I think I've been pretty critical of Blake. And I am concerned that he isn't a winner (he makes a lot of mistakes when the game is still within reach). But I'm pretty encouraged overall by his play. He can definitely make all the throws and is capable of moving the offense and scoring points. He's got a big arm and a bit of a gunslinger's mentality; I like that, especially after years and years of constant Captain Checkdowns at QB.

 

A lot of the game's top QB's have taken years to really grow into elite players, whether they were starting the entire time or sat on the bench early. Drew Brees-passer ratings of 76, 67 in 2 of first 3 seasons...Philip Rivers-didn't start until year 3...Aaron Rodgers-didn't start until year 4, Tom Brady-obviously ridiculously successful early but wasn't exactly prolific right off the bat, and didn't finish with a passer rating over 90 until year 5 (and obviously the guy was an immediate winner, but you can also consider the team around him as well as the head coach)...Manning-28, 15, 15, 23 and 19 int's in first 5 seasons. 

 

I think it takes a few years for any QB to really get comfortable in this league. My greatest concern is that Bortles is not showing the winning pedigree that the guys I've listed always did; but then again he hasn't had very good players and coaches around him either, and I think it's safe to say he's in a more difficult situation when it comes to winning than any of those guys were. He's going to continue to make head-scratching plays at least the rest of this year, and I know I'll curse him, for lack of self-control if nothing else. But I think that if we stick with him for the long haul, he'll keep improving and end up more like these guys mentioned than, say, a Matthew Stafford who hasn't grown at all. And even if he's that, it's a heck of a lot better than Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, Byron Leftwich, David Garrard etc.

 

What's really more important right now is putting the pieces around him: a better, more experienced o-line, getting the TE position straightened out, a DEFENSE with a better pass rush and secondary, heck some better LB's not named Telvin Smith, a kicker and punter that are worth a darn, a dependable punt returner, and a NFL CALIBER COACHING STAFF *deep breath* pretty much everything but WR and starting RB.

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