Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

Quote:a little late

Not really.  I was posting on Pacific Time so my post was actually an hour prior to the other one.

Quote:When Jeff Fisher heard that, he booked a flight to Vegas before he remembered they only play the Browns in pre-season this year.

 

... that got me thinking of Spurrier (Redskins) running up the score against the 49ers in preseason.  Classic.

[quote name="The Eleventh Doctor" post="214720" timestamp="1401304928"]When Jeff Fisher heard that, he booked a flight to Vegas before he remembered they only play the Browns in pre-season this year.


Was Jeff Fisher planning on taking Michael Sam with him?

I hope he has a great pre-season and earns the starting gig for this year. I know he isn't supposed to start and has to "develop" but if he outperforms Henne....

I'm so relived that we took Bortles instead of Manziel. 

 

Manziel is just a poster boy like Tebow. While Bortles has legitimate potential to be a franchise QB.

Quote:I'm so relived that we took Bortles instead of Manziel. 

 

Manziel is just a poster boy like Tebow. While Bortles has legitimate potential to be a franchise QB.

 

I gotta say, its only been a short sample size....but what I've seen from both since the draft - yeah, I'm glad we took Bortles over Manziel as well. Manziel already seems more about "Hollywood" and "himself" over "football" and "team". 

 

Bridgewater is the only other QB out there that I still wish we might have taken over Bortles. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy with Bortles, either. I am. Just that Bridge is going to be a stud QB in this league I think. 

Quote:I gotta say, its only been a short sample size....but what I've seen from both since the draft - yeah, I'm glad we took Bortles over Manziel as well. Manziel already seems more about "Hollywood" and "himself" over "football" and "team". 

 

Bridgewater is the only other QB out there that I still wish we might have taken over Bortles. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy with Bortles, either. I am. Just that Bridge is going to be a stud QB in this league I think. 

 

Ehhh, I think that "Hollywood" thing is fueled by the media.  The guy went to a pool party and MMA fight in Vegas and it was the #1 story.  Seriously, that's freaking ridiculous and in my eyes that should give the media a black eye, not Manziel.  But that comes with the territory fair or not when drafting Manziel.

Quote:I'm so relived that we took Bortles instead of Manziel. 

 

Manziel is just a poster boy like Tebow. While Bortles has legitimate potential to be a franchise QB.

 

I've thought this all along.  He's a good kid and a good athlete, but I just haven't seen anything that says "NFL Franchise Quarterback".

Quote:Gabbert could translate it to the field. He was a smart and dedicated QB. His problems were linked to confidence in the face of pressure, which is something that can't be coached.

 

We will never know the answer to this question but I wonder how much of Blaine Gabbert's struggles were because of the combination of the 2011 NFL Lockout AND a coaching change in each of Gabbert's seasons with the Jaguars?   If for example,  Gabbert stayed in school another year and was drafted by a team that had much more stability than the Jaguars had during Gabbert's time with the team, would have Gabbert performed at a noticeably higher level?    

Quote:We will never know the answer to this question but I wonder how much of Blaine Gabbert's struggles were because of the combination of the 2011 NFL Lockout AND a coaching change in each of Gabbert's seasons with the Jaguars?   If for example,  Gabbert stayed in school another year and was drafted by a team that had much more stability than the Jaguars had during Gabbert's time with the team, would have Gabbert performed at a noticeably higher level?    

 

As always D6, spot on.

Quote:We will never know the answer to this question but I wonder how much of Blaine Gabbert's struggles were because of the combination of the 2011 NFL Lockout AND a coaching change in each of Gabbert's seasons with the Jaguars?   If for example,  Gabbert stayed in school another year and was drafted by a team that had much more stability than the Jaguars had during Gabbert's time with the team, would have Gabbert performed at a noticeably higher level?    

 

Maybe, but I personally don't think so.

 

I think he never had the instincts to play the position well.  For example, you can see a college QB "feel' the rush and step up, climb the pocket, and deliver a pass.... Gabbert didn't have it in college, and still doesn't have it after 3 years in the NFL.  I just think he never will have it, which is probably his biggest weakness.

 

I'm sure if he played on a loaded team his weaknesses would be hidden to some extent, but I doubt he would have become a successful QB because he just doesn't have that instinct.  

 

It's really evident when watching the good NFL QBs...even with bad protection they are still able to make the most out of each play, whereas for Gabbert he needed everything to be perfect just to have a chance.

 

 

I guess what I'm saying is that it doesn't appear to be a mechanical issue for him, something that can be taught.  He just doesn't have that calm demeanor in the pocket, that "pocket presence" to be a successful QB.  Maybe you can develop it, but after 3 years in the NFL he's still atrocious in that regard so I'm gonna say he doesn't have it.

Gabbert never got a fair shake with the Jaguars due to all the organizational instability throughout his tenure in Jacksonville, as well as several other unlucky circumstances. If you guys remember he came in during the lockout shortened off-season and was already behind the 8-ball coming in. JDR and co. had plans to sit Gabbert and spoke on him in a similar fashion that Gus and Dave have with Bortles. Then Garrard had a pretty much career ending back injury and McCown had that nightmare game against the Jets. Enter Gabbert. To his credit, he played pretty well his Rookie season given the limited weapons he had around him. Of course JDR and his staff were all fired and Mularkey was brought in, so essentially he had to start all over from scratch. The team tried to help him out by drafting Justin Blackmon and signing Laurent Robinson. Initially Blaine appeared to be turning the corner with some good games against the Vikings, Colts and Packers before ultimately ending up on IR. Again, the next off-season the team brought in a new coaching staff and he was told he had to compete for the job. He performed up to par in TC and pre-season and was ultimately named the starter, but the offense wasn't on the same page at all and he played just miserably throwing just 1 TD to 7 INT's in 3 games, with more injuries mixed in.

