Blake Bortles rounding into a good Game Manager
By Jon Dove
The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently 9-4 and are nearing a playoff berth. Blake Bortles has played a major role in the team’s success.
Blake Bortles career with the Jacksonville Jaguars has been filled with ups and downs. However, most of the narrative around his performance has centered around disappointment. The negativity has been warranted thanks to his issues with turnovers and a lack of consistency.
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This season started with more of the same, but might have turned a corner. Bortles appears to have accepted the fact that he needs to be more of a game manager.
Making this type of adjustment isn’t easy for a quarterback who has played most of his career as an aggressive playmaker. In college, he was the main offensive option which meant the pressure was on him to produce game-winning plays.
Doug Marrone and the rest of the Jaguars organization have obviously pushed to change Bortles thinking. This is a team that wants to win with defense and a strong ground attack. They want to see Bortles protect the football and make smart decisions.
The past two weeks have seen Bortles start to round into that type of passer. In this time frame, he has completed 70% of his throws with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Jacksonville’s ability to make some real noise in the playoffs depends on Bortles continuing to round into a solid game manager. He needs to find a way to protect the football and do just enough to keep the defense honest.
Bortles needs to show he can succeed in this role if he hopes to remain with the Jaguars. Jacksonville obviously has enough talent on this roster to be a Super Bowl contender. They just need Bortles to hold up his end of the bargain.