Mania Makes a Comeback: 5 Observations on Jaguars Benching Glennon for Minshew Vs. Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone made the unsurprising move of benching Mike Glennon against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, bringing Minshew Mania back into the fold -- for now, at least.
Gardner Minshew provided a brief spark for the offense and led them on their only touchdown drive of the day. The act of pulling the plug on Glennon after 10 quarters of play became a necessity in order to give the offense a chance to generate some meaningful snaps.
But what does the move to put Minshew back on the field mean moving forward, and what does benching Glennon say about Marrone and his team? We debate that here.
Mike Glennon left Doug Marrone with no real choice
The thinking behind the Jaguars continuing to start Mike Glennon was that the job would belong to him until he imploded and had the wheels fall off the offense -- much like the case was with Jake Luton. Glennon played poorly enough in Week 13 to warrant benching (three turnovers and a safety), but the Jaguars still put up a decent amount of points against a solid defense, so he got another bite at the apple.
Just as Luton did before him, Glennon went from a below-average second start to playing abysmally in his third start. Glennon completed 13 of 23 passes (56.5%) for 85 yards (3.7 yards per pa) and an interception at the time of his benching, giving him a passing rating of 46.5. He so far has the second-lowest passer rating of all quarterbacks who played in Week 14 and the fifth-lowest EPA per play.
Minshew may not be Marrone and his staff's preferred option, but there was no way Marrone could justify putting Glennon back on the field after he failed to give the offense any hope for two quarters. Glennon gave Marrone no choice but to make this move.
Calling Glennon "the best chance to win" predictably backfired
Marrone had to say something -- anything -- when he was continually asked why Minshew was on the bench and not his starting quarterback. But was there any real chance that calling starting Glennon the "best chance to win," wouldn't quickly backfire? This was always the likely scenario, though it appears to be a scenario the Jaguars were badly hoping they wouldn't have to answer to.
Simply put, if Glennon was the best chance for any football team to win, then he wouldn't have been available for the Jaguars to sign in May. They are his fifth team in five years for a reason, and there are even more reasons why he has had the job taken away from him in favor of an alternative at nearly every stop he has had as a starter. Hoping that Glennon would provide stability for about six games was always wishful thinking, and Marrone should have ultimately seen this coming.
Marrone deserves ample blame for mishandling the quarterback room in 2020
Once Minshew led the Jaguars on their best 2-3 possessions of the day when he was finally allowed in the game, it became clear just how much the Jaguars and Marrone had fumbled the quarterback situation in 2020. It isn't entirely Marrone's fault the Jaguars didn't add legitimate competition for Minshew in 2020, but he should have recognized earlier that Minshew, and not Glennon, was his best chance at winning games this season.
In the long run, letting Glennon and even Jake Luton start games (with only two serviceable performances in that span) over Minshew won't exactly hurt the Jaguars in the long run. Minshew, while the best quarterback on the current roster, is clearly not the type you can build a franchise and an offense around. But he is still Marrone's best option in 2020, and he deserves blame for not recognizing or acting upon it earlier.
Minshew should have the upper hand on the job moving forward
Marrone said following the game Sunday that he has already decided on who the quarterback will be moving forward, though he declined to announced that decision before speaking with the two quarterbacks. The fact that he wasn't ready to instantly say he is sticking with Glennon as he did last week is a strong indication that it will be Minshew's job, but common sense says Minshew will get the gig as well.
There is no real point in evaluating Minshew's performance against the Titans since he came in cold off the bench and entered a game that was a 28-point deficit. But it was clear that he was an upgrade over Glennon and at least gave the offense the chance to make plays off schedule. The Jaguars would likely prefer a true pocket passer, but they just don't have a worthwhile one at the moment. It would be near-impossible to sell anyone on Glennon over the next three weeks after his last eight quarters, too. Because of that, look for Minshew to start against Baltimore next week.
The need for a new QB in 2021 is as clear as it ever was, if not more so
If the Jaguars had a starting-caliber quarterback, they win against the Vikings in Week 13. If they had one who was above-average or even closer to average, they at least put forth a better performance than the one we saw on Sunday against the Titans. Ultimately, these last few weeks have shown us just had badly the Jaguars need a true franchise quarterback. This has been obvious for the majority of 2020, but it has become even more evident in recent weeks.
When a team doesn't have a quality quarterback, it makes the entire offense difficult to evaluate. The wide receivers are not seeing reliable targets and the running game is being stifled at times by defenses selling out against James Robinson due to the lack of a passing game. If the Jaguars are going to fulfill the full potential of their offense moving forward, they will need a new answer at quarterback. That much has been clear for weeks, but especially so now.
