Quote:Passing yardage isn't a really significant stat, so the notion that him having more passing yards as a rookie than Cam Newton is impressive doesn't hold a lot of water with me. Cam Newton isn't a great passer, either.

 

The funny thing is you say that the wins make up for the mediocre play, but wins are what the team gets, not just the QB. Did Bortles play poorly because he lost a game against the titans that he led the offense to six touchdowns in?

 

The colts haven't been super at every position from 2012 to 2014, but they were MUCH better than the Jaguars of 2014 overall, and significantly better on defense through that stretch than the Jaguars in 2015.

The Jags defense in 2015 allowed 448 points.

In 2014 the colts allowed 369.

 

How many more games does Bortles "win" if the Jaguars defense was average, like the colts defense has been? How does that change the perception of a guy in his second season?

I dissagree that passing yards isn't a significant stat. If you look at the top passers for the past 5 seasons you will notice that QBs like Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton manning, Aaron Rodgers, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger, and Andrew Luck are consistently among the leaders. If you argue that passing yards isn't a significant stat, then you would have to expand on that argument as it turns out that all of the usual suspects (QBs thought to be among the best in the league) rank among the top in passing yards. Also, let's not forget that Luck ranked among the top TD passers within a player's first 3 years, and among the top winning QBs within a players first three years. By many accounts, Luck's first 3 years have been stellar. His fourth, not so much...

 

I didn't say that Luck's wins make up for mediocre play. I don't think Luck is mediocre. I think Luck is an exceptional player that is asked to carry the team -- a team with a poor O-line, poor run game, and an average to below average defense. Having to do too much leads to mistakes, such as INTs, which he makes up for in wins. Similarly, I think Bortles is asked to do too much behind a poor O-line, and unlike Luck, his defense doesn't help as often. The concept of having to be a gunslinger to win games shouldn't be a foreign one to Jags fans. We are in the same boat in this regard. Both teams rely on their franchise QB to lead the way and haven't done a good job to protect their best player. This inevitably leads to turnovers by the QB, but somehow it's okay if Bortles does it but unforgivable for Luck.

 

For a team comparison, please refer to the above post. I appreciate the discussion. Thankfully, it hasn't turned into a silly argumentative back-and-forth which happens all too often on these forums.

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