Bortles' Development Has Been Erratic, but Slowly There Are Signs of Progress

NFL quarterback development isn’t a linear process. The Jacksonville Jaguars know that, and so does their quarterback Blake Bortles, who’s splashed plenty of encouraging play in with his overall erratic results.

By nature, the road to quarterback stardom is filled with hairpin turns and detours. Sure, there’s a point A, which is the rookie who hasn’t made his regular-season debut yet. And there’s a point B, too, which is Super Bowl champion. But the journey is dotted with deviations to every other letter.

There are interceptions while the young prospect adjusts to a new game speed, and sacks as he struggles to make reads quickly. There may also be accuracy woes as he tweaks throwing mechanics, with some of those sprayed footballs landing in unfriendly hands.

Patience is critical for all parties involved, from coaches to fans and the quarterback himself. But when, exactly, should that deep well of calmness begin to run dry? And when should patience turn into anxiousness?

How quickly we accelerate from preaching patience to reaching for a hook is the ultimate gauge for any developing quarterback. Right now, Bortles is in the murky middle, and which direction he’s trending toward—either future franchise quarterback or flop—depends on which angle you’re viewing him from.

Or, maybe more accurately, which drive you watch. Just ask ESPN’s Trey Wingo:

In this case, “that” refers to Bortles’ late first-half interception he threw at the Houston Texans’ goal line during a Week 6 loss. It required an athletic play from safety Andre Hal as he made the perfect read and timed his dive well.

But the ball was still thrown wildly and behind the intended receiver. More importantly, look at the window Bortles was trying to squeeze a football through. It’s only slightly larger than a porthole.

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At the time, Houston led by only three points, and Bortles robbed his team of a chance to at minimum enter halftime tied. Poor ball placement and inconsistent accuracy have plagued the third overall pick in 2014 who’s completed only 58.3 percent of his career pass attempts.

Rewinding the tape only a split second reveals the error of Bortles’ sometimes blind ways. He frequently lacks fundamental vision, and he simply didn’t see the safety poised to jump the route.

Credit: NFL GamePass

That’s the scattered Bortles, a version of the second-year quarterback we still see too much.

Not all interceptions are created equal, of course, as some either bounce off the intended receiver’s hands or are the result of a great defensive play. But when he’s at his worst, Bortles still makes some astoundingly awful throws.

Like this one from the same game... 

Credit: NFL GamePass

That piece of airmail ended as perhaps the easiest pick-six in recorded football history.

Bortles threw to tight end Julius Thomas on what should have been a routine pitch-and-catch. His intended target was a 6’5”, 260-pound small building. In theory, it’s hard to loft a throw high and wide of Thomas, especially at such a short distance.

He was attempting to complete a throw that had to travel about nine yards through the air. Unfortunately, Bortles’ crosshairs were set a good two yards wide.

That frozen wayward moment shows Bortles at his lowest. It’s one of the aforementioned curves in the long, winding development road. Minimizing those is why he spent two months working with renowned guru/quarterback whisperer Tom House.

His time with House focused on the minutiae of being an effective passer and the intricate details to be mastered for a quality, repeatable delivery. But perhaps more importantly for a still young and growing quarterback, there was also a mental aspect incorporated into the tutoring sessions.

“Tightening mechanics,” Bortles told Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union in April when asked about the aim of his training with House. “Throwing with not just all arm, using the whole body and figuring out how to do that. Having a checklist and being able to say it was a bad throw and this is what went wrong and this is how you fix it.”

Poor throws don't just evaporate instantly. They aren’t replaced by flawlessness in one offseason. Bortles knows that, and so did House. Expecting a perfectly pristine passer to emerge in 2015 was never realistic.

What we are seeing with Bortles, however, is a quarterback who’s become confusing in the best way possible. Often that’s what progress looks like.

The mistakes he spoke of in April that Bortles is learning to diagnose? He still has his share of those, and the above snapshots of misery are prime evidence. But there’s a stark contrast between the Bortles in those images and the one who threw four touchdown passes in Week 5 while finishing with a passer rating of 125.4. Both of those numbers were career single-game highs.

Sightings of the promising Bortles haven’t been limited to only that one game. He’s now made 19 career starts, the equivalent of just over a full season. Pluck pretty much any common quarterback metric you prefer, and the result is the same compared to 2014.

There’s a vast improvement across the board.

Year	Comp %	Yards/game	Yards/attempt	TDs	QB rating
2014	58.9	207.7	6.1	11	69.5
2015	57.0	271.7	6.7	13	83.5

The 23-year-old has needed only six games to eclipse his passing touchdown total from 2014. He’s also currently second in air yards among all quarterbacks with 1,081, according to Pro Football Focus. His catapult-like arm is a threatening weapon whenever Bortles’ aiming mechanisms aren’t going completely haywire.

He’s shown touch on his throws as well, especially when utilizing his mobility while rolling out from the pocket. Among his most impressive completions so far this season is an eight-yard touchdown heave to wide receiver Allen Hurns in Week 4.

With no one open and his mental clock ticking, Bortles rolled right. He spotted Hurns squirting loose from coverage at the back of the end zone.

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Completing that pass meant weaving an off-balance throw around the outstretched arm of an oncoming pass-rusher while placing it far enough ahead and low enough where only his receiver had a play on the ball.

Credit: NFL GamePass

What he hasn’t done may be even more important. A mistake-prone quarterback who was under siege throughout his rookie season while getting sacked 55 times has cut down on his turnovers.

You’re probably looking at the league’s interception leaders with a furrowed brow right now. That’s the worst kind of leaderboard, and it shows Bortles’ seven picks are tied for fifth.

Sure, there’s still work to be done, and hiccups such as his three-interception game in Week 6 remind us of that reality. But please recall how generous Bortles had been at this point a year ago.

Year	Interceptions	Pass attempts/INT
After six games in 2015	7	34.6
After six games in 2014	12	17.3

The confusion with Bortles lies in the unknown. We don’t know which version of a still growing quarterback will show up on any given week.

Consistency is the next step, one he’s physically equipped for at 6’5” and 245 pounds, with the rare gift of quickness at that size to run for 419 yards in 2014. Bortles has a blossoming supporting cast, too, led by Thomas along with Hurns and fellow wide receiver Allen Robinson.

But the mental hurdles of quarterback development are real. They come in the form fundamentals, like good decisions rooted in making the proper reads and technically sound mechanics that are repeated for accurate ball placement.

If he can conquer those barriers, Bortles will be more consistent and less confusing.