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Blake Bortles

Lord Bills said:
bully is the perfect description.

ive never seen a moderator harass and stalk and bully other posters on this site because he doesnt like their opinion as much as infantry. and ive been a member of a lot of messge boards. in fact, you dont really hear from them unless rules are being broken.

That's not what moderators are suppose to do. Moderators are suppose to be above that kind of behavior.

The only time a moderator should come in is if the poster is breaking any rules.

Infantry likes to flex his muscles and go on power trips. I just hope he's not a cop in real life.

Im probably gonna get more harrassing neg reps from him and get banned but the truth had to be said.
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This must all be true, since honest self-reflection is clearly not what you need.
 
Have to say I like this about Bortles:

"I think it was hard to sit in the meeting room and tell them, 'I'm a competitor, I want to compete in every aspect, but I don't want to throw today because it's an uncomfortable situation,' " Bortles said.

He also seemingly took a veiled shot at the quarterbacks who chose not to throw: "It's a level playing field from the quarterback perspective, so I really don't understand why guys don't throw."
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That alone moved him up for me. I can't help but respect that he is showing fight and wanting to prove himself.
 
deucetx said:
Have to say I like this about Bortles:



That alone moved him up for me. I can't help but respect that he is showing fight and wanting to prove himself.
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Easy for him to say. He was the one with the most to gain by throwing. Kinda chicken **** to call out the other guys considering that. Also thought the shots at Manziel were slightly classless.
 
mussop said:
Easy for him to say. He was the one with the most to gain by throwing. Kinda chicken **** to call out the other guys considering that. Also thought the shots at Manziel were slightly classless.
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He's being coached to point out those differences between himself and the other top QBs. Shows competitiveness to jab a bit at the other guys. Just like with JFF's frito/dorito and TB's virtual reps presser, all just words -- tape tells the truth.
 
"I think it was hard to sit in the meeting room and tell them, 'I'm a competitor, I want to compete in every aspect, but I don't want to throw today because it's an uncomfortable situation,' " Bortles said.

He also seemingly took a veiled shot at the quarterbacks who chose not to throw: "It's a level playing field from the quarterback perspective, so I really don't understand why guys don't throw."
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The guy makes a lot of good points.
 
TEXANRED said:
He is going to be great in a business setting but not as a QB.

I hate the thought of Bortles as the overall #1. I hate the thought that we went from Carr to Schaub to Bortles.

I weep inside.
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Why? If we can get as big of an improvement over Schaub from our next qb as Schaub gave us over Carr we'll have a really good one finally. Don't let the last year and a half make you forget his first few years here. Pre injury Schaub was a damn good qb. Maybe not elite, but not far from it
 
JB said:
Why? If we can get as big of an improvement over Schaub from our next qb as Schaub gave us over Carr we'll have a really good one finally. Don't let the last year and a half make you forget his first few years here. Pre injury Schaub was a damn good qb. Maybe not elite, but not far from it
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When I think Bortles I think Jake Locker. IMO Bortles is not worth 1.1. If we are serious we would trade down, get additional picks, and pick up a QB that is just as good or better than Bortles. There is just nothing special about Bortles except he has a "really good work ethic" which is like saying a woman has a really great personality.
 
Texecutioner said:
Sure. Definitely fair.

I'm not saying he'll be some top flight QB either for the record. I just like his ability to come back against teams and keep fighting. I think that is a huge asset. I agree that he isn't a "prolific" passer at the moment, but I don't think he is a bad passer by any stretch. I don't think that Big Ben was better than he was when he first hit the league either. I like his ability to run and scramble and his strength to break tackles from blitz attackers. I don't expect that he'll be an elite passer probably ever, but I see a lot of Big Ben in him which I'll take all day long especially since he has the "clutch" gene which is one of the most important things a QB needs to have when most playoff games are decided with who has the ball last. Maybe he shouldn't be the #1 pick, but that doesn't mean he can't be or that it was be a bad #1 pick. If the franchise feels that he'll be a winner and that he'll be a guy that can lead a team very far consistently, then I don't see why it would be a bad pick at #1 at all despite the fact that he doesn't look as good as a lot of other previous #1 picks on paper.

