IF YOU THINK about it, Achilles’ mother was a bit of a dope. Knowing that it was foretold that her son would die young, Thetis dipped her son in the river Styx because its water offered the powers of invulnerability.
She held him by the heel, ensuring that was the only part of his body not covered by the water and leaving him vulnerable for his entire life.
Why she didn’t just dip his heel in after she’d sorted the rest of him is anyone’s guess.
For years, Achilles survived battle after battle only to be killed when a poisonous arrow landed in his heel, killing him shortly thereafter.
Speaking of an Achilles’ heel and, as it happens, targets landing at people’s feet, Blake Bortles was expected to have one of his better days at the office against arguably the weakest defence in the NFL on Sunday.
Ranking dead last in yards per game and first downs conceded per game, few expected the Jags to be able to live with the explosive Kansas City offence, but most expected them to at least keep things close.
We are, after all, talking about a legitimate Super Bowl-contending team, one that came so close to winning the AFC last season and already has a win over the Patriots this year.
Instead, Bortles threw four interceptions against a unit that had managed just two picks before Sunday’s kickoff.
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We’ve seen how effective the Jaguars can be when they manage Bortles well. But, like yesterday, sometimes they forget just how low his floor is.
They forget that since he was drafted four years ago he has:
And only Derek Carr has more interceptions — so much for Jon Gruden as the quarterback whisperer, but that’s a whole different column — than Bortles’ seven.
Some of the decision making has been forced on Nathaniel Hackett and Doug Marrone with star running back Leonard Fournette limited to just 20 rushing attempts this season because of injury.
With a backfield by committee — and Bortles their second leading rusher — Jacksonville has been limited to just 122 rushing attempts this season, tied for 17th in the league with the Carolina Panthers.
On Sunday, for the most part, Jacksonville’s defence did their job, limiting Patrick Mahomes to zero passing touchdowns and two picks, but still lost by 16 points because Bortles’ picks put them on the back foot — or heel if you will — throughout the game.
From a front office point of view, sticking with Bortles at the start of this season made more sense than, for example, the New York Giants’ decision not to find a replacement in the draft for Eli Manning.
We’ve seen in recent years a trend towards teams sticking with quarterbacks on relatively cheap deals and building their franchise around a defence and offensive weapons. The Rams, Chiefs, and Eagles are all examples of this.
On paper, that’s great, but paper doesn’t throw pick sixes.
The simple fact remains that almost all of the free-agent quarterback options had a higher ceiling and higher floor than Bortles. From a relatively low-risk move for Alex Smith to taking a flyer on Teddy Bridgewater, the Jags could have made all sorts of moves this offseason.
Instead, they’ve found themselves with a Super Bowl calibre defence and a quarterback room containing Cody Kessler and Bortles.
It’s like Thetis dipping Achilles into the Styx, painting a massive target on his heel, and then wondering where it all went wrong.
For as long as Bortles is in the position — much like Peyton Manning’s 2015 season with the Broncos — if the Jaguars do somehow win the Super Bowl, it will be in spite of their quarterback.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars have a quarterback problem
IF YOU THINK about it, Achilles’ mother was a bit of a dope. Knowing that it was foretold that her son would die young, Thetis dipped her son in the river Styx because its water offered the powers of invulnerability.
She held him by the heel, ensuring that was the only part of his body not covered by the water and leaving him vulnerable for his entire life.
Why she didn’t just dip his heel in after she’d sorted the rest of him is anyone’s guess.
For years, Achilles survived battle after battle only to be killed when a poisonous arrow landed in his heel, killing him shortly thereafter.
Speaking of an Achilles’ heel and, as it happens, targets landing at people’s feet, Blake Bortles was expected to have one of his better days at the office against arguably the weakest defence in the NFL on Sunday.
Ranking dead last in yards per game and first downs conceded per game, few expected the Jags to be able to live with the explosive Kansas City offence, but most expected them to at least keep things close.
We are, after all, talking about a legitimate Super Bowl-contending team, one that came so close to winning the AFC last season and already has a win over the Patriots this year.
Instead, Bortles threw four interceptions against a unit that had managed just two picks before Sunday’s kickoff.
We’ve seen how effective the Jaguars can be when they manage Bortles well. But, like yesterday, sometimes they forget just how low his floor is.
They forget that since he was drafted four years ago he has:
And yet, yesterday, the Jaguars allowed him to throw the ball 61 times.
In fact, just four quarterbacks — Andrew Luck, Joe Flacco, Kirk Cousins, and Ben Roethlisberger — have attempted more passes than Bortles, yet 13 players have more touchdown passes.
And only Derek Carr has more interceptions — so much for Jon Gruden as the quarterback whisperer, but that’s a whole different column — than Bortles’ seven.
Some of the decision making has been forced on Nathaniel Hackett and Doug Marrone with star running back Leonard Fournette limited to just 20 rushing attempts this season because of injury.
With a backfield by committee — and Bortles their second leading rusher — Jacksonville has been limited to just 122 rushing attempts this season, tied for 17th in the league with the Carolina Panthers.
The difference being that, while Carolina leads the league with 154 yards per game on the ground, the Jags are once again in the middle of the pack at 15th.
On Sunday, for the most part, Jacksonville’s defence did their job, limiting Patrick Mahomes to zero passing touchdowns and two picks, but still lost by 16 points because Bortles’ picks put them on the back foot — or heel if you will — throughout the game.
From a front office point of view, sticking with Bortles at the start of this season made more sense than, for example, the New York Giants’ decision not to find a replacement in the draft for Eli Manning.
We’ve seen in recent years a trend towards teams sticking with quarterbacks on relatively cheap deals and building their franchise around a defence and offensive weapons. The Rams, Chiefs, and Eagles are all examples of this.
On paper, that’s great, but paper doesn’t throw pick sixes.
The simple fact remains that almost all of the free-agent quarterback options had a higher ceiling and higher floor than Bortles. From a relatively low-risk move for Alex Smith to taking a flyer on Teddy Bridgewater, the Jags could have made all sorts of moves this offseason.
Instead, they’ve found themselves with a Super Bowl calibre defence and a quarterback room containing Cody Kessler and Bortles.
It’s like Thetis dipping Achilles into the Styx, painting a massive target on his heel, and then wondering where it all went wrong.
For as long as Bortles is in the position — much like Peyton Manning’s 2015 season with the Broncos — if the Jaguars do somehow win the Super Bowl, it will be in spite of their quarterback.
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column Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Opinion quarterback problem river Styx