Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles takes a lot of criticism, the majority of it deserved, but to his credit he’s always handled it well and taken it in stride. He’s been one of the first to lay blame on himself, even if it’s not deserved, and always made some good self-deprecating jokes at the podium.
If it wasn’t known by now to anyone, Bortles isn’t bothered by the outside criticism of him from fans, media or even other players.
“I’m totally at peace with that,” Bortles told NFL Network