 

Ultimately, I can't place the full blame on Blaine, simply due to the state that the franchise was in from 2011-2013 and it is unfortunate that his career was derailed largely in part to a completely inept, in-flux organization. My guess is he turns into a serviceable backup for the 49ers and will be a nice little game manager for them should Kaep get hurt. I do agree with Dave though, as his welcome had worn thin in Jacksonville and he needed a chance of scenery. It looks like Gus and Dave have learned from the cautionary tale of Blaine Gabbert and aren't poised to repeat the same mistakes with Bortles.

Quote:To his credit, he played pretty well his Rookie season given the limited weapons he had around him. 

 

c'mon man...

 

He was atrocious.  Yes, the other reasons you listed are legitimate, he was young, inexperienced, had the lockout, didn't have many weapons - but he was atrocious.

 

His 2nd year he had a few games where you had a glimmer of hope, but they also were pretty few in number, while his main weaknesses all remained the same.

Quote:c'mon man...

 

He was atrocious.  Yes, the other reasons you listed are legitimate, he was young, inexperienced, had the lockout, didn't have many weapons - but he was atrocious.

 

His 2nd year he had a few games where you had a glimmer of hope, but they also were pretty few in number, while his main weaknesses all remained the same.

 

Yeah he was pretty bad, but as I remember it most people at the time (fans, media, front office) had given him a pass and actually praised him given what he was working with at the time. Of course we all know how it panned out, but I think the consensus was that he was doing OK (post rookie season).

Personally, I think if I drafted a highly rated prospect such as Gabbert & he subsequently failed, instead of blaming that failure 100% on the highly rated prospect, I have to look internally & determine if there was anything I could have done different... perhaps I failed the highly rated prospect. 

 

In other words, I'm sure it was a mixture of all the things listed in this thread. 

 

Stability... how much time has Bradley got left? 2013 wasn't exactly impressive, but I like Bradley. He's one of those guys you'd like to see succeed. Ownership may be on board the slow road plan for Bortles, but what are their expectations for 2014? Chad Henne is your starting QB, what exactly did Bradley promise them? 

 

Fisch... good resume. Did he look a bit over his head last season? It's arguable. 

 

Another reason Gabbert failed, I think, is that Mularky & his crew weren't very  good at identifying his strengths & maximizing them, or his weaknesses & protecting him from exposing them. 

 

Fisch has seen Henne, he should be familiar with his strengths & weaknesses. He's got a whole off-season to work with him. When the season starts, if I were a Jags fan, I'd be more interested in how well Henne's strengths & weaknesses are incorporated into the game plan. That's going to tell me whether the Jacksonville Jaguars are ready to start Blake Bortles. 

Gabbert failed because he sucked. Doesnt matter what o-line he could have been behind, what team he could have been with , or who his coaches were he sucked.

 

He wasnt "ruined" he never had anything to ruin. Big with a strong arm and thats it coming out of college. ran a super easy and simple offense with tons of short passes and screens , didnt have free roam to adjust plays and make changes or simply wasnt capable of it, afraid of the rush, zero ability to properly sense where the rush was coming from and people still act like its the coaches fault.

 

With all those issues coming out of college is it really a suprise he bombed? Now i will concede he may have played slightly better with a better team around him but thats any QB and even then i think we or any team that drafted him would be replacing him this season just like we did. Gabbert only got so many chances here because its cheaper to keep your 1st rd QB then in the past and also Gene Smith sucked too. 

 

Now with Bortles i see alot of the same problems (simple offense, not allowed or able to beat teams with adjustments or free control of the offense , tons of short passes ,  bad mechanics ,  staring down WRs , questionable poise and decision making when first option isnt open , and in Bortles case a weaker arm).  I will say Bortles has the mental toughness that Gabbert lacked and actually knows how to use his athletics so that gives me hope Caldwell and Co can do what Gene failed to do.

Quote:“He is committed to working hard and doing things right,” Fisch said. “His study habits have been excellent. His questions have been excellent.”

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/28/blake-bortles-impressing-jaguars-with-his-study-habits/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

Let's hope his mechanics are working as well too.

If the reports this morning about practice yesterday are true, he had a bad session on Monday.  He wasn't alone as Gus stopped practice for half an hour to dress the entire team down before resuming drills. 

According to the presser today Bortles really didn't want to go to the nfl rookie premier event. Wanted to stay and work. I thought that was cool. Also Shorts was out today along with Lee, Robinson and Sandsrs I think. Gives those young guys a shot.

Quote:If the reports this morning about practice yesterday are true, he had a bad session on Monday.  He wasn't alone as Gus stopped practice for half an hour to dress the entire team down before resuming drills. 

 

If reports from today are true he confronted Coach Bradley about his poor performance and was able to bounce back and have a much better day today.