Just though about this. I know Gus and Dave have said no matter who they drafted that said person would not start.
If.... Blaine Gabbert was the starting QB for this team would Blake Bortles still be second team?
Things that make you go hummmm!
Not really. I think their plan would be exactly the same. He'll start when he's ready. Let's just be grateful that we're not in that predicament.
Quote:Just though about this. I know Gus and Dave have said no matter who they drafted that said person would not start.
If.... Blaine Gabbert was the starting QB for this team would Blake Bortles still be second team?
Things that make you go hummmm!
They said that because they had faith in Chad Henne. That was long after Blaine was gone.
Quote:They said that because they had faith in Chad Henne. That was long after Blaine was gone.
Yup. Trading Gabbert showed what faith they had in him.
Quote:Yup. Trading Gabbert showed what faith they had in him.
No, trading Gabbert showed they had seen all they needed to from Gabbert. I'm not buying "faith in Chad". He lost a qb competition to Blaine last offseason. They didnt have faith then, so I'm not buying it now. Even several weeks into the season, it was "blaine's our starter barring injury". AKA, they already knew what Chad was.
Quote:No, trading Gabbert showed they had seen all they needed to from Gabbert. I'm not buying "faith in Chad". He lost a qb competition to Blaine last offseason. They didnt have faith then, so I'm not buying it now. Even several weeks into the season, it was "blaine's our starter barring injury". AKA, they already knew what Chad was.
He lost the job in practices where Gabbert excels. He won it in games, where he was clearly the better QB. You know....where it actually mattered. There's a reason that Gabbert didn't assume the starting role again after he was cleared to return.
Quote:He lost the job in practices where Gabbert excels. He won it in games, where he was clearly the better QB. You know....where it actually mattered. There's a reason that Gabbert didn't assume the starting role again after he was cleared to return.
Gabbert played sooooo badly that they had no choice. The offense literally couldnt function. Blaine lost the job, chad didnt earn it. Chad was "better", but that's not saying a lot.
Look, if people want to defend Gus's decision by saying bortles would benefit by being on the bench a while, fine. I disagree, but I guess I could see it. But dont try to convince me that Henne will all of a sudden have an epiphany this far into his career. He was bad with a more talented cast in Miami. Of course gus is gonna say they have faith.... But i'm sure their expectations are tempered in reality.
Quote:Gabbert played sooooo badly that they had no choice. The offense literally couldnt function. Blaine lost the job, chad didnt earn it. Chad was "better", but that's not saying a lot.
Look, if people want to defend Gus's decision by saying bortles would benefit by being on the bench a while, fine. I disagree, but I guess I could see it. But dont try to convince me that Henne will all of a sudden have an epiphany this far into his career. He was bad with a more talented cast in Miami. Of course gus is gonna say they have faith.... But i'm sure their expectations are tempered in reality.
The offense stabilized under Henne in game situations. If Gabbert was their starter no matter what, he would have stepped back in following his injury. He didn't. The offense was more productive with Henne out there. The other players had a lot more confidence in his ability than they did Gabbert.
Could you point out anywhere that someone is saying Henne is going to have an epiphany? Nobody is saying that at all. They're simply saying Bortles will start when he's ready. Not before. I don't think Bradley is paying lip service when he says they have faith in Henne. I think he means it.
Quote:The offense stabilized under Henne in game situations. If Gabbert was their starter no matter what, he would have stepped back in following his injury. He didn't. The offense was more productive with Henne out there. The other players had a lot more confidence in his ability than they did Gabbert.
Could you point out anywhere that someone is saying Henne is going to have an epiphany? Nobody is saying that at all. They're simply saying Bortles will start when he's ready. Not before. I don't think Bradley is paying lip service when he says they have faith in Henne. I think he means it.
There are people out there who really buy into Gus' comments about chad "owning it". Ive seen record predictions of 7+ wins. That's not gonna happen, certainly not with henne.
I dont care how much of the playbook bortles knows, he has looked loads better (200 more yds in only 7 more attempts), and probably gives us a better chance to win right now. Plenty of rookies have been successful in recent years. This plan is kind of a joke. Name me a rookie who has sat initially in recent years, and turned out to be a good player. I'll wait.
Quote:There are people out there who really buy into Gus' comments about chad "owning it". Ive seen record predictions of 7+ wins. That's not gonna happen, certainly not with henne.