Now is my response fair?
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That's fair, and very honest. But just look at some of the things you've said right there about Bortles. I hardly believe those are ringing, highly positive endorsments ?
 
Big Ben Stats in College

g CMP aTT % Yds y/a AYA TD INT Rat
2001 Miami (OH) MAC QB 12 241 381 63.3 3105 8.1 7.9 25 13 146.5
2002 Miami (OH) MAC QB 12 271 428 63.3 3238 7.6 7.4 22 11 138.7
2003 Miami (OH) MAC QB 14 342 495 69.1 4486 9.1 9.6 37 10 165.8

Bortles
2011 Central Florida CUSA JR QB 10 75 110 68.2 958 8.7 8.6 6 3 153.9
2012 Central Florida CUSA JR QB 14 251 399 62.9 3059 7.7 8.1 25 7 144.5
2013 Central Florida Ameri JR QB 13 259 382 67.8 3581 9.4 9.6 25 9 163.4
 
TEXANRED said:
When I think Bortles I think Jake Locker. IMO Bortles is not worth 1.1. If we are serious we would trade down, get additional picks, and pick up a QB that is just as good or better than Bortles. There is just nothing special about Bortles except he has a "really good work ethic" which is like saying a woman has a really great personality.
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Wait until these guys get on the field to weep inside. He very well may turn out like Locker, too early to label these kids though.

The special thing about Bortles is his size/physical attributes.

We've got to be careful about letting years of Carr/Schaub foul our perspective on guys who maybe don't have the exciting factor. Sometimes those guys work out, sometimes they don't. Just because it hasn't worked out for us a couple times doesn't mean they don't work out at all, it just means we've had a bad run. Personality isn't indicative of success.
 
buddyboy said:
Wait until these guys get on the field to weep inside. He very well may turn out like Locker, too early to label these kids though.

The special thing about Bortles is his size/physical attributes.

We've got to be careful about letting years of Carr/Schaub foul our perspective on guys who maybe don't have the exciting factor. Sometimes those guys work out, sometimes they don't. Just because it hasn't worked out for us a couple times doesn't mean they don't work out at all, it just means we've had a bad run. Personality isn't indicative of success.
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I think a lot of what determines if these guys are going to be successful or not has to do with what happens after the draft. Russell Wilson & Colin Kaepernick have had a great run so far, but they both showed signs of being "human" last season. Don't get me wrong, they pulled their own weight, but going to a top 5 rushing team, a top 5 defense the last two years didn't hurt & both teams, especially San Francisco were establishing that success before either were starting for their teams.

We were also in that running.... three seasons ago (2011) we were more like San Fran & Seattle are now, than not. We had a top 5 defense & a top 5 offense, including a top 5 running game... we just couldn't translate that to winning... not when it mattered, for whatever reason.

If OB does this right, he can be the next Harbaugh, play-offs every season he's a head coach, Conference Championship games every season he's a head coach.

I don't know what he's got to do to do it right... I hope he does.
 
buddyboy said:
Wait until these guys get on the field to weep inside. He very well may turn out like Locker, too early to label these kids though.

The special thing about Bortles is his size/physical attributes.

We've got to be careful about letting years of Carr/Schaub foul our perspective on guys who maybe don't have the exciting factor. Sometimes those guys work out, sometimes they don't. Just because it hasn't worked out for us a couple times doesn't mean they don't work out at all, it just means we've had a bad run. Personality isn't indicative of success.
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Not trying to crush you or anything but Blaine Gabbert is 6'4" 235.

If Bortles was 5'11 3/4" he would be a 4th or 5th round pick.
 
JB said:
Why? If we can get as big of an improvement over Schaub from our next qb as Schaub gave us over Carr we'll have a really good one finally. Don't let the last year and a half make you forget his first few years here. Pre injury Schaub was a damn good qb. Maybe not elite, but not far from it
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I'm not sure that's statistically possible.

