Jacksonville Jaguars: It’s Time to Move on From Bortles
Since 2009, the Jacksonville Jaguars have been a team riddled with mediocrity. Often viewed as an easy win for opposing teams, Jacksonville generally finds themselves near the bottom of the questionable AFC South year in and year out. This year however, things are different. The Jaguars are currently tied for the division lead with Tennessee Titans, led by a dominate defense, and a bruising run game. They have an honest shot at being a playoff competitor this year, but there’s only one problem: Blake Bortles is their starting quarterback.
In Week 7 against the Colts, Bortles threw for 330 yards and a touchdown for a quarterback rating of 124.7. Be careful here. These numbers can be very deceiving and paint the picture that Bortles has a shot of keeping it together and being a solid QB down the stretch. What makes Blake Bortles so unique is his ability to fool us all into thinking he belongs as a starter at this level by way of an occasional diamond in the rough type of game in the midst of weeks of impotence.
Through the first seven game of 2017, Bortles has posted a puzzling range of QB ratings, going as low as 48.2 and as high as 128.2. A high level of inconsistency at the quarterback position is the last thing the Jaguars need right now, especially if they have playoff aspirations.
Fortunately for the Jags, Jacksonville is one of the very few teams in the NFL that has the talent to win without relying on a good quarterback. As mentioned earlier, their stellar defense and tenacious run game have the ability to mask the flaws of Bortles and power this club to victory. This is largely a credit to draft and free agency strategies which has amassed a roster of players like Jalen Ramsey, Yannick Ngakoue, A.J. Bouye, Leonard Fournette, and several others. Jacksonville may be young, but they have the talent to compete now and are in desperate need of a quarterback that can protect the ball and keep the offense rolling. Two things that Blake Bortles seems to struggle with tremendously at times.
Through 53 career games, Bortles has tossed an astounding 56 interceptions. He’s also added 33 fumbles during that span. That type of turnover ratio would be a killer on any team, but more so for Jacksonville, who relies on their defense to remain on the field for most of the game.
Openly recognizing their problem under center, the Jags entered training camp with no commitment to Bortles as their starter. Instead, they pushed the narractive of a position battle between Bortles and veteran journeyman Chad Henne. Henne, has a career quarterback rating of 75.5 and given that number is lower than Bortles’ career rating of 80.2, it really overstates how little faith the coaching staff has in the former first-rounder.
From an offesnive perspective, Head Coach Doug Marrone has made a point to try and limit the team’s passing attack whenever possible. During Jacksonville’s October 8th matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bortles only attempted 14 passes. He completed eight of them for 95 yards and an interception. Mind you the Jaguars not only won, but dominated the Steelers during that contest by a score 30–9. The decision to rely on their running game and defense prevented any possibility of Bortles sabotaging their effort.
In the four games where Bortles attempted at least 30 passes, the Jags are 1–3, while in games that Bortles attempted less than 30 throws, they are 3–0. This paints a relatively clear picture that Bortles cannot be relied on in crunch time, or as a defining piece of this offense for that matter.
Of course, some of the inconsistency can be attributed to the overall talent of the skill players at the wide receiver and tight end positions. After all, Bortles lost is number one receiver, Allen Robinson, to a torn ACL in their very first regular season game.
However, Jacksonville still possesses other formidable options on the receiving end, so you cannot write everything off based on talent. Both Allen Hurns and Marquise Lee are both talented players that could play huge roles in the offenses of many other teams. Hurns is only two years removed from a year in which he accumulated 1,000 yards receiving and hauled in 10 touchdowns. Lee, the Jags’ third option under normal circumstances, was targeted over 100 times last season. Bortles also has the luxury of a reliable tight end in Marcedes Lewis, who has been with Jacksonville since 2006.
The good news for Jacksonville is that time is on their side. Their core is young enough that they do have enough time to develop a new quarterback. However, this would involve cutting ties with Bortles sooner rather than later, something the team seems reluctant to do.
In more than three years as a starter, Blake Bortles has never shown that he can be the quarterback of the future and the Jaguars are too talented to have such a big part of their team hold them back. The Jaguars may make the postseason this year, but as long as they have Bortles at the helm, they are not Super Bowl contenders.