I dont care how much of the playbook bortles knows, he has looked loads better (200 more yds in only 7 more attempts), and probably gives us a better chance to win right now. Plenty of rookies have been successful in recent years. This plan is kind of a joke. Name me a rookie who has sat initially in recent years, and turned out to be a good player. I'll wait.
7+ wins is an epiphany? Really? There's no way to know for sure what will happen with Henne. This is a unique situation he's never been in before during his career. He's got the same coaching staff, coordinators, and position coaches for more than one season.
Bortles has looked good, but let's be honest. He's not facing the kind of complexity in the preseason that he will when the games count, and there is no doubt he's going to struggle, especially behind the line that we're currently trotting out there.
This plan isn't a joke at all. It's precisely because they've taken a more patient approach with Bortles that he's coming along as well as he has. There's no empirical evidence supporting the fact that their approach is working. So, in your estimation, because it's working, we should toss out the plan. Great call.
Quote:7+ wins is an epiphany? Really? There's no way to know for sure what will happen with Henne. This is a unique situation he's never been in before during his career. He's got the same coaching staff, coordinators, and position coaches for more than one season.
Bortles has looked good, but let's be honest. He's not facing the kind of complexity in the preseason that he will when the games count, and there is no doubt he's going to struggle, especially behind the line that we're currently trotting out there.
This plan isn't a joke at all. It's precisely because they've taken a more patient approach with Bortles that he's coming along as well as he has. There's no empirical evidence supporting the fact that their approach is working. So, in your estimation, because it's working, we should toss out the plan. Great call.
We already know he plays better in games than in practice. Why would you want to take him out of the environment he performs best in? Makes no sense.
Quote:7+ wins is an epiphany? Really? There's no way to know for sure what will happen with Henne. This is a unique situation he's never been in before during his career. He's got the same coaching staff, coordinators, and position coaches for more than one season.
Bortles has looked good, but let's be honest. He's not facing the kind of complexity in the preseason that he will when the games count, and there is no doubt he's going to struggle, especially behind the line that we're currently trotting out there.
This plan isn't a joke at all. It's precisely because they've taken a more patient approach with Bortles that he's coming along as well as he has. There's no empirical evidence supporting the fact that their approach is working. So, in your estimation, because it's working, we should toss out the plan. Great call.
The same coaches two years in a row thing is irrelevant, I suggest you and everyone else using it as justification for anything just let it go. If that kind of thing held any merit at all Gabbert would still be around. Henne is what he is, a low level backup QB.
That said it's pretty clear that the current staff considers itself to currently be playing with house money and the reasoning for starting Henne isn't that he's worth starting, it's that they feel coaching up Bortles without the risks of possible negative game-day injuries or incidents is more valuable than throwing him out at the moment.
That said I imagine at some point the pressure from within the locker room alone will make Bradley feel like he has to put Bortles on the field.
Right now it's easy for guys in the locker room to ignore what Henne is as they're still struggling for roster spots and playing time, but as soon as that's done and we're in the regular season playing for games that count there will be a lot of guys in the locker room feeling sick to their stomach knowing the future of their career could be partially hinging on a guy like Henne who has shown he's barely a notch above someone like Gabbert.
how many rookies in recent years have sat initially and gone on to have good careers?
Quote:The same coaches two years in a row thing is irrelevant, I suggest you and everyone else using it as justification for anything just let it go. If that kind of thing held any merit at all Gabbert would still be around. Henne is what he is, a low level backup QB.
That said it's pretty clear that the current staff considers itself to currently be playing with house money and the reasoning for starting Henne isn't that he's worth starting, it's that they feel coaching up Bortles without the risks of possible negative game-day injuries or incidents is more valuable than throwing him out at the moment.
That said I imagine at some point the pressure from within the locker room alone will make Bradley feel like he has to put Bortles on the field.
Right now it's easy for guys in the locker room to ignore what Henne is as they're still struggling for roster spots and playing time, but as soon as that's done and we're in the regular season playing for games that count there will be a lot of guys in the locker room feeling sick to their stomach knowing the future of their career could be partially hinging on a guy like Henne who has shown he's barely a notch above someone like Gabbert.
Waiting makes a ton of sense for Bradley/caldwell personally too. It buys them more time, which nobody seems to be talking about. Say we do bad this year, it would be expected. Should we not take the year 3 leap that we initially expected, they can blame it on bortles essentially being a rookie.