TEXANRED said:
Not trying to crush you or anything but Blaine Gabbert is 6'4" 235.

If Bortles was 5'11 3/4" he would be a 4th or 5th round pick.
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If it was height alone and not running ability and shaking off tacklers with that big old frame, I might agree. That's not the case though.
 
disaacks3 said:
I'm not sure that's statistically possible.

If it was height alone and not running ability and shaking off tacklers with that big old frame, I might agree. That's not the case though.
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I think when people look at Bortles they expect him to be Ben Roethlisberger without the rape.
 
IDEXAN said:
That's fair, and very honest. But just look at some of the things you've said right there about Bortles. I hardly believe those are ringing, highly positive endorsments ?
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Tom Brady didn't have tons of redeeming skills that people were gaga over either. Hell, he didn't go until the 6th round. What Tom Brady did have though was the will to fight and the tenacity to find ways to do it successfully many times in college. It became routine in his thinking and in his DNA as a QB that he could win in the end as long as he continued to fight with an extreme mental focus. Bortles seems to have very similar qualities of that type in him that he showed all last season. It's an it factor that is rare, and he appears to have it, and that is one of the very most important things I personally want to see in my QB. I can live with a few other issues that aren't perfect as far as the skill set goes. Every QB isn't this phenom passer and super fast scrambler as well. They all have their certain strengths and weaknesses. Joe Montana and Tom Brady are the two most scariest guys I've ever seen or felt in the clutch at the end of a game. Blake Bortles showed that he has that rare gene that might be more important than all of the extra prolific passing abilities that some people think that Bridgewater has. I don't know It's all a crapshoot with these guys any way. QB's are always a volatile position where guys surprise and guys shockingly fail.
 
I weap for the future of our franchise if we take Bortles. Even though I've stated he has a lot of tools to work with I think we'll be set back 3 or 4 years with picking him. If we do go that route I say cut/trade Andre, Arian, Duane, and every other big contract we have and just start from scratch. I think he's good enough to lead a team to be average. That's not a bad thing. That means he's advanced from being Gabbert in my eyes. I just don't see him leading an elite team.

I would try to trade down with Atlanta and see how desperate they are to get Clowney at this point. Still able to get a good player, get their 2nd and 4th this year (if they have them), plus their 1st next draft considering it will most likely be in the 20s.
 
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TEXANRED said:
Not trying to crush you or anything but Blaine Gabbert is 6'4" 235.

If Bortles was 5'11 3/4" he would be a 4th or 5th round pick.
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Not crushing me. Sure you can throw out a QB with "ideal" measurements (like Bortles) who is an utter failure, but that's a fallacy to say "QBs who have good measurements will end up like Gabbert".

I've never said Bortles will be a success in the NFL. In face, no QB is guaranteed success, but you certainly can't hold "ideal size" against a draft prospect! It's like the very popular argument of undersized QBs and saying "but...Brees and Wilson". For every Gabbert there's a Roethlesberger and for every Brees there's a Keenum.
 
buddyboy said:
Not crushing me. Sure you can throw out a QB with "ideal" measurements (like Bortles) who is an utter failure, but that's a fallacy to say "QBs who have good measurements will end up like Gabbert".

I've never said Bortles will be a success in the NFL. In face, no QB is guaranteed success, but you certainly can't hold "ideal size" against a draft prospect! It's like the very popular argument of undersized QBs and saying "but...Brees and Wilson". For every Gabbert there's a Roethlesberger and for every Brees there's a Keenum.
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Some people would have you believe Keenum is still salvageable, if you've checked the main Texans board recently.
 
I know a lot on here don't think Bortles should be taken at 1.1 in the draft for various reasons like not a "Franchise QB" or didn't play against "elite competition" etc... And, maybe he, TB, and JFF only grade out as a middle of the 1st round talent. The problem is the Texans need a QB and none of the "big 3" will be there in the 2nd round. The QB's after them (Carr, Garappollo, McCarron etc..) are probably even bigger developmental projects and the one the Texans may want might not be there at #33. That's why I believe they should get Cassel in FA, draft Bortles #1, and let Cassel start while Bortles learns. I think of the "big 3" QB's, Bortles has the highest ceiling.

