Blaine Gabbert vs. David Garrard: Who Will Be Jacksonville Jaguars Starting QB?

The Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) got a good look at rookie first-round draft pick Blaine Gabbert in Thursday night's loss at Foxboro to the New England Patriots (1-0).

With quarterbacks David Garrard and Luke McCown out with injuries, Gabbert played most of the first half against New England's first and second-string defense, but showed his youth while struggling to get the Jaguars offense out of the mud.

Gabbert finished the first half 9-16 for 85 yards, but his night looked like a Hall of Fame performance compared to that of 11-year NFL veteran Todd Bouman.

Bouman played the entire second half of Thursday night's game against the Patriots and finished the contest 2-10 for 35 yards and an interception; a quarterback rating of 2.1. Yikes.

Jacksonville was blown out 47-12, but the 10th overall pick in last April's draft, Gabbert, wasn't too shattered by the result.

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"I was just excited to be playing football...It's preseason and a lot of it you take with a grain of salt," said Gabbert.

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Meanwhile, Tania Ganguli of The Florida Times-Union had an update on Jags quarterback David Garrard on Friday.

According to Ganguli, Garrard "aggravated a recurring back injury last week" in practice, and the injury may have stemmed from improper preventative care during the offseason.

Garrard had the following to say regarding the injury:

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"Now it's to the point a lot of the pain is relieved in my back. I'm feeling better every day. Am I feeling good enough right now to play in an NFL football game? Probably not, and that's why I'm standing here right now. I feel great about the way it's headed."

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Based on Garrard's comments and the underwhelming play of Gabbert Thursday night, albeit in his first career NFL game, one has to like the 33-year-old veteran's shot at nabbing the starting spot.

Garrard threw for 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2010, and few quarterbacks have found early success after being thrown to the wolves in their first season in the league; Peyton Manning highlighting the exception.

Players like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady made the most of a back-up role, and used the time at no. 2 to learn and understand the ins and outs of the pro game before jumping right in.

Jacksonville will be patient with Gabbert, and Garrard looks to be getting healthy. Watch for Garrard to lead the Jags' offense in 2011.

Patrick Clarke is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow on Twitter @_Pat_Clarke