Blaine Gabbert: Rookie QB Perfect Fit in Jaguars Offense

Blaine Gabbert did not enter his rookie season with the hype that Cam Newton did, nor did he endear himself to the fans in Jacksonville after a mediocre preseason.

But thanks to Luke McCown's sub-par play in the first two weeks of the season, Gabbert was thrown into the fire this week against Carolina.

The conditions in Jacksonville were far from ideal, as there was a torrential downpour all game long, and the play on the field suffered as a result.

But Gabbert held his own against Newton and the Panthers' defense, even though everyone has had their way with the Panthers' defense so it will take at least another week before we know how good or bad he is going to be this season.

Gabbert finished 12-for-21 with 139 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was not a stellar debut by any means, but all things considered it could have been much worse.

For head coach Jack Del Rio, that is exactly the kind of game that he wants to see Gabbert play all season long. He may or may not be coaching for his job, but the development of Gabbert this season will ultimately determine his fate.

Gabbert has to play well enough not to hurt the team. He won't be good enough to win a game, but as long as he isn't costing the team victories everything will be fine.

And the Jaguars are a boring team—with the exception of Maurice Jones-Drew—so it's not like the team is going to be held back by Gabbert. If they cared at all about their quarterback situation, they would not have released David Garrard a few days before the season started.

Is Gabbert going to be a star in the NFL? It is impossible to say right now because he is only one game into his career. He looked like a rookie from the standpoint that he did some good things, like his 36-yard completion to Mike Thomas, and also made some mistakes.

But given the system that the Jaguars and Del Rio like to run, in which the quarterback does not make mistakes every single game and does nothing else, Gabbert will fit in just fine.

Eventually the coaching staff will have to let him loose and let him make mistakes to get him to live up to his potential, but right now that is not what they need. 

Gabbert was not ready to be put in when the team put him in, but at least he was smart enough to know that and did not try to prove his doubters wrong in his first game.