At worst, he's Gabbert and you wasted the pick and will have to start over. At best they develop him into "Big Ben" and you may win a couple of SB's. Personally, I think he's a lot closer to "Big Ben" and I hope the Texans go this route. With QB's, sometimes you just have to take that chance, and I'm sure "Obie" knows this, even if it means his job. Here's a link to how Bucky Brooks compares Bortles to Roethlisberger http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-pro-comparison/0ap2000000331511/NFL-Comparisons-Blake-Bortles

I know everyone has their opinions on who they should get. But, unless something comes up between now and the draft to change my mind, I'm hoping they pick Bortles #1.
 
Insideop said:
I know a lot on here don't think Bortles should be taken at 1.1 in the draft for various reasons like not a "Franchise QB" or didn't play against "elite competition" etc... And, maybe he, TB, and JFF only grade out as a middle of the 1st round talent. The problem is the Texans need a QB and none of the "big 3" will be there in the 2nd round. The QB's after them (Carr, Garappollo, McCarron etc..) are probably even bigger developmental projects and the one the Texans may want might not be there at #33. That's why I believe they should get Cassel in FA, draft Bortles #1, and let Cassel start while Bortles learns. I think of the "big 3" QB's, Bortles has the highest ceiling.

At worst, he's Gabbert and you wasted the pick and will have to start over. At best they develop him into "Big Ben" and you may win a couple of SB's. Personally, I think he's a lot closer to "Big Ben" and I hope the Texans go this route. With QB's, sometimes you just have to take that chance, and I'm sure "Obie" knows this, even if it means his job. Here's a link to how Bucky Brooks compares Bortles to Roethlisberger http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-pro-comparison/0ap2000000331511/NFL-Comparisons-Blake-Bortles

I know everyone has their opinions on who they should get. But, unless something comes up between now and the draft to change my mind, I'm hoping they pick Bortles #1.
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I think that at worst is more than most people can handle. I think you only draft a QB at 1-1 if you think he is the guy, not could be. This is the guy OB is putting his job on the line for, if your not sure you draft the stud tackle and gamble on a developmental guy later.
 
jradMIT said:
I think that at worst is more than most people can handle. I think you only draft a QB at 1-1 if you think he is the guy, not could be. This is the guy OB is putting his job on the line for, if your not sure you draft the stud tackle and gamble on a developmental guy later.
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This mentality is just what I don't get. Not to say definitively have to take a QB at 1.1, but grabbing a stud tackle gets us how many more wins as opposed to last year? And that is under the assumption that this stud college tackle is actually a stud NFL tackle too.

Joeckel was a better OT prospect than anyone in this draft in my opinion, and we saw him struggle early on and he did little to help the Jags become a better team this past season. Not saying he is a bust, he did get injured and couldn't finish the season, but it's a perfect example of why this whole "just take the sure thing in an OT" mentality is wrong.

You can't win in the league consistently without at least an above average QB. We have nobody on the roster that fits that description, and there is nobody in FA that does either. Matt Cassel is not a good QB, I couldn't care less if him and O'Brien were telepathically connected, signing him to be our starter in 2014 is not a formula for winning.

Again, I am not saying that there is not option other than QB at 1.1, but everyone acts like there is so many non-QB sure things that it will be fine if we pass on a QB at first overall because "at least we got another great player who will definitely succeed in the NFL and help us win". Nope, sorry, doesn't work like that.
 
infantrycak said:
You are posing a false question.

You far and away standout over anyone else for any other draft prospect at drum banging.

FTW called it - you may end up being correct and Bortles turns out best in this draft, you are hardly the only one saying it. But you are annoying as crap about how you wage your campaign.

