and really learn the game at this level. I’d love to see Garrard have a nice season, lead us into a playoff position, and then see if we can get hot.“Things don’t always happen the way you have them planned though.”"
Eye on Football writer Will Brinson then lays out what may be the biggest factor in Del Rio’s decision outside of Garrard’s experience and the fact that his job is on the line with this season:
"No they don’t. Especially when your schedule features the Jets, the Saints, the Steelers, the Ravens, the Titans and the Texansbefore the bye. (Even the easiest game on the schedule, Week 4 against the Panthers, is on the road and features a decent defense.)"
Well when you put it that way.
Obviously I want to see Blaine Gabbert succeed in the league. He’s a (as far as I can possibly know) stand-up guy with a good head on his shoulders and a knack for throwing the pigskin, running with the pigskin, et cetera, and there is no reason not to like him outside of maybe his ridiculous haircut and whatever hatred one might harbor towards Mizzou. I want to see Gabbert go out there and succeed on the field quickly, but seeing that early schedule with some of the best defenses in the NFL out there makes me agree almost 100 percent with Del Rio.
Unfortunately, Del Rio is stuck between a rock and a hard place in either trying to lead the Jaguars to success with David Garrard, a pretty good quarterback that’s never been quite great, or watching Garrard stumble, and then be forced to put his rookie QB out there against a team like the Ravens or Steelers. It’s not a situation I’d want to be in.
So I’m sure we won’t see Gabbert as Jacksonville’s starting QB to start the season. I think the Jaguars will lose a good deal of their early games, and then Del Rio will either have to stick with Garrard and try to make a final push for the playoffs, or he’ll bench Garrard, look towards Gabbert, and hope this will be the early developments of future success, whether Del Rio is at the helm or not.
Whatever happens, hopefully Gabbert will get to at least toss that pigskin in the near future, and maybe win a few games along the way.