Jacksonville Jaguars: Blaine Gabbert off to Supremely Disappointing Start

A lot is expected of Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, but he hasn't shown that he's ready to be a starter in the NFL yet.

The 21-year-old Missouri product has been terribly disappointing thus far in the preseason, and any thoughts of him starting under center in 2011 have largely been forgotten.

The Jaguars surprised a lot of people when they moved up six spots (via a trade with the Washington Redskins) to take Gabbert with the 10th pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

The young gunslinger was given every opportunity to take the team's starting job away from veteran David Garrard. That did not happen, as head coach Jack Del Rio officially named Garrard the starter last week.

On Saturday, Gabbert played a quarter-and-a-half in the Jaguars' 35–32 overtime loss to Buffalo.

He completed 6 of 13 passes for 52 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and was sacked twice. The rookie wasn't exactly impressive, and his 50.8 passer rating showed that.

Gabbert opened the preseason as Jacksonville's starter, as Garrard was out with a bad back.

He went 9-for-16 for 85 yards in his professional debut against the New England Patriots, then followed that up by struggling against the Falcons. Gabbert was 11-for-23 for 96 yards and a dismal 59.3 quarterback rating in the Atlanta game.

The slow start to Gabbert's career has shown us that he is simply not ready to lead an NFL offense.

Much like Cam Newton, Gabbert operated out of the spread offense in college and will need time to adjust to a pro system.

He has all the physical tools you look for in a franchise quarterback (ideal size, big arm, athleticism), but we have yet to see whether or not he can handle running a real offense.

Unlike Newton, Gabbert isn't likely to get thrown into the fire anytime soon.

He has the luxury of having a guy like Garrard ahead of him to take some lumps while the youngster watches and learns from the sideline. In fact, Gabbert might be in a perfect situation, since the Jaguars are obviously not married to Garrard long term, but are willing to trot the veteran out there for at least this season.

While Gabbert has been terribly disappointing thus far, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to turn things around.

If his career to this point is any indication, Garrard is certain to miss time with injuries this year. That means Gabbert might get a chance later in the year to show what he has learned and how he has improved.

If and when that time comes, he'll have to be better than he's been until now.