The second story comes from one of Blake's own baseball games, when he was 8 years old.
 
 
"He missed a ball. He was playing first base, and they lost the game because of the error," Rob remembers. "And he fell down and started crying. And I went over and said, 'We don't do that. What we do is we compete as hard as we can compete.' And after that, it never happened again. He totally understood. It's a game. We play hard. But when it's done, it's done."

 
http://www.nfl.com/labs/rr/cleanslate/cl...ters_breer

This article came out before the Jags drafted him. You can really understand why Gus and Dave feel so drawn to him other than just his football skills, he epitomizes what they preach. His entire life has been about competing, and he loves to do it. He spoke their language before they ever spoke to him.

I think Johnny Manziel is the only other QB in this draft with similar qualities, but Bortles doesn't bring all the hollywood-esque baggage with him and has far better pocket presence like Bridgewater. In Bortles I think we got the best of both worlds between Bridgewater and Manziel; Bortles has the same "it" factor as Manziel without having as much of an ego and he brings the humbleness and on field calmness of Bridgewater. I'm liking this pick the more and more I read up on it. With Gabbert, even initially, there were just a bunch of red flags when you started looking more into him as a player. With Bortles I'm feeling more and more confident they chose the right guy for this franchise.

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"A man with no sauce is lost.

<p style="text-align:center;">But that same man can get lost in the sauce."

Who is Blake Bortles?

ESPN piece prior to Fiesta Bowl...kind of funny.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gIDSdg9DhE

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A quick google search update from the who is Blake Bortles link:  He is up to 12,700,000 and Lindsey is now losing at 12,600,000.  They still have a bit to go to catch Jay Z at over a billion and Beyoncé at over 150 million.  Not quite the elite power couple yet

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Few would've imagined that Bortles would be a potential top-five pick eight or nine months ago -- not even Bortles himself

 

Any reach is possible with the Jaguars 1st round picks.

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http://www.nfl.com/labs/rr/cleanslate/cl...ters_breer


This article came out before the Jags drafted him. You can really understand why Gus and Dave feel so drawn to him other than just his football skills, he epitomizes what they preach. His entire life has been about competing, and he loves to do it. He spoke their language before they ever spoke to him.


I think Johnny Manziel is the only other QB in this draft with similar qualities, but Bortles doesn't bring all the hollywood-esque baggage with him and has far better pocket presence like Bridgewater. In Bortles I think we got the best of both worlds between Bridgewater and Manziel; Bortles has the same "it" factor as Manziel without having as much of an ego and he brings the humbleness and on field calmness of Bridgewater. I'm liking this pick the more and more I read up on it. With Gabbert, even initially, there were just a bunch of red flags when you started looking more into him as a player. With Bortles I'm feeling more and more confident they chose the right guy for this franchise.

 

You're right, Bortles is somewhere in between Manziel and Bridgewater...but that goes both ways.

 

Yes, Bortles has better pocket presence than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles reads coverage better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles understands offense better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles has better mechanics and footwork than Manziel...but he's more raw than Bridgewater in that regard as well.

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Loved this article, thanks for posting.

 

This last week is the best I have felt about being a Jags fan in 15 years.

 

Blake Bortles is the real thing - I have no doubt.  

 

When Indy got Luck a couple years back, and I saw what he was made of, I thought we could hang up the next decade too.

 

Blake knows who his competition is, and I really believe he is up to the task.  It's going to be a great rivalry, that's certain.

 

I find myself dreaming of a DE.....

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You're right, Bortles is somewhere in between Manziel and Bridgewater...but that goes both ways.

 

Yes, Bortles has better pocket presence than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles reads coverage better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles understands offense better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles has better mechanics and footwork than Manziel...but he's more raw than Bridgewater in that regard as well.

 

Man crush much?

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Teddy can't run the read-option :no:

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You're right, Bortles is somewhere in between Manziel and Bridgewater...but that goes both ways.

 

Yes, Bortles has better pocket presence than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles reads coverage better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles understands offense better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles has better mechanics and footwork than Manziel...but he's more raw than Bridgewater in that regard as well.

 

 

Man crush much?

 

Speedy watching Teddy play

 

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Bortles pocket presence is every bit as good as Bridgewater's :/

And Bridgewater is more polished because he actually had real QB coaching at Louisville. And Bridgewater doesn't have Bortles' presence or leadership. Bridgewater is basically Andy Dalton.

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"A man with no sauce is lost.

<p style="text-align:center;">But that same man can get lost in the sauce."

Bortles pocket presence is every bit as good as Bridgewater's :/


And Bridgewater is more polished because he actually had real QB coaching at Louisville. And Bridgewater doesn't have Bortles' presence or leadership. Bridgewater is basically Andy Dalton.

 

Ah yes, the ever so great argument of "presence" and "leadership". How did you measure those to determine that Bridgewater doesn't have them?

 

Bortles pocket presence is good, much better than Manziel's. But he's not better than Teddy in that regard.Blake does a good job of stepping up in the pocket, but he's not as good as Teddy sliding side-to-side.

