I Am Pulling For You, Blake!

The Jacksonville Jaguars picked up the fifth-year option on Blake Bortles yesterday and, predictably, this news is the talk of the town. I think it's even overshadowing the risky maneuver the Jags pulled to draft Dede Westbrook.

Starting quarterback is the most important position in all of American professional sports because it is the most important position in the most lucrative and popular league this country has. The fortunes of these teams rise and fall with quarterback play, and finding a trustworthy signal caller is the core of any NFL scouting department's mission.

The Jaguars have struggled in recent years to draft a franchise quarterback. Byron Leftwich had a cannon and he was tough as nails but his mechanics were off and he never could get it going here in Jacksonville. Blaine Gabbert has all of the measurables, but Gene Smith and company never put a decent team around him. He's not a great quarterback, as evidenced by what he's done in San Francisco, but I think things could have gone much better for him if we could have surrounded him with even an average offensive line and receiving corps.

Blake Bortles is an interesting case study in this subject. He had a rough go of it as a rookie, piled up some fine stats in his sophomore year en route to breaking the Jacksonville touchdown record, and then seriously regressed last year. But even in that regression, he played two strong games (including one with around a 70% completion percentage) with a new coaching staff. Did Doug Marrone pull something out of Blake that Gus never could have, or is that sample size too small for any meaningful analysis?

I think it was wise of the Jaguars to pick up the option on Bortles because I believe that he can be a top-twelve NFL quarterback. I also see it as relatively low risk and high reward, as outlined in this rundown from the Florida Times-Union. Blake has some major financial incentives to put this team on his back and improve his play, but I don't even think those incentives are the end-all and be-all of why he will succeed here in town.

Blake is tough. His teammates appreciate that and they play for him, even if he doesn't always throw the best ball.

Blake is mobile. Yeah, he's had 23 and 22 combined turnovers in the last two years, but his critics rarely discuss the many times that he has scrambled for first downs and touchdowns.

Blake can get the ball downfield. He led the league in 2015 in passes of longer than twenty yards.

He needs to take better care of the ball and improve on his touch and accuracy, but I think he's a smart guy and a great athlete. I really hope that he is improving his mechanics and training hard in California, or all of this will be for naught. I'll let those rumors of Blake's bar habits out at the beach alone--the man is 21 and can do what he pleases, but he needs to follow the example of players like Brady, Brees, Winston, Mariota, and Newton, who all take exemplary care of themselves in the offseason.

I would say that, for Blake's career, he has been above average 75% of the time. He has been bad 25%. He has never been great. 

Can he get there? Which Blake will lead the Jags in 2017? I'd like to think we'll see the great version of Blake Bortles, and it's not just because I'm a UCF alum. I love my Jaguars and I don't want to go back to square one. I want Blake Bortles to be the man here, make that option pay off, and take this team to the postseason.

I am pulling for you Blake. Make it happen... 

Jags are Camping!

Love it! Quarterbacks and rookies reported today. The rest of the squad will be in camp beginning on Thursday.

I have a lot of optimism for this team, and much of it rests with T.J. Yeldon. I think he's got a great package of skills, and that his running style will complement the type of ball-control offense Coach Bradley wants to run. 

The Jags want to play hard-nosed defense and take care of the ball on offense. I think they'll put a premium on sustaining long drives, and a lot of that will come down to the recently renovated offensive line and Yeldon's ability to get those tough yards between the tackles. 

It was fun watching the RBC Canadian Open last week (great showing by Day and Hearn), but I have to admit that I'm really happy that the calendar is turning back toward football. 

Think about it...

From here until February, we'll have no more weekends without the sport!

Predictions for the 2014 NFL Season...

A few things I think I think:

The NFC South is going to surpass the NFC West as the most competitive division in the NFL...

Sammy Watkins is going to win the Rookie of the Year award on offense...



Peyton Manning will throw for 40+ touchdowns and the Broncos will win the AFC West before losing in the first round of the playoffs...

Gio Bernard will lead the NFL in yards gained from scrimmage...

Tony Romo will lead the Cowboys to an NFC East title...and a prompt departure from the NFL playoffs...

Jaguars go 7-9...Henne holds onto the job the entire year while Blake gets some seasoning...Justin Blackmon doesn't return for the team...Toby Gerhart gains 1500 yards from scrimmage and catches 50+ passes...

