Quote:We're being told Blake Bortles is being given time to develop this season, while Henne leads the team through the campaign. The right decision.


But assuming it turns out that way and Bortles isn't suddenly thrust into the action, what are the limits of learning from the sideline ?


He'll get the chance to learn the playbook, work with experienced players and have his mechanics tweaked by the coaches. But are there some things you can only learn from competitive matches ?


Or can 99% of it be leant without leaving the training field ?

 

Every situation is unique, and circumstance will always play a major role and factor. With that said. It sure looks like sitting for a few years didn't hurt Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, and even Eli Manning (to an extent), he didn't start his rookie season, he ended up taking over for a banged up and "the year that he would like to forget that even exists in his record book" Kurt Warner. And then of course, for every situation like those, you'll get your Ben Rothelisberger, Joe Flacco, Russel Wilson, Andrew Luck, or Matt Ryan.

 

It's very tricky. The one thing that you can argue with is that Rivers sat behind Brees and Rodgers sat behind Favre. I am sure that truly went a long way from a developmental perspective for both of them being on the sidelines and learning how to study film and prepare on a weekly basis. And naturally, with Eli, you can just throw out the fact that it was just in his blood man, he's a Manning, and he throws a football. He was just destined to be a winning QB at this level.

 

Personally, I dont think he's going to sit the entire season. I think he'll end up being in the starting line-up around mid-season or week 10 to be quite honest with you. And it'll be probably due to Henne's inconsistency as a QB, which is exactly how he's always played from MIA and even through his last two years here in Jacksonville. One minute you love the guy's decision making, and then the next, you want to kick your TV through the wall because he forced a pass that he shouldn't have forced.

 

Also, what if Bortles goes through all of the trouble of learning Jedd Fisch's system and play-book this year, ONLY to see him leave after this year to take-on a different coaching gig or job elsewhere? Then it's like learning how to ride a bike all over again for the kid. Believe it or not, that probably worries me more than anything. Alex Smith emediately comes to mind. People forget that Alex had a different offensive coordinator virtually every year when he was in SF. And the same can be said for Jason Campbell when he was in Washington earlier on during his career. Those two guys didn't really get a fair shake with a consistent coaching staff in place.

 

With Rodgers, he ALWAYS had McCarthy. With Manning (NYG), he ALWAYS had Gilbride. And then, with Roethislberger and Luck, those guys BOTH had Bruce Arians as their QB/OC coach and mentor. And we all know that the guy is absolutely pivotal when it comes to QB nature and development. If you look at what he just did with Carson Palmer in short time in ARZ last year. I think it's a legit statement about Arians being a QB Guru at this level.

 

So, I don't know. It's a catch 22 with Bortles man. All I know is that, if they feel that he's not ready to start. It's simple, DO NOT START HIM.

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