So me and my dad were talking about Bortles. Obviously he still has his issues but one thing we noticed....

Bortles has not thrown a pick six this year at all. Let that sink in. I had to go back and check game logs but it’s true. 

I think that is at least one thing that’s contributing to our good record for sure

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He’s thrown a few. They were just dropped by the defender.

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He’s thrown a few.  They were just dropped by the defender.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

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He's definitely minimized the amount of completely boneheaded throws that he's made in prior years. Though Hackett seems to have taken the shallow out route out of the playbook.

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He's definitely minimized the amount of completely boneheaded throws that he's made in prior years. Though Hackett seems to have taken the shallow out route out of the playbook.

Ding ding ding.

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So me and my dad were talking about Bortles. Obviously he still has his issues but one thing we noticed....

Bortles has not thrown a pick six this year at all. Let that sink in. I had to go back and check game logs but it’s true. 

I think that is at least one thing that’s contributing to our good record for sure

That is an important stat. 

And this next comment is not meant to be disparaging to #5 but a compliment to our coaching staff  --  but it's very apparent to me that Marrone and Hackett are very invested in adjusting the playbook and gameplan each week to limit the situations that have produced those pick-6 plays in the past. 

I give Blake credit for stepping up his game (even if inconsistently) but I feel this coaching staff is being very smart about when they turn him loose, reign him in, or just edit certain throws out of the playbook entirely.

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He's definitely minimized the amount of completely boneheaded throws that he's made in prior years. Though Hackett seems to have taken the shallow out route out of the playbook.

LOL - beat me to it while I was typing the above.

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He's definitely minimized the amount of completely boneheaded throws that he's made in prior years. Though Hackett seems to have taken the shallow out route out of the playbook.

Ding ding ding.

If I remember correctly we ran one last week or a couple weeks ago that was almost picked off. It's really weird that such a simple play results in a turnover or near turnover every time it's run.

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One of the biggest things he’s added to this team. Not giving up those easy points and short fields to the other team.

I watched one of his interviews and he said something that stood out. He said that the coaches want to always finish the drive with a kick. Either a field goal, extra point or punt. I thought that was a good philosophy and what it does is keep the team in the fight to figure out how to win the game.

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Very nice observation! Summon SpacecoastJag...

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Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.

They are running less slants/speed outs/bubble screens that require fast decision making, fast mechanics, anticipation, and ball placement and running a lot more shallow crossers that allow Blake to see the receiver running open first and then take his time delivering the ball.

This also works better for our undersized receiving corps who are not going to be getting inside leverage and boxing out the safety for the ball on a slant for example.

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Ding ding ding.

If I remember correctly we ran one last week or a couple weeks ago that was almost picked off. It's really weird that such a simple play results in a turnover or near turnover every time it's run.

You see it frequently from young QBs - especially when they have any tendency to stare down a guy or have a longer release. The better NFL corners now how to jump that route. 

Watching Mariota throw the pick six to the far sideline thursday night gave me nightmare-like flashbacks of Blake doing it and also reminded me how well this staff has edited the playbook to his strengths and weaknesses. 

You hear Marrone harping in his pressers about looking at film every week and deciding "what to leave in and what to take out" and it's clear this staff actually does that on a weekly basis. 
Refreshing.

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He’s thrown a few.  They were just dropped by the defender.

He's thrown 5-6 bombs that hit his receivers in the hands as well.

I'm sure you are counting those in the plus column........

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They are running less slants/speed outs/bubble screens that require fast decision making, fast mechanics, anticipation, and ball placement and running a lot more shallow crossers that allow Blake to see the receiver running open first and then take his time delivering the ball.

This also works better for our undersized receiving corps who are not going to be getting inside leverage and boxing out the safety for the ball on a slant for example.

Yes.  I've noticed that they are using some plays that are "timing routes" but they are more often plays that are right in front of the QB.  Rarely anything towards the sideline.  

It also appears they've drilled Blake well on the RB swing passes, screens and dump-offs. Even though he's still pretty clunky with these - he's getting the ball to the RBs cleaner more often.  Maybe 20-30% more than last year those passes don't require the RB to make some awkward adjustment on the ball allowing the defender to close on him before he can turn upfield.

edit: they actually may need a new wrinkle on that roll-out with the crossing pattern as they've really put in on tape for opponents extensively now

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He’s thrown a few.  They were just dropped by the defender.

He's thrown 5-6 bombs that hit his receivers in the hands as well.

I'm sure you are counting those in the plus column........

Lighten up Francis.

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How many of the interceptions were tipped by a receiver or careened off of shoe laced into opponents hands

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“You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.”
“If you find a way to motivate an idiot you have a motivated idiot”

He’s thrown a few.  They were just dropped by the defender.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

Yeah... horseshoes, handgrenades, and leading indicators....

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Here's another positive stat:

Over the last four games - the Jags have allowed an average of 63 yards per game on the ground.
That run defense is coming together.

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Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

Yeah... horseshoes, handgrenades, and leading indicators....

And nuclear weapons.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

He's definitely minimized the amount of completely boneheaded throws that he's made in prior years. Though Hackett seems to have taken the shallow out route out of the playbook.

We haven't seen it as much this season. But if you recall, the very first pass in the Chargers game was a shallow out route to Hurns. The defender broke on the ball just too late,, or it was a pick-6 for sure. The announcers (Lofton, IIRC) said " oh boy, what a DANGEROUS throw that was."  Bortles and Hurns got lucky in that one.

Least we forget the Jets game,, when a big, slow d-lineman was running towards BB (only Bortles and the Defender were around each other), and Bortles tries to flip the ball over that guys head. The lineman tips it up, intercepts it, and runs all the way to the 2 or 3 yard line. 
Thankfully, they were able to tackle that guy before it was a TD, and the defense held the Jets to a FG from point blank range. But, that was definitely one of the 2 or 3 plays of that game that we could say really cost the Jags a chance at victory. That was a HUGE 3 points for NYJ. 

But, all in all, I agree with you. Bortles has been much better with the dumb mistakes for the most part (even though he still makes them from time to time). The last few minutes of the 4th qtr Chargers game was terrible, for instance.

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No pick 6's? That's what we are praising now? Man, the bar is looooooow.

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