Quote:Of players who have been given a legitimate chance to start, in that time frame the successful :
Joe Flacco, Colin Kaepernick, Andy Dalton, Russell Wilson
The unsuccessful:
Chad Henne, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen
Special category:
Josh Freeman
Quote:Guys like Ryan Mallet and Kirk Cousin haven't had a chance to play yet that's why he's leaving them out.
^^^ These things.
For those who know of my fairly random, sarcasm-filled posts regarding the expectation/hope that the Jags continue to flop all the way to the #1 pick which MUST (sarcasm again) be Teddy Bridgewater, the referenced players above coupled with the list of QBs taken #1 are my exact point. This is NOT a draft with a Luck or Manning. AKA an absolute, near as can be 100% concensus "THIS IS THE GUY TO BE PICKED FIRST" quarterback.
This is a draft with a favored quarterback to go first (Teddy B.), an arguable second-best who continues to rise (Mariotta, and then the Stanford game, lol), and several more quarterbacks that all have very strong arguments to be first-round picks, almost any of whom could be the third quarterback picked behind the likely 1A/1B of Bridgewater and Mariotta.
That list of QBs that have been #1 picks makes it very clear that even as the first pick of the draft, complete success is still a 50/50 shot. Couch/Carr/Russell as busts. Bradford isn't typically labeled a bust but hasn't quite put it together. Palmer had a streak of some good years but overall, opinions would differ if asking if he was worthy of the pick. Vick is exciting, but... That's a debate I wouldn't want to touch. Talented though. Newton slumped as a second year but looks solid. Alex Smith FINALLY put it together, and is still really a game manager. Who was drafted first. And then you've a few that were clearly good picks as number 1.
Granted, some of these suffered in part because they were talents stuck on awful teams. But what's that go to show? Oh, yeah. That a quarterback with talents out of this world still is guaranteed to change the world for a franchise.
And just the same, some are taken later in the first (or later, sure) that turn out just as good. Aaron Rodgers, anyone? Big Ben at #11. Philip Rivers wasn't the first pick... Etc etc.
For me, it's the simple point that if we win 2-3 games, we're still just as likely (ok, nearly as likely) to end up with a star-caliber quarterback from this draft. I'm not condoning waiting until the second round (though I'd be happy with the first pick and trading back a few spots, at worst), but it does not have to be the end of the world if we don't get the first pick.
And we can get the first pick and still be wrong. Even if drafting Teddy Bridgewater number 1. It COULD be POSSIBLE that it still turns out WRONG.
In the grand scheme of it all, the real thing of key importance is that we have the proper decision-makers in place to make the right choice.