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Blake Bortles: Can he continue to show progress in Week 2 of preseason?

By Luke Sims

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Blake Bortles came out impressively sharp in the first week of the 2015 preseason.

Given 30 snaps leading the offense, head coach Gus Bradley wanted to see Bortles come away with a touchdown before yanking him from the game. The decision was a wise one as Bortles put up impressive throws, showed great poise, and demonstrated the progress we had all been hearing so much about during the offseason.

It was exactly what the Jacksonville Jaguars hoped to see from the face of the franchise and it showed that Bortles could be so much more than his miserable 2014 stat line.

A star may be blooming in Jacksonville. Bortles will have to show that the can string together more impressive performances in the coming weeks to wrap up the preseason.

That continues in the Week 2 matchup against the New York Giants.

Putting together multiple impressive outings will be the best measurement for the quarterback. As the Jaguars evaluate whether Blake Bortles can string it together and extrapolate that into regular season success.

Good quarterbacks have strong games every so often.

Great quarterbacks make strong games a weekly occurrence.

While he was given 30 snaps leading the offense in the first game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I don’t think that Bortles will stay on the field that long in Week 2 of the preseason. The Jags have to balance the risk of injury with the desire to get more tape to evaluate. Bortles is the unquestioned starter heading into the 2015 regular season, so expect him to get a series and maybe two into the game before the coaches decide they have seen enough.

We here at B&T believe in Blake Bortles. The coaching staff believes in Blake Bortles. The front office believes in Blake Bortles. There’s no need to keep him on for a full quarter or more against New York.

If Bortles shows he can do it again in Week 2 then it’s a positive for us believing in him. For those with serious concerns or for those who don’t follow the Jaguars, seeing Bortles bring another strong performance could bring them to support him and the Jaguars.

That’s worth something for a small-market franchise like the Jaguars, especially as they seek to widen their fanbase through continued efforts in London.

Bortles may not have a lot of snaps to win those people over, but he should make the most of them. Expect him to come out firing again in Week 2 of the preseason and expect him to be as impressive as before. Another strong performance is the next step toward greatness.

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