In my many years of watching professional sports, I’ve come to realize there are three sure-fire guarantees. There are winners, losers, and someone, whether it be a coach or player, saying something dumb to the media. When speaking on Trevor Lawrence yesterday morning, Jaguars passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer made an inexplicably pointless statement.
Per ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, the Jaguars still haven’t named a starting quarterback for the 2021 season yet.
Jaguars pass game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said team hasn’t named starting QB yet. “It’s still to early to say how this thing’s going to play out.”
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) June 16, 2021
Having a career in professional athletics entails not only speaking to the media but doing so responsibly. The last thing anyone wants to do is say something wrong, incriminate someone else, or stick their foot in their mouth. The ability to say nothing during a two-minute soliloquy or just flat-out lie and not get caught is a coveted skill. But sometimes, a player or coach, like Brian Schottenheimer, makes a statement that not only tells us nothing, but is just flat-out meaningless.
The idea that that the best college quarterback since John Elway and Andrew Luck isn’t going to start is lunacy. His only real competition is Gardner Minshew, and Jaguars are (reportedly) willing to trade him for basically nothing. So what does that tell you about the quarterbacks ‘competing’ with Lawrence?
A Classic P.R. Answer
The franchise didn’t sign Urban Meyer and draft Trevor Lawrence for him not be their day one starter. This quote from Schottenheimer is nothing more than coach speak. Trevor Lawrence, the number one overall pick, is obviously going to start for the Jaguars opening day. If he doesn’t, well, hell might freeze over. That would mean that either Trevor Lawrence isn’t the quarterback he’s been hyped to be, or the Jaguars literally have no idea what they are doing.
Assuming the Jaguars wind up trading Minshew, which they shouldn’t, then Trevor Lawrence’s backup would be C.J. Beathard. It would surely solidify Lawrence as the day one starter but would put them in a horrible position should Lawrence get hurt. But I guess that’s why they signed Tim Tebow am I right?
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