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The Jacksonville Jaguars were projected to come back a new team after reports of a stellar offseason. However, their practice on Saturday night showed just the opposite. Starting quarterback Blake Bortles had one of his worst practices to date, throwing five interceptions. He threw two during 7-on-7 and three more during 11-on-11 drills.
Marrone’s Reaction
Following practice, head coach Doug Marrone was not happy. In fact, he seemed ready to turn the attention away from Bortles as quickly as possible. “He’s not the only one out there,” was Marrone’s first quote in reference to his quarterback. Shortly after, he mentioned changing the playbook if any struggles were to arise. But, considering one of Bortles’ five interceptions made its way to a touchdown, struggles are already there. Surprisingly though, changing plays after one practice was not the most telling piece from Marrone. Instead, it was the fact that he was not going to encourage his quarterback to perform better. “If I’ve got to do that now,” the coach said, “we’re going to be in trouble.”
Blake Bortles a Bust?
Based on last year, Bortles is actually off to a worse start. Jaguars fans had faith in the 2016 season, mostly because of how strong Bortles looked during pre-season practice. But, the faith did not last long after Jacksonville lost game after game, ending the season 3-13. Bortles threw 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2016, his lowest INT rate in a season. Last night, Bortles threw almost a third of last year’s stat against his own team.
Quarterback Blake Bortles getting ready for the 7-on-7 portion of practice @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/sTFekfHerQ
— Olivia Granaiola (@oliviagranaiola) July 30, 2017
Before the drills, Bortles looked poised for excellence. After a slew of failures, Chad Henne (who has not played since 2015) took his place.
What’s Next?
The Jags only have five more practices until their preseason opener against the Patriots. It will be interesting to see if Saturday was a wake-up call or a preview for Blake Bortles this season. The Jags will practice again on Monday.
