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Blake Bortles’ interceptions must stop or risk derailing development

By Luke Sims

Sep 21, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Greg Toler (28) escapes the grasp of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) to return an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their game at EverBank Field. The Colts won 44-17. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 21, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Greg Toler (28) escapes the grasp of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) to return an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their game at EverBank Field. The Colts won 44-17. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports /
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Blake Bortles outperformed expectations in 2015, even though he continued to make incredibly risky throws week in and week out. He must clean up his game or risk derailing the team’s development.

The quarterback is the most important position in football. Whether you consider it fair or unfair, teams live or die based on how the quarterback performs. Even the best defenses in the NFL will lose at some point if their quarterback can’t perform (see: Houston Texans 2015 season).

The Jacksonville Jaguars do not have a great defense to rely on (though recent changes in the secondary should help) and this puts even more pressure on the quarterback position.

With the recent changes across the defense and additions of new players still to come through the 2016 NFL Draft, the Jaguars are expected to take a step forward. They are expected to develop as a team. 2015 was a big step forward for the offense and now it’s time for the defense to also take a big step forward.

But if the Jacksonville Jaguars don’t win a lot in 2016, then the team will be severely hampered.

Jags owner Shad Khan finally wants wins from general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley. Khan wants to see his millions of dollars turn into a competitive product on the field. If the Jags don’t get to .500 or better, there’s a good chance Caldwell and Bradley will be shown the door. Winning is a reasonable expectation at this point, and one fans crave.

If the Jags don’t win, it’s back to a new system, back to a new culture, and, essentially, back to square one.

That’s a lot of pressure on a team that only won eight games combined in 2014 and 2015. A lot of that pressure is placed on quarterback Blake Bortles.

Blake Bortles has struggled. While he set franchise records in attempts, completions, yardage, and touchdowns in 2015 he also led the NFL in interceptions with 18. An inordinate amount of those were returned for touchdowns.

It is near impossible to win games when your offense, instead of scoring points, hands the ball over to the other team or, worse yet, gives it to the opposing defense to score. Bortles has done that far too often to not make it a concern entering his third season.

Sep 28, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers free safety Eric Weddle (32) is tripped by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (center) after Bortles threw an interception during the fourth quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers free safety Eric Weddle (32) is tripped by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (center) after Bortles threw an interception during the fourth quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

That kind of momentum shift is what loses games for your team.

Make no mistake, I love it when Bortles somehow forces a ball between three defenders for a big strike and a first down. I love seeing him hit Allen Robinson in a crowd of opposing jerseys for a touchdown. I love seeing those exciting plays that show he’s out to sling it around like Brett Favre.

But those kinds of plays are risky. Those kinds of plays are not guaranteed successes and they often have dire consequences. Interceptions come too frequently from plays like that.

To Bortles’ credit, he has a short memory and shakes off his mistakes like a professional. He knows he messed up and knows he needs to get better. Bortles puts in the work to improve and the clear jump in production and ability from 2014 and 2015 is a great indicator that he can continue to grow as a player.

Yet the interceptions linger in all of our memories. They haunt me personally every time he drops back to pass. His team relies on him to not turn the ball over.

For the last two seasons, the stakes were relatively low. Bortles was learning. He was developing. It was all about understanding the game and getting used to NFL speed.

Now, with the front office on the line, the stakes are much higher. If Bortles can’t become a more disciplined passer with less mistakes, the entire Jacksonville Jaguars rebuild may begin another long cycle. The development taking place under Caldwell and Bradley will be replaced by new development, new foundation laying, and a new culture under a new front office and coaching staff.

Is it fair to lay all of that pressure at Blake Bortles’ feet? No, it’s not. But the quarterback takes on an unfair burden in the NFL. If Bortles doesn’t stop his interceptions, nobody is going to say he ran Bradley out of town on his own (Bradley has certainly done enough of his own to warrant a dismissal) but it will certainly have been a contributing factor.

More from Black and Teal

There’s a lot of pressure on the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016 and a lot riding on the arm of quarterback Blake Bortles. If he isn’t up to the task, we could all be in for another three year re-development of the team as a whole.

Of course, a change from the Caldwell-Bradley era may be exactly what this team needs.

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