Look. Anyone who can't see the improvement from last year to this in the first game is simply ignoring reality because of a loss. This time last year, the Jags didn't look competitive from the opening kick of opening day. We got a half of good football this week, then they ran out of gas and couldn't keep up. That's marked improvement from 2013. The trajectory hasn't changed for this team.

Agreed. There is huge improvement. The only problem today was learning how to finish a team off. The team is light years ahead of where I thought they would be. 

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Or he would have taken a beating behind that line and the end result would be the same.


That's the more likely scenario. He wouldn't be catching those dropped passes or plugging those missed blocks in the second half. He also wouldn't be creating lanes for the running game, or playing safety.

This is true as well lol

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You're wasting your time.

We are all wasting our time.

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Agreed. There is huge improvement. The only problem today was learning how to finish a team off. The team is light years ahead of where I thought they would be.

That's what I saw. A young team that just doesn't know how to finish off an opponent.


Again, that's what this year is about. This is a young team that was playing above their ability in the first half. Then reality kicked in.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

 

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This mentality by football fans is kind of silly. It's oversimplifying the matter. If you don't understand how playing behind a garbage O-Line with  no running game and a bunch of rookie receivers can hurt a QB's development when the focus of that development is to completely rework their lower body mechanics then you've never played the position, or football in general. It has nothing to do with Bortles getting shell shocked, he literally won't be able to improve the things they want him to and will regress back to his old habits under these conditions, it's inevitable. Bortles and the team will be better off maintaining the course. Most of the people screaming for Bortles didn't even want him in the first place, now they're second guessing the guys who got us him in the first place. smh. Caldwell said from the beginning he knew Bortles had a high floor and probably expected him to outplay Henne, but he also knows Bortles can be even better given proper time to work on his fundamentals. I'd rather wait and get a Bortles who is consistently elite than toss him out there early because of knee jerk fanbase reaction and get a Bortles that is inconsistent and may never have the time to smooth out those inconsistencies because you couldn't wait an extra couple weeks/months.

 

No, you're over-complicating the mental aspect of the game of football. These are grown men we're talking about. If he's a good learner, he'll pick up every mechanic he's taught, he'll realize it works better than the previous method of his mechanic, and he won't regress from that regardless of how bad his line is. Please stop perpetuating this myth that every quarterback is Blaine Gabbert and David Carr, especially when the very pro quarterback he's often compared to is a rookie quarterback who won 15 straight games with one of the worst offensive lines in the league his rookie year.

 

His first game is an inevitability. Keeping him on the bench is not going to change that. It's not going to make a difference for how he reacts in that first game, whether it's next week or next year, because watching doesn't slow the game down, playing does. The same principle applies to the average person learning to drive.

 

People didn't want Bortles to start because of the comparisons made to Blaine Gabbert. But Blaine Gabbert was a bad quarterback and really showed nothing of the mental game in college.

 

And you know what? A bad quarterback can also hinder the development of receivers. You saw that much from Cecil Shorts where he often wasn't even looking for the ball until 3rd downs because of how often the quarterback checked down his first and second year in the league.

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I don't care how you feel one way or another, but it's not foolish or "silly" of fans to want to start Bortles, especially when there's plenty of valid points in favor of it.

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THERE IS A SKELETON INSIDE OF YOU.

 

RIGHT NOW. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.

We are all wasting our time.

Not really. That first half was one of the more entertaining we've seen in years. As the team matures, those performances will carry into the second half. This is still one of the youngest teams in the league. They gave Philly more than they expected today.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

My opinion has been that Blake needs to play and nothing today changed that.  He has earned and deserves the opportunity and he should be developing around the young players he will be playing with in the future.   The fans deserve better and if this staff really believes all the crap they say about Chad I don't know what to say.  Chad Henne is a decent backup that's been forced to start far too long.  He's as inconsistent as they come and he's displayed that his entire career.

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Not really. That first half was one of the more entertaining we've seen in years. As the team matures, those performances will carry into the second half. This is still one of the youngest teams in the league. They gave Philly more than they expected today.

I agree with this. I was talking about the starting/sitting Bortles debate. I share my opinion on the matter, but realize that my posts don't actually make a difference. I even know that I won't be able to convince any one on the board to change his or her opinion.

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So I wasn't able to watch the game but from what I know went down... I'm just happy we competed with this team. Obviously I'd prefer the win but we were legit dominating one of the premier NFC teams in Week 1. Shutting out one of the league's more prolific offenses. Seeing our offense, particularly Hurns, kick some booty. Our front line talent was superior to theirs. However, when the depth came in, when our starters got tired, that's when we lost our momentum. So this tells me that our front line talent can compete with the upper echelon teams (and this without BB in) while our depth isn't at the same level. That's GOOD news.

