After back-to-back impressive performances against Tampa Bay and Chicago, Bortles could be on the verge of changing the franchise’s mind about going with veteran Chad Henne as the starter. The only way to know for sure that it would be a good idea to reverse course and plug Bortles in right away is to see how he handles himself with the first-team offense while playing against a first-team defense.
Bortles completed 11 of 17 passes for 160 yards in the Jaguars’ 20-19 loss to Chicago on Thursday night and is 18-for-28 for 277 yards in two preseason games. Bortles has looked poised and confident, has made some tough throws and not locked onto his primary receiver. However, all of that work has come with the second-team offense against second-team defenses, and that doesn’t give a true picture of just how ready Bortles is to play right away.
Why not?
Blaine Gabbert went 35-for-70 for 365 yards and one touchdown with one interception in his four preseason games as a rookie in 2011. Solid, but not great, numbers, but it was enough to convince the coaching staff that it could get by with Luke McCown and Gabbert as the two quarterbacks. Then Gabbert went out and threw 12 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions and guided the Jaguars to a 5-11 record. They scored more than 20 points in a game just once.
That’s not to imply a comparison between Bortles and Gabbert. Bortles has looked far better than Gabbert did as a rookie in the preseason, but it’s clear that the game is played at a different speed in the regular season when the first-teamers are on the field for the entire game. That’s why Bortles needs first-team reps.
This week.
- Covered University of Florida for 13 seasons for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union
- Graduate of Jacksonville University
- Multiple APSE award winner
