The Blake Bortles show continues on this preseason, and no, that's not meant in a good way.
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Bortles has had one of the worst preseasons, perhaps of all time. He's playing awful, first of all, and it's rather obvious that his teammates are getting fed up with that.
Need proof? Just click here. Or here. That'll do the trick.
The most recent hit against Bortles was his play in Jacksonville's Thursday Night Football preseason contest. He completed 8-of-13 passes and didn't turn over the rock, which at this point was a step up for him, but his head coach didn't seem all that confident in him after the game. And why would Doug Marrone have been? Bortles accumulated only 65 total yards and missed multiple wide open targets.
Doug Marrone on Jaguars QB battle: "It's right up there for grabs and either person can grab it."
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) August 18, 2017
Bortles may not be Jacksonville's starter come week one, and in fact, at this point, it's a safe bet to suggest that he won't be. At the very least, he'll be on a very short leash in the Jaguars' first contest.
Former NFL quarterback turned commentator Chris Simms is taking it a step further, though. Recently appearing on PFT Live, he suggested that Bortles is actually not quarterback potential.
"The man was not put on earth to throw the football," Simms said. "He is something that I would call a made-up QB. . . . He was a guy that in seventh or eighth grade they said, 'You're big, you're strong, you're fast, let's put you at QB; you look like a franchise QB,' and then it kind of stuck."
The interesting thing in all of this is that Bortles is the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Sure, Jacksonville hasn't been the standard-bearer for high-quality football as of late, but you generally don't see "made-up" quarterbacks taken that high in the first round. Heck, even late round quarterbacks flash enough to potential to be considered worthy of an NFL draft pick, which is more than what can be said for many, many college quarterbacks.
The fact that Bortles is struggling so hard right now may ultimately be a mental thing because we know he has flashed potential in the past. Granted, he did this at UCF — which isn't USC for sure — but he did throw for 7,598 yards and 56 touchdowns in three seasons as a college quarterback, and that was compared to just 19 interceptions.
Perhaps Bortles fooled scouts and he certainly may have fooled the Jaguars with his 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame.
Of course, hindsight is 20-20, but Bortles is on the fast-track toward being a massive draft bust.
