Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

(01-22-2018, 08:03 PM)hb1148 Wrote: [ -> ]He's physically and mentally tough, athletic and works hard at his craft. He still lacks in consistent accuracy and seems to lack field vision at times. He has a lot of the qualities you'd like in a QB though, and played well for most of December and against Pittsburgh and NE. I'd like to see the Jags sign him to a short term extension at a reasonable contract and see if his growth continues. I think if your Coughlin/Caldwell you have to consider contingency plans too.

Sign him for 2-3 years, take somebody to groom in the second/third round. Bases are covered, and hope for the best!

Good job Blake, I'll take it.

(01-22-2018, 08:30 PM)The_Franchise_QB Wrote: [ -> ]Blake's best attributes are his work ethic and attitude. He is a guy that every single fan of the team wants to root for and he is a guy that every player wants to play for. He does everything right and we all seriously pull for the guy. Problem is we all see that he has serious limitations as a QB. If he had any sort of red flags.. or even a yellow.. outside of his play he would be gone. Maybe with a better O-line it'll work out in the future. It helps that Marrone wants to be a run first team. They'll build around the run and likely go after a TE high in the draft. Having Arob back will help as well.

I may possibly be in the minority here, but I think that he's deserved the label of "franchise QB" at least in the near term.  He's done everything asked of him and he has played well.  Does he throw perfect?  No.  Does he throw a lot?  Most of the time no.

The thing is, when he's had a low number of passes in a game people are quick to say "the coaches don't trust him" or something similar.  That isn't a KNOWN FACT, it's pure speculation.  Perhaps the game plan all along was to grind it out with the run game (remember, the focus of this offense was the run game).  His interceptions and turnovers are way down this season.

I said a long time ago that I think he will get a new contract and I firmly believe that.  Contrary to what some people think, he didn't play that bad this season and has improved enough to the point that he will probably get a contract and the team will probably draft a QB to develop under him.  Looking back on the season, I can't point to a game that he lost for the team.

(01-22-2018, 10:06 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-22-2018, 08:30 PM)The_Franchise_QB Wrote: [ -> ]Blake's best attributes are his work ethic and attitude. He is a guy that every single fan of the team wants to root for and he is a guy that every player wants to play for. He does everything right and we all seriously pull for the guy. Problem is we all see that he has serious limitations as a QB. If he had any sort of red flags.. or even a yellow.. outside of his play he would be gone. Maybe with a better O-line it'll work out in the future. It helps that Marrone wants to be a run first team. They'll build around the run and likely go after a TE high in the draft. Having Arob back will help as well.

I may possibly be in the minority here, but I think that he's deserved the label of "franchise QB" at least in the near term.  He's done everything asked of him and he has played well.  Does he throw perfect?  No.  Does he throw a lot?  Most of the time no.

The thing is, when he's had a low number of passes in a game people are quick to say "the coaches don't trust him" or something similar.  That isn't a KNOWN FACT, it's pure speculation.  Perhaps the game plan all along was to grind it out with the run game (remember, the focus of this offense was the run game).  His interceptions and turnovers are way down this season.

I said a long time ago that I think he will get a new contract and I firmly believe that.  Contrary to what some people think, he didn't play that bad this season and has improved enough to the point that he will probably get a contract and the team will probably draft a QB to develop under him.  Looking back on the season, I can't point to a game that he lost for the team.

He’s a franchise qb 

His numbers are better than Flacco, Dalton, Ryan, Mariota, Winston, Newton. He was a top 11 passer in the league this year with rookie pass catchers and a makeshift o-line


He is a good qb and has more upside. He’s putting in the work and it’s starting to show. The book on him coming out of the draft was that his floor was really low it if you stick with him for 4-5 years he would be the guy who could be elite. I think we are starting to see him put it all together. We are literally watching a budding star

We just went 10 years without making the playoffs.. We have a QB who was part of the reason why we just went to the AFC Championship game and why we were minutes away from the Super Bowl. Even thinking about getting rid of him now is foolish.

He'll likely never be the greatest QB in the NFL, but he doesn't need to be. He has shown consistent improvement. At the very least, we have to use the 5th year option. Ideally I'd like to see something like a 3 year extension. I still think you draft a QB in the 2nd-4th rounds. Unless Bortles completely falls apart next year, I don't see how you can't roll with him going forward. Get Allen Robinson back. Get an actual receiving TE. Get a Guard, or two and lets go.

And I think the narrative that this coaching staff doesn't trust him is false. What did he show/do in the Steelers game, or in the 1st half of the Pats game to make them not trust him going into that 2nd half? He was killing the Pats the entire first half.

