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Bortles losing grip on starting job

Turnovers, accuracy an issue for struggling Jaguar

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)
PlayerAttFumIntTO
Philip Rivers, S.D.57892130
Jameis Winston, T.B.567101828
Carson Palmer, Ariz.597141428
Carson Wentz, Phil.607141428
Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ40391726
Blake Bortles, Jac.62581624
Eli Manning, NYG59871623
Brock Osweiler, Hou.51051621
Ryan Tannehill, Mia.38991221
Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt.50981321
Kirk Cousins, Wash.60691221
Joe Flacco, Balt.67251520
Drew Brees, N.O.67351520
Andrew Luck, Ind.54561319
Russell Wilson, Sea.54681119
Matt Barkley, Chi.21641418
Marcus Mariota, Tenn.4519918
Cam Newton, Car.51031417
Andy Dalton, Cin.5639817
Case Keenum, L.A.32251116
Alex Smith, K.C.4897815
Aaron Rodgers, G.B.6108715
Sam Bradford, Minn.55210515
Trevor Siemian, Den.48641014
Matthew Stafford, Det.59431013
Colin Kaepernick, S.F.3319413
Dak Prescott, Dall.4599413
Josh McCown, Clev.1657613
Jared Goff, L.A.2055712
Matt Ryan, Atl.5344711
Derek Carr, Oak.5605611
Jay Cutler, Chi.1376511
Tyrod Taylor, Buff.4364610
Bryce Petty, NYJ133178
Robert Griffin III, Clev.147437
Tom Brady, N.E.432527
Blaine Gabbert, S.F.160066
Cody Kessler, Clev.195426
Brian Hoyer, Chi.200303

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

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