Quote:Bullseye, thanks for the fun assignment. If it's alright, I though the best way to do this is to compare Bortles second year roster to Luck's second year roster. Here is what we have so far:

 

Colst 2013-2014 Roster

QB: Luck

OL: Castonzo, Linkenbach, Setele, Thornton, Cherilus

RB: T. Richardson, D. Brown

RE: Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, D. Heyward-Bey, L. Brazill

TE: Fleener, Doyle (Allen on IR)

DL: Jean-Francois, J. Chapman, Cory Redding

LB: Mathis, Walden, Werner,  ILB: Freeman, McNary

CB: V. Davis, C. Vaughn, D. Butler

S:  Bethea, Landry

SP: McAfee, Overton, Vinitieri

 

2015-2016 Jaguars Roster:

QB: Bortles

OL: Joeckel, Beadles, Wisnewski, Linder/Cann, Parnell

RB: Yeldon, Robinson

TE: J. Thomas, M. Lewis

DL: Clemons, Odrick, Miller, Branch, Marks

LB: Posluszny, Smith, Skuta

CB: House, Colvin, Gratz

S: Cyprien, Brown

SP: Anger, Myers, Tinker

 

Offense:

QB: As mentioned in your post, I would give the edge to Luck at the QB position, but I certainly understand the argument for Bortles.

OL: Both team's O-lines' need work. I would give the edge to Castonzo at LT and a push between Parnell and Cherilus. All of the others can be graded out evenly, as average to below average.

RB: I would give the edge to Yeldon over the Colts starter, T-Rich, but would give the edge to D. Brown over Robinson. Overall, I tend to think that the Jaguars had a better RB situation.

RE: 1st RE: Wayne played well to start the season, but went on season ending IR. I give the nod to A. Robinson. 2nd: T.Y. vs. Hurns: I give the edge to T.Y (although could go either way). Overall, the Jaguars had a better receiving corps.

TE: The Colts best TE, D. Allen, was on season ending IR. Fleener and J. Thomas is a push, and Doyle Vs. Lewis probably favors Lewis, or can be a push. Overall, it appears that Jags have the advantage or to be even at the TE position.

 

Defense:

DL: The colts had a really bad D-line. Neither Chapman, Jean-Francois, or Redding are with the team any longer and aside from Redding, their play was average to below average. Advantage goes to the Jags who have done a nice job building the D-line and continue to do so.

LB: The Colts had better outside rush with Mathis at OLB, and Walden helping out.

ILB: Freeman at ILB for the Colts. For the Jags, Smith at ILB, Poz when healthy too. advantage Jags. The Colts second ILB was McNary/ K. Sheppard.

CB: The Colts have Vontae Davis, advantage Colts. D. Butler played well at the nickle CB position. Advantage Colts in the secondary.

S: Bethea played his final season with the Colts and played well. Landry was decent. Advantage Colts.

SP: McAfee, and Vinitieri -- advantage Colts.

 

Conclusion:

The comparison between the two teams show that the Colts had a slightly better O-line, (although both were below average), however the Jags had a better receiving corps, RB corps, and TE corps. Overall, the Jaguars had a better offense. 

 

On defense, the Jaguars had the better D-line but the Colts had a better outside rush. The Jaguars ILBs were better, but the Colts had a better secondary and safety tandem. Overall, the Colts had a better defense. In 2013, the Colts defense ranked #20 giving up 336 points in the season, while in the past year, the Jaguars defense ranked #24 giving up 448 points in the season. Overall, I would argue that neither team had a good defense, but the Colts clearly had the better one.

 

The Colts also had a better special teams. The difference between the two team's defenses and special teams would lead me to think that it justifies the disparity between the two team' win totals. The Colts had a better defense to go along with a good (not great) offense. If you take coaching into perspective, it could further justify the disparity between the win totals. I think the Colts have better coaching and also have a 'wining culture' which motivates the players to think they could win any game, which was evident in their wins against the 49ers, Super Bowl Champion Seahawks, and Super Bowl participant Broncos in 2013.

 

Just want to be clear, are saying that Luck in 2013 with 23 TDs was the better QB than Bortles in 2015 with 35 TDs, or are you just saying how you feel about them in the general sense regardless of the year you're picking out?

 

Like I said, if the Jaguars defense holds teams to 336 points in 2015 instead of 448 how many more wins do you figure Bortles gets? How does that affect the perception of him? Second in the NFL in TD passes in his second year and easily winning the AFCS if the defense allows 112 less points.

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