I don't get this stupid 'trust' issue. They sure seemed to trust him in the Pittsburgh game.

(01-23-2018, 08:44 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get this stupid 'trust' issue.  They sure seemed to trust him in the Pittsburgh game.

They sure trusted him in early December to single handily get us the division and in the playoffs

I say keep developing our your qb. Marrone and Coughlin are getting him together

(01-23-2018, 08:44 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get this stupid 'trust' issue.  They sure seemed to trust him in the Pittsburgh game.

It's so stupid. This staff trusts Blake just fine. They just need a more killer mentality when playing with a lead.

(01-22-2018, 01:26 PM)Etdavis2006 Wrote: [ -> ]Bortles is a franchise qb.

Ditto.....dilly dilly.

(01-23-2018, 08:44 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get this stupid 'trust' issue.  They sure seemed to trust him in the Pittsburgh game.

It's just a way of trying to justify Hackett's conservatism on the Jags side of midfield. Maybe it's not a matter of trust, maybe it's just Hackett being terribly unimaginative at times. I mean - he did let him attempt some dangerous passes on second down a few times after LF was stuffed. 
 Whatever it is - I tried to justify it after the 5 or 6 times it happened this year and I've run out of justification. 

Hackett just needs to be more relentless with a lead and not abandon what works for a more predictable template that he's put on tape in several games already. 

That formation they were running out of with two backs and a trio of receivers bunched was awesome. Why scrap it when they hadn't stopped it?

(01-23-2018, 11:22 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-23-2018, 08:44 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get this stupid 'trust' issue.  They sure seemed to trust him in the Pittsburgh game.

It's just a way of trying to justify Hackett's conservatism on the Jags side of midfield. Maybe it's not a matter of trust, maybe it's just Hackett being terribly unimaginative at times. I mean - he did let him attempt some dangerous passes on second down a few times after LF was stuffed. 
 Whatever it is - I tried to justify it after the 5 or 6 times it happened this year and I've run out of justification. 

Hackett just needs to be more relentless with a lead and not abandon what works for a more predictable template that he's put on tape in several games already. 

That formation they were running out of with two backs and a trio of receivers bunched was awesome. Why scrap it when they hadn't stopped it?

I said that in-game to my wife.  Where was Grant in the second half?  I just didn't/don't get that.

(01-22-2018, 08:26 AM)JackCity Wrote: [ -> ]After being trashed and doubted all year by everyone (including myself at times) , Blake ended up being the best Jaguars player on the field yesterday.  

One of the biggest games in Jaguars history and Blake stood there and balled when several other players were invisible. Regardless of how you feel about him and his future here, he deserves a ton of respect.

Not sure I’d say best Jags player on the field...but still...Dilly Dilly!

(01-23-2018, 11:22 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-23-2018, 08:44 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get this stupid 'trust' issue.  They sure seemed to trust him in the Pittsburgh game.

It's just a way of trying to justify Hackett's conservatism on the Jags side of midfield. Maybe it's not a matter of trust, maybe it's just Hackett being terribly unimaginative at times. I mean - he did let him attempt some dangerous passes on second down a few times after LF was stuffed. 
 Whatever it is - I tried to justify it after the 5 or 6 times it happened this year and I've run out of justification. 

Hackett just needs to be more relentless with a lead and not abandon what works for a more predictable template that he's put on tape in several games already. 

That formation they were running out of with two backs and a trio of receivers bunched was awesome. Why scrap it when they hadn't stopped it?

I agree here except Hackett has shown to be very creative/imaginative/effective at times.  He’s had some real gems of drives and game this season.  He had it going in the first half.

Then...as he has WAY too often...he went into skittish mode.  I don’t know if Marrone directs him to “protect” a lead or whatever but it’s got to stop.  Going run, run, pass on multiple drives in a row is just foolish.

I think Hackett can be very good.  If I’m the HC, I develop some specific guidelines like:

- You’re only allowed to run a middle draw on first down 3x/each game (unless we have a 28 point lead)
- Stay aggressive...there is a way to stay aggressive and minimizing risk later in games if that’s the plan
- We play to win the game, I never want to see the mentality of playing “not to lose”
- Sometimes we need to pass to open up the run, assess what the defense is giving us and take it

(01-23-2018, 11:39 AM)Jest101 Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-23-2018, 11:22 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]It's just a way of trying to justify Hackett's conservatism on the Jags side of midfield. Maybe it's not a matter of trust, maybe it's just Hackett being terribly unimaginative at times. I mean - he did let him attempt some dangerous passes on second down a few times after LF was stuffed. 
 Whatever it is - I tried to justify it after the 5 or 6 times it happened this year and I've run out of justification. 

