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**Jags02** · 09-30-2015, 11:58 PM

Considering this is an early scouting report from January just after he concluded his senior season, I'm surprised by how accurate this is. I do see much of what he's talking about. He's improved some on the following, but much of this is right on...

He has a good feel for pass rushers, but he will often run out of the pocket when he is pressured instead of stepping up into the pocket. He shows he can go through a progression and find the open receiver, but there are also times when he will stare down his primary receiver. While he can go through a progression, you seldom see him look off a receiver and come back to another. He flashes making some really good throws, showing good timing, and getting good zip on the ball.



We did see him look off receivers in the preseason, but he'll still regress and stare down receivers a bit. The following was something we saw more of last year where he seems to have considerably improved this past offseason...



He also has a lot of throws where his timing is off and he doesn’t set his feet. You see a lot of throws where he is not in proper balance.



Here's another example of where he's improved drastically from last year by dramatically improving his throwing motion and becoming far more consistent with his release...

His throwing motion and release quickness are adequate. When you watch enough tape, you can see that he will change his throwing motion at times. He doesn’t have a really quick release. There are guys who make a decision, and the ball is out of their hand instantly. That isn’t the case with Bortles, and it allows DBs to get a jump on the ball.



This part, however, is still true...

I feel his decision making is inconsistent. He is at his best against weaker opponents and when he isn’t pressured, but in games like South Carolina, when the competition is very good, he can struggle and make poor decisions.



Against Miami he was making great decisions as the OL allowed no sacks he at times found himself with all day to throw, but against the Panthers and Patriots who together totalled 7 sacks, he had some throws he wished he could do over. The following I don't totally agree with but it makes some sense...

Bortles' best throws are on the shorter passes (15 yards and less). The further downfield he throws, the less accurate he becomes. His ability to throw the deep ball is average at best. Many of his longer plays, that I saw, were actually shorter passes with long runs after the catch. He has good arm strength, but he does not have a cannon. While he can throw a tight ball, he also throws a lot of balls that “flutter”.



Some of Bortles best throws have actually been his deeper throws. I've seen passes deep passes float right into Hurns hands, or example, with great touch, however I've also noticed ARob having to make a specuatular catch to come down with a pass, and that deep throw to Marcedes was way off the mark. He's surely improved here as well from his college days with his better mechanics by planting his feet, etc, but I totally notice that "flutter" on his deep balls. I even made the comment the other day to some idiot comparing him to Gabbert, that the only thing Gabs has on Bortles is a stronger arm. Unfortunately for Gabbert, he never could see what's happening downfield and he had no control over his depth accuracy. Bortles can quickly decipher exactly what's happening and has excellent depth placement. His accuracy issues when they do arise are more about them being off target laterally.

This part he nailed...

Bortles has good running skills. He is not going to remind anyone of “Johnny Football” with his run skills but they are good enough. While he is not elusive, he is strong and can find an open lane.



Garrard was elusive. Bortles isn't going to run around defenders, but he does have an excellent pocket presence and will take off when he needs to or if the opportunity arises.

As for his QB comparisons, last year Bridgewater had far better stats to the point that we were almost kicking ourselves, but if you saw any of Teddy in weeks one or three this year then you're surely praising Caldwell for taking Blake over Teddy. I feel like Blake's offseason work propelled him from being squarely behind Teddy to being flat out in front of him. That said, Derek Carr really does look better so far this year if you've actually had a chance to watch him. Manziel is looking better out of the gate, but I'm still supicious of his low release, and if you've take a look at the stats you might have noticed that Blake has a better overall qb rating for weeks two and three combined. Take out week one where the pitiful Bucs had no tape on Manziel, and Blake at least edges him out. Granted it's year two for Blake and year one for Manziel, but still...let's just say it's not a forgone conclusion just yet that the tacks have the better qb. The other qbs he mentioned don't even compare.

'02