Blake Bortles Is Struggling
By Luke Sims
Blake Bortles is going to be a good quarterback.
Blake Bortles could even be a great quarterback.
But right now Blake Bortles is a rookie. He is making rookie mistakes. He is making rookie decisions. And he is a rookie that is hurting the team.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were lucky to escape with a win against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and Blake Bortles’ poor play was a major reason for that. He threw another three interceptions in the game, bringing his season total up to 10. There’s a 5.7% of the pass being an interception every time Bortles releases the ball.
Now this isn’t anything to get too concerned about. Bortles has displayed intangibles and physical tools that suggest once he has some more experience or is more focused on the game he will be able to move past these rookie mistakes. But for right now – especially if the Jaguars want to keep winning games – it is a problem.
Blake Bortles is struggling.
I wouldn’t trade Bortles in for Chad Henne anytime soon, but Bortles’ 159 yards against the Browns certainly felt more like a Henne statistic than a Bortles statistic. The reason we are willing to allow Bortles his interceptions and poor decisions is because he moves the ball well in spite of these problems (and some of them aren’t his fault). Yet if Bortles doesn’t effectively move the ball then even more pressure is placed on a defense that is just now coming into its own. The defense got away with it this week but they won’t against better teams, especially if forced to defend a short field on a regular basis.
Bortles needs better decision making. This needs to be a point of emphasis for the rookie quarterback. Not to the point of making him timid and unsure of himself, but it needs to be addressed before a three interception game is topped by four interceptions later in the season. Bortles already knows when he makes a bad decision, he simply needs to be taught to identify better alternatives more quickly. Easier said than done, of course. Hopefully we’ll see Bortles in better form going forward.