Blake Bortles, Derek Carr Have Tough Breaks in Rookie Seasons

I read a delightful article about Blake Bortles earlier today over at NFL Spin Zone. Joe Soriano, who I greatly enjoy reading – walked his audience through Bortles’ tough season so far and how to keep his rookie year in perspective.

As a Jags fan, I naturally agree.

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As someone who is tracking the rookie QBs rather closely, it’s good to hear that others need to view Bortles with some different perspective.

Yet, when I think of the rookie quarterbacks I usually lump Derek Carr in there with Bortles. Bortles is throwing more picks than Carr. He’s enjoying more success in the win column (by one, but who’s counting?) and he’s running better than pretty much any quarterback in the league.

Soriano had this to say about Bortles:

"…he’s always tough in the pocket (that was easily his best trait in college, as it stood out even more than his tools and upside), and his completion percentage of 62.4% and yards per attempt average of 6.7 are both higher than Bridgewater’s and Carr’s. Is he better than those guys? I don’t think so, but I also have some admitted bias here, since I did rank those two above Bortles during the pre-draft process."

Quite honestly, Bortles and Carr are playing in incredibly tough situations. Teddy Bridgewater by comparison has walked into a pretty well constructed team that can compete on offense, defense, and (as seen this past week) special teams. Bortles and Carr are left floundering with inexperienced players (for Bortles) and washed up players (for Carr).

Both of these rookie quarterbacks are the hopes of their franchises moving forward. Both of them have rejuvenated their respective fan bases, inspiring hope despite their combined three wins. Bortles and Carr are likely to be mainstays for the next few years and hopefully for a decade or more in both Jacksonville and Oakland.

Their first seasons, however, may wind up being things they wish they could forget. Bortles for his interceptions, Carr for the general ineptitude around him. These guys are taking their lumps, struggling through every play, and they are coming out better for it.