Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

First, what a season, it has been epic.

Recently I've been thinking about why Bortles has seemingly evolved this year. I've been asking myself a few questions and thought it would be interesting to hear what y'all think.

1. Did the preseason benching spark this? And was that the point?

At that stage not many of us had high hopes for the season. But was it all a plan to light a fire under Blake? Was he ever really gonna be benched? Do you think it finally snapped Blake into the reality that he needed to produce or he was out?

2. Did the injuries to his top WRs actually help him? 

Tricky one, but the argument can be made that Bortles was somewhat overshadowed by his WRs. I'm thinking of the Arob reaction in the bucs preseason game. It's possible that with Arob out, and Hurns and Lee missing time that Blake was forced to step up into a leadership role and felt less pressure to 'feed' his WRs, freeing him up to spread if around. It's a tough one, either way credit to Blake.

3. Would any QB have similar success in this offense?

More of a negative question, but it's possible that any semi-decent qb would have done well. I'm sure any of the established qbs would love to play against the single man coverage that Blake has faced this year. Is it because of teams stacking up against the run that Blake has succeeded? 

At this stage I am happy to roll with Blake as QB for next season, and credit to him for turning his career around. Obviously the playoffs are gonna be the deciding factor in how we view him.

What do y'all think?

I think this thread would have been more appropriate prior to the 49ers game (or maybe after this weekend if he plays well) because his performance in that game put his season back into proper perspective which is he hasn't played that well for most of it, but he had that three game stretch where he was very, very good and that three game stretch came in December where it's more important to be playing your best. I'd like to see him bounce back in a big way this weekend and win or lose, his performance will be what I'm most interested in seeing.

No opinion on if the injuries at WR helped Blake. I thought Lee was going to have a good year prior to the Robinson injury, he's been ok but probably hasn't done enough to warrant re-signing him which is a shame because I think he'll have a good career in the NFL. Other guys have obviously stepped up and shown off our depth at that position.

I think a lot of QBs would have done just as well and probably better for the majority of the season barring that 3 game stretch where Bortles was statistically playing better than anyone in the league. He doesn't have to play at that level, but he has to show he can consistently play at a top 10 level starting with this weekend. He needs to make the 49ers game look like the anomaly instead of the 3 game stretch looking like the anomaly.

That sf game was not all bortles, he thru 3 which you can say in argument that it was the WR fault as muvh as his.

The way he bounced back after shows his adaptation of being a better QB than years prior.

Performance wise, he only has a handful of games he played poorly.

Overall his performance has been miles ahead if anything the past 3.

(12-30-2017, 06:47 PM)cdnjagfan14 Wrote: [ -> ]That sf game was not all bortles, he thru 3 which you can say in argument that it was the WR fault as muvh as his.

The way he bounced back after shows his adaptation of being a better QB than years prior.

Performance wise, he only has a handful of games he played poorly.

Overall his performance has been miles ahead if anything the past 3.

I agree, to me the 49ers game seemed more like a bad game from a decent QB rather than a typical game from a bad QB. I'm sure that Blake realizes how he does in the playoffs will make or break the national narrative on him.

His career path has been fascinating to watch. He was a gunslinger after 2015, a bust after 2016 and now I would suggest he's closer to being a game manager than anything else, and I don't see that as an insult. If he does turn out to be a franchise QB it's gonna be a big argument for having patience in a QB.

(12-30-2017, 06:31 PM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: [ -> ]I think this thread would have been more appropriate prior to the 49ers game (or maybe after this weekend if he plays well) because his performance in that game put his season back into proper perspective which is he hasn't played that well for most of it, but he had that three game stretch where he was very, very good and that three game stretch came in December where it's more important to be playing your best.  I'd like to see him bounce back in a big way this weekend and win or lose, his performance will be what I'm most interested in seeing.

No opinion on if the injuries at WR helped Blake.  I thought Lee was going to have a good year prior to the Robinson injury, he's been ok but probably hasn't done enough to warrant re-signing him which is a shame because I think he'll have a good career in the NFL.  Other guys have obviously stepped up and shown off our depth at that position.