Super Bowl teams: Green Bay Packers against the New England Patriots...

Bortles on the Job...

As a proud member of the UCF community, of course I'm excited to see Blake Bortles playing his professional football down at Everbank Field. In many ways, he brings with him the same set of tools that his predecessor brought, which is probably scary for some Jaguars fans. Both Gabbert and Bortles have the size and arm strength to stand in the pocket. Both can run a little bit when things break down. Both experienced late success in their respective college careers.

But I think Blake has some intangibles that Blaine didn't have. Already, he's done a lot of media. He seems interested in making Jacksonville his home, and he seems genuinely excited to be here. I never got that sense from Blaine, who was aloof with the media and didn't spend much time here in JAX when the season was finished. 

Blake has a quiet confidence about him that I think will only grow as he gets an opportunity to learn from the coaching staff and Chad Henne, who has proven himself to be a great asset to the team. With the starting job clearly his and an improved roster around him, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Chad come out of the gates with some good numbers.

How long until Blake gets his shot? I think our staff is patient, and they have a plan. If Chad is healthy and the team is competitive, he will play. Blake will need to take as many mental reps as he can and keep himself prepared to play in the event of an injury.

But if this all plays out the way the Jaguars would like to see it go, then I think he'll get a year of seasoning under his belt and head into next year ready to compete. 

Either way, I think it was a great pick for the future of the franchise. I'm excited to see where we go from here, especially with weapons like Robinson, Lee, and Johnson in camp as well...

Jaguars Rising

Well, shoot. That didn't work out...

I think Blaine is a much better player than he ever showed here, and I feel for him now that Jags fans are piling on. Blaine should only now be preparing to play his second full season. When JDR cut Garrard, the writing was on the wall and it really wasn't fair to put Blaine in that position with such a lackluster roster around him. He had to work with new OCs in each year of his time here, and let's face it--the offensive line just didn't give him much time.

He didn't do media in town, and that hurt him, I think. I wish he would have been more active in the community. 

Even though he's a competitor and a great athlete, he also should have tried to endear himself to the people here. Showing up here and there at charity events or community celebrations would have helped, I think.

I wish him the best in San Francisco. He's going to a coach that can work with quarterbacks, and his role there is clearly defined, so he can just focus on getting better. Good kid and a great athlete, and it's a shame that he walked into such a bad situation here.

Now, I do think we are getting our house in order under our new management. The additions of Beadles and Bryant are good, and I'm glad Blackmon was re-signed. He really played well last year in the secondary.

If either Bridgewater or Clowney is not there for the Jags at #3, I hope we make a deal with Detroit and trade down to #10 (word is they really like Watkins). If we could get #10, #35, and #45 in the first/second, I'd like to see us grab, in order, Dee Ford, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Kelvin Benjamin/Tre Mason. That would put three decent rookies on the field, and then we have a ton of leverage to restock the roster with trench guys. The Jags have an insane amount of picks in this draft, and it will be the watershed moment for the future of both units...  

Jaguars Rising

Gus Bradley and his coaching staff are coaching the South team at the Senior Bowl tomorrow. While it's never a situation you want to hope for as a fan, it's not a bad one to be in for a developing team with momentum. Essentially, our staff is getting a much closer look at the incoming group of seniors, and I think it's a useful NFL tool to ensure continued parity in the league. Letting the Jags get a peep on these players will, hopefully, pay big dividends in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, where we have a lot of picks in a really deep draft.

I hope the Jags get a shot at Clowney at #3. I don't think Bridgewater will be there, and Bortles and Manzel are great players, but I doubt they'll have the impact that Clowney will in the NFL. I hear a lot of folks comparing Clowney to LT, but I think he's more like Jevon Kearse or Julius Peppers. The only hope here is that he has a longer career than Kearse and doesn't suffer the fall-off that Peppers has had. 

In the second round, I hope we grab a playmaker. Let's go get the best athlete on offense available there. I like Chad Henne. Given a full offseason to hold the job, I think he can be effective. There is no need to over-draft a QB, and we can grab an Aaron Murray type in the fifth round. He'll be ready to go in time for training camp, I think.

In the middle rounds, it's time to beef up the offensive line. Grab a center and some tackles, and let's also look for a decent running back. I think Storm Johnson would gain 1,000 yards here in JAX, and it would be great to get a UCF Knight up here.