Blake Bortles: How the Jaguars QB Can Turn the Franchise Around

In 2007, the Jacksonville Jaguars went 11-5 and won a wild-card matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the seven years since, things have been less than good in Jacksonville.

But finally, there’s hope. And his name is Blake Bortles.

Bortles turned in a fairly abysmal rookie campaign but still showed flashes of incredible potential on his way to guiding the Jags to a 3-10 mark in his 13 starts.

His final season stats weren’t impressive, with 11 touchdowns to 17 interceptions and six games with fewer than 200 yards passing. So why is 2015 going to be different? There are several reasons.

The Offense

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The Jaguars brought in a new offensive coordinator, giving Bortles another new offense to learn. Normally, that would probably be a bad thing, but all accounts seem to indicate otherwise.

As ESPN’s Mike DiRocco wrote, a change was necessary for Bortles and the Jaguars offense.

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“(Jaguars head coach Gus) Bradley believed coordinator Jedd Fisch was overloading Bortles with too much of the offense at once and would have instead preferred an approach in which Bortles was given measured doses and had the package expanded only as he grew comfortable with the offense. That’s why Bradley fired Fisch days after the 2014 season ended.”

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After firing Fisch, Bradley hired former Raiders coordinator, and Derek Carr’s quarterback mentor, Greg Olson. The offense is thought to be simpler and more run-based, giving Bortles plenty of shoulders to help spread the load.

Although it’s the preseason and nobody expects Bortles to talk badly about his new offense, the second-year quarterback had glowing remarks about Olson’s offense when talking to DiRocco.

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"It’s my third offense in three years and every offense I’ve been a part of I’ve liked stuff and I haven’t liked stuff. I think this one’s definitely been the best. ... It’s a cool system because there are not a whole lot of plays where it’s like, ‘Oh, I really don’t like that,’" Bortles continued. "But there are a couple plays where it’s like, ‘OK, I really like these. I know these in and out vs. every look. These are my gotta-have-it calls, or when we get into trouble, this is my go-to call.’”

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Bortles' preseason stats (yes, they’re preseason stats) seem to show his level of comfort in the new offense and indicate that he has done a good job of minimizing risks and making better decisions.

Opponent	Completions/Attempts	Completion Percentage	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Pittsburgh	11-15	73.3	118	0	0
New York Giants	8-16	50	98	0	0
Detroit	20-29	69	245	1	0
TOTAL	39-60	65	461	1	0

The Team Around Him

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Bortles was sacked a league-high 55 times as a rookie in 2014, leading the Jaguars to address the offensive line in the offseason.

Here’s what Jaguars.com senior writer John Oehser had to say about the offensive line in his breakdown of the Jags’ 53-man roster.

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“Parnell has proven a big upgrade at right tackle since signing as an unrestricted free agent and Linder may be the team’s best offensive lineman. Wisniewski won the job in a camp battle with Bowanko and his experience in coordinator Greg Olson’s offense is a plus. While many predicted a camp battle between Beadles and Cann, the veteran Beadles appeared significantly improved in new offensive line coach Doug Marrone’s scheme. Joeckel had some well-publicized inconsistency early in preseason, but coaches like his progress.”

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Perhaps less talked-about than the addition of the linemen themselves is the introduction of offensive line/assistant head coach Doug Marrone, the former Bills head coach. Marrone is known around the league as an offensive-line guru, and he should help the Jaguars turn one of their biggest weaknesses in 2014 into at least less of a weakness in 2015, which in turn should help Bortles.

Beyond just an improved offensive line, general manager Dave Caldwell has spent over two years transforming the rest of the roster to his and coach Bradley’s liking. Heading into 2015, they feel like they’ve vastly improved the team.

“We said we were going to build this team,” Bradley told WJXT’s Sam Kouvaris. “And now it’s built.”

While building expectations on a coach’s words, especially one as upbeat and positive as Bradley, is certainly not the way to predict how a season will turn out, there seems to be a lot of optimism coming out of Jacksonville.

Bortles Himself

Many draft experts considered Bortles a top-tier talent based on his raw skills. Key word: raw.

Bortles saw his already-questioned mechanics devolve over the course of 2014, likely due to being asked to do too much and the constant pressure he faced from the league’s most porous offensive line.

Over the offseason, Bortles worked with throwing guru Tom House on his throwing motion and mechanics. House has worked with the likes of Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.

The results, according to Bortles and those around him, have been incredible.

“To me, it's a big difference," Bortles told NFL.com's Chris Wesseling. "To the guys that I worked with it's a big difference. It's just more efficient. It's better."

Jagurs GM Dave Caldwell echoed Bortles’ sentiments, telling ESPN’s Mike DiRocco, “From where he’s at now compared to where he came in last year as a rookie, I think it’s night and day."

Bortles has all the tools needed to turn Jacksonville into the powerhouse it was in the late ‘90s. This could be the season Bortles and Jacksonville progress into a worthy AFC South rival for Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

Stats and info courtesy of NFL.com

Follow Aaron Brand on Twitter @AaronBrand47