Quote:Agreed. I've made the same point before. This isn't a competition between the two QBs. Henne's performance has nothing to do with when Bortles winds up starting. They're not going to rush the rookie along just because the fans are clamoring for a change because Henne is struggling.
That being said, I've actually got a good feeling about Henne this year. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people and at least bring a higher level of mediocrity to the table. I don't expect him to set franchise records, but I don't think he's going to be as bad as many here do.
Yup.
Quote:I think they've been pretty clear about what their expectations are. When he's ready, he'll play. It has nothing to do with how I or anyone else on this board WANT him to develop. It has everything to do with the guys getting paid to make those decisions and their determination as to what they consider "ready" and what value they attach to allowing the line to develop to the point where they can protect their investment. It has nothing to do with him being young. It has everything to do with him having issues that he's going to need to work through, and how quickly he can accomplish that while also learning the entire playbook.
I don't disagree with your assessment. I'm addressing those of us that believe he shouldn't play despite a possibility that he may be ready at some time. All I'm getting at is that being 100% in one camp isn't likely to yield the best results.
This is a message board. I know it isn't about you wanting one thing or me wanting another thing. Our opinions are irrelevant when it comes to Bortles, so it should be obvious that we're only arguing about opinions--not to those that actually have the power to change things.
I find it amusing that some on here think that Bortles is better than Henne at this point. While Henne won't exactly "light it up" and be a Manning, Farve or Brady, he is still a veteran quarterback that is serviceable and can manage a live game.
People are making assumptions based on practice and a "scrimmage" which was run at less than 100% speed. Even preseason games aren't going to tell the full story. If Bortles is progressing or "developing faster than anticipated", then we know that we have some insurance going into the season.
The comparisons to the Russell Wilson situation are ridiculous. Wilson obviously came into a situation with a super bowl ready team. The Jags have a revamped line with most of the WRs nursing injuries from one day to the next. If the Jags had the Seahawks personnel then there's a much better argument to go with the rookie, but they don't so he shouldn't be rushed into a situation where he's set up to fail due to an inexperienced supporting cast that isn't ready to help him succeed. I'm a Bortles fan but Henne's experience is much better suited for the personnel situation as it stands today.
Quote:The comparisons to the Russell Wilson situation are ridiculous. Wilson obviously came into a situation with a super bowl ready team.
Ah yes. Those 7-9 "super bowl ready" teams.
I think some comparisons can be made to Wilson. They're both gamers that possess maturity, mobility, and high awareness
Quote:Ah yes. Those 7-9 "super bowl ready" teams.
Yeah pretty much. Their defense was ranked #1 in the league both seasons he's started. The super bowl was pretty much over when he stepped on the field.
People are underestimating the importance of having a veteran QB on the field with all the inexperienced players on offense.
Just because he may struggle with executing, doesn't mean he can't see and understand what is happening on the field and relay this information in the huddle so the young players have a better understanding of how they should be reacting to what the defense is showing.
When a play goes bad, Henne will be able to go back to the huddle and communicate what went wrong and make sure people are on the same page for the next play.
If a receiver makes the wrong read for the situation, he can tell them that. If they make the right read and Henne makes a mistake, he will be able to communicate that with them also.
It is advantageous to the learning process to have an understanding of what went wrong in real time, before the next play, instead of having a couple of inexperienced players who aren't sure who made the mistake until days later in the film room.
You don't have to be a great play executioner to be able to see, analyze, and communicate what is happening on the field. Most great coaches were never great executioners in their playing days.
Quote:I find it amusing that some on here think that Bortles is better than Henne at this point. While Henne won't exactly "light it up" and be a Manning, Farve or Brady, he is still a veteran quarterback that is serviceable and can manage a live game.
People are making assumptions based on practice and a "scrimmage" which was run at less than 100% speed. Even preseason games aren't going to tell the full story. If Bortles is progressing or "developing faster than anticipated", then we know that we have some insurance going into the season.
Bortles may not have run an NFL offense yet, but he has run an offense at the college level. As long as he has decent protection and receivers running the right routes he will be just fine live and maybe better than the scrimmage. QB's either have "it" or they don't and I believe Bortles cup runnethover with "it". I don't care if he sits the season if the o-line can't protect because there is no need to create another David Carr situation. If the line is better this year put him in when his footwork is fixed. And GO JAGS!!!!!
