Have Jaguar Fans Turned on Gabbert?

With the signing of Chad Henne, speculation has turned rampant that there will be an open competition for the starting quarterback position for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In a press conference this afternoon, Head Coach Mike Mularkey stated that "Henne is coming in to compete for the starting job." This of course sent mass hysteria throughout sports talk radio, barber shops, bars and the twitter universe. Deep breath everyone; this is not going to happen, and more importantly, we don’t want it to.

Gene Smith (our GM) invested his future in Blaine Gabbert. Gene calculated that Blaine could be the signal caller for the next decade, and therefore is married to him. Let us not forget that new coaches were asked point blank if they could work with this talented (yes he is) young qb. Did Blaine struggle his first year? Yes, but he isn't the first Rookie QB to do so in the history of the NFL. We have dissected Blaine enough in our offices, at school, on this blog, and at the stadium, and quite frankly, I am tired of defending our franchise QB.

What I want to know is why do we want to hate this kid so bad? Did he personally slam a door in your face or refuse to sign your football? Did Blaine cut you off on the highway or leave you a terrible tip? Did Gabbert stare at your girlfriend in an improper way or did he refuse to help your Grandmother carry her groceries from Publix? Honestly, the vile and pure hatred I read about this kid is disturbing. Without speaking to the young man, many have determined he is a scared, weak, doesn’t care and never will, cannot throw, cannot feel pressure, creates fake pressure, is mentally inept, skips passes, soft, and a reach. In his short career he has already been labeled a bust.

So why are we so quick to hate him? Is it because he wasn’t from the SEC and isn’t named Tim Tebow? Do you not like his hair? Are you so impatient that you cannot stand a rookie qb learning? Are you so bitter of a person you think every move by Gene Smith is a predetermined pure failure? Are you jealous of the immediate fortune that was paid to the Panthers and Bengals or do you just like to critcize? Is it simply a case of the Blaine Train not being the cool thing to be on? Or is it that we simply don't know enough about him as person and we didn't watch him play at Missouri to realize he has talent? Don't we want him to be great, so he can lead us out of this sustained mediocrity...

From everything that I have read about him, his teammates love him. Blaine spends time in the community, is respectful and says all the right things. He has a hard working attitude, isn’t selfish and all he wants to do is win. My gut feeling beleives it will take the latter for Jaguars fans to finally love him back.