Now rather than soaking that in, call me a homer for someone and don't learn anything.
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I guess you don't have a mirror. But that said, I respect your restraint with those with whom you disagree like myself. SOME forums would just ban anyone with a different opinion. Here, we at least get to say whatever irritating thought comes to mind which reflects the genuine differences in Texans fans which is sometimes very annoying.

I think I've been pretty consistent in wanting to move down in the draft and stockpile picks for both this year and next. But if that proves impossible, I want BPA and not BQBA with a preference for OL if it's too close to call. This puts me at odds with many who have a favorite player. If I were banned for disagreeing, I'd be long gone by now.
 
jradMIT said:
I think that at worst is more than most people can handle. I think you only draft a QB at 1-1 if you think he is the guy, not could be. This is the guy OB is putting his job on the line for, if your not sure you draft the stud tackle and gamble on a developmental guy later.
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Well, I´d say there are different kind of thinkings.

Do you swing for the fences and draft a QB 1.1 that you believe in, but that has question marks? If he turns out to be Gabbert, you probably continue to suck and will continue to get a high draft pick. But you wasted the most precious pick in football.

Or do you go bpa at 1.1? You might pass up a franchise QB, and those are really hard to come by. There is still a chance that your guy fails, but the probability is much lower. You probably add elite talent - but that also means you are drafting a little higher next season, making it even harder to get that franchise QB.

I think most people would go the second route, especially if there are major question marks around the QB. You can always get lucky in the second or 3d round and there is always next season. But with the salary scale of draft picks right now, I would say the first route is just as justifyable (as long as you believe in the player). And after all, QB is by far our biggest weakness.

Just now, that Cassell is gone, we probably won`t have a real mentor that a guy like Bortles can sit behind...
 
LikeMike said:
Well, I´d say there are different kind of thinkings.

Do you swing for the fences and draft a QB 1.1 that you believe in, but that has question marks? If he turns out to be Gabbert, you probably continue to suck and will continue to get a high draft pick. But you wasted the most precious pick in football.

Or do you go bpa at 1.1? You might pass up a franchise QB, and those are really hard to come by. There is still a chance that your guy fails, but the probability is much lower. You probably add elite talent - but that also means you are drafting a little higher next season, making it even harder to get that franchise QB.

I think most people would go the second route, especially if there are major question marks around the QB. You can always get lucky in the second or 3d round and there is always next season. But with the salary scale of draft picks right now, I would say the first route is just as justifyable (as long as you believe in the player). And after all, QB is by far our biggest weakness.

Just now, that Cassell is gone, we probably won`t have a real mentor that a guy like Bortles can sit behind...
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Do you take a non elite, but franchise QB with 1-1? Say you get a QB that winds up as the 15th best QB during his time in the NFL. Is he worth the 1-1? I think this is the key to distinguishing those who are QB centric and those who are team centric.
 
Marshall said:
Do you take a non elite, but franchise QB with 1-1? Say you get a QB that winds up as the 15th best QB during his time in the NFL. Is he worth the 1-1? I think this is the key to distinguishing those who are QB centric and those who are team centric.
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If the question is: do you take Matt Schaub at 1.1 I would easily say no (he was considered a top 15 QB at some time). If you talk about a Matt Ryan/Philipp Rivers/Ben Roethlisberger type QB I´d say you take him. Those are probably considered better than top 15 QBs, but I´d say they are not considered elite.

Franchise QBs are hard to come by. You either draft one early or get lucky when you get one in the later rounds. It is close to impossible to get one in free agency, and it is very costly and rare to get one in a trade. And QB is by far the most important position on a team.

Of course nobody knows how these QBs will turn out. You could argue to know their floors and ceiling, but even that is not acurate. Bridgewater could be Aaron Rodgers with a slightly less strong arm but better feet. Bortles could be Luck. Manziell could be Wilson with more of an x-factor. At the same time Bridgewater could be Alex Smith, Bortles could be Gabbert and Manziel could be an injury prone Locker.
 