Quote:Bortles may not have run an NFL offense yet, but he has run an offense at the college level. As long as he has decent protection and receivers running the right routes he will be just fine live and maybe better than the scrimmage. QB's either have "it" or they don't and I believe Bortles cup runnethover with "it". I don't care if he sits the season if the o-line can't protect because there is no need to create another David Carr situation. If the line is better this year put him in when his footwork is fixed. And GO JAGS!!!!!
You can't compare college offenses to pro offenses or college defenses to NFL defenses.
Every year, you hear about players talk about how their NFL playbook resembles a phone book, and is typically much thicker than the college playbook.
Pro football is a far more complex game and there is much more information for a QB to process.
The arguing about whether he should sit is pretty pointless. If Bortles was named starter tomorrow, Gus would say he's progressed to where they want him to be and everyone would be like, "ok."
Quote:I find it amusing that some on here think that Bortles is better than Henne at this point. While Henne won't exactly "light it up" and be a Manning, Farve or Brady, he is still a veteran quarterback that is serviceable and can manage a live game
.
People are making assumptions based on practice and a "scrimmage" which was run at less than 100% speed. Even preseason games aren't going to tell the full story. If Bortles is progressing or "developing faster than anticipated", then we know that we have some insurance going into the season.
So apparently you didn't watch many games last year I guess.
Of course having the Head Coach's endorsement would have us fans agreeing to it, especially knowing that we get nothing really from Chad Henne at the helm (even at his best he's most likely only going to take this team to 8 wins and thats with some luck). The thing is if Gus says Bortles is ready and is the starter it puts a lot on Gus as much as Bortles. If Bortles fails it shows a lack of judgement in assesing players talent from your HC, or in using that talent. As we know Gus Bradley doesnt just have fans confidence but many players, coaches, and media around the league's respect too. That also would make many of us fans say okay if Gus said Bortles had progresssed to where they want him.
Anyways we all realize that sooner or later Bortles will start for this team this season. To think that he'll be on the bench all year would only mean that Chad Henne turns around and becomes the franchise QB that Gus seems to think he is capable of (and anything can happen I guess). If Henne came out and was close if not winning at least 8 of the first 12 games then sure he has a great chance of remaining QB for the rest of the season but if the team has only 3 wins or less at week 12 (most likely if Henne remained) then he would feel the pressure along with Dave & Owner to put in the #3 draft choice to see whats he got. Anyone that thinks otherwise is really only fooling themselves.
Quote:The arguing about whether he should sit is pretty pointless. If Bortles was named starter tomorrow, Gus would say he's progressed to where they want him to be and everyone would be like, "ok."
Pretty much what I've been saying.
If he WINS the job, he starts.
Do I expect it? No.
Is it possible? Yes.
He'll start when he's ready, I'm not worried about it. If Henne is the more consistent player right now, there's zero reason to throw Bortles out there, especially when their plan all along is to have him sit the whole (or at least the majority of the) year.
You realize you're all saying pretty much the same thing? "Put him in when he's ready" or "Put him in if he WINS the job" are the exact same thing just worded differently... He's not going to play before he's ready, except maybe injury to Henne, and he's not going to win the job if he's not ready. It's the same thing.
He's won the starting job as he is better than Henne, but Bortles is still not ready from a mechanical perspective. With our entire receiving corps injured or suspended, a suspect OL, and Bortles changing muscle memory and adapting to the NFL ... Start Henne now and let Bortles play later so he'll have some tape to study for next season
With a quality o-line like the Jaguars have.... Henne is likely to get hurt. We'll be seeing Bortles sooner than you think.
As long as Bortles learns how to take a hit.. he'll be fine on the Jaguars.
Quote:With a quality o-line like the Jaguars have.... Henne is likely to get hurt. We'll be seeing Bortles sooner than you think.
As long as Bortles learns how to take a hit.. he'll be fine on the Jaguars.
I don't think Henne will get hurt. He's a pretty durable guy who has proven he can take a beating out there. He's also smart about taking hits. He's not like Leftwich who was going to stand there and wait for a play to develop even when he knew he was about to get killed.
@DewtheMathis- good point on how the quarterback selection will affect people's judgement of Bradley- I hadn't looked at it that way. Hopefully Bradley isn't too conservative about assessing Bortles' potential. I feel like keeping Henne in all season would be the safe bet, whereas letting Bortles start may be riskier to his reputation. Bortles' failure (which I personally doubt would happen) would make Bradley look bad, but on the flip side his success could make Bradley and Caldwell look like geniuses.