Jacksonville Jaguars

[p_rushing]

I just don't care, until Henne is no longer playing, the season is meaningless.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by p_rushing

I just don't care, until Henne is no longer playing, the season is meaningless. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I disagree entirely. This isn't a playoff team by any means, but this season is far from meaningless. The development of the receivers and secondary is huge, and Joeckel needs to step up. I don't think anyone believes Henne is anything but a stop gap. But after seeing this team week 1, throwing Bortles in right now could be disastrous.

[The GIGGAS]

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

But after seeing this team week 1, throwing Bortles in right now could be disastrous.

Please explain this opinion.

[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by The GIGGAS

Please explain this opinion.

The offensive line is awful. The running game looked terrible. Aside from Shorts, the receivers are ridiculously young. The defense fell apart. If they put Bortles in now, it's going to be all on him. And for a guy that has come along very well with his mechanics since leaving school to be put in that situation, I think it could undo a lot of those improvements and create bad habits.

I don't necessarily think that Blake needs to sit the whole season, but I believe that the majority of Bortles's improvement this year should and will happen on the practice field, and if he's thrust into starting too soon on a bad offensive team, that won't happen.

[The GIGGAS]

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

The offensive line is awful.

http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2014/9/...blocking-grade

Quote:

The pass blocking, however, wasn't nearly as bad with the team ranked 18th through Week 1. Linder may have been the team's worst run blocker, but Pro Football Focus gave him a 1.9 rating as a pass blocker -- the team's highest rating. Beadles and Bradfield also graded out positively with a 0.5 and 0.4 ratings, respectively. And it showed on the stat sheet. Henne was only sacked three times and had plenty of time to throw on most throws, including risky plays like a 48-yard pass to Allen Hurns out of his own end zone, or important moments like a 4th-and-short miss to Lewis.

So, average pass blocking line, based on Pro Football Focus.

Quote:

The running game looked terrible.

I'll give you that, the line graded out terribly. That being said, I saw some pictures of runs and there were 8-9 Eagles in the box against the run plays. Debatable if there are 8-9 if Bortles is back there, given he's already been audibling in preseason away from runs.

Quote:

Aside from Shorts, the receivers are ridiculously young.

Agreed, but it didn't seem to stop Hurns from playing his tail off, having one of the best Jaguar WR performances in recent memory. In my opinion, having a young receiver core is actually great for Bortles. He can create chemistry and they can mold themselves into the receiver that Bortles wants... not Henne.

Quote:

The defense fell apart.

Again, we're looking at causes. Cyprien and Evans getting injured were the killers, but every defense is going to fall apart running a third safety out there (and there's no worse third safety than Chris "The Human Hurdle" Prosinski). Also in the second half, there was no offensive cohesion, with quick drives allowing the Eagles to wear the Jags out defensively.

http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2014/9/...-henne-results

Quote:

The big issue however, was the fact that in the second half Henne completed just 12-of-26 passes for 99 yards, much of that on the final meaningless drive of the game when the final was inevitable. The game on Sunday was Chad Henne, in a nutshell. Once the scripted plays were finished, so was Chad Henne. When he wasn't handed a short field to work with, he struggled to move the ball. The Jaguars had just two drives in the game that were over 50 yards, one of those ended up in three points and the other ended up in a blocked field goal. They converted just two of their 14 third downs.

Quote:

If they put Bortles in now, it's going to be all on him.

I don't even get the issue with this. Isn't it all on Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and the other elite QBs? It's going to be all on Bortles from day one, regardless of it being Sunday, week 11, or next year. That's how the league works now.

Quote:

And for a guy that has come along very well with his mechanics since leaving school to be put in that situation, I think it could undo a lot of those improvements and create bad habits.

I would believe this more if he's been having issues with mechanics in preseason, but I didn't hear a peep about them, and there were some times in which it would have been easy to see the defense closing in and being sloppy.

Quote:

I don't necessarily think that Blake needs to sit the whole season, but I believe that the majority of Bortles's improvement this year should and will happen on the practice field, and if he's thrust into starting too soon on a bad offensive team, that won't happen.

