If you watched any of last night's exhibition games, you saw plenty of bad quarterbacking. It's not as big a deal when Ryan Mallett struggles, since the Ravens are hoping he'll just be holding a clipboard. But Blake Bortles is theoretically a franchise quarterback.
Jacksonville hopes to be a run-first offense this year, and part of it is because they've seen plenty of Bortles the past couple of years. Maybe too much: Doug Marrone concedes that the starting quarterback job is up for grabs. Entirely possible that the team's starting quarterback come Week 1 will be Chad Henne and not Bortles.
Bortles is 11 of 18 for 81 yards with 2 picks through two preseason games, and he's looked even worse than that -- and he's getting booed by fans. Henne is 11 of 16 for 183 yards with a touchdown. In last night's game, Jacksonville starters played into the third quarter, but it was with Henne leading the offense for a good chunk of that.
Certainly Bortles' confidence appears to be shot. The accuracy isn't there, and -- perhaps worried about turnovers -- he looks hesitant. This is on the heels of a season where he regressed, and was one of the league's most turnover-prone quarterbacks.
QUARTERBACK TURNOVERS, 2016 (200 ATTEMPTS) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Att | Fum | Int | TO |
Philip Rivers, S.D. | 578 | 9 | 21 | 30 |
Jameis Winston, T.B. | 567 | 10 | 18 | 28 |
Carson Palmer, Ariz. | 597 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
Carson Wentz, Phil. | 607 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 403 | 9 | 17 | 26 |
Blake Bortles, Jac. | 625 | 8 | 16 | 24 |
Eli Manning, NYG | 598 | 7 | 16 | 23 |
Brock Osweiler, Hou. | 510 | 5 | 16 | 21 |
Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 389 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 509 | 8 | 13 | 21 |
Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 606 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
Joe Flacco, Balt. | 672 | 5 | 15 | 20 |
Drew Brees, N.O. | 673 | 5 | 15 | 20 |
Andrew Luck, Ind. | 545 | 6 | 13 | 19 |
Russell Wilson, Sea. | 546 | 8 | 11 | 19 |
Matt Barkley, Chi. | 216 | 4 | 14 | 18 |
Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | 451 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
Cam Newton, Car. | 510 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
Andy Dalton, Cin. | 563 | 9 | 8 | 17 |
Case Keenum, L.A. | 322 | 5 | 11 | 16 |
Alex Smith, K.C. | 489 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 610 | 8 | 7 | 15 |
Sam Bradford, Minn. | 552 | 10 | 5 | 15 |
Trevor Siemian, Den. | 486 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
Matthew Stafford, Det. | 594 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 331 | 9 | 4 | 13 |
Dak Prescott, Dall. | 459 | 9 | 4 | 13 |
Josh McCown, Clev. | 165 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
Jared Goff, L.A. | 205 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
Matt Ryan, Atl. | 534 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
Derek Carr, Oak. | 560 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
Jay Cutler, Chi. | 137 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 436 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
Bryce Petty, NYJ | 133 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
Robert Griffin III, Clev. | 147 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
Tom Brady, N.E. | 432 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
Blaine Gabbert, S.F. | 160 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Cody Kessler, Clev. | 195 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
Brian Hoyer, Chi. | 200 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Some of the veterans who turned it over more than he did a year ago (Rivers, Palmer) have a solid track record of success. That can't be said about Bortles. Won't be surprising if the team decides Bortles is best suited by watching from the sidelines for a little bit.
Interestingly enough, Jameis Winston is also high on the list. His job isn't in jeopardy -- talented guy, in line for a big season. But he threw a couple of head scratchers last night, including a red-zone pick that ended up being reversed when he was ruled down. Nobody should be worried about Winston, but he needs to be a little more sensible with the football himself.
--Andy Richardson