Read an interesting Draft-Notes on Bleacherreport today. I thought it was pertinent to the current discussion

 

<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">1. QB Blake Bortles, Central Florida

<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">No player in the 2014 draft class scares me as much as Blake Bortles. The big UCF quarterback looks the part, but turn on the game film and you're never blown away. His footwork is often unbalanced and erratic, and his late throws over the middle are great in college but an interception in the NFL. Bortles has undeniable upside, but if he never improves (and that happens more than you'd think), who is he? Blaine Gabbert? Jake Locker? I see why teams love his upside, but the right now isn't very good.

<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20153...g-notebook

 

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I want 3 players. Clowney, Bridgewater, Manziel. Jaguars have the number 3 pick. Just give me one of those 3 at 3, and I'm happy.

 

My top 6 favorite posters on these boards

Deacon
Pirkster
Shack Del Rio
Haterade
Hurricane
Badger

REally excellent, short 2-minute video in the link describing Bortles as "Fool's gold". Bleacherreport has him going 20th to the Cardinals now...

 

Link below.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20166...-nfl-draft

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I want 3 players. Clowney, Bridgewater, Manziel. Jaguars have the number 3 pick. Just give me one of those 3 at 3, and I'm happy.

 

My top 6 favorite posters on these boards

Deacon
Pirkster
Shack Del Rio
Haterade
Hurricane
Badger

If he fails, it'll be for completely different reasons than Gabbert.  He had a better collegiate career also.

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If he's being compared to Blaine as a prospect, then wouldn't that be good thing?  Blaine was thought to be the #1 QB prospect by a lot of people that year.  Just didn't translate to the field.  I don't think Bortles' arm is as good as some think though.  He has the looks of a guy like Joe Flacco when he's standing in front of you, but he doesn't play like a big QB.  

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Blaine Gabbert 2010 stats: 16 TD, 9 INT, 63% comp rate.  Mostly from the shotgun formation.  Yuck.. What in the world was Gene Smith thinking??  Sheesh. 

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I personally think if mettenburger didn't blow out his knee he might of gone ahead of bortles

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I personally think if mettenburger didn't blow out his knee he might of gone ahead of bortles

I really think Mettenberger and Bortles will be the best qb's from this draft in 3 years. With Bridgewater third.

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I really like mettenburger's upside he progressed a lot from a two years ago to last season before tearing his acl. He's just not the whole mobile qb jedd allegedly wants

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Blaine Gabbert 2010 stats: 16 TD, 9 INT, 63% comp rate.  Mostly from the shotgun formation.  Yuck.. What in the world was Gene Smith thinking??  Sheesh. 

 

.....it gets worse when you consider that Chase Daniel put up video game numbers in same offense on same team before Gabbert. 

 

Yes, Chase Daniel....

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I really like mettenburger's upside he progressed a lot from a two years ago to last season before tearing his acl. He's just not the whole mobile qb jedd allegedly wants

 

Murray was somewhat mobile prior to the ACL, but as we saw from Brunell - he lost a lot of it after his ACL injury. 

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Only thing in common Bortles has with gabbert is this so called late draft board climbing. I see Bortles as a competitor who isn't afraid to take a hit and will stand in the pocket.

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<div><a class="" href='https://twitter.com/PatKirwanCBS'><span style="font-size:16px;font-weight:bold;color:rgb(41,47,51);">Pat Kirwan        <span></span> </span>@PatKirwanCBS</a>
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<p class="" style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Palatino, serif;">I just had an NFL QB coach tell me Bortles reminds him of Blaine Gabbert...wow!

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<div>The questions about Bortles’ game are not without warrant. He played in a run-heavy offense in which he rarely was depended on to bail UCF out with his arm. Even with prototypical size and a heck of a pro day, the questions about his ability will manifest up until he’s able to show and prove this season because he did not come from a traditional QB collegiate powerhouse.
Read more at http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2014/0...vpQZ8Cc.99
 
 

 

Before Gabbert was drafted, there were warning signs he would struggle at the NFL level. The biggest concern stemmed from Gabbert’s inability to feel pressure. In this particular case, the comparison is slightly different.
 
The concern is Bortles is a tantalizing prospect due to his physical tools, and those tools won’t overcome other deficiencies in his game.
 
