(01-30-2018, 10:35 AM)jagsfan1983 Wrote:

(01-30-2018, 10:07 AM)MalabarJag Wrote: Bortles was 11th in passing yards and 11th in attempts, so that combination puts him as an average NFL QB. His TDs were down and his rating because of that, and that's a direct result of Fournette producing in the red zone. When Founette was out BBs stats were better.

Bortles will never be an Aaron Rodgers, but he's on par with Cousins and Smith. It would be stupid to trade for Smith (probably more than our 1st) or pay Cousins a king's ransom to replace Bortles.

TDs were down because the Jags had the #1 run game in the NFL and punched it in when they got close to the end zone whereas in previous years Bortles would be relied on to pass it in from inside the 5. Case in point, Bortles hits Cole for a 45 yarder against Pittsburgh to the 3 and Fournette punches it in the next play. Or 2 passes from Bortles to the 1 yard line against SF and Fournette and Yeldon punch it in the next play. They don't show as touchdowns for Bortles on the stat sheet but essentially he moved the team down the field on the strength of his passing. Only New Orleans had more rushing touchdowns during the regular season, and the Jags lead the postseason in rushing touchdowns. Alot of this is due to Bortles being able to extend drives and get the team in position for short touchdown runs. Having a run game this year was huge. They hadn't had double digit rushing touchdowns since 2010. This year they had 18.

You are nitpicking so bad right now. Every single QB in the league has had plays go down to the 1 or inside the 5 and the run game punches it in. You're trying to make it seem like Blake is the only one. Blakes numbers were down because they are asking him to do the bare minimum. 

Blake could absolutely improve next year but he can also regress. Just like he did in 2016. He is still inaccurate and his ball placement is still below average. You still have games where you're not sure which Blake will show up. One week he shreds the Seahawks but then he can also have an atrocious game against the Titans. He can have a game where he has more rushing yards than passing but then also a game where he helps you get a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter of the AFC championship game. This team needs consistency.

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