What’s Next? Can Blake Bortles Be Better?
By Luke Sims
A rookie’s season in the NFL is difficult. It’s often more difficult when you’re selected in the top three and suddenly the entire weight of a franchise is on your shoulders. For Blake Bortles that is pretty much exactly what happened. We all commended the decision to keep Bortles on the bench through his rookie season but with Chad Henne’s poor play coach Gus Bradley had to make a switch to the more invigorating Blake Bortles.
Fast forward a few weeks and it appears that the Jaguars have traded absolute mediocrity in Chad Henne for inconsistency and turnovers in Blake Bortles.
Bortles will take his lumps though this season (and likely in future seasons as well) but he will have to be better going forward if the Jaguars – who are suddenly competitive – hope to get some more Ws.
As highlighted by Daniel Lago’s power rankings highlights, the Jaguars are pretty much reeling right now. The defense should rightly get some blame for the game on Sunday. In fact you could blame work culture on the third straight 1-8 season start for the team. Can you blame Blake Bortles?
Honestly, yes. At the end of the day he is throwing interceptions he is making poor reads and he’s struggling to adapt to the NFL as effectively as a top three pick ideally should.
That said, it’s obvious that when compared to Henne he is making the team better.
So, can he move past his mistakes and become better?
Absolutely. Blake Bortles is going to eclipse his rookie season in the future and this will be a slight blip on his resume. With seven games left in the season he could even get much better in 2014. I fully expect his reps with the offense to lead to better play, better responsibility, and better results for the Jaguars. So, while it’s painful to see Bortles toss picks and it’s tough to trust that he can actually be the best thing for the Jaguars right now, keep in mind that better days are coming.