But Bortles, like Gabbert, isn’t a polished prospect. Neither was an advanced passer coming out of college. In Gabbert’s case, he played in a spread system at Missouri that got the ball out quickly. Bortles played in a run-dominant offense that didn’t require him to consistently make NFL reads or throws. Bortles also struggled at times with consistency in his accuracy. He even stared down his initial reads.
http://q.usatoday.com/2014/03/31/nfl-coa...e-gabbert/

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I want 3 players. Clowney, Bridgewater, Manziel. Jaguars have the number 3 pick. Just give me one of those 3 at 3, and I'm happy.

 

My top 6 favorite posters on these boards

Deacon
Pirkster
Shack Del Rio
Haterade
Hurricane
Badger

 

<div style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12px;">
<div><span style="font-size:16px;font-weight:bold;color:rgb(41,47,51);">Pat Kirwan        <span></span> </span>@PatKirwanCBS
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<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Palatino, serif;">I just had an NFL QB coach tell me Bortles reminds him of Blaine Gabbert...wow!

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Palatino, serif;"> 

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So, in other words, anyone that has good physical tools that needs to improve on something equals Blaine Gabbert? OK.

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I wonder if Kirwan actually watched any games. Bortles bailed ucf out plenty of times with his arm.


This is the worst part of the draft forum. Any prospect you don't like is Gabbert.

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Gabbert's biggest downfall is pocket presence and his fear of getting hit.

 

Bortles never demonstrated those tendencies.

 

To compare Bortles to Gabber is idiotic --- he could fail, as could any other QB in the draft, but not for the same reasons Gabbert failed.

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I said this exact thing when i checked the draft breakdowns when Bortles first started to rise up draft boards. He isnt scared like Gabbert but he does react to phantom pressure and his mechanics go from meh to "nope" quickly once he isnt able to hit his first read.

 

Tons of one read and short throw to screens and flats as well which should sound familiar. Sad thing is Bortles doesnt have the arm strength that gabbert had.

 

In Bortles defense he doesnt curl up in the pocket and will take the shot to deliver the ball.

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Gabbert's biggest downfall is pocket presence and his fear of getting hit.

I actually agree with what you, Mark, and Bleeding have said. But I think my opinion differs simply because I view Gabbert differently. I think I fall sort of where Harbaugh currently does. I don't think for example that Blaine is the worst QB in history, or that he was destined to be a bust no matter what round he went or what team he went to. And I personally would edit your statement like this:

Gabbert's biggest downfall was not his ability or playing-style, but that he was put over as a starting franchise QB in the NFL, when he'd never done anything on an actual football field to back that sentiment up.

 

I believe for example that if Blaine would have been picked up by team like the 49ers or Patriots, say in the 4th or 5th round, and given years to develop, he may have actually been one hell of a QB. The problem is that combines, weightrooms, and measuring tapes shot him up the boards to a top 10 selection when he clearly wasn't ready, and the Jaguars selected the kid and bet their entire franchise hopes on the "potential" that he may become a great QB. This was not Blaine's fault, no more than it would be if the Jaguars drafted somebody like Connor Shaw at #3 and bet the entire future of their franchise on him too. Does that make sense? Blaine was a 4th round QB on the field, and a 1st round QB when the measuring tape came out.

 

Listen, everyone's certainly entitled to their opinions. And I know there are some people comparing their playing-styles on here, but I personally am not. The only comparison I make between Bottles and Gabbert is their equally sudden rise to franchise status based not upon game-tape, but measurables and potential over the last few months heading up to the draft.

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I want 3 players. Clowney, Bridgewater, Manziel. Jaguars have the number 3 pick. Just give me one of those 3 at 3, and I'm happy.

 

My top 6 favorite posters on these boards

Deacon
Pirkster
Shack Del Rio
Haterade
Hurricane
Badger

Well, here we are, 4 months after the last post on this thread that makes me cringe at some of the posts here, each time I read through it.

 

I wonder what some of the posters actually think today.

 

I know it's still way to early to know anything about how BB's NFL career will start off (when it starts off), but it sure feels a lot more positive now then it did 4 months ago, that's for sure.

 

We'll find out the rest in due time.

 

Until then............... all aboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I survived the Gus Bradley Error.

All these darn YOOOOO CEEEEEE EEEEFFFFFFFF FaNS. 

 

Gosh this thread is funny. 

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JohnnyBrowns is gone of course.

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke.