The case for and against Blake Bortles (1 Viewer)

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webster said:
Winston or Bortles? I think they both can be reliable backup qb’s and should be given an opportunity to make the team. But the team needs to go after a legitimate number 1 qb to start the season.
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How is Winston not a legitimate number 1 QB? Some posters think we will not even be able to afford him, you don't even think he should start??
 
It's interesting because he is a gunslinger. Even in 2015 he threw a lot of picks. But then again, so did Winston.

Payton doesn't let QBs like that play "their" game. You play SP's game. Almost wonder if Bortles took at look at Winston's efficiency this year and reached out to SP to see how he can get in on that.

He is a lot like Jameis, so it makes sense as an insurance policy if you can't come to terms or if the injury doesn't heal for JW.
 
He's been a pro QB for going on 8 seasons now. There must be something there.

Hope he's good.
 
SaintKenn said:
There's been a lot of names thrown around about who we should pursue...Jimmy G, Baker, Jameis...if you look at those guys best statistical season and compare it to Bortles, what's the difference?
I say look at the teams. With the 49ers coaching and team make up I think Jimmy has vastly underperformed. Jameis never did anything with the Bucs and Baker has a completely loaded team of 1st round picks and barely scraps in to the playoffs. Blake has a terriblyle Jacksonville staff and team yet somehow made it to the AFC championship game. I honestly think it's worth looking in to.
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That's because you're looking at stats and talking yourself into it. Don't out-think it. Bottles has been given more than enough opportunity and has failed to prove to be even mildly mediocre.
 
People forget that Bortles WAS the Jax franchise. From day one. he was drafted into a HORRIBLE situation in an absolute dumpster fire of an organization.

He was never given an offensive line.
He was never given a proper supporting cast.
He was there 5 years, and had 2 different head coaches, and 3 different Offensive coordinators.

All he did was pas for 17,649 yards and 103 TDs his first 5 years in the league.

That's an impressive stat!


But he was drafted into a complete rebuild in 2014. Jax had just fired the Head coach, traded Gabbort, let MJD and a couple of starting players, including linemen, walk instead of resigning them. The Front office brought in Chad Henne to "compete" for the starting job. Instead they threw Bortles in early, like week 4, it's a miracle he survived. He was sacked like 5 times a game (55 total on the season) There was NO run game, their best RB after MJD left was Denard Robinson/Toby Gerhart combo, and combined didn't come anywhere near a thousand yards. He ran for his life his whole rookie year.

Then in 2015 in all chaos, they decided to change offensive coordinators. They drafted TJ Yeldon, and let their best WR walk (Cecil Shorts.) They also didn't resign a couple of starters on defense. The offense was stepping up! (the defense still suspect though) Yeldon had a good season and showed flashes, and even though it was becoming apparent that Marques Lee was going to be a disappointment, Allen Robinson was blossoming into an excellent WR. Bortles had something like 4500 yards and like 35 TD. Bortles looked GREAT his sophomore season. The team looked better than their 5 - 11 record.

In 2016 the offense was supposed good so they spent basically the whole draft on defense. That year was turnover city! The team fumbles like 25 times that season, and Bortles stayed under pressure, he was sacked well over 30 times again this season. It was becoming obvious that Yeldon wasn't gonna be the answer, this was the year he split carries with old man Chris Ivory. So in less than 3 years of the rebuild they blow it all fire their head coach before the season even finished.

So in 2017 Bortles gets a new HC and new OC, they Draft Fournette and Cam Robinson (Alabama OT) and signed 3 other free agent offensive linemen. For the first time in his NFL career he gets sacked less than 30 times and has a 1k rusher. Its the ONLY time in his career that he got sacked less than 30 times, and the only time he had a 1 K rusher in his WHOLE CAREER. What happens? They win the division and go to the AFC Championship just to get jobbed by the patriots. (thats another story if you want its here) Right now everyone LOVES Bortles. He's been gritty and basically carried this whole team through 3 offensive coordinators and 2 head coaches.

Also 2017 Tom Coughlin (who I am NO fan of) joined the team as the Vice president of football operations.

So in 2018 when Fournett had a sophmore slump and bortles was playing injured they had a rough year. Under Tom Coughlin's guidance they didn't renew Bortles Contract and opted for free agent super bowl winner Nick Foles, who promptly started 0 - 4 and got benched for Menshew.

Bortles deserved better than he got in Jax. He's a better QB than several of the lower tiered starting QBs in this league. He was never given much of a chance and when he did have some support he played well.

I welcome him to be the back up behind Jamies, and teach book a thing or two.

I think this doubly if it means Trevor Siemian has dressed his last game in a saints jersey.

So Bortles was a Jag for 2 years before he passed for 4500 yards and 35 TDs, was a Jag for 4 years when he took them to the AFC Championship and arguably should have been in the super bowl.

Coughlin joins the organization 2017 and between when he joins and when he's fired less than 2 years later. the following people started at QB for the jags:

Blake Bortles
Cody Kessler
Nick Foles
Gardner Minshew

Coughlin was ready to cut ties with Bortles less than a year after Bortles lead then to the afc championship.
 
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That's a super informative post SWJJ! Kind of what I was looking for as discussion in this thread. The guy played in a dumpster fire the majority of his time in Jax. When he had a decent supporting cast, he thrived. I'm not anointing his as the second coming for the franchise, I'm just saying the guy has some skill that shouldn't be overlooked. Maybe during his time under QB coach Nathaniel Hackett and Scott Milanovich, he developed some bad habits that weren't coached out. He spent a lot of time running for his life. Those aren't exactly household names for coaches.
 
SWJJ said:
How is Winston not a legitimate number 1 QB? Some posters think we will not even be able to afford him, you don't even think he should start??
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webster has talked about bringing in a "proven free agent QB" to compete with Winston. I'm guessing he hasn't looked at the free agent QBs available.
 
Bortles was in JAX form 2014 to 2019. I think one has to ask, was he a problem or even the problem in JAX?

JAX is a poorly run team that has had only 2 winning seasons the last 15, in 2007, and 10 years later in 2017 under Bortles in his 3rd year in the league.
 
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MLU said:
That's because you're looking at stats and talking yourself into it. Don't out-think it. Bottles has been given more than enough opportunity and has failed to prove to be even mildly mediocre.
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How's 5 years in JAX "more than enough opportunity" ?
 
you cant run thru as many wide outs as will be coming for tryouts if you dont have an arm throwing the ball
 
I keep seeing people saying they don't want him but no one is saying why? And please don't say he throw too many picks because Winston had the same problem in TAMPA. There has only been one explanation on Bortles and that is in the post above.
 

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