I am concerned about Bortles' play and a lot of it is simply on him, but I do think there's something to the argument regarding a total absence of a running game. With zero, and I mean zero, running game, we're basically asking Blake to be Aaron Rodgers........ to put the offense on his back, scramble around and dodge pass-rushers, and to do it when the defense doesn't fear the run and we're constantly in third and long.
I realize we had holes everywhere and had to do something about the defense, but we obviously erred in the offseason by not properly addressing the offensive line and thinking that signing Beachum, Bernadeau, and getting a healthy Linder would fix everything. If the current OL can't get it together, and we can't get some production out of Yeldon/Ivory, there's not much hope in having the breakout season we were all hoping for.
Quote:Blake's throws will never look like Favre's. His approach to the game and gunslinger mentality are very similar however.
Blake's mechanics will likely haunt him on and off for the duration of his career, but they ARE fixable. The right coaches and offseason program should be able to get him to a manageable place with his bad habits.
It will be interesting to see whether a new coach feels good about making the fix, or would rather go with a guy that's more technically sound.
I personally think he's worth fixing.
There's a lot of QBs who have that mentality though. The difference between an All Pro (and HoF) is they have the ability to deliver past that mentality.
Right now, he's a more mobile Jay Cutler (without the elite arm and better personality) than he is Brett Favre.
Blake is averaging 6.6 yds per carry..??? He needs to line up at RB where he can't throw anymore INT's
Quote:Please stop with this "we can't run the ball" argument. While I do think it's a detriment, it's nothing more than an excuse when it comes to the way Bortles is playing. We didn't run the ball effectively last year either and many of you wanted to crown him the league MVP. Face it, he's regressed this year. He's not throwing picks because of our non-running abilities. He's throwing picks because he's terribly inaccurate and is making horrible decisions.
I agree with this. The running game was not good last season either (3 TDs rushing all year?). ARob was outstanding last season with ridiculous catch after ridiculous catch. It's more of a struggle this season, but ARob is doing it again when possible.
That 2ND TD he caught vs the Ravens was a diving thing of beauty. The 1st TD was an excellent run route, giving BB (who was on the rollout and compact throwing motion) a terrific target.
Teams are adjusting to make what BB did last year more difficult. It is working. So far, Bortles is really struggling.
Hopefully this week they have BB in a lot of designed roll-outs, and give him more options/chances to run with the ball.
Let the kid make plays with his legs and a more compact throwing motion while moving. Get his confidence back up.
People are so quick to blame the QB
Blake showed me enough last year to let me know he will be a good QB, he's not a finish product
He turd QB is a Turd QB if he stunk it up his 2nd year yup but I give every QB 2 years and Blake improved majorly last year
QBs dont grow on trees let him develop, let him get a running game, you dont want to dump him this early and the next guy you end up with another Gabbert
Quote:Until the below is fixed. I don't want to hear jack [BAD WORD REMOVED] about Bortles on this offense.
RUSHING STATISTICS
Player Att Yds Yds/Att Long TD
T.J. Yeldon 34 84 2.5 15 1
Chris Ivory 12 14 1.2 4 0
Blake Bortles 8 53 6.6 24 0
Denard Robinson 4 14 3.5 7 0
At this rate, we only need to give Ivory the ball 857 times to get his 1,000 yards
Once again, most of you on here are simply not getting it or where I am trying to come from. Did I say his mechanics were flawless? Negative. Did I say he's been perfect? Negative. The running game, like it or not, IS a vital reason as to why he's struggling and throwing interceptions. And if I have to literally explain to you why that is you're simply too lazy to understand how this is a team sport and it takes team effort. But for you simple minded fans I'll go on ahead and explain it.
When you're capable of running the football. You dictate the defense. The defense does not dictate you. When you're getting blown up in the backfield by just a base four. The opposing defense and coordinator doesn't have to respect ANY play action fake or misdirection you're trying to impose because they know they can still get after you with just their base four. That's why those two picks that Bortles threw were against the Ravens linebackers. Not their secondary. They were able to drop back and focus on the passing game because we can barely muster 2.0 YPC with Yeldon and Ivory.
And I understand the "Well we didn't have the run game last year either". You're right. We didn't. And that's why we were always playing from behind and why Blake looked like an all-star last year in the 4th quarter. He lead the entire leauge in virtually every major passing catergory last year in the 4th quarter of play. And we were down because we couldn't control the line of scrimmage and impose our will with the ground game. And our defense wasn't capable of fending off the opposing passing offense.
This year in our two home lossess. You're now seeing the direct impact of lack of preperation by this coaching staff. Now that our defense can actually line-up and get off the field on third downs so far this year. We're not able to meet them in the middle by effectively chewing up the play clock and giving them a chance to rest. We're not able to return the favor by keeping our opponents modest and guessing. They have no guess work because they know all we can do is leave it up to Bortles to go out and win it. And right now he can't do that. He hasn't been given the proper tools yet to balance this offense out. And that's all I have been trying to say.
Again, he hasn't been all that bad. He's still very young. He's still rough around the edges. And he's not a bust by any means. I truly feel that if we hired the right staff for the job. Bortles becomes a 2:1 TD/INT ratio type QB with a strong running game supporting him. It's the current formula right now for succesful teams in this leauge. Great defense, sound running game and splash play passing attacks with limited mistakes. That's how Seattle has played it with Wilson. That's how Denver has played it with Manning. That's how Carolina has played it with Newton. And if you look at what Arians is doing in Arizona between Johnson & Johnson at runningback there. And if you look at what Belichick is doing with Blount right now in Brady's absence. That's the key.
I honestly don't know if Bortles is "The Man" here just yet. But I will give that kid the benefit of the doubt. He's not afraid to take the hits. He's not afraid to air it out. He just needs another year. Maybe 2016 is a "come back to earth" moment for him. He's going to have some good games this year though folks. He's got that ability. We've seen it. And it'll happen at some point. But I think in order for him to take that next step. He's going to need a legitimate headcoach and staff that plays to his strengths, that can fix his mechanics and fundamentals and a staff that can come in here and change this culture. Because for the past fifty-one games under Bradley it's simply not worked regardless of what we've had on this roster.
Quote:Until the below is fixed. I don't want to hear jack [BAD WORD REMOVED] about Bortles on this offense.
RUSHING STATISTICS
Player Att Yds Yds/Att Long TD
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.nfl.com/players/t.j.yeldon/profile?id=YEL060186'>T.J. Yeldon</a> 34 84 2.5 15 1
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.nfl.com/players/chrisivory/profile?id=IVO253611'>Chris Ivory</a> 12 14 1.2 4 0
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.nfl.com/players/blakebortles/profile?id=BOR650964'>Blake Bortles</a> 8 53 6.6 24 0
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.nfl.com/players/denardrobinson/profile?id=ROB399206'>Denard Robinson</a> 4 14 3.5 7 0
I knew you'd be back. Trust me, we all felt like you did on Sunday.