I personally disagree with the idea Bortles should improve more on the practice field before getting in there. There's only so much improvement that can be made on the practice field before you play in live games. Look at Gabs. From accounts, he was good to great on the practice field, but the moment he got to live games, he was jittery and terrible at his job. I also think that Bortles can make the team better offensively. That team in the first half who was throwing the ball pretty well is not a bad offensive team. The team in the second half with a bad to mediocre QB was a bad offensive team.

[p_rushing]

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

The offensive line is awful.

Again, don't quote the stupid excuse coming from the coaches, look at the actual facts. Bortles played fine in the Atlanta game when the Falcons had the #1 DL in the game and the Jags had the #2/3/4s? OL in the game.

He also makes the OL look better because he knows how to audible, get the ball out quickly, feel pressure, step up in the pocket, and can move when needed.

Henne can't do any of that.



Oh and the coaches told Henne this week he needs to be more explosive with the ball .... in other words he NEEDS TO BE MORE LIKE BORTLES.

[DonkeyJote]

Bortles is better than Henne. I don't think there's any arguing that fact. But this is about developing a guy for the long haul. Blake has a chance to be an elite qb, imo.

The linemen were average, according to that source, in week 1, yes. But look at that line, it is not an average line. Bradfield isn't a quality starter. Neither is Linder. And Joeckel has talent, but has yet to play up to that talent. It's below average. They played their tails off, and are still 18th. I think it's one of the worst lines in the league, but that's my opinion on it. Hurns did well in the first half, but I don't see him playing nearly to that level (Lee was the better overall player on Sunday, I thought, and is still the guy to watch going forward).

And no, Bortles didn't struggle with mechanics in the preseason. He had actually improved a lot since the beginning of the draft process. My concern would be that, once under pressure in game situations, he would revert. With sufficient practice, those new habits become ingrained, and he'll be less likely to revert to bad habits that caused a lack off arm strength in college. I believe that's part of what happened with Gabbert. He looked good in practice, but those good habits weren't second nature yet, and they went out the window come game time. And the preseason is different; the games don't count, the intensity isn't there, and even if the Falcons have a starter in there, they aren't bringing blitz packages that you'll see during the season.

Again, this isn't a playoff team. Everyone should probably get that out of their head. Yes, it's better with Blake, but even then, we're talking 8 wins, and that's an absolute best case scenario. It's not about getting wins this season. It's about getting wins next season, and the season after that. Yes, when he gets in there, it'll be all on him no matter when it happens. But you only have one shot at this. If you throw him in there before he's ready, it could set your team back for years. Who knows, maybe if Gabbert is held back until week 10 his rookie year, or until his second year, he's not a bust, as he obviously has talent. Maybe he still is. But I'd rather wait a little too long than pull the trigger too early and ruin yet another QB prospect.

[The GIGGAS]

A few quick thoughts:

1) Washington was sending 5+ every time a pass was called. They were loading the box on runs. Not really surprised we couldn't run, but surprised we didn't throw worth a damn (then again, we still start Henne).

2) Henne needs to stop holding onto the damn ball and finding his way into sacks. Alfie from BCC did a good job illustrating who was at fault for each of the TEN sacks on Sunday: http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2014/9/...acks-breakdown

3) The defense desperately needs to get better and better fast. As long as Henne is making them return to the field after a 3 play break, already behind the eight ball, they gotta start getting turnovers and doing everything themselves. At this point, though, they look slow, weak, and stupid. Can't tackle, can't cover... didn't we sign a lot of players to be starters on this defense? How is it this bad? Cyp is out, sure, but is he really THAT important to cause other players forget how to tackle?

4) If the Jaguars are content to be blown out every week and have nothing of interest, I'm content with not watching until I feel the value of watching them for three hours until they deliver some kind of interest. Sports are supposed to be fun. It's not fun watching the opponent beat my favorite team like a piñata. Note that I'm not asking for the team to instantly become world-beaters. All I'm asking for is something of interest to watch. Henne is not that.