Blake Bortles, Special Teams Continue to Cost Jaguars

Blake Bortles, Blake Bortles, Blake Bortles.

It used to be a rally cry when Jacksonville Jaguars fans wanted to see what the rookie quarterback could do for the team. Now, however, it has become a chant to mutter under your breath after another turnover.

We could all just as easily mutter, “Special teams. Special teams. Special teams.”

After another loss, the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-8) were not surprised by the same problems that have plagued them all season long. Blake Bortles and the special teams unit cost the Jaguars in a big way (though not as directly as week eight against the Miami Dolphins). The Cincinnati Bengals were more than happy to capitalize and take home a victory 33-23 over the Jags.

There are a few plays to highlight from both the special teams unit and Blake Bortles’ day under center, but we’ll look specifically at three.

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1) Punt blocked for safety.

With 2:58 left in the first half the Jacksonville Jaguars were backed up and forced to punt. Bryan Anger took the snap only to have orange almost immediately in his face. The blocked punt rebounded through the end zone giving the Bengals another two points to tack onto their seven point lead.

Special teams mistakes – especially blocked kicks and punts – have cost the Jaguars all season. Whether potential game winning field goals or this play against the Bengals, the mistakes continue to pile up. Part of it is the inexperience of the team, but another part has to be the coaching. The safety was demoralizing for the Jaguars and those extra two points make it difficult to mount a comeback, ultimately forcing the Jaguars to go for a two point conversion after scoring in the fourth quarter. They failed.

So close to the half, the safety felt like a tone-setting play.

2) Adam Jones’s 31 yard punt return.

Another special teams problem for the Jaguars, Adam Jones is a dangerous punt returner and managed to take advantage. The Jags’ coverage unit wasn’t able to get under the punt and Jones took his room to run and set the Bengals up in great field position on the Jacksonville 23 yard line. Two plays later and AJ Green had himself a touchdown courtesy of a laser from Andy Dalton.

At this point in the game the Jaguars were showing signs of life. They had just scored to close the gap down to 19-10 but Jones’ big return tightened the screws. The Jaguars gave Jones far too much room to run and he was able to force the defense (who were performing solidly despite being on the field for seemingly eternity) into a bad situation. AJ Green and Andy Dalton are too good to let that go to waste. With such a young team (even one playing well) the Jaguars cannot put themselves in near-indefensible situations like that. Jones was able to make this game a lot tougher on the defense and a lot easier for his offense. Anger can’t outkick his coverage and the coverage guys need to get downfield faster.

3) Blake Bortles’ end zone interception.

It took until the fourth quarter, but Blake Bortles finally threw a pick in Sunday’s game. He tried to force a throw into the end zone but he was late and it was an easy interception for George Iloka. This occurred as the Jaguars were driving deep into Bengals territory, mounting a comeback but down 23-33. It was likely the last big drive before the team would try for an onside kick and a field goal to force overtime. While obviously the game wasn’t on the line here, it was certainly the last chance for the Jaguars. Wishful thinking for most all of us fans, but a tough one to watch all the same.

The problem with this interception is that we’ve seen it before. It was a bad read by Bortles and he tried to force the throw. In fact we saw forces earlier in the game, but they were (thankfully) not picked off by the Bengals defense. This one, however, put the nail in the coffin for the Jags.

Blake Bortles now has 13 interceptions on the season and he needs to learn to make smarter decisions with the ball, especially when the team is relying on his passes to keep them in the game. There were still 4:00 minutes left to play at this point, but the Bengals were able to run the clock down and the Jags couldn’t get possession back until under 2:00. The interception was a killer.

As mentioned before, these problems are not new and I highlight them only to draw attention to continued problems after another Jaguars loss. The coaching staff needs to address the play (though not so much to stop Bortles from taking chances like the first half showcased). Understanding the value of knowing your responsibilities in both special teams and as quarterback will go a long way for the Jaguars. Stopping big returns, blocks, and turnovers could change the tide for a number of Jaguars games this season.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to see that because the same problems keep popping up.

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