 

You guys said you wanted to be competitive in games... And then in the first game wherein we compete and lose, you're calling for blood. Come on now.

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"Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." Galatians 5:26

2015 NFL Draft - Analyzing Targets www.jungle.jaguars.com/index.php?/topic/7892-2015-nfl-draft-analyzing-targets/

come on, we are tied with indy for second in the division things are getting better. we competed with a team that is predicted to win its division and possibly be a SB contender. I think its the first game some changes will be made to correct the mental lapses and we will be 500 at the end of next week. no need to jump off the train yet.

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I was proud of our performance in the first half - we shocked the NFL and one of the best offenses in the league. I doubt Foles and the Eagles get shut out like that again this season.


I believe we wilted in the second half because of a lack of belief and mental toughness as much as anything.


And you have to give credit to the Eagles too - they are a very good team.

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It's not that laughable. I think Bortles would have engineered two scoring drives in the second half through his ability to run alone. It isn't out of the realm to think he is the better option than Henne right now because I honestly believe that but I understand what the front office is trying to accomplish. They see the bigger picture and not just this year.

And of course if Bortles had gifted us two extra touchdowns we would still have lost - 31-34...

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The Jags showed vastly improved defense and flashes on offense and only regressed when Cyprien went out and the team ran out of gas. This is just year 2 of a massive rebuild and for a half we shutout a supposed super bowl contender with an offense that was SUPPOSED to dominate us end to end. I think everyone needs to take it all in and calm down. In the grand picture we showed improvement today and what happened after Cyprien went out really confirms how big of a player he is for us on defense and the talk about him isn't just hype.

 

 

I was proud of our performance in the first half - we shocked the NFL and one of the best offenses in the league. I doubt Foles and the Eagles get shut out like that again this season.


I believe we wilted in the second half because of a lack of belief and mental toughness as much as anything.

And you have to give credit to the Eagles too - they are a very good team.

 

Both excellent points.  I honestly thought that we were going to get blown out bad for the whole game.  I was beside myself watching the performance in the first half.  I even turned to my wife and asked "OK, who are these guys and what did they do with the Jaguars"?

 

If you look at most predictions by people on this board, many don't give us a chance of finishing the season any better than 8-8 at best.  That means that we are going to lose at least half of the games.

 

It's not like I think that losing is acceptable, but if the team is going to lose, at least be competitive.  The Jaguars were competitive playing against one of the league's best teams.  Had this game taken place last season, the loss would have been by 40+ points with any points being put up by the Jaguars happening in the 4th quarter during "garbage time".

 

Despite the loss yesterday, I'm happy with what I'm seeing.  They will continue to get better.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Did any of you expect 17-0 at half?

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The arguments to defend Henne or any bad QB for that matter is and will always be that he has no running game and no protection.

 

This is often backward logic.

 

Defenses will load the box against an unproven/sub par QB to force him to beat them with the pass. The running game consequently struggles and becomes an argument to defend the QB.

 

Then on 3rd down defenses blitz the hell out of him because there is a high probability that QB won't be able to make them pay. He gets then sacked, hurried, or hit and casual viewers say he has no protection.

 

 

Don't excuse the QB when he can't beat a 8 man box or an all out blitz.

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Perspective...that's really it.


My hope before the game had been to at least be in the game at halftime. AND, for no key players to get hurt..


I was blown away with excitement (watching in a bar wasn't easy). Especially since this was THE game I wanted to win all season.


That 1st half D was monster, especially Ball's endzone pick, YEAH !!!


The o-line did great considering the inexperience. I thought the D did a fantastic job on McCoy, and Sproles too really...give the TD to Gus.


NO turnovers till it didn't matter!


Special teams - nice job overall. I'm not gonna quibble over a missed 50 yarder early on, or the block. Coverage and tackling not bad, tho I think we should have avoided Sproles on the punts..


I wish Lee could have come down with the long one, it was there, but so were 3 dangerous DBs.


Hurns, well, he's the man! Brown did his job, and I was happy with Marcedes' contributions. Henne looked like a man who gave it his all when he sat down after the 4th down misconnect.. which I put on the coaches. PUNT that one, that was an insane call, and the worst mis-step of the game. Don't care what anyone says...


My perspective is Gus and Dave have put together a team, they played great as a group, everyone stepped up to the challenge, and despite the disappointment, I was just happy to see some good playcalls, shots down the field, sacks and turnovers, good tackling, minimal over-celebrations. GREAT GAME, err 1/2..

Chad played bravely, and preparedly, but I want BB!

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