Hey, I'm on board with Dave and Gus, but reserve the right to point out what could be better.
Like too many of us, I have high hopes and expectations for BB. He just looks like a natural, and as such, just plain looks silly holding the clipboard. Henne worked his butt off and didn't play badly, but I can't help but think BB could have won the game coming in late 3rd or 4th Q. But ohhh, the firestorm that would have created! Still, if it worked...now that would have been a bold decision.
Instead, the 'bold' decision was going for it in our own end with nearly 7 minutes to play. I love Gus, but felt it was a particularly bad decision. Pressure was on, playclock had run down, that contributed to the errant pass more than anything.
Okay, Gus admitted a TO was needed on the Sproles TD, fine...that was a miss, no Poz in there, give Philly credit.
We saw the o-line will give BB a fighting chance, get him in there and let him build confidence against the Skins. Chad gave us all of his heart and soul, he'll be a solid 2.
Three Super Bowl winning head coaches (Ditka, Gruden, Cowher) have all said that they would start Bortles,
It should happen this week.
It won't.
If they're just waiting for the first home game, IMHO that's a really, really, dumb reason.
I'm guessing they want to give Bortles more time to learn the playbook. It's a bit heavier than our last one. Then again... most things are.
Quote:Three Super Bowl winning head coaches (Ditka, Gruden, Cowher) have all said that they would start Bortles,
Two of them were run run run offenses. So why not. He can hand the ball of to Toby for a 2 yard gain, a loss for 3, repeat
Quote:Two of them were run run run offenses. So why not. He can hand the ball of to Toby for a 2 yard gain, a loss for 3, repeat
Then throw a TD pass on third and eleven.
The stadium is going to be an ugly place if Henne is starting the home opener.
Quote:The stadium is going to be an ugly place if Henne is starting the home opener.
Professionally I feel bad for Chad. It has to be tough to get prepared mentally every week when you know you're on borrowed time. The first 3 and out in the home opener and the boo birds will be out.
Quote:Professionally I feel bad for Chad. It has to be tough to get prepared mentally every week when you know you're on borrowed time. The first 3 and out in the home opener and the boo birds will be out.
It's not going to be good for him. I think he gets booed trotting onto the field. Once he throws that INT it's over . Bortles will be chanted...he should prove us wrong, but we all know that is not going to happen.
Quote:It's not going to be good for him. I think he gets booed trotting onto the field. Once he throws that INT it's over . Bortles will be chanted...he should prove us wrong, but we all know that is not going to happen.
I hope you're wrong and the fans have more class than that.. I'm in agreement that Bortles should start but I'm not about to boo Henne right out of the gate. He may not be franchise QB material or starter material for that matter but he's still out there working hard to play the best he can. Now if he starts playing like bad Chad I would fully expect the boo birds to come out, and rightfully so. But I'll at least give him the benefit of the doubt until then
My thing is we have no running game. I get that the pass protection is solid but I don't want Bortles dropping back 40 plus times his first game. That just to much to put on a rookie.
If the running game gets consistent then I may change my view but right now he he would have to win every game on his arm alone and I just don't think at this point, at this level, he can accomplish that just yet. That's Peyton level play. I just don't see that in him right now.
Quote:Start Gabbert. Duh
Oklahomie... is that you?
Quote:The stadium is going to be an ugly place if Henne is starting the home opener.
I agree. It won't be "as bad" if they can find a way to win at Washington, but if they come home 0-2.... the wine and cheese crowd will have already checked out for the season and the stadium will look empty on TV.
The really aggravating thing at this point is that there isn't really any objective benefit to playing Henne instead of Bortles. I'm starting to think that the motivation for not putting in Bortles now has more to do with the head coach 'saving face' nationally after making a big deal of not playing him. Gus is human and like all humans he has to deal with issues of pride too. I'm just starting to question if the real motivation for keeping Henne in is what's best for the team, or what's best for Gus's image as a coach...
We will laugh someday when this was even a debate. Remember the Payton Manning/Jim Harbaugh quarterback controversy? Exactly.
Reason's we've heard for starting Henne instead of Bortles...
#1. "Henne has better command of the offense than Bortles; he knows the play book better and reads defenses better."
fact: Henne has a record of 3 and outs on offense that ends up wearing out our defense and losing games.
fact: Henne gets too many of his passes batted down. This is thought to be due to poor use of the passing lanes.
fact: Henne is slow and represents a very low threat of running the ball himself.
fact: Henne has a history of pass inaccuracy if under pressure, even short passes.
#2. "Bortles will benefit from observing Henne from the bench until he (Bortles) is ready..."
fact: Bortles surprised everyone with how effective he is, even against the 1st string. He clearly had a better showing in the pre-season than Henne.
fact: if you're going to want your future starter to learn from someone, wouldn't you prefer it to be a star rather than a career back-up?
#3. "Bortles will play when we have an offensive line who can keep him from getting killed and ruining him like what happened to Gabbert..."
fact: Bortles is clearly not the same person that Blaine Gabbert was/is. He is bigger, stronger and has demonstrated the 'head' for the game.
fact: Bortles has demonstrated the ability to throw the ball well while scrambling...better than Henne.
Possible reasons we've 'not' heard for starting Henne instead of Bortles...
#1. Henne was promised he would be the starter... at least for a certain number of games. Kind'a rules out the 'best guy plays' factor...
#2. Bortles girlfriend said she would dump him if he got hurt... Given the girlfriend, I wouldn't want to start either...
#3. The team knows it's not competitive this season for making the playoffs, even with Bortles starting. So they've 'tanked' already and play Henne.
(actually, I just recently read a comment similar to this from a 'pro' sports writer so maybe it shouldn't be included here...)
#4. Maybe....just maybe...Gus knows something we don't about Bortles that makes him reluctant to play him now.
#5. Gus is under orders from Khan not to play Bortles this season for some reason... (Capt. Kirk voice) ... KHAN!!!!!
I would have to guess if its two thirds for bortles to start on this message board, its a much higher percentage of fans that actually go to the games.
Quote:Professionally I feel bad for Chad. It has to be tough to get prepared mentally every week when you know you're on borrowed time. The first 3 and out in the home opener and the boo birds will be out.
And if he throws a pick on the first possession???