Quote:As someone who is old enough to remember what transpired with Terry Bradshaw in the earlier years of his NFL career, what you mentioned helps illustrate how much the NFL has changed since the 1970s when it comes to patience with QBs. Back then,  it was assumed that the developmental process for a QB would be lengthy. These days, if you aren't contributing at a winning level by your 2nd season, many are ready to write off the QB. Very few QBs today have the luxury of being able to learn from the bench like Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. It's unfortunate for Blake Bortles and the Jaguars that he was thrown into game action by necessity earlier than he was truly ready.  

 

The plan was to make Blake Bortles a bench warmer his rookie year to work on mechanics, footwork, and decision making. That idea blew up in Week 3, when hundreds of fans were already gone by halftime as the Colts scored over 30 points and shut us out. Blake Bortles gave us the spark Gus Bradley was looking for and clearly showed he has the "it" factor. Luckily for Bortles, it did not prevent him from having a very good second season (4,428 yards and 35 TDs is not an accident), but many other QBs continue to struggle when they are thrown into the fire like that.

 

How old were you when you started watching football?

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