Like the rest of you, I was stunned when we picked Blake Bortles last night.
But this morning I am waking up with a lot of pride in the Jaguars organisation.
And that's because I can sum up the selection of Bortles with one word... Brave.
It would have been very easy for Dave Caldwell to make the obvious pick, follow the consensus of the "experts" and take a safe option like Mack or Watkins - because those are the players everyone expected us to take. Both will be great players, but they weren't the players our front office wanted. And you have to admire Dave and Gus for doing what they believe is right (after doing a lot more scouting than any of us amateurs !)
It would have been very easy to think it was wrong to select Bortles with the number three pick. But he was the player they wanted and that was the pick we had. So not picking him would have been ridiculous.
It would have been very easy to avoid picking Bortles, because of the pressure to bring in a player who can start on day one. But they went for a player who might spend the whole season sat on the bench - what other organisation would have the balls to do that ?
If we had picked Mack or Watkins I think we would all have been satisfied. But their unexpected selection of Bortles has perversely given me a lot of confidence in DC and his team. They've clearly done their homework, looked for a player they feel will be good for us (rather than simply going for the BAP regardless of need - like the Texans) and they can feel happy that they have got the man they wanted.
I think you could say the selection of Bortles is very "Dave and Gus" - brave men who go with their convictions.
Agree with you on that one. Clearly, they think Bortles is the QB we need and they've gone for it. Let's just hope it pays off now.
LIke many have said....If you feel he is your Franchise QB you take him no matter the spot. You don't risk losing out on a prospect you deem to be that.
I was really distraught at first, but I stayed up till 230 watching every game of his, and listening to everything Bradwell said about him. I'm actually very excited about him now.
More like dumb. GM is still caught up on old school measurables and not whether this guy can just flat out ball or not. Manziel will have a better NFL career than Bortles.
Quote:LIke many have said....If you feel he is your Franchise QB you take him no matter the spot. You don't risk losing out on a prospect you deem to be that.
How did that turn out with Blaine Gabbert. He had all the measurables, height-weight-strong arm.
Quote:More like dumb. GM is still caught up on old school measurables and not whether this guy can just flat out ball or not. Manziel will have a better NFL career than Bortles.
We'll see. It will prove itself out on the field one way or the other. A micro sized QB who runs around and just throws the ball up for grabs at times may be successful in college, but it's not a recipe for long-term success at the next level.
Quote:How did that turn out with Blaine Gabbert. He had all the measurables, height-weight-strong arm.
He also had 3 different head coaches, 3 different coordinators, and 3 different position coaches during his time here, and he played behind one of the worst lines in the league.
All of the issues above are being addressed.
We saw little to no churn with the coaching staff, giving this team continuity for the first time in a few years.
The offensive line is a work in progress. We've added a free agent already, we're getting our first round pick from 2013 back from injury, and I have no doubt we'll be adding additional players to the group in the draft, and in free agency between now and training camp.
This team was bad. There have been a ton of holes that need addressing. It took years to get it to this point, and it's not something we can simply fix with the flip of a switch. It's a process.
Bortles does have the kind of measurables you want from an NFL QB. How that translates on the field remains to be seen. The expectation here is that the front office build a roster around him to help him thrive in his new role. That's what they're doing now. What happened with Gabbert is irrelevant.
Quote:More like dumb. GM is still caught up on old school measurables and not whether this guy can just flat out ball or not. Manziel will have a better NFL career than Bortles.
Too short. Bust.
Quote:Too short. Bust.
So I guess Brees and Russell WIlson are busts.
Not to be a downer, but I remember thinking the same thing about Gene Smith with the Alualu pick. I loved that he did his homework and took who he thought was best for the organization and the consensus be damned. To be clear, I still respect Smith for that stance but it's more than obvious that his scouting / evaluation skills were less than ideal.
I have a lot of respect for the conviction that this regime is showing towards how they think this whole build-a-long-term-winning-team thing should be done. But as I've said in the past "It doesn't matter how you do it, just get it right."
Quote:Not to be a downer, but I remember thinking the same thing about Gene Smith with the Alualu pick. I loved that he did his homework and took who he thought was best for the organization and the consensus be damned. To be clear, I still respect Smith for that stance but it's more than obvious that his scouting / evaluation skills were less than ideal.
I have a lot of respect for the conviction that this regime is showing towards how they think this whole build-a-long-term-winning-team thing should be done. But as I've said in the past "It doesn't matter how you do it, just get it right."
I think Smith could have even gotten a pass for that had the other picks he made turned out better. His tenure was just one big cluster-you-know-what.
Quote:So I guess Brees and Russell WIlson are busts.
Don't know who Wllson is. Bust.
Quote:I was really distraught at first, but I stayed up till 230 watching every game of his, and listening to everything Bradwell said about him. I'm actually very excited about him now.
You can see he has the tools. He probably has the highest "ceiling" if he can get his footwork fixed. I think Teddy will be better for the first 2 years but after that its up to how hard Bortles works.
