This morning, I heard an interview on the radio with Sal Palantonio and Blake Bortles.

 

I will paraphrase as best I can here.

 

Bortles, addressing how it feels to be the first drafted QB,  indicated what he had said before about it being an honor to have been drafted, and that as a competitor you want to be the best at everything and he wanted to be the first QB drafted, but he would have been happy being drafted anywhere because it was an honor.  He said he couldn't be in a better place than Jacksonville.

 

He talked about some of the adjustments he had to make, and a profound experience for him was seeing someone get cut for the first time.

 

Bortles stated that Gus Bradley has established a great atmosphere and that all of the vets are great guys.

 

Palantonio asked him about the comparisons to Roethlisberger, and Bortles indicated he thought the comparisons came from their size and ability to extend plays.  He said it was good to be compared to a guy who won two super bowls, and it was good to get to work with him this past spring.

 

Responding to questions about the large playbook, Bortles aid the playbook is definitely large, and that he already has a favorite play.  I did not understand or remember all of the verbage, but he described the different reads on the play, and the Y running a "ball" route.

 

Palantonio really pressed him on the subject of playing early vs. sitting.  IMO, Bortles handled it well.  Bortles indicated that in his opinion the only way to learn to do something is to get in there and do it and the competitor in him wants to get in there and learn from mistakes.  He also said that history has shown that when QBs sit for a year or two, the early part of their careers tend to go better.  He said that smetimes a team can ruin a QB's confidence if he is thrown out there too soon.  Palantonio asked him if he had the confidence, and he responded with a firm "Yes."  Ultimately, he said he's willing to do whatever the coaches ask of him. 

 

I am looking for a link to the interview and will post when/if I find it.

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