Bortles gets the green light in Jacksonville
It took 13 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars to give quarterback Blake Bortles full control of the offence.
Offensive co-ordinator Nathaniel Hackett said this week that Bortles was allowed to audible from running plays to passing plays for the first time all season against Seattle.
Hackett praised Bortles for switching to a pass on a second-and-six play early in the 30-24 victory. Bortles found rookie Keelan Cole on a crossing route for a 10-yard gain that helped set up a field goal.
“He knows why the play is being called now,” said Hackett, in his first full season as the team’s OC. “It’s not just going out there and running a play and just kind of being a robot. He’s trying to understand and figure out what we’re trying to accomplish. ... Blake is starting to own the offence, and that’s what you want from him.”
Although the Jaguars (9-4) clearly had reservations about Bortles’ ability to get the team into better plays early in the season, they are trusting him more now. And for good reason: Bortles is the NFL’s highest-rated passer in December, completing 71 per cent of his passes the last two games for 577 yards, with four touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks. And now he’s getting more control. “We started giving him the green light because obviously people are trying to stop the run and put a lot of people in there,” Hackett said. “It’s like, ‘OK, Blake, you’ve got to start picking it up.’”