Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles’ strong training camp hits a speed bump
By Luke Sims
Blake Bortles’ starting quarterback gig with the Jacksonville Jaguars hangs in the balance following three mediocre seasons. Unfortunately, his impressive training camp his a speed bump in day three.
For those who want to see Blake Bortles succeed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s important that he demonstrates growth during training camp. While the reports before day three were good, Bortles failed to impress in front of the crowd during day three.
The desire for Bortles to succeed in palpable among Jags faithful. He needs to step up or get out of the way so someone else can do it better.
Perhaps nobody captured that better than Mike Kaye of First Coast News in a series of tweets from camp:
Animated season ticket crowd tonight. Bortles hits Allen Robinson cleanly on a crossing route, crowd responds with the audible approval.
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) July 29, 2017
Telvin Smith picks off Bortles across the middle. Not a strong evening for Blake in 11 on 11. #Jaguars
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) July 30, 2017
Patmon picks off Bortles again. Throws the ball in the air... #Jaguars
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) July 30, 2017
McNary in 7 on 7, two Patmon, Telvin and Gipson in 11 on 11. Bortles threw five total picks. Henne threw one. #Jaguars
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) July 30, 2017
From a strong start to interceptions and, ultimately, five total interceptions. It’s the kind of enticing moment that has lifted Bortles up in the minds of fans and then the classic letdown due to turnovers.
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As many fans of the Jaguars know, this is nothing new. This is a common instance in the world of Blake Bortles. What makes this so great is the perfect string of tweets that are a microcosm of the current situation and the fact that even in training camp, fans can’t seem to catch a break.
The positive way to spin this is to compliment the defense and mention how stellar they all are following the talent injection. If they’re going to be a top-10 unit, it’s easy to explain away Bortles’ struggles. If, however, the truth is much more obvious (Bortles had a bad night and continued his concerning trend of turnovers), the Jags may still have problems.
Nobody is more important to the Jaguars getting wins in 2017 than Blake Bortles and he disappointed in front of the fans before the season even began.