LikeMike said:
...If you talk about a Matt Ryan/Philipp Rivers/Ben Roethlisberger type QB I´d say you take him. Those are probably considered better than top 15 QBs, but I´d say they are not considered elite.
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"Not elite" or "not franchise" or whatever descriptor they want to use, I'll take a young one of those three any day and all day Sunday.
 
Playoffs said:
"Not elite" or "not franchise" or whatever descriptor they want to use, I'll take a young one of those three any day and all day Sunday.
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is there any chance you were going for....."any day of the week and twice on Sunday"?
 
Texn4life said:
I weap for the future of our franchise if we take Bortles. Even though I've stated he has a lot of tools to work with I think we'll be set back 3 or 4 years with picking him. If we do go that route I say cut/trade Andre, Arian, Duane, and every other big contract we have and just start from scratch. I think he's good enough to lead a team to be average. That's not a bad thing. That means he's advanced from being Gabbert in my eyes. I just don't see him leading an elite team.

I would try to trade down with Atlanta and see how desperate they are to get Clowney at this point. Still able to get a good player, get their 2nd and 4th this year (if they have them), plus their 1st next draft considering it will most likely be in the 20s.
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I don't understand these comparisons to Gabbert that I've been hearing about Bortles from certain people. I don't get that at all. Maybe you don't see him being that great, but I don't see how his skill set is like Gabbert's skill set at all. I don't see how their college careers were all that comparable either. I just don't get that part from some of you that aren't high on Bortles. You might not have been saying that in this post, but Gabbert's name is mentioned again when referring to Bortles.

The problem with trading back is that we then look towards next season for a QB? Where will we be drafting? I don't think the Texans will do worse than 8-8 this year honestly, so I don't see some super high draft pick next year. I don't mind waiting either, but I also fear that the Texans would potentially be in a much worse position to draft or find a QB in the next off season perhaps. The reality is that this is one of the worst years for the Texans to have the #1 pick sort of like when they had the #1 pick and got Yao Ming. That wasn't a good year to have that pick either. It doesn't mean that there isn't an elite stud that could help us for ten years though. It is just a lot harder to figure out which guy is a for sure thing.
 
LikeMike said:
If the question is: do you take Matt Schaub at 1.1 I would easily say no (he was considered a top 15 QB at some time). If you talk about a Matt Ryan/Philipp Rivers/Ben Roethlisberger type QB I´d say you take him. Those are probably considered better than top 15 QBs, but I´d say they are not considered elite.

Franchise QBs are hard to come by. You either draft one early or get lucky when you get one in the later rounds. It is close to impossible to get one in free agency, and it is very costly and rare to get one in a trade. And QB is by far the most important position on a team.

Of course nobody knows how these QBs will turn out. You could argue to know their floors and ceiling, but even that is not acurate. Bridgewater could be Aaron Rodgers with a slightly less strong arm but better feet. Bortles could be Luck. Manziell could be Wilson with more of an x-factor. At the same time Bridgewater could be Alex Smith, Bortles could be Gabbert and Manziel could be an injury prone Locker.
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Pretty solid post over all Mike.

That is the scary thing about these 3 QB's. All of them have these nice intangibles but they all have certain things that bother me a little bit. None of them jump off the page as the easy undisputed #1 pick like Luck was. ANd hell, Luck had RG3 to compete with who looked like one of the best prospects in the last 10 years before the draft.

O'Brien is in a very tough position right now that may ultimately decide his fate 4 to 5 years from now based on this one pick.
 
At the top of most draft boards, there are maybe 5 players who are considered top notch talent but also "safe" - Clowney, Robinson, Mack, Mathews and Watkins.

You sign a veteran FA quarterback, someone like Kellen Clemens or Matt Flynn, to a 2 year contract, you bring Yates and Keenum into camp, and you draft a QB in the back half of the draft.

Evaluating our OL, we seem to be solid with one exception at RT, which can be addressed in the mid-rounds. Evaluating our receivers, we have a solid core to go into training camp with.

At 1-1 you pick either Clowney or Mack.
 
Number19 said:
At the top of most draft boards, there are maybe 5 players who are considered top notch talent but also "safe" - Clowney, Robinson, Mack, Mathews and Watkins.

