(02-13-2020, 02:23 PM)Bullseye Wrote:

(02-13-2020, 12:13 PM)anonymous2112 Wrote: It isn't ALL about the QB, but when you have a good one in place, you can address other issues.  Teams like the Saints, Pats, Packers, Steelers and Seahawks can keep talent and acquire talent better than we can because one key position has been filled.

The Jags gave Bortles an extension that he kinda earned, but then didn't live up to, and then signed Foles and are now on the hook for his cap space.  Bad deals both, and the kind of mistakes that the teams listed above don't make because, well, they don't have to.

On the plus side, that great defense made the Jags have to make some of the tough choices good teams regularly deal with.  How to keep Campbell, Dareus, Yan, Bouye, AND Ramsey?  We can't.  So at least we got something for Ramsey.  Hopefully we'll keep the right guys from the others in the list. I'll argue that even though we haven't had as much success as the Steelers or Pats, the Jags ARE following the natural progression of replacement of good veteran players by intelligent use of the draft and inexpensive free agency.  When we get to the point that we're not chasing QBs, I think we'll enjoy a bit more success.

(02-13-2020, 12:15 PM)Rico Wrote: But that's what does make it all about a top flight quarterback.  Once you stop searching for that you can concentrate on other areas.

I don't fully buy that.

What does purging the roster of viable talent have to do with finding a QB?

Unless you are "Tanking for Tua" as the Dolphins are often alleged to have done last year (bitterly denied by Flores), I don't see where it serves that purpose.

Besides, it isn't as if QBs are a franchise's sole purpose of drafting until they find one.  It isn't as if QB needy teams draft nothing but QBs in rounds 1-7.  They address other positions.  

The Ravens went from Vinny INTerceptaverde to Trent Dilfer to Elvis Grbac to Kyle Boller before finally hitting on Flacco in 2008.  But they didn't stop accumulating talent at other positions, drafting Ray Lewis, Jon Ogden, Chris mcAllister, Todd Heap, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata, among others, during that span.  They didn't purge that talent during that search.

The same holds true for the Greatest Show on Turf Rams.  They went from Tony Bamks for years until they stumbled upon Kurt Warner.  Between that time, they added guys like Orlando Pace, Kevin Carter, Leonard Little, Dre Bly, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

Besides, finding your QB or thinking you found himdoes not guarantee you can sctually fill in the pieces around him.  Jacksonville thought it had it's QB in Leftwich, and then tried to add in pieces around him to give hm help.  But just about all of their efforts to give him help failed.  They missed on first round WRs in Reggie Williams and Matt Jones.  They were never able to add a competent LT.  Attempts to bloster WR in free agency failed with the Porter signing and the Northcutt trade.

Franchises have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.