Had Bob,Jon and Ned raised banners and sat behind their Armies...

[Morienthar]

Had they just sat behind thier armies and waited for the Crown to make the first move, do you think Rahegar would have actually done something not completely stupid and try to make his father step down?

[thelittledragonthatcould]

Robert wanted Rhaegar gone as well and he was the figurehead of the Rebellion.

[James Steller]

Had they just sat behind thier armies and waited for the Crown to make the first move, do you think Rahegar would have actually done something not completely stupid and try to make his father step down?

Ned would have been fine, since the North is unassailable by land. Robert and Jon Arryn would have had a lot of trouble with their own loyalist bannermen if they'd simply sat back and waited for the Crown to make the first move.

[Poorboy78]

And don't forget, the Targaryen Loyalist outnumbered the Rebel forces, the only thing that did not tip the favor in the rebel or loyalist was that Tywin stayed out of it. Had he been in then Rebel forces might have lost.

I believe Loyalist forces were, High Garden+ Dorne along with the King's Landing area vs, The Vale, Storm End's , The North and the Tully's.

[GallowsKnight]

Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon didn't have the luxury of sitting behind their armies. They had to squash loyalists to the crown.

Robert could have easily lost his entire Kingdom if he hadn't won at Summerhall.

[lyannaisalive]

Robert wanted Rhaegar gone as well and he was the figurehead of the Rebellion.

Not from the start IIRC. It was after the battle of the bells they put his name forth as king IIRC.

[Byfort of Corfe]

In a rebellion the rebels have to act, otherwise they will simply sit around until they are crushed. Inactivity will almost guarantee that support for the rebels will drop and support for the crown will increase.

[mdw4950]

if they waited it likely causes their rebellion to get crushed. if they just sit around talking about overthrowing aerys but never make a move, then its just that, talk. theyd lose supporters fast and them losing supporters means that the targaryens would have houses flocking to their side in order to gain favor. notably tywin, who waited to make sure he was on the winning side.

if roberts/neds/jons forces looked weak, it would make tywins decision come a lot sooner. walder frey had similar motives too when he delayed sending his troops to the battle of the trident. rather than being 'the late walder frey' he might have literally turned on hoster tully if he thought the targaryens would make him lord of the riverlands. would likely also give mace tyrell a little more incentive to march rather than just sit outside storms end for a lot of the war.