I agree Bortles has had moments when he did indeed look good last season. The problem is that he also had moments when he looked stupid last season. This season the negative moments have been occurring more regularly than the good ones. There is no denying that much of the positive statistics accumulated by Bortles has been during what is commonly referred to as 'garbage time'.

 

All this not withstanding, what is at the heart of the situation is Bortles fundamental throwing skills. The kind of basic skill set that should've been long ago established by someone playing quarterback who has reached the professional level. It can be debated all day as to if 'coaching' would make a difference for Bortles in this key area at this point. You can be fairly certain though that a quarterback who by his own admission 'isn't a natural thrower of the football' probably doesn't have the 'right stuff' to play at a championship level in the NFL. Bortles is like Henne in this regard; they can both play quarterback, but neither is well equipped to lead a team to a championship... and that was what we were looking for in our franchise quarterback.

 

It can hardly be argued though that this weakness in the most basic of skill sets for a quarterback was either overlooked or ignored when Bortles was drafted. I don't blame Bortles for the situation; by the end of three years it's pretty safe to say that 'he is what he is' according to Mojo. I look more unkindly at Dave Caldwell for putting the team in this untenable situation. Bortles has some pluses going for him; size, athleticism, 'guts', and a willingness to work. But I question if those attributes can overcome the flaw of lacking in a basic skill like passing the football.

 

According to Dave, our new head coach will [BLEEP] and decide about Bortles play here. In my opinion, Bortles should be benched for the remainder of the season and we should see what Allen can do in a real game.

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