Hackett just needs to be more relentless with a lead and not abandon what works for a more predictable template that he's put on tape in several games already. 

That formation they were running out of with two backs and a trio of receivers bunched was awesome. Why scrap it when they hadn't stopped it?

I agree here except Hackett has shown to be very creative/imaginative/effective at times.  He’s had some real gems of drives and game this season.  He had it going in the first half.

Then...as he has WAY too often...he went into skittish mode.  I don’t know if Marrone directs him to “protect” a lead or whatever but it’s got to stop.  Going run, run, pass on multiple drives in a row is just foolish.

I think Hackett can be very good.  If I’m the HC, I develop some specific guidelines like:

- You’re only allowed to run a middle draw on first down 3x/each game (unless we have a 28 point lead)
- Stay aggressive...there is a way to stay aggressive and minimizing risk later in games if that’s the plan
- We play to win the game, I never want to see the mentality of playing “not to lose”
- Sometimes we need to pass to open up the run, assess what the defense is giving us and take it

We're saying the same things differently. 

I've been a staunch supporter of Hackett all season while others have bad-mouthed him. I applaud his creativity and wise use of Bortles in the vast majority of football he called this year.  It's these isolated moments of going conservative and predictable that have me flummoxed.  There were too many of them for my taste and one came at a crucial time in a huge and winnable game.

They need to hurry up and re-sign him already?

(01-23-2018, 11:44 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-23-2018, 11:39 AM)Jest101 Wrote: [ -> ]I agree here except Hackett has shown to be very creative/imaginative/effective at times.  He’s had some real gems of drives and game this season.  He had it going in the first half.

Then...as he has WAY too often...he went into skittish mode.  I don’t know if Marrone directs him to “protect” a lead or whatever but it’s got to stop.  Going run, run, pass on multiple drives in a row is just foolish.

I think Hackett can be very good.  If I’m the HC, I develop some specific guidelines like:

- You’re only allowed to run a middle draw on first down 3x/each game (unless we have a 28 point lead)
- Stay aggressive...there is a way to stay aggressive and minimizing risk later in games if that’s the plan
- We play to win the game, I never want to see the mentality of playing “not to lose”
- Sometimes we need to pass to open up the run, assess what the defense is giving us and take it

We're saying the same things differently. 

I've been a staunch supporter of Hackett all season while others have bad-mouthed him. I applaud his creativity and wise use of Bortles in the vast majority of football he called this year.  It's these isolated moments of going conservative and predictable that have me flummoxed.  There were too many of them for my taste and one came at a crucial time in a huge and winnable game.

Agreed!

He needs to create a different “default” to fall back on instead of middle draw, middle draw, pass on 3rd and long.

Maybe it’s Marrone directing the conservatism, I don’t know.

If not though, create a play-sequence that you can default to that is different than run, run, pass if you get flustered in a game.  Put it in your back pocket and pull it out if you’re uncertain what to do in a game.  The middle of a game is not the time to go into your shell.

(01-23-2018, 11:49 AM)Jest101 Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-23-2018, 11:44 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]We're saying the same things differently. 

I've been a staunch supporter of Hackett all season while others have bad-mouthed him. I applaud his creativity and wise use of Bortles in the vast majority of football he called this year.  It's these isolated moments of going conservative and predictable that have me flummoxed.  There were too many of them for my taste and one came at a crucial time in a huge and winnable game.

Agreed!

He needs to create a different “default” to fall back on instead of middle draw, middle draw, pass on 3rd and long.

Maybe it’s Marrone directing the conservatism, I don’t know.

If not though, create a play-sequence that you can default to that is different than run, run, pass if you get flustered in a game.  Put it in your back pocket and pull it out if you’re uncertain what to do in a game.  The middle of a game is not the time to go into your shell.

He needs to run out of a more "multiple" set on first downs to unstack the box. 

Like he did in the first half of that game.  Weird that they abandoned it.

---

(01-22-2018, 08:36 PM)atburg Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-22-2018, 08:03 PM)hb1148 Wrote: [ -> ]He's physically and mentally tough, athletic and works hard at his craft. He still lacks in consistent accuracy and seems to lack field vision at times. He has a lot of the qualities you'd like in a QB though, and played well for most of December and against Pittsburgh and NE. I'd like to see the Jags sign him to a short term extension at a reasonable contract and see if his growth continues. I think if your Coughlin/Caldwell you have to consider contingency plans too.

