Quote:If that's the approach you want to take, then Bortles should be starting now if he's better than Henne. That isn't the approach we've been told is being taken, though. Bortles is sitting until he's ready to play, not until he's the best option. If that's the case now, why would it change just because Henne sucks?


To put it another way, if Bortles ends up sitting behind Henne despite being the better quarterback, why would you think it's impossible for him to then end up sitting behind Stanzi despite being the better quarterback?

 

Here's my issue with this:  Bradley has said from day one that this team is all about competition.  Every position is a competition for playing time and the guy who wins that competition will play.  Why is it now so different for the QB's?  I just don't think he can talk about competition all the time then say that Henne is the starter even though Bortles clearly is the better player (if he continues to show).

 

Quote:My thoughts on Blake that don't deserve it's own thread. Here are my thoughts on Blake Bortles. There's some things that separate Blake from Blaine, and I'll be making excuses for Blake and Blaine. I say this because I think the excuses I make for Blaine can be an absolute positive for Blake

1. Blake is just better than Blaine

Bortles is simply more talented than Gabbert who although had the prototypical NFL size like Bortles, Bortles has shown that he can utilize his size, speed, and arm talent more.

2. Bortles has more talent around him

This is where I make an excuse for Gabbert that bodes well for Blake's success. A lot of times, Gabbert had Jason Hill and Mike Thomas as his #1 and #2 receivers. A younger Cecil Shorts and an oft-suspended Blackmon. He did have MJD and Marcedes, but for the most part, he didn't have the receivers and protection that Blake will. Not here to argue whether he would have been better as we've seen his San Fran debut, but it's hard to argue that he had talent. Blake who has talent and talent around him from Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Cecil Shorts, Ace Sanders, Mike Brown, Toby Gerhart, Marcedes Lewis, the O-Line talent, and even D-Rob!

3. Coaching continuity

If you include Mel Tucker, Gabbert has had 5 Head Coaches in 4 years. Not including his college coach Gary Pinkel, he's gone from JDR to Mel Tucker to Mularkey to Gus to Harbaugh. This guy hasn't seen the same leader at te helm in a long, long time. I think little things like this matters. More likely than not, Blake will have that opportunity. He'll go into his second season with the same coach and same offense.

3. Defense!

The best offense is a good defense, right? Blake will have what Gabbert didn't: a formidable defense. Assuming that our defense stays on track, we're looking at a pretty talented bunch. Poz, Smith, Mince, and Pottoast lead Gabbert's team. All good players, but not nearly as talented as the D we have now.

5. Bortles just shows up!

Blaine always flashed his talent, but it was rarely seen on the field. He probably prepared well and knew the offenses, but he just didn't show up on GAMEDAY. Even one game, Bortles showed more stuff that goes beyond stats. Scramble ability, toughness, throwing or the run, throwing with pressure in your face. If he didn't have a couple of drops, his stat line would "look" better. But he just shows up. He flashes potential, but he definitely is a gamer as well.

 

Why are you talking about Blaine Gabbert?  Gabbert doesn't compare in any catagory to Bortles.

 

Quote:Against pretty much no pass rush. Throw him up against a team blitzing heavily and it could be a different story, and one with a less happy ending.

 

Of all the teams we play, Houston blitzed the most last season (46% of dropbacks).  Houston only allowed 200 passing yards per game, but that's because they were behind so much that other teams ran the ball more.  Even though they only allowed 200 passing yards per game, the average opposing team QB rating was 94 because they allowed 29 passing TD's (tied for 5th most in the league) to only 7 INT's (fewest in the league).  To me, that shows that their blitzes didn't have the effect they wanted.  So that's just one example of why I'm not afraid of blitz packages.  If you want another example, the Jags blitzed the least of all 32 teams (only 17%) and our defense was improving at the end of the year.  (Blitz source: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/20...blitzing/)

 

When Bortles was under pressure, he made the right decisions.  One was a big completion for a first down as he was getting hit.  The other was a sack he took where he did the right thing by not trying to force anything when he realized he was being hit.  The game isn't too big for him.  

 

Henne is hot garbage even when the opposing teams aren't blitzing.  Let it go.  Start the kid.

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