I think a lot of QBs would have done just as well and probably better for the majority of the season barring that 3 game stretch where Bortles was statistically playing better than anyone in the league.  He doesn't have to play at that level, but he has to show he can consistently play at a top 10 level starting with this weekend.  He needs to make the 49ers game look like the anomaly instead of the 3 game stretch looking like the anomaly.

I have been extremely critical of the 49er game but nothing directed at the offense.  Yes Blake had a bad game but he didn't flinch and put the team in a position to win even with the 3 picks.  In the past he would have melted down and never recovered.  His growth was prominently on display throughout that game.

What blakes been.doing for the better part.of the last month was throwing the before the wr breaks. Like watching big ben and vrown, except these are rookies.

Go back and watch the td to Westbrook, the deep.throw to mickens.and cole in the same game. Now here is where it can go wrong. Wr and qb not on same page thats where ints happen. Or you see blake throw a comeback and the wr goes out.

Miscommunication between the two. To be a great qb you have to anticipate the route not throw once he opens, cause then you get no YAC and the windows close fast.

I think blake got cocky and thought they were all on the same page after just 3 good games. That type of gaming takes years to have that qb-wr trust.

My two cents.

This says the Titans can still make it with a loss:

Three-team tiebreakers
Titans-Chargers-Bills

This scenario happens if all four teams (including the Ravens) win on Sunday, or if the Titans, Chargers and Bills all lose. In that case, the Titans get the final playoff spot. The three-team tiebreaker would go to them, as they're currently one conference win ahead of the Bills and two ahead of the Chargers, and that wouldn't change if all three teams have the same result on Sunday.

@Bortlesfacts must not know how to use Google.

I get why one would want to defend Bortles' game against the 49ers because he did play well outside of 3 back breaking turnovers, but you shouldn't overlook how bad the turnovers were. He threw a pick 6 and provided the 49ers with two very short fields from which they scored two more touchdowns. Maybe the pick 6 wasn't entirely his fault, but in watching the play back I'm not so sure and I don't know what people want Cole to do in that situation. If he catches that ball he gets shellacked a lot worse than he did and probably winds up out of the game. Looking at the coaches tape, that throw was probably a second late as Cole was open over the middle as soon as he made his cut. If the ball is thrown earlier, Cole catches it easy with time to react to the defender.

The defense clearly wasn't having a good day, but hanging them out to dry like those three turnovers did isn't going to result in many wins for most teams and it negates a lot of the good he might have done otherwise. I'm just looking for those types of throws not to happen tomorrow against the tacks and for him (and the team as a whole) to make that 49er game the anomaly. But taking a look at the entire picture regarding Blake against the 49ers, I can't call that a good performance.

In that 49ers game, cole hesitated then he ends up tippinh it for a pick six, they get paid to make tough catches.

One pick was a great pass and a even greater defense catch by the LBer.

The other int. Can be viewed two ways, bortles tring.back shoulder pass and underthrew it, or bortles thru it as a.comeback and miscommunication and wr kept running and only the defender turned aroud.

Between the wrs and qb the picks are on both if them not just bortles.

The defense.could not stop anything all game. It was our defense's worat game of the season and I am looking forward to how they respond to this game.

(12-30-2017, 09:02 PM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: [ -> ]I get why one would want to defend Bortles' game against the 49ers because he did play well outside of 3 back breaking turnovers, but you shouldn't overlook how bad the turnovers were.  He threw a pick 6 and provided the 49ers with two very short fields from which they scored two more touchdowns.  Maybe the pick 6 wasn't entirely his fault, but in watching the play back I'm not so sure and I don't know what people want Cole to do in that situation.  If he catches that ball he gets shellacked a lot worse than he did and probably winds up out of the game.  Looking at the coaches tape, that throw was probably a second late as Cole was open over the middle as soon as he made his cut.  If the ball is thrown earlier, Cole catches it easy with time to react to the defender.  

The defense clearly wasn't having a good day, but hanging them out to dry like those three turnovers did isn't going to result in many wins for most teams and it negates a lot of the good he might have done otherwise.  I'm just looking for those types of throws not to happen tomorrow against the tacks and for him (and the team as a whole) to make that 49er game the anomaly.  But taking a look at the entire picture regarding Blake against the 49ers, I can't call that a good performance.

