(06-10-2019, 01:55 PM)Upper Wrote:

(06-10-2019, 12:30 PM)Bullseye Wrote: Explain his success against Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Average, and even bad, has good days every now and then. Just look at Bortles and Gabbert.

So in 3 games against Pittsburgh, two of which were in Pittsburgh, one a playoff game, and one here with a dilapidated offensive line and little other help on offense, he mustered 385 yards, or 128 yards a game.  Keep in mind, Pittsburgh was 4th against the run in '17 and 7th last year.  That is average?!?


18 Carries for 95 yards (greater than 5 ypc) is "bad?"

The argument was that because Alabama, a strong college defense, controlled him in college and all NFL defenses are better than college defenses, then Fournette would be shut down in the NFL.

But  Fournette showed in these games he could be productive against NFL defenses.

Comparisons with prior Jaguars busts at QB, that is also unpersuasive.

First, there is a strong argument that despite the inconsistency, Bortles has talent to play in the NFL,even if his production did not justify the pick.  First, it has been established that Houston considered taking him first overall.  While teams botch picks on QBs all the time, he would not have received such consideration if the Houston front office didn't think he had the innate talent to play.  Second, he holds some Jaguars passing records.  Dismiss them as garbage time records as you wish, but guys without the talent to play don't do that, garbage time or not.  Furthermore, he raised his level of play in the second half of the '17 season, and played damn good football in 2 of the 3 playoff games. In the playoffs, team weaknesses at QB are exploited.  Two strong defenses could not stop Bortles at home.  Finally, even after his release, the Rams picked him up immediately.  To remind you, they are coached by a guy many league insiders believe is the best young offensive mind in the game.  That wouldn't happen if it was a certainty Bortles did not have the talent to play.

Where comparisons to Gabbert and Boftles make sense are the intangibles.  Most Jaguars fans feel Gabbert was terrified in the pocket.  Many of the same fans said Bortles didn't take his craft seriously.  Rumors of his bar hopping and carousing were rampant throughout his stay here.  The biggest criticism of Fournette here surrounds his intangibles.  From the violation of team rules that led to his suspension his rookie year, to his running off the bench to fight in Buffalo leading to last year's suspension, to reports he doesn't have a firm grasp of the playbook, to his sideline ambivalence  in the season finale, to the failure to pay the ticket and subsequent suspended license and brief incarceration,  to missing OTAs this year when he needs to be here to earn the coaches' trust, to me it's a much stronger argument that intangibles and not innate physical talent, is where Fournette is lacking as a player.

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