The Gabbert comparison's are stupid. Could both now be possible reaches? Yes. But I don't see Gabbert in Bortles. Was Bortles my #1 choice? No. Am I an NFL scout or GM and know exactly what to look for? No. But he does not look anything like Gabbert (playwise). And we have a much better coaching staff and offensive line than we did with Gabbert. And we can only improve our line and offensive weapons with our next picks. I'm slowly growing more and more on this pick. When I first starting watching Bortles, he reminds me of Luck. No saying he's the next Luck or Manning, no way. But he could get to that point. Especially since we're not throwing him to wolves like we did with Gabbert. I think we are doing things the right way. Regardless of what all the sports analysts are saying (taking a #3 pick and not starting him.......).
GO JAGS!!
I really don't get the Gabbert comparison. Gabbert had a decent 40 time but watching him try to run was painful.. He didn't climb the pocket, and he dropped his eyes too much.. Bortles has pocket presence, he has great escapability, and he can throw excellent on the run. He has the look of an NFL caliber QB. He needs some coaching, but his potential is off the charts.
The Gabbert pick oozed of the fact that a highly touted guy (by the TV analysts) fell and the Jags FO was desperate to draft a QB. I was shocked that we picked him as it was completely unexpected. Sort of like an impulse buy. The Bortles pick appears to have been well thought out and discussed. The confidence that Dave and Co has in Bortles makes me OK with this pick. Complete polar opposite player compared to Gabbert if you watch his games.
Also, everyone brings up Alualu and while he has not developed into a stud he is still a solid player. In fact of all of Gene's first round picks he was the most criticized yet is the only one still on the team.
Quote:Not to be a downer, but I remember thinking the same thing about Gene Smith with the Alualu pick. I loved that he did his homework and took who he thought was best for the organization and the consensus be damned. To be clear, I still respect Smith for that stance but it's more than obvious that his scouting / evaluation skills were less than ideal.
I have a lot of respect for the conviction that this regime is showing towards how they think this whole build-a-long-term-winning-team thing should be done. But as I've said in the past "It doesn't matter how you do it, just get it right."
Plenty of people mocked Bortles in the Top 10 though. Nobody mocked Alualu in the Top 20 for the most part (I didn't see any in any case). So it's not THAT far against the consensus. And his scouts independently came to the same conclusion.
I hated the Alualu pick -- I still remember it vividly. Our internet was out. Our T.V. was out. So I was sitting in my car listening to the draft on the Radio. Redskins homers because I live in Virginia. They announced Tyson Alualu. My first thought was "WHO?" And when our phone lines were finally fixed the next day, I was still very upset about it. (Granted, I wanted Jimmy Clausen, and was happy we didn't take Tebow... but back then I didn't follow football nearly as well as I do now. I was also a fan of Joe Flacco when he came out)
Bortles isn't so far off the consensus that it makes you go "We took.. who?" We're actually getting decent grades from most for the pick, aside from the people who are like 'HERP DERP he won't get to sit like he needs to cuz he's behind Chad Henne HERP DERP"
I hope it all works out, only time will tell. I still wouldnt mind us grabbing another QB later on in the draft.
Quote:The Gabbert pick oozed of the fact that a highly touted guy (by the TV analysts) fell and the Jags FO was desperate to draft a QB. I was shocked that we picked him as it was completely unexpected. Sort of like an impulse buy. The Bortles pick appears to have been well thought out and discussed. The confidence that Dave and Co has in Bortles makes me OK with this pick. Complete polar opposite player compared to Gabbert if you watch his games.
Also, everyone brings up Alualu and while he has not developed into a stud he is still a solid player. In fact of all of Gene's first round picks he was the most criticized yet is the only one still on the team.
Until you feel the weight of the media scrutiny deliberately trying to destroy you, you will never fully understand the power they have nor the abusiveness they harm people with.
http://youtu.be/5QaVzv5aR6U
The Gabbert pick was 100% completely media-driven. The stage for stand-off was set a year or so prior. The Gator-infested media had the franchise under siege. On the air and in print, they were daily undermining David Garrard in order to make Tim Tebow grow in size.
He wasn't elite. He didn't have Tom Brady stats. The contract envy angle was fairly raw and disgusting.
It made no sense at all until it was realized that they were inducing descent leading up to the college graduation of Tim Tebow.
Alualu was more of a thumbing of the nose at the media ringleaders of the Tebot movement than a quality draft selection. Gene Smith reached badly on that one as if to deliberately skip over Tebow by design.
With Gabbert, I am sure Gene Smith and Wayne Weaver hoped to slam the door shut, but worms like Frenette kept using their media credentials to perform the work of Tebot worms.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
"even if he's released" has now led to passive aggressive revenge on part of Tebowmaniacs. It's manifested in the person of Blake the Fake, a completely fabricated cream puff baked up by Binky in Rat Town.