Is Blake Bortles a budding star or a future flameout?
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/pag...ille-jaguars-budding-nfl-star-future-flameout
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/pag...ille-jaguars-budding-nfl-star-future-flameout
Is Blake Bortles a budding star or a future flameout?
- Thread starter Central Floridave
- Start date
Not a hit piece I think it was a critique geared towards fantasy football drafts which look only at statistics and ratings. Bortles has not been a superstar, but he has not been in the best position to excel either. I think he has held his own. He needs to come into his own this year or then Jags may think about another QB down the road. If that happens he will end up with another team somewhere.
Don't care much for this type of analysis driven by numbers and what college you graduated from.
Bortles has the "it" factor (he makes big plays) and keeps drives going. He's got good arm strength and gets the ball where it needs to be for the Jags receivers. They should even have a running game this year. He'll do fine but never be the guy these announcers like to fall head over heals in love with.
Bortles is a proven winner from my standpoint and this is why the Jags drafted him. He showed more character than these announcers and most on this site when he dumped his girlfriend to be more committed to win in the NFL
He will throw more interceptions than some but his game is to take chances just like some of the others who lasted a long time in the league did. He's not a washout by no means.
He's probably is going to be more like Eli Manning than Peyton but Eli won two super bowls and has a legit shot at a third. When Eli has a team behind him, he wins. Really can't ask for more as NFL champions usually have good depth at all positions. Bortles like Eli will play good enough (and throw some nice TDs) to win big games when all the pieces are in place. I believe this year will prove this as the jags top .500 win pct. which is the only stat that really counts.
Bortles has the "it" factor (he makes big plays) and keeps drives going. He's got good arm strength and gets the ball where it needs to be for the Jags receivers. They should even have a running game this year. He'll do fine but never be the guy these announcers like to fall head over heals in love with.
Bortles is a proven winner from my standpoint and this is why the Jags drafted him. He showed more character than these announcers and most on this site when he dumped his girlfriend to be more committed to win in the NFL
He will throw more interceptions than some but his game is to take chances just like some of the others who lasted a long time in the league did. He's not a washout by no means.
He's probably is going to be more like Eli Manning than Peyton but Eli won two super bowls and has a legit shot at a third. When Eli has a team behind him, he wins. Really can't ask for more as NFL champions usually have good depth at all positions. Bortles like Eli will play good enough (and throw some nice TDs) to win big games when all the pieces are in place. I believe this year will prove this as the jags top .500 win pct. which is the only stat that really counts.
I seriously doubt they give up on Bortles if he doesn't become a star this year.
Storm Johnson at Buccs. and do we see Blake tonight? Don't know if on TV or not:
Thursday, August 11th
Buccaneers at Eagles
Redskins at Falcons
Panthers at Ravens
Jaguars at Jets
Saints at Patriots
Broncos at Bears
Thursday, August 11th
Buccaneers at Eagles
Redskins at Falcons
Panthers at Ravens
Jaguars at Jets
Saints at Patriots
Broncos at Bears
Blake needs to cut down on all of those the bad interceptions (especially the pick 6s), overall interceptions, and turn those fantasy numbers into wins. No excuses this year as he has weapons. If you throw 35-40 TDs, but only have 5 wins to show for it, that won't cut it. It wasn't just the offensive line and defense, which should both be improved this year.
I rather see him have under 10-12 interceptions. He's not on the hot seat, but Gus Bradley will be fired if the Jags don't have a good season. It would be nice for them to make the playoffs, but they have to go at least 9-7. I think the coach is fired even if they go 8-8. I'm excited to see them play the Raiders this year with Latavius Murray.
It's too early to tell what type of career he will have, but it's looking very promising. It's the decision making and the INTs that will probably define his career.
I rather see him have under 10-12 interceptions. He's not on the hot seat, but Gus Bradley will be fired if the Jags don't have a good season. It would be nice for them to make the playoffs, but they have to go at least 9-7. I think the coach is fired even if they go 8-8. I'm excited to see them play the Raiders this year with Latavius Murray.
It's too early to tell what type of career he will have, but it's looking very promising. It's the decision making and the INTs that will probably define his career.
6/7....btw the one drop should have been a touchdown. Right in receivers chest and a drop on the goal line.
Nobody blames a 35-40 touchdown QB for losing when the defense is 24th in yards allowed and 31st in points allowed.
He definitely needs to cut down on the picks, but he was still a 2nd year player trying to carry an offense with no running game and playing from behind most of the time.
