Jacksonville Jaguars' Training Camp Battle of QBs Will Decide Franchise's Future

Typically, training camp battles focus on who will be a team's nickle corner or starting guard.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to have a battle over quarterback.

Despite public assurances that Blaine Gabbert will be the starter in 2012, the addition of Chad Henne this offseason creates a tension that must be resolved.

If Gabbert wants the starting job, he'll have to earn it.

His struggles in 2011 have already been covered in depth, and the Jaguars certainly removed any possible excuses he might have had by adding Laurent Robinson and Justin Blackmon to the roster.

The starting job is Gabbert's to win, but he absolutely must win it. Jaguars' fans are losing patience with Gene Smith's three-, no four-, no five-year plan for rebuilding the franchise. They will know if Gabbert truly deserves the starting job or if he has it handed to him. They won't tolerate Gabbert's struggles if they know there's a better player on the bench.

Henne is not exactly the second coming of Drew Brees—or even Mark Brunell—but he has played competently in the past for the Miami Dolphins.

Henne has two major advantages over Gabbert going into camp.

• He's more accurate. Henne bettered a completion percentage of 60 percent in both of his full seasons as a starter.

• He takes far fewer sacks. Henne's sack rate was 3 percent better than Gabbert's in 2009 and 2010. Sack rate, contrary to public belief, is a function of quarterback play much more than it is offensive line play.

While it's fair to ask for patience with Gabbert, that patience should not guarantee him a starting job that he doesn't earn. The best players should play, regardless of the internal politics at work.

The upside of a real, fair competition for the starting job in Jacksonville is that if Gabbert can actually top Henne, it should provide a major confidence boost for him and the franchise. Henne is not a great quarterback, but he is an experienced NFL starter with some skills. In fact, if Gabbert can play at his level, the Jaguars might be a .500 team in 2012.

If Henne wins the job outright from Gabbert and plays at the level he has for most of his career, the Jaguars can expect a competitive season. Either way, the Jaguars win. The only way they can lose here is if they give Gabbert a job he doesn't earn.

The Jaguars don't need Blaine Gabbert to be great in order to surprise in 2012. They just need him to be better than Chad Henne.