I've seen a lot of knee jerk reactions on here. I think it's worth providing context for a lot of the things that are being talked about.

1st - Ramsey's ankle was definitely not at 100% he wasn't making the cuts/breaks on the ball that i've been accustomed to seeing from him. He looked a little slower than he did during the preseason but kudos to him to tough it out. I love the media praising beckham but not mentioning that Ramsey stacked the "defeats" category. Cool Odell gets 15 yards on 3rd and 20 .. but Jalen makes the stop and gets his unit off the field, the stat sheet may make it seem like OBJ had his way but the tape says Ramsey and co. won convincingly. I'm beyond unworried about Ramsey, when they did play man (assuming he wasn't getting hit with an uncalled illegal pick by Shephard etc.) it was near the redzone or on 3rd down and Eli would look off Odell to Engram etc. .. They couldn't convert using their biggest weapon when they needed to. While the soft zone coverage and "bend but don't break" approach was maddening I can't really argue it because it worked and we came away with the W.

2nd - Bortles, I have 5 points that need be considered in regards to his performance. Point 1: His top 3 guys from the previous few years: ARob, Hurns & Lee are all out, not to mention Marcedes. Cole and Westbrook really only got snaps towards the back half of last year, they're both 2nd year players who haven't had time to build rapport with Bortles. 

Point 2: As ppl are freaking out about his pick, I'm over here thinking "yea he could've put it a little further upfield, but Moncrief needs to go up for that ball, and I'm glad Bortles recognized man coverage and took the shot in a 1v1 matchup where the WR had 5 inches plus wingspan on the cornerback." Also Moncrief appeared to run the wrong route a bunch of times (maybe this was more evident at the game then it was for you guys watching on TV?) there was a route where bortles appeared to unrushed throw the ball 10 yards behind him, and all i could think was that the route was supposed to be a "comeback" instead of a fade/backshoulder; seeing as how Moncrief was pulled after that play and didn't resurface I think that he was being reprimanded for not knowing the playbook and/or being on the wrong page. 

Point 3: A lot of well placed balls were dropped, Westbrook had one on the first drive that hit him square in the numbers .. I know you're young but you have to catch that ball Dede!! Moncrief had another, Niles Paul had a bad one despite the CB getting his hand on it, and they happened intermittenly all day; Blake is what he is but when he does hold up on his end we have to have to have to help him out.

Point 4: I didn't really consider this until I saw the DVR when i got home ... The rain was more apparent of a factor at the game than it was on TV. Watching the screen unless you squint or pay close attention it didn't even seem like it was raining. The field was very slick and despite those conditions Bortles didn't seem to have a poor grip or lose his handle on the ball. His spiral looked much improved from last year to now and overall I think he was generally making good decisions.

Point 5: The left side of the OLine. Norwell stood out in a negative way, missing all that time over the summer/preseason did him no favors in a new offense, looked like there was a fair bit of communication issues as his man ended up in the backfield quite a bit. Cam Robinson needs to reign it in as well, his undisciplined penalties killed some drives and he got caught offbalance and using poor technique more times than i'm comfortable with, he reminds me of Khalif Barnes' 2.0 and if he doesn't make progress over the course of the season they may have to weight options at LT and look toward grooming Cam to be a RT. In a game where Olivier Vernon sat .. his replacement shouldn't have been making this much noise give how highly regarded our Oline was supposed to be, especially that left side!


All of this is stuff we can get cleaned up. I think the playcalling was just ok, and against the patriots i'd like to see them open it up a bit, more 2 back sets. Call the Deep Over route which Keelan Cole excels at and is clearly the best throw in Bortle's repertoire. Lee's consistency on crossing routes and 3rd downs was missed more than i thought; I'm hoping they groom dede in practice this week to try and step up into that role to provide a safety net for Blake. I'd also like to see more DJ Chark on offense and wayyyyyy less Donte Moncrief, that man looks like Tarzan plays like Jane. At this point get reps for the rookie and expedite his development, he can't be tangibly worse than Moncrief although I'm not privy to the going's on of practice. All in all, we'll be fine, Bortles' will be ok, we'll be at home without the weather, and a week to iron out the mishaps, we're on track just keep calm and carry on!!

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