Sign him for 2-3 years, take somebody to groom in the second/third round. Bases are covered, and hope for the best!

I'd be very on-board with that approach as long as the draft prospect makes sense/looks good.

He played well enough to win the title game if the defense didn't collapse in key situations in the 2nd half and I was impressed with his poise and demeanor in the game and some of the plays he made as well. My question is if Blake had been given the ball late in the 4th 16 times this year with each game on the line, how many of them would he have driven us down the field and won? That's a tough question to answer, but my guess is he'd had done that less than half of the time. You're not likely to find a guy that does that 90% of the time, but you should keep looking at your options if you don't think you have a guy that can do it more often than not.

Fortunately for him and for us he wasn't asked to do that all that often this year because the defense performed so well and was the reason we got the lead and kept it in a lot of games. I'm not saying he can't become that guy that drives us down the field for a score late to win a game, but I'm not certain at this point and if he can't be that guy more often than not you don't stop your search for that guy just because you had a winning season. If the front office believes in him or believes there isn't a clear immediate upgrade, he'll be back.

My thing is right now I believe there may be at least one clear immediate upgrade available in Cousins if he makes it to free agency and that's a rarity in free agency at the QB position. When I get some time, I'm going to go back and watch the condensed version of Redskins games on gamepass that I missed this season to see if that opinion still holds. However, what I've seen from him over the past few years I've been more impressed with than what I've seen from Bortles so far. And statistically, he's head and shoulders better.

This team is built to win next season and for at least several more after that. If you can upgrade any position, you do it, especially the QB. If Cousins comes available, you have to take a long hard look at him and make a football decision, not an emotional, "that's my quarterback" one.

I think if Blake didn't have 19 million attached to him, I'd be all for it. But for 19-23 million, could we find someone better? Do we throw the house at Brees considering how much Payton apparently loves Mayfield? I don't think I want Cousins but Keenum, Alex Smith, Bradford? Smith will have to be through a trade but is he an upgrade? He doesn't turn the ball over and completes a high %.

This will be the biggest topic during the off-season and I don't think it's close.

(01-23-2018, 12:11 PM)Cleatwood Wrote: [ -> ]I think if Blake didn't have 19 million attached to him, I'd be all for it. But for 19-23 million, could we find someone better? Do we throw the house at Brees considering how much Payton apparently loves Mayfield? I don't think I want Cousins but Keenum, Alex Smith, Bradford? Smith will have to be through a trade but is he an upgrade? He doesn't turn the ball over and completes a high %.

This will be the biggest topic during the off-season and I don't think it's close.

As much as we can criticize Blake... I think he's earned the right to at least compete for the starting gig.
Yes 19 mil is a high price tag. But the dude seriously showed massive improvement this year. No matter which FA you choose there is no guarantee they come in and are any more effective than Blake in this system with these players. No matter what rookie you draft (outside of the top 1-2 guys perhaps) will come in and be able to do what a 5th year Blake will be able to do.
This roster won't be the same in 3-4 years. Gotta capitalize on the talent and momentum we have going.

Ideally you play Blake on his option and draft a guy in rounds 2 or 3 (saving round 1 for a mauling guard or pass catching TE). We'll know early next year if Blake is continuing his upward trend. If he's improving we can extend him and develop the young guy. If he doesn't, we start the rookie in his second year (or the rookie gets some late season games).
The only other option I can see happening is Blake is signed to some sort of 15 mil per year 3 year type deal with an easy out after a season or two, but the need to draft a developmental rookie in rounds 2-3 is still there.

With how Blake performed this season, he isn't elite, but he's a good competitor who has shown he can improve and succeed. We shouldn't be looking to lock him up for 25 mil a year for 8 years... but it would be foolish to completely revamp the entire QB room with an unknown vet (especially a high priced one) and a green rookie.

Brees likely to return to NOLA.
Keenum likely to get paid (or franchised)
Cousins doesn't look like he'll be worth the money he will be getting.
Any veteran that requires trading for is investing big money and picks in... which is doubling down on 1 unknown.

I think the best bet for this team right now is to load up talent around Bortles. Shore up the OL, TE, and WR (lots of unknowns with AR, Lee, Hurns, and some young guys) positions.
On D, more depth and youth on DL and perhaps upgrading the safety spot (FS and SS). If BB5 falters in 2018, the roster would be better built for a rookie or 2nd year guy to take over.