This buys them a whole extra year of employment. They're minimizing their own risk by delaying the evaluation process.
And I guess I can't say I wouldnt do the same.
Quote:The same coaches two years in a row thing is irrelevant, I suggest you and everyone else using it as justification for anything just let it go. If that kind of thing held any merit at all Gabbert would still be around. Henne is what he is, a low level backup QB.
That said it's pretty clear that the current staff considers itself to currently be playing with house money and the reasoning for starting Henne isn't that he's worth starting, it's that they feel coaching up Bortles without the risks of possible negative game-day injuries or incidents is more valuable than throwing him out at the moment.
That said I imagine at some point the pressure from within the locker room alone will make Bradley feel like he has to put Bortles on the field.
Right now it's easy for guys in the locker room to ignore what Henne is as they're still struggling for roster spots and playing time, but as soon as that's done and we're in the regular season playing for games that count there will be a lot of guys in the locker room feeling sick to their stomach knowing the future of their career could be partially hinging on a guy like Henne who has shown he's barely a notch above someone like Gabbert.
You still need to have at least some talent. Gabbert was damaged goods. He could have spent 5 years with a coaching staff and it wasn't going to magically transform him into anything but what he is.
Quote:Waiting makes a ton of sense for Bradley/caldwell personally too. It buys them more time, which nobody seems to be talking about. Say we do bad this year, it would be expected. Should we not take the year 3 leap that we initially expected, they can blame it on bortles essentially being a rookie.
This buys them a whole extra year of employment. They're minimizing their own risk by delaying the evaluation process.
And I guess I can't say I wouldnt do the same.
It buys them time? As if they're in danger of something if they put Bortles in there? Really?
Neither Caldwell or Bradley are in danger of losing their jobs.
In a world of hot seats, theirs have icicles growing on them.
Quote:You still need to have at least some talent.
Exactly right, which is why what I said is clearly correct.
Henne's about to turn 30, his talent is really well known by now. The coaching and management's comfort with him clearly isn't because he has the ability of even a decent starting NFL QB, they are comfortable with him because they consider this season to be about growing the team's talent and placeholder players in positions they have yet to upgrade are fine.
It's clear that they're more concerned with Bortles' growth and not with Henne's ability to win games, because he's not someone that will win games for a team, he's someone that a coach just hopes won't do enough to lose the game.
Like I said, the fans will be angry a few games into the season, but it'll be the anger of the locker room that will probably make Gus feel like he needs to make the change. Everyone already can see that Bortles is clearly more athletic and lacks the mental defects for the position that Henne suffers. The grumbling in the locker room if the team starts 0-6 or thereabouts and everyone on the team is playing well except for the QB will be intense.
Quote:It buys them time? As if they're in danger of something if they put Bortles in there? Really?
Neither Caldwell or Bradley are in danger of losing their jobs.
In a world of hot seats, theirs have icicles growing on them.
Right now yeah. But re-builds are typically billed as 3 year projects. By the third year, there should marked improvement. Shad's content now, but in a year or two there will need to be results in the w/L column. What im saying is, should improvement stall a bit or take longer than was initially thought, this could buy them a bit more time. Which again, isn't a bad idea for them necessarily.
Quote:Exactly right, which is why what I said is clearly correct.
Henne's about to turn 30, his talent is really well known by now. The coaching and management's comfort with him clearly isn't because he has the ability of even a decent starting NFL QB, they are comfortable with him because they consider this season to be about growing the team's talent and placeholder players in positions they have yet to upgrade are fine.
It's clear that they're more concerned with Bortles' growth and not with Henne's ability to win games, because he's not someone that will win games for a team, he's someone that a coach just hopes won't do enough to lose the game.
Like I said, the fans will be angry a few games into the season, but it'll be the anger of the locker room that will probably make Gus feel like he needs to make the change. Everyone already can see that Bortles is clearly more athletic and lacks the mental defects for the position that Henne suffers. The grumbling in the locker room if the team starts 0-6 or thereabouts and everyone on the team is playing well except for the QB will be intense.
I don't think you're going to see any real dissension in the locker room. It's a young locker room and the majority of these players understand the process. And I think that when Bortles is ready to go, he is going to assume the starting role, so any frustrations that may develop will be addressed, and probably sooner than most expect. Just not to start the season.