Bouye, Bortles meet again.
Ex-teammates resume trying to best the other
The roots of Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles first intersected in Orlando, Fla., on the Central Florida campus.
Bortles was the unquestioned star of the program as an imposing, strong-armed and mobile quarterback who piled up 7,598 career passing yards and 56 touchdowns before leaving school early and being drafted third overall by Jacksonville.
Bouye was a scrappy, aggressive cornerback who made it a point to never back down to Bortles during spirited practice sessions.
“I remember it was a challenge,” Bortles said. “A.J. has always been a good player. I think what’s special about A.J. is how hard he works at it.
“He was always a guy that spent a ton of extra time working on his craft. I think he’d be the first to tell you it’s part of the reason he is where he is today. He’s been fun to watch.”
Now, Bouye and Bortles are crossing paths again one year after Bouye intercepted Bortles during the final drive and knocked down two of his passes during a Texans road victory last October. They’ll square off again Sunday at EverBank Field. Corner has Jags talking
What has changed about Bouye since their last meeting is significant. The former undrafted free agent emerged as one of the top cornerbacks on the Texans’ roster and leads the team with nine passes defended.
At 6-foot and 190 pounds, Bouye plays the game with a physical style and thrives in press coverage techniques as he roughs up larger wide receivers and tight ends.
“He’s a guy that we talked a lot about in our meetings, just how he’s developed,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. “He’s playing at a high level, plays tight coverage. … He fits into their scheme really well. It’s a challenging coverage, and he stands up to it and is playing with a great deal of confidence.”
Although Bouye doesn’t count Bortles among his closest friends, they get along well.
“He’s cool, good guy,” Bouye said. “He hung out with his people, I hung out with my people in college. But we were teammates, so at the end of the day, we’re some type of friends.”
The matchup between Bortles and Bouye figures to be a pivotal one Sunday in an AFC South game between the 5-3 Texans and the 2-6 Jaguars.
Bortles will be looking to get the football down the field to his talented trio of wide receivers in Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns and Marquise Lee. And Bouye, in his role as the Texans’ nickel cornerback, will be on the field for nearly every defensive snap.
Bouye shied away from any talk about being extra confident against Bortles given last year’s success.
“I don’t think about it like that,” Bouye said. “I just take it a play at a time, a day at a time. That’s the main thing I try to focus on this year, just seeing what I can do now instead of worrying about the future.”
Quiet and introspective, Bouye has a tendency to focus on what he’s not doing well more than any achievements. Lately, he has been trying to cut down on penalties as referees are starting to pick up on his rough treatment of wide receivers.
Should Bouye pick off another Bortles pass, he’ll at least be somewhat satisfied.
“Once it happens, I’ll feel good about it,” Bouye said. “I have to move on to the next play because, at the end of the day, Blake’s a competitor. If you get him once, he’s going to keep coming back at you. That’s what he’s good at. You have to play all four quarters with him.”
Lately, Bortles has had his share of struggles at protecting the football and hasn’t been very consistent. Midway through the season, Bortles has completed 59.2 percent of his throws for 2,156 yards and 14 touchdowns for an 80.1 passer rating. He has been intercepted 10 times.
His self-assessment pulled no punches.
“I would say below average,” Bortles said. “I would say personally I’m not far away from playing well. I don’t think I’ve played good yet. I don’t think our offense has played anywhere near its potential of who we can be.
“But I don’t think we’re far from it. I think it’s that consistency of execution that we talked about, to kind of find that. I think that’s for me personally as well.” QB’s legs a concern
A year ago, Bortles threw 35 touchdowns to establish a single-season franchise record. He also passes for 4,428 yards and 18 interceptions.
This season, he has continued to strike deep with 26 completions of 20 yards or more.
It’s the turnovers that have continually plagued Bortles and the Jaguars’ offense.
“For Blake, he’s really hard on himself,” Bradley said. “He’ll take the criticism and deflect the praise. That’s why teammates love him. But I think the interceptions are a big part of it. That’s the part that we need to clean up from our team.
“We had four turnovers in the Kansas City game, which ended up being a big part of it. When you do that, you’re not going to win many games. Having the interceptions, it takes a big part out of him, and he wants to clean that part up out of his game.”
Athletic and difficult to bring down in the open field, Bortles has only been sacked 19 times this season. He has averaged 6.58 per run since entering the NFL, leading all quarterbacks in yards per carry.
“He can throw; he can run, too,” Bouye said. “He’s just good at everything. He’s smart. He’s very athletic. I don’t think people give him enough credit for that, because he played tight end in high school, too. He’s a competitor.”
The Texans want to keep Bortles contained in the pocket. He can be dangerous throwing on the run or if he chooses to pull it down and run the football. He has rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown this season.
“I think he looks to run the ball,” Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney said. “We need to stop him and make him pass the ball on us. Make him beat us with his arm, not let him beat us with his legs. We’re going to try to corral him, stop the run and make him beat us with his arm.”
Although Bortles is better known than Bouye, the pending unrestricted free agent is beginning to carve out a reputation in NFL circles as a hot commodity. The corner already is appreciated inside the Texans’ locker room for his talent and work ethic.
“He’s been locking down guys,” Clowney said. “A.J. has been playing good ball. We could see the big improvement; everybody on the team saw the improvement. A.J. is doing his thing, playing well and everybody is loving it.”