Jacksonville Jaguars: Blaine Gabbert Now the Starting QB, Are We Being Punk'd?

Blaine Gabbert will be the starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday as they face off with Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.

This isn't a joke; this isn't satire. Ashton Kutcher is not jumping out from behind your computer screen. Hopefully, Charlie Sheen isn't either—though, if he does, give him some food and send him on his way.

Blaine Gabbert, 10th-overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, what could possibly go wrong, right? He's the future of the franchise, let him play...trial by fire and all that. It worked for Cam Newton!

Jaguars fans, get ready for your season to go horribly wrong.

Gabbert is not ready to be an NFL QB, not even close. Yes, he certainly has all of the physical tools—an NFL arm (though not overpowering), a tall frame; a quick release. What he doesn't have is experience or maturity. 

Gabbert left Missouri after his junior year. Everything about that sentence is a red flag.

Quarterbacks who leave after their junior season typically take longer to contribute in the NFL than elite senior quarterbacks. Those same junior quarterbacks also typically bust at a higher rate than elite senior quarterbacks. These aren't hard or fast rules, but something to consider.

Coming from Missouri isn't going to help Gabbert either. Fans misunderstand Missouri as a "spread offense" and point to quarterbacks like Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and now Cam Newton as quarterbacks who have come from the new college, spread atmosphere and have contributed.

Know this, Missouri's offense has more to do with Mike Leach's Texas Tech offense than it does Texas or Oklahoma. Missouri did not take shots downfield with Blaine Gabbert, they didn't have to. Missouri's offense was all timing and numbers, built on the foundation of Missouri's wide receivers being fundamentally better than the Big 12 defensive backs they were playing against.

Worse yet, while he was certainly a better NFL prospect, Gabbert isn't even the best Missouri QB in recent memory. Chase Daniel certainly holds that distinction and it isn't close. Brad Smith is probably No. 2.

Again, none of this is a far-too-late argument against the Jaguars drafting Gabbert. These are all just red flags that should tell an experienced coach like Jack Del Rio that maybe Gabbert isn't ready.

If none of that worked, perhaps Gabbert's lackluster preseason should have sent the message.

In the preseason, Gabbert was 35/70 for 365 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Those numbers calculate into a 64.3 passer rating. While those numbers are misleading because it's the preseason and Gabbert was playing (mostly) with and against backups, the numbers are alarming.

A 64.3 passer rating would be third-worst in the NFL, ahead of only Matt Cassel and Jacksonville's own Luke McCown. The yards per attempt is staggering as well and something that has plagued Gabbert since college.

How did we get here? How is the Jaguars quarterback situation so bad that Luke McCown—the worst quarterback in the NFL—is being replaced by a rookie who has shown he probably won't be markedly better?

Jaguars fans should be upset at their team—management and coaches.

Moreover, Jaguars fans should be upset at the pie-in-the-sky media members and bloggers who told them it was going to be alright. It's going to be alright that David Garrard was cut a few days before the regular season. It's going to be alright—Luke McCown has been the best quarterback in camp.

It's not alright. The Jaguars made a horrible decision not only by cutting Garrard but also in the timing of the move. Almost no one of note said so at the time, choosing instead to parrot talking points handed out in press conferences.

Looking back, the move reeks of cost-cutting by a cash-strapped team and base-covering by a brain cell-strapped head coach.

David Garrard was not the long-term answer for the Jacksonville Jaguars, that much has always been clear. Garrard, however, was clearly the best short-term option. The horrendous play and subsequent benching of McCown should make that clear.

Now, Jack Del Rio gets to point to any wins out of a rookie QB as a "bonus" and further proof of his coaching genius. If Gabbert falters, Del Rio still wins because who can fault a coach for losing when the quarterbacking has been so bad?

So, the fans wait.

As they look at the tarped and empty stadium around them, the fans wait, hoping to wake up and find out this was all a grand, mystical plan. They pray Gabbert somehow puts it all together against all odds. They pray that a team that has floundered in mediocrity for the past nine years can finally find some stability.

Meanwhile, the rest of the NFL landscape collectively chuckles. The whole situation—from Garrard being cut to McCown's play to Gabbert starting in Week 3—seems like a farce. No team can be run this bad, can it?

Jack Del Rio and the Jacksonville Jaguars are proving, that yes, yes it can.

Michael Schottey is an NFL Associate Editor for Bleacher Report. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, he has professionally covered the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions, as well as NFL events like the scouting combine and the Senior Bowl. Follow him on      Twitter.