(12-20-2018, 06:55 PM)Caldrac Wrote:

(12-20-2018, 06:49 PM)Steelers Beaches Wrote: I know I will be beat up and told this is far too simplistic of an explanation, etc., but I feel there is weight to it: They drafted BB because they thought he was the next Big Ben. 

That was the label entering the draft, but unfortunately for Jag fans, there is a LOT more to being another Ben as roughly sharing the same size as him. 

I remember I was at Sneaker's Sports Grill in Jax Beach during that draft, and when the Jags picked Bortles, I said it then and there, "That's a terrible pick." 

There is so much more to what makes Ben good then his size. More than anything it's his intangibles, which Blake has none of. 

Also, Ben has a nice, clean throwing motion compared to Blake's bizarre corkscrew throwing motion, which gives defenders a full half second extra to know where he is throwing, which, 
in the NFL is an eternity. (Leftwich had a similar problem with telegraphing where he was throwing - albeit a different screwed up throwing motion). 

Ben is far from perfect (as we saw in both games vs. Jags last season) but he is better than most QBs out there and is a "winner." He can (not always) find a way to win in
less than ideal circumstances. Blake will never be a QB like that. And he will never attain Ben's level of play. I know I maybe stating the obvious now, but I never thought
Blake would ever come close to providing the play of Big Ben. 

Jags got to find a QB in order to advance. Where they can find one will be explored in another thread.

Doesn't really matter anymore. He's out. The problem was that he was never supposed to start his rookie season. They knew he was a work in progress. A project if you will. Bortles never had a natural throwing motion to begin with. He always had to work on that in the off season.

I will say that he's a tough kid. And I think he'll ultimately have plenty of offers and phone calls in a few months to be a solid back up or maybe even start again someday down the road just like we've seen with Gabbert. Some guys are late bloomers. Some guys just need a change of scenery. And then just like that. They're making good headlines. 

It can happen with him. Just not here now. The Big Ben comparison also came about because of his "backyard" style of football. The running around, breaking tackles, making defenders miss, the throwing on the run, etc. That's really where all of that came from.

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The biggest difference though? Ben was drafted by a World Class Franchise. A Franchise that has typically had it's [BLEEP] together for many years now. Blake was drafted by a start up General Manager, a defensive minded head coach and a start up Owner. Tremendously different starting points.