 

You stating that Bortles isn't as polished as Bridgewater proves my point exactly...

 

Yes, Blake has qualities that are better than Manziel's and better than Teddy. But he also has qualities worse than JF, and he also has qualities worse than Teddy's. It goes both ways.

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Man crush much?

 

No, not really. Or do you dispute any of those things I mentioned?

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You're right, Bortles is somewhere in between Manziel and Bridgewater...but that goes both ways.

 

Yes, Bortles has better pocket presence than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles reads coverage better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles understands offense better than Manziel...but he's no Bridgewater in that regard.

 

Yes, Bortles has better mechanics and footwork than Manziel...but he's more raw than Bridgewater in that regard as well.

 

yawn

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No, not really. Or do you dispute any of those things I mentioned?

 

You could easily dispute pretty much every single point you made.

 

You asserting Bridgewater's pocket presence being better, for example, is just an assertion.  

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Let me be clear - Bridgewater has some very nice qualities, as does Manziel.

 

IMO they both have huge red flags, however, something that Bortles doesn't have.

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You could easily dispute pretty much every single point you made.

 

You asserting Bridgewater's pocket presence being better, for example, is just an assertion.  

 

Saying Bridgewater's pocket presence is better than Bortles' (given that Teddy does a better job of sliding side-to-side) is an assertion of my opinion based on what I have seen.

 

It is a much more credible statement however, than saying that Bortles has the "IT" factor and "presence" and "leadership" that Teddy supposedly doesn't possess...because quite frankly, there is no way, in any way shape and form those statements can be proven.

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Let me be clear - Bridgewater has some very nice qualities, as does Manziel.

 

IMO they both have huge red flags, however, something that Bortles doesn't have.

 

I don't think Bridgewater has huge red flags, but I think you can say the same about Blake. Of the QBs in this draft, I feel that next to Teddy, Blake has the highest "floor".

 

The only "flags" on Teddy is his build, which to me isn't a huge red flag. Meanwhile, the things that Teddy does well are things I value the most when I look at at quarterback.That is why I have him as my highest rated QB.

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I don't think Bridgewater has huge red flags, but I think you can say the same about Blake. Of the QBs in this draft, I feel that next to Teddy, Blake has the highest "floor".

 

The only "flags" on Teddy is his build, which to me isn't a huge red flag. Meanwhile, the things that Teddy does well are things I value the most when I look at at quarterback.That is why I have him as my highest rated QB.

 

I think it's much harder to quantify things like "reading a defense" when you don't know what play was called, what his progression is supposed to be, or what the defensive call was.

 

I also think the athleticism/build that Bridgewater lacks is quite the concern.  He may need perfect conditions to showcase his passing talent.  He was not able to answer questions regarding his accuracy and hand size (as evidenced by his bad performance at his pro day)

 

In addition to the pro day, the Jags worked him out twice.


I think they got a much better look than pretty much anybody, and chose to pass on him.

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Saying Bridgewater's pocket presence is better than Bortles' (given that Teddy does a better job of sliding side-to-side) is an assertion of my opinion based on what I have seen.

 

It is a much more credible statement however, than saying that Bortles has the "IT" factor and "presence" and "leadership" that Teddy supposedly doesn't possess...because quite frankly, there is no way, in any way shape and form those statements can be proven.

 

I agree, saying like "IT factor" are basically meaningless and should be used by guys like Skip Bayless.

 

What we can quantify is, for instance, number of comeback wins, which I think is a nice statistic.

 

For me, the best attribute that Bortles has is his passing on the run ability and his pocket awareness.  I think he'll buy time with his feet a lot of times, for which guys like Marqise Lee will greatly benefit.

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I think it's much harder to quantify things like "reading a defense" when you don't know what play was called, what his progression is supposed to be, or what the defensive call was.

 

I also think the athleticism/build that Bridgewater lacks is quite the concern.  He may need perfect conditions to showcase his passing talent.  He was not able to answer questions regarding his accuracy and hand size (as evidenced by his bad performance at his pro day)

 

In addition to the pro day, the Jags worked him out twice.

I think they got a much better look than pretty much anybody, and chose to pass on him.

 

Reading a defense can be subjectable. Just look at a guy like Derek Carr. How do you evaluate a guy like that when 80% of his throws are behind the LOS?

 

The thing is, with Bridgewater...yes, you can't always say he made the right reads not knowing his play's options and what exactly the defense is supposed to be doing. However, you can watch him...and you can see that his head swivels. You see him go from one side of the field, to the other before he makes a throw. Sometimes you even see him go back if he doesn't like what he sees on the opposite side.

 

This is a drastic contrast to most college QBs, and even Blake and UCF's offense, where a lot of the throws are one/two read then throw the ball.

 

The Jaguars only worked out Teddy once more time after his pro-day, though not much was heard from it really. We do know that Minny worked him out as well (this time with glove on), and we do have accounts from Norv Turner on how he did in those workouts.

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