I’m not a big fan of Blake Bortles. He posted big numbers last year, including 35 TD passes, but I’m not sure if he’s any good. He piled up lots of superfluous stats last year at the tail end of blowout losses.
Bortles was sacked more than any other quarterback. He also threw more interceptions than anyone. Among quarterbacks who started at least half the season, only two completed a lower percentage of passes.
Is this guy for real?
It seemed to be that most of his big numbers came when the Jaguars were way behind and just kind of working against prevent-type defenses.
I remember the Saints game late in the year. I thought the Jaguars would put up big numbers. Instead they got buried, falling way behind. But they kept chipping away and Bortles finished with seemingly good numbers – 368 yards and 4 TDs.
And I remember the November game against San Diego. The Jaguars were at home against a lesser, injury-depleted opponent, and I thought Bortles would roll. Instead, Philip Rivers really showed how much better he is than Bortles right now. Came in and stole his lunch money. But again, the Jaguars just kept throwing and he salvaged a decent statistical day – 329 yards and 2 TDs.
All six of Bortles’ 300-yard games, it turns out, occurred in losses. Mostly of the one-sided variety.
| BORTLES: 300-YARD GAMES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Yards | TD |
| at Tampa Bay | L 31-38 | 303 | 4 |
| Houston | L 20-31 | 331 | 3 |
| at N.Y. Jets | L 23-28 | 381 | 2 |
| Sam Diego | L 25-31 | 329 | 2 |
| at Tennessee | L 39-42 | 322 | 5 |
| at New Orleans | L 27-38 | 368 | 4 |
| Total | W-L: 0-6 | 339 ypg | 20 |
If you look at Jacksonville’s other 10 games, Bortles was a below-average fantasy quarterback in those. He averaged only 239 passing yards (20 below the league average), and he threw only 15 touchdowns (on pace for 24 in a season).
My sense is that Bortles isn’t quite there yet.
I am torn on how to slot him against guys like Rivers, Eli Manning and Carson Palmer. All of those guys are veterans in their mid-30s. They’ve been to a lot of rodeos. They’ll tend to put up better passing numbers than Bortles (I think).
With Bortles, the calling card is that he also runs. He averaged 19 rushing yards last year, which is like picking up an extra 38 passing yards each week in most fantasy leagues. None of those veteran guys run at all.
| BORTLES: OTHER GAMES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Yards | TD |
| Carolina | L 9-20 | 183 | 1 |
| Miami | W 23-20 | 273 | 2 |
| at New England | L 17-51 | 242 | 2 |
| at Indianapolis | L 13-16 | 298 | 1 |
| Buffalo (U.K.) | W 34-31 | 182 | 2 |
| at Baltimore | W 22-20 | 188 | 2 |
| Tennessee | W 19-13 | 242 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | W 51-16 | 250 | 3 |
| Atlanta | L 17-23 | 297 | 1 |
| at Houston | L 6-30 | 239 | 0 |
| Total | W-L: 5-5 | 239 ypg | 15 |
—Ian Allan