Fact of the matter is he's made some poor decisions early in games, taking sacks, and had way too many pick 6s and INTs that dug a hole early in some games which put a lot of pressure on the defense and has made the running game useless. He must continue to improve. Yes, the offensive line was poor. Nobody's blaming him for the TDs, but in respect to the context of each game and the season, that TD number clearly is misleading. It's fantasy numbers.
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Fact of the matter is that, playing on a crappy team with a weak and porous OLine, Blake improved significantly from his rookie year to last year and looked really good in his first preseason game this season....
with the Jags overall talent improvement (they were clearly a bad team the last 2 years) and with Blake maturing (he knows the offense, realizes he has to get the ball out fast and cut down on the INT's), he's got a chance to become one of the better QB's in the league this year and one of the best in the future...
and Blake has the work ethic to do it...now the biggest question left to be answered is does he have the "it" factor to become one of the best?.....we'll see
Actually...
Blake only threw 2 interceptions last year with the Jags tied or leading. 16 of his picks came with the team trailing, 9 of those came with the Jags already down by 9 points or more.
He also only threw 1 interception in the first quarter last season.
Actually........, that has nothing to do with taking sacks instead of throwing the ball away and some poorly thrown balls early that ended drives. Not necessarily in the first quarter, but when the game was still in hand. Once again explaining the season based on numbers and statistics instead of watching every quarter of every game. Not trying to bash Blake, but 16 picks with your team trailing is certainly not a good statistic; and a lot of his touchdowns thrown had no outcome on the game proves my point more than disputing it. Once again though, all of those numbers mean very little in this context. For instance, in the first quarter or when your team is tied or leading, you're trying to establish a running game and throwing higher percentage passes to sustain drives. When you're behind, you're desperately trying to make something happen and the defense adjusts for that. Therefore, you tend to throw more INTs. So the same patterns hold for most QBs, but 16 is a higher number than most.
Point is, he needs to throw less picks
and get rid of the ball quicker, irregardless of his team's defensive performance and the offensive line. Throw it away instead of taking a sack.
Can't win a game on one throw, especially when your team is behind. We saw a little of that vs. South Carolina in 2013. He will improve on that this year. Just takes discipline and experience.
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Lack of a running game, OL, and mediocre receiver corp explains a lot. Jacksonville is unlikely to have a team soon regardless, and its management and ownership is not helping. They are cannon fodder for the decent-sized markets.
I believe that the team is going to have a breakout year. They are talented at the skill postions and Alan Robinson is a beast. A special player. I do expect improvements at QB, RB, WR and defense. The offensive line is a different story.
As far as playing in Jacksonville, that's a whole different story. Playing what I believe is 2 games outside the country and in a very depressed city economically isn't the best formula for success.
Nobody is saying he doesn't need to cut down on the picks. He obviously does in order to become one of the top QBs in the league.
But your anecdotal assertion that his sacks and interceptions early in games put the team in a hole is incorrect.
The Jax defense was awful and he was asked to bring the team back by throwing aggressively, as that was the only chance for them to win. As you yourself admitted, that's a recipe for most QBs to throw more picks. Yes, 16 is a number he needs to bring down. But don't throw out the fact that while they were trailing he also threw 29 touchdown passes and had a QB rating of 92.7, which is not too bad (Aaron Rodgers' QB rating last year was 92.7.)
I never said that his taking sacks and poor throws early in games put the team in a hole in ALL games or lost the game solely based on that. Nor did I ever say that the defense was good. There were games where drives were stalled and game plans
had to be changed due to the above. I watched it. The difference in just 2-3 games is often the difference between being say 6-10 and 9-7.
Once again, 29 TDs with your team trailing is a fantasy stat that says nothing about the season. All it says is that with his team trailing, he threw the ball a lot. Resulting in a lot of TDs and a lot of picks. Yes, the defense sucked, so he had to. However the 2-3 games that were a lot on him early is where he can do HIS part to HELP turn those potential loses into wins, so he doesn't have to try to win a game on his own at the end.
Orlando should be so lucky to have Jacksonville's economy! They are the ONLY part of Florida that's thriving. Their port and finance sectors drive their economy. Jacksonville's problem is their market is too damn tiny for the NFL. No way to fix that.
Bortles behind Carr, Winston, Mariota in terms of upside according to ESPN
http://blackandteal.com/2016/08/16/bortles-behind-carr-winston-mariota-terms-upside-according-espn/
http://blackandteal.com/2016/08/16/bortles-behind-carr-winston-mariota-terms-upside-according-espn/
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