Quote:Last year you almost have to blame Blake for the record, but not their 2015 record. 2015 was strictly on the defense. 2014 was a little of both.

 

I'm not sure I follow your logic. The head coach was all time bad, the RBs had the most fumbles in the NFL, the special teams repeatedly turned the ball over in critical situations, the defense repeatedly failed to hold a lead, or manage to get off the field at the ends of games where a comeback was within reach. (the absolutely insane Marks offsides against the Lions sticks out in my mind in a major way)

 

To lay the blame exclusively at the feet of Bortles seems a bit off to me. I'd say that in 2016 Bortles was a contributor to a team that disappointed in the kind of way that the Jaguars hadn't disappointed since 2008.

 

Even blaming Bortles for throwing 16INTs is a bit off when a number of those much higher than should be expected were due to WRs bouncing balls into waiting defenders' hands.

 

All of that said I think what we can say about Bortles in 2016 is he wasn't good enough to raise up everyone around him that was failing in a major way. Whether that means that a 24 year old Tom Brady or Peyton Manning (the guy that threw 6 pick sixes in 2001) could have made it work in spite of all of the incredible amount of fail around them is something we'll never know, but I can say that we've never seen Tom Brady on a team that bad with a coaching staff that bad, and in 2001 Manning got his coach fired.

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