Game Too Fast for Jaguars Rookie Blake Bortles in Debut Against Colts

After two-and-a-half games of watching quarterback Chad Henne get thumped by pass-rushers, the Jacksonville Jaguars were finally ready to speed up Blake Bortles' timetable.

Bortles, the No. 3 overall pick whom Jaguars decision makers told us would not even see the field in his first season, took over for Henne to start the second half of Jacksonville's 44-17 loss to the Colts.

Jaguars fans were chanting "Bortles" at the end of the game in a powerful mixture of wishful thinking and relief that Henne had been deposed.

What we saw from Bortles' first start meshes a lot with what we thought we'd see based on his preseason work.

First, the positives: Bortles looked the part. Bortles' ability to run read-option plays is something that will add a new dimension to Jacksonville's run game if offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch decides to go that way—even if one of Bortles' big plays was because Colts linebacker Erik Walden is more of an edge-forgetter than an edge-setter.

Bortles was able to scramble to buy time in the pocket and still keep his eyes downfield, which is a very important trait for an NFL quarterback.

Perhaps his best play of the game came on a bootleg at the 7:50 mark of the third quarter. Bortles was able to evade untouched Colts linebacker Bjoern Werner, buy time by running to the right and eventually find fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou up the field for a big gain:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

There aren't many quarterbacks who could have turned that play into a 26-yard gain from this position.

Combine this with the play Bortles pulled off at the very end of the game, the Dan Marino fake-spike slant to wideout Cecil Shorts for a touchdown, and you'll have some in the media talking up Bortles' "it" factor. I don't know what "it" is, and I'm not going to start trying to understand it now.

What I do know is that Bortles' on-field football instincts give him the potential to be a very creative passer, ala Russell Wilson.

Player	Completions/Attempts	Yards	TD/INT	Sacks	DVOA
Chad Henne	4/7	33	0/0	3	-76.8%
Blake Bortles	14/24	223	2/2	1	9.1%

What we also know from watching this game is that it appeared to be too fast for Bortles at times. On one of his first completions, a 21-yard curl route to wide receiver Allen Robinson, Bortles patted the ball a bit too long and was lucky that the cornerback didn't jump it.

Bortles also flubbed one throw in Shorts' direction, placing it right into the ground. Ball placement came and went.

It's not all that surprising given that Bortles wasn't the first-team quarterback and didn't get to prepare for this game all week. We have to grade second-string quarterbacks on a curve. So don't be in a rush to bury Bortles for that just yet, but also be aware that he still has some growing to do.

Bortles also had a tendency in the preseason to ask his arm to make throws that it simply can't cash against NFL cornerbacks.

His first interception, a Vontae Davis pick, was thrown into tight double coverage. The second, with Bortles throwing across his body on the run, was taken back to the house by Greg Toler.

Bortles clearly has a ton of ability, but there will be growing pains early as he begins to suss out what he can honestly ask of his arm. It's much better than the opposite scenario—the quarterback who never challenges the defense—but Bortles will have to temper his risk-reward thoughts on tougher throws as the season moves on.

The Indianapolis Colts defense is a fairly weak testing ground for a young quarterback, yes, but Bortles was always going to have to transcend his circumstances to show us something in his first season.

Henne was pulverized behind the offensive line for a few starts, and the receivers that Bortles inherited have little in the way of real experience.

Bortles was always going to look better than Henne, regardless of any flaws. For the Jaguars, it's like trading in a 1980s Toyota for a car from this current decade. "Wow, you mean the windows can go down at the touch of a button?"

The question remains: How high is Bortles' upside, and how much growth can he show on a bad team?

This will be a long-term process. Bortles might not light up San Diego next week, but by the end of the season, the Jaguars will hopefully start to realize returns on their investment.

In the meantime, hey, he's not Chad Henne!

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.