Quote:The all recent HOF QBs also look like punks when their O-Line breaks down...   That's what I'm hanging my hat on...  

 

Brady is a chump when he doesn't have a clean pocket.  But he can pick D's apart when he has some time and trust.

 

BB5, once he figures out D's and has a better O-line may very well be better than Brady...

 

Let's just let this play out.

 

As is the common vernacular, in terms of the O-Line, help is NOT on the way.

 

So BB5 is gonna get some trial by fire.  But I don't think it means he's gonna turn into a Gabbert or Kyle Boller type player.  

 

He's got the skills.  He just needs time and an O-line.  He'll be fine

 

My issue isn't Bortles being good with a bad offensive line. My issue isn't Bortles ever learning how to read a defense.

 

My issue is Bortles being young and inexperienced trying to do too much to overcompensate for the lack of an offensive line and picking up bad tendencies that will plague him the rest of his career. The issue with Gabbert was that he got nervous in the pocket because he didn't know what a clean pocket was. He started tucking the ball and expecting the sack. Then he started taking his eyes off deep plays because he didn't think he had time to let plays develop. Then he started running from imaginary pressure. He started throwing the ball with iffy mechanics, just to get the ball out in time. Those mental issues are the types of issues that, so far, have yet to be fixed in a QB. If you know of a young QB whose internal clock got broken and came back to be successful, please let me know; I'll feel a lot better about Bortles' situation. I just can't think of a single player who has seen their internal clock broken, and be successful.

 

Tom Brady, a player who has been incredible for more than a decade, having to deal with his first bad offensive line, is a different situation. I'm not as worried about him getting back to form next year when the offensive line is potentially fixed. I trust Brady to not fall back into unsound fundamentals. I trust Brady to not have his internal clock messed up as much as a rookie, because he's had time in the NFL before. But, Bortles hasn't. We've seen rookie QB's behind lines that can't block who start rushing their decisions, and throws. They don't come back from that. That's what I'm afraid of with Bortles. That after an entire season behind this line, even when he does have time in the future, he'll still be rushing his decisions and throws, because instead of thinking he has time his internal clock says he's got 1-3 seconds before the play breaks down.

 

If this was a mediocre line, I'd be there with you. I have no reason to question Bortles' ability to be an elite QB in an average situation. But this isn't an average situation. Its not even half-decent. This is the worst offensive line I've ever seen. Even you're starting to see the effects this line is having on Bortles. I, and I'm pretty sure all of us, just hope they're not long-term effects. But we won't know until next year when, hopefully, the line looks competent. Until then, the worst case scenario at this point, is for Bortles to be broken.

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