You sign a veteran FA quarterback, someone like Kellen Clemens or Matt Flynn, to a 2 year contract, you bring Yates and Keenum into camp, and you draft a QB in the back half of the draft.

Evaluating our OL, we seem to be solid with one exception at RT, which can be addressed in the mid-rounds. Evaluating our receivers, we have a solid core to go into training camp with.

At 1-1 you pick either Clowney or Mack.
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I am leaning towards Watkins in first & Garoppolo in 2nd, especially if we get trade down offers. I still think Browns will offer #4 & #26 for 1-1 and we should get an offer for 2-1 and get a bit lower second (Garo rated #59 by ESPN) & pick up another 3rd.
 
badboy said:
I am leaning towards Watkins in first & Garoppolo in 2nd, especially if we get trade down offers. I still think Browns will offer #4 & #26 for 1-1 and we should get an offer for 2-1 and get a bit lower second (Garo rated #59 by ESPN) & pick up another 3rd.
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I still think a trade down scenario is ideal, it's just that I've come around to thinking it won't materialize. If the Browns were to trade up, who do you think the new GM and HC would be targeting. What I've heard is that they might take a non-QB at 1-4 and then take Carr at 1-26; or take whatever QB falls to them at 1-4.
 
Number19 said:
At the top of most draft boards, there are maybe 5 players who are considered top notch talent but also "safe" - Clowney, Robinson, Mack, Mathews and Watkins.
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Most talented I could see that list.

A "safe" list would have to include Mosley IMO and I don't see how anyone can characterize Clowney as safe. There wouldn't be any discussion of who is going #1 if Clowney was safe.
 
badboy said:
I am leaning towards Watkins in first & Garoppolo in 2nd, especially if we get trade down offers. I still think Browns will offer #4 & #26 for 1-1 and we should get an offer for 2-1 and get a bit lower second (Garo rated #59 by ESPN) & pick up another 3rd.
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How cool would it be to reunite a couple of gamecocks, there just so happens to be a pair in the top of a big OL draft tree.
 
Number19 said:
At the top of most draft boards, there are maybe 5 players who are considered top notch talent but also "safe" - Clowney, Robinson, Mack, Mathews and Watkins.

You sign a veteran FA quarterback, someone like Kellen Clemens or Matt Flynn, to a 2 year contract, you bring Yates and Keenum into camp, and you draft a QB in the back half of the draft.

Evaluating our OL, we seem to be solid with one exception at RT, which can be addressed in the mid-rounds. Evaluating our receivers, we have a solid core to go into training camp with.

At 1-1 you pick either Clowney or Mack.
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Calling Clowney a "safe" pick is one of the craziest things I've heard in these draft talks. He is by far the most "unsafe" out of all of the top 10 guys. He didn't even have a great season like the other people that are talked about in the top 10. He had the worst season out of all of them and has motivation concerns. That is anything but safe.
 
Texecutioner said:
Calling Clowney a "safe" pick is one of the craziest things I've heard in these draft talks. He is by far the most "unsafe" out of all of the top 10 guys. He didn't even have a great season like the other people that are talked about in the top 10. He had the worst season out of all of them and has motivation concerns. That is anything but safe.
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"Safe" in the context of having the talent worthy of the first selection. In this light, I haven't seen Mosley in the top 5 on any of the major big boards or discussed as a potential 1-1 selection. If discussing from the angle of character, you can subtract Clowney. The Texans should take Mack with 1-1, which is my position.
 
