Quote:As much as Vic despised the notion that he was a "company man", even sending those who accused him of such to the Ask Vic Hall of Fame, there are still some lines he didn't cross. Calling the QB that the team had invested a top-ten pick (and a second-round pick) in a year ago what he was--an abject failure--was one of them. He was very rarely a harsh critic of any one player, or a persistent critic of the coaching staff, usually deflecting such questions. I don't doubt that the guy had stronger opinions than what he would write, but was aware of how it would look if the Jaguars' website was calling Gabbert a bust in his second training camp or openly suggesting that Del Rio should be fired. Even if Weaver never told him to walk on eggshells, Vic was certainly aware of how other sports outlets, particularly in the digital age, would pick up the story, run with it, and cause headaches for everyone involved. As I recall, he particularly detested PFT because Florio was not a journalist and would routinely run stories with no fact-checking or source verification in the interest of getting to be the guy who broke it.

 

Of course, in Vic's defense with Gabbert, Vic lived through an era of football where quarterbacks would routinely sit for 3-5 years before taking over as the starter. These days, if a highly-drafted QB sits for three years behind a vet, he's a bust (remember when that word was being tossed around about Aaron Rodgers?). If Gabbert had been allowed to ride the pine behind Garrard for three years, his career might have turned out differently. Might not have, who knows, but Vic saying that a young Gabbert needed more seasoning certainly wasn't something I would mark up to pure company man-ism.