Week 3 of the preseason is considered the "dress rehearsal" for the regular season. There is actual game planning, and the starters play longer in this game than they do in any other preseason game. How did the Jaguars fare?
Under normal circumstances, I would begin this post talking about some aspect of the team generally, with the rookie watch coming about mid post. But I feel compelled to depart from that standard formula to get this off my chest.
1. Rookie Watch
A. Blake Bortles-I have been a football fan since 1977, and a Jaguars' STH since 1995. But in all of my years as a football fan, I don't think I've seen a more impressive preseason performance by a QB than I have seen with Bortles this year. Every game, Bortles has made throws that have been nothing short of amazing. Watching him tonight, I can't help but wonder if this is how Broncos fans felt watching Elway for the first few games in his career, or how Colts fans felt watching Manning. Sam Kouvaris categorized Bortles' play tonight as "showing moxie." His first drive of the night-starting at his own 3 yard line with no timeouts with <2 minutes remaining in the half was, for me, a spectacular show of gridiron testicular fortitude. A rookie being put in that position with poor OL play would have been forgiven by playing it safe and running out the clock. Heck, it's all Jaguars fans have known for the bulk of this team's history. Not Bortles. He went for the score immediately and attacked downfield. His throws to Hurns down the left sideline and to Marcedes Lewis down the middle left me smiling. Had he been a little more on target with the pass to Brown down the right sideline and Brown gets out of bounds, I fully believe we would have scored a TD. He seems to play with an audaciousness...an athletic arrogance...I haven't seen in players besides the very elite (Elway, Favre, Peyton Manning, Marino), and his fake spike right before the half, and the rollout/scramble right and throw back across the field to Todman down the left side epitomize this.
After he threw his TD pass and what should have been a successful two point conversion, I saw everything I needed to see for the game. I watched the rest, but none of it mattered. I have been a proponent of bringing him along slowly, and naturally I defer to Bradley and Caldwell to "be the adults," and play Bortles only when he is ready. But as I continue to watch Bortles make things look easy, my concern with him playing early is changing from whether he is ready to whether the rest of the offense-namely the o-line-is ready for him. I am glowing with pride and overwhelming anticipation for what the drafting of Bortles will mean to this organization, this town and this fan base.
More later...
Worst to 1st. Curse Reversed!
