Saturday, 20 December 2014

Blake Bortles Finishing Up-and-Down Rookie Season on Strong Note

Nothing has been easy for Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles.

The struggles he's endured since taking over for Chad Henne earlier this season have been well-documented in written form—and, more importantly, on film.

Any way you look at it, Bortles has a long road to travel with his development if he wants to become a true franchise quarterback—a term that's actually not as cut-and-dried as its name suggests.Not counting how bad his offensive line has been, shoddy decision-making and a true lack of accuracy are the two biggest things that stand out when one watches him work.

Back in Week 9 of the NFL season, Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar brought some much-needed clarity to the Bortles narrative. He touched on what a terrible situation the team threw the QB into in Week 3:More important than his rushing numbers was the fact that he looked great moving outside of the pocket. Anytime offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch designed a play to get him moving, good things happened.

It felt like when the offense stalled, Bortles was always standing still.

Passing-wise, his final totals weren't good enough to make fantasy football owners sing and dance. He completed just 13 of 26 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.

The box score itself isn't appealing. It's not a work of art. But that's fitting, considering Bortles' game isn't a thing of beauty right now.

His game is about that one word we have all come to love: adversity.

Faced with a challenge, he responded in a big way Thursday night. And that has to count for something.


Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2304889-blake-bortles-finishing-up-and-down-rookie-season-on-strong-note

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