The 2nd INT was simply a great play by the defender. If he doesn't leap up and barely get a finger tip on the ball, it's a great throw and catch. Defenders make plays as well and not just because the QB made a bad throw.

When a QB has to throw the ball 50 times in a game. He's going to have some INTs. That goes for every QB in the NFL.

The 49ers game was about an average game he did throw for 380 and put up 33 pts despite no running game.

(12-30-2017, 09:36 PM)Eric1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-30-2017, 09:02 PM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: [ -> ]I get why one would want to defend Bortles' game against the 49ers because he did play well outside of 3 back breaking turnovers, but you shouldn't overlook how bad the turnovers were.  He threw a pick 6 and provided the 49ers with two very short fields from which they scored two more touchdowns.  Maybe the pick 6 wasn't entirely his fault, but in watching the play back I'm not so sure and I don't know what people want Cole to do in that situation.  If he catches that ball he gets shellacked a lot worse than he did and probably winds up out of the game.  Looking at the coaches tape, that throw was probably a second late as Cole was open over the middle as soon as he made his cut.  If the ball is thrown earlier, Cole catches it easy with time to react to the defender.  

The defense clearly wasn't having a good day, but hanging them out to dry like those three turnovers did isn't going to result in many wins for most teams and it negates a lot of the good he might have done otherwise.  I'm just looking for those types of throws not to happen tomorrow against the tacks and for him (and the team as a whole) to make that 49er game the anomaly.  But taking a look at the entire picture regarding Blake against the 49ers, I can't call that a good performance.

The 2nd INT was simply a great play by the defender. If he doesn't leap up and barely get a finger tip on the ball, it's a great throw and catch. Defenders make plays as well and not just because the QB made a bad throw.

When a QB has to throw the ball 50 times in a game. He's going to have some INTs. That goes for every QB in the NFL.

This wasn't a 50/50 ball that the defender came down with.  It was a poor decision to throw it at that spot and was intercepted by a good effort but would have been tipped up by any defender standing there and there were 2 other 49ers in the vicinity to make a play on the tipped ball versus the lone Jaguar receiver.  The better decision would have been to throw it to the outside to Mickens who was open further down the field and with a good throw could have caught it in stride for a touchdown.  Blake even started jumping up and down right after the throw while the ball was still in the air because he knew it was a bad decision.

(12-30-2017, 11:02 PM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-30-2017, 09:36 PM)Eric1 Wrote: [ -> ]The 2nd INT was simply a great play by the defender. If he doesn't leap up and barely get a finger tip on the ball, it's a great throw and catch. Defenders make plays as well and not just because the QB made a bad throw.

When a QB has to throw the ball 50 times in a game. He's going to have some INTs. That goes for every QB in the NFL.

This wasn't a 50/50 ball that the defender came down with.  It was a poor decision to throw it at that spot and was intercepted by a good effort but would have been tipped up by any defender standing there and there were 2 other 49ers in the vicinity to make a play on the tipped ball versus the lone Jaguar receiver.  The better decision would have been to throw it to the outside to Mickens who was open further down the field and with a good throw could have caught it in stride for a touchdown.  Blake even started jumping up and down right after the throw while the ball was still in the air because he knew it was a bad decision.

One little fun fact, that I think shows Blake can/is still developing, he's been in the league for 4 years now, Carson Wentz is in year 2. They're both 25 years old.

Bortles is still one of the youngest QBs in the league.

(12-31-2017, 11:18 AM)imtheblkranger Wrote: [ -> ]One little fun fact, that I think shows Blake can/is still developing, he's been in the league for 4 years now, Carson Wentz is in year 2. They're both 25 years old.

Bortles is still one of the youngest QBs in the league.

3 different Offensive Coordinators in 4 years don't help either.

Bortles has intangibles I like, like durability, pocket awareness, but his accuracy, both short and long has been a nightmare his entire career. He looks so unnatural throwing the football. We need to draft a qb.

I wonder what we could get for him on the trade market? Arizona, Miami, Denver, Jets will probably have new QBs next year. Skins, Giants, and Browns could too

He is much better when he gets in rhythm early in the game. We need to throw to set up the run. We do the opposite when Fournette is playing.

Do you think Cousins being the QB of this team next year is a realistic expectation?