Quote:Another consideration for you guys and gals:

 

The rookie QB W-L records I provided includes rookies who were, by no stretch of the imagination, franchise signal callers, but had rookie success by going to teams who were veteran laden teams with great defenses.

 

Kyle Boller went 5-4 as a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens in 2003.  The Ravens had the 3rd ranked defense that year, and had certain Hall of Famers Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and a great player in Terrell Suggs.

 

Shaun King went 4-1 as a rookie starter on the 1999 Bucs team that held the greatest show on turf Rams team to 11 points at home in the conference championship team.  That Bucs team had Hall of Famers in Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, and a possible Hall of Famer in John Lynch.

 

Kerry Collins went 7-6 as a rookie starter in Carolina in their inaugural year in 1995.  However, anyone who watched that team knew they weren't the typical expansion team.  They had a defense that featured possible Hall of Famer LB Sam Mills and veterans like LB Carlton Bailey and Lamar Lathon, DBs Tim McKyer and Bubba McDowell, and NT Greg Kragen. That team was built for immediate success, and Kerry Collins was the beneficiary.

 

Roethlisberger certainly qualifies as a franchise signal caller.  He went to the Steelers in 2004 and enjoyed unprecedented success, going 13-0 as a rookie.  However, like those above, he too, was the beneficiary of a dominant and veteran laden defense, which included pro bowlers in SS Troy Polamalu, LB James Farrior, LB Joey Porter, DE Aaron Smith, and future 5 time Pro Bowler NT Casey Hampton.

 

Neither Bortles nor Bradley had the benefit of any of that quality of player or defense.

 

I think anyone examining this objectively would agree it would be unfair to hold Bortles and Bradley to those standards of performance, given the disparity in talent and experience between the current Jaguars and those teams where rookie QBs succeeded.