Number19 said:
"Safe" in the context of having the talent worthy of the first selection. In this light, I haven't seen Mosley in the top 5 on any of the major big boards or discussed as a potential 1-1 selection. If discussing from the angle of character, you can subtract Clowney. The Texans should take Mack with 1-1, which is my position.
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Well you have to add all attributes into the picture. You can't discount character, and I don't know why people ignore Clowney's lack of moves and abilities to go side to side and make quick turns when he is mainly a straight line explosive blitzer. Clowney could turn into a monster for a few years perhaps, but if that happens I firmly believe his success will end up being short term where it might only be like a 3 year stint where he is really effective. Everything I study about him tells me that he'll be the type of player that will be very inconsistent when he gets a big pay day assuming that happens. That was the same feelings I had about Mario as well. I hated the Williams pick when I examined his over all play in his last year of college.
 
matts290 said:
This mentality is just what I don't get. Not to say definitively have to take a QB at 1.1, but grabbing a stud tackle gets us how many more wins as opposed to last year? And that is under the assumption that this stud college tackle is actually a stud NFL tackle too.

You can't win in the league consistently without at least an above average QB. We have nobody on the roster that fits that description, and there is nobody in FA that does either. Matt Cassel is not a good QB, I couldn't care less if him and O'Brien were telepathically connected, signing him to be our starter in 2014 is not a formula for winning.

Again, I am not saying that there is not option other than QB at 1.1, but everyone acts like there is so many non-QB sure things that it will be fine if we pass on a QB at first overall because "at least we got another great player who will definitely succeed in the NFL and help us win". Nope, sorry, doesn't work like that.
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With a healthy Arian Foster & OD, that OL would have won 7 games last season. Not great, but at 9-7 & the tie breaker over San Diego, we're in the play offs.
 
LikeMike said:
Well, I´d say there are different kind of thinkings.

Do you swing for the fences and draft a QB 1.1 that you believe in, but that has question marks? If he turns out to be Gabbert, you probably continue to suck and will continue to get a high draft pick. But you wasted the most precious pick in football.
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It's not a waste if I believed in him. There are people here who believe in one of the three, maybe two of the three. I wouldn't be surprised if OB believed in one/two of the three. If he feels strongly enough about that guy, no question, you take him with 1-1.
 
Playoffs said:
"Not elite" or "not franchise" or whatever descriptor they want to use, I'll take a young one of those three any day and all day Sunday.
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Depends on the make-up of my team & what's available in the draft. The Falcons have 4 years with Ryan, 2 play off wins & $100M tied up for the next 4 years.
 
thunderkyss said:
Depends on the make-up of my team & what's available in the draft. The Falcons have 4 years with Ryan, 2 play off wins & $100M tied up for the next 4 years.
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The Falcons have been a consistent winning team since drafting Ryan. They've had like two bad seasons and the rest have been pretty damn good. Ryan has been a very good QB since he has been drafted though. He has been pretty clutch a number of times and has improved over the years other than last year where the entire team had issues. Before last season, Ryan had his best year to date numbers wise. He isn't an elite passer and never will be but only 5 to 6 teams in the league will ever have that, so being a guy that is a top 10 type guy year in and year out is nothing to sneeze at. Ryan's biggest issue I would bring up is his lack of big playoff games which is something you mentioned, but I don't think it's been a big issue to criticize him on. The Falcons aren't a team that is built behind the gun of Ryan. It's been a team that is built by having a lot of balance on both sides of the ball and efficiency. I think coaching may be a problem for them at this point. They have a very good coach, but I think his voice has worn thin over there and he'd probably be a good coach with another franchise right now.
 
Texecutioner said:
The Falcons have been a consistent winning team since drafting Ryan.
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And look at the 2 teams that passed on Ryan for "safer" linemen. The Dolphins are 44-50 since, and their #1 pick Jake Long now plays in St. Louis. The Rams took Chris Long and have a 26-64 record since 2008. Both of the Longs are good to very good players. But, they're not QBs and those teams needed QBs. Both teams have since drafted QBs in the 1st round.

You can't say that either the Dolphins or the Rams made a bust pick. Both were very solid contributors. But not the difference maker that a QB can be. LTs and DEs have very important roles. Protecting and attacking the QB. But, they're not the QB. That's why you have to find one if you need one.

Now if the Texans look at all of the scoutng reports and come to the conclusion there is not a QB in the draft that can help them win, fine. Take the best player they can find. But, they're probably wrong. Because there is usually at least one franchise QB in any draft.
 
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