Quote:Yes, I see your point about the pressure limiting the attempts. I'm just not sure I buy that since its very rare in this league for a QB to be able to drop back without pressure. However if those types of passes are what your QB does best, I'd think you keep trying them. You're not going to be successful in every attempt. But I don't think it helps anything by scrapping them and intentionally playing close to the vest football. That just helps the defense have an easier time defending, as we saw both in the first half this past Sunday and at times throughout the past 6 weeks. The intentional conservative passing didn't help curtail INT chances either. If anything there wound up being more passes that hit Cinci defenders right in the hands on those attempts. And a short pass INT is much more dangerous to be taken to the house for a pick 6 or to favorable field position than an INT down the field. An INT on a long attempt usually mirrors the outcome of a punt. 

 

I'm also not sure I agree with your other point about the narrative of Bortles being better with intermediate and deep passes being misguided and not fact based. In watching his play in college and now his short time as a pro he not only appears to be more comfortable with those types of passes, but his mechanics and delivery seem to favor those passes as well. For a QB to be a good short passer he needs a quick, compact release. While Blake's release isn't to the point where its Leftwich-like, there is somewhat of a wind up which I don't think favors the slant or other short passes unless wide open. 

 

I guess what I am saying overall, is that I think that Bortles skill set is not a perfect match for the type of offense Fisch wants to run. Not that Bortles can't run it, but that I believe an offense under a philosophy more like Norv Turner would run, would be a much better fit for Blake's skill set/ attributes. While we likely can't get Turner at this point since he's up in Minnesota, I'm sure that there are other offensive minds out there that run a similar philosophy offense. 

 

 

I'd actually like to see Fisch call more passing plays to the end zone once inside the 30. It seems a lot of the Jags passing TD seem to be designed to be caught outside the end zone and then have YAC yards get them there. Now this one could be due to the fact that we probably lack a true red zone target but I think Robinson and Hurns have enough size/ physicality to be that in the time being. 

 

 

To be fair, it's only of recent that Hurns started showing this. You would expect a 4 year veteran WR to display this however. I am in agreement there. Shorts is good on some routes but the ones calling for the WR to come back and fight for the ball - not so much. Its probably up to Fisch though, to know which personnel are better fits for certain play calls/ pass routes though. Why keep calling a certain route in game action for Shorts when you know and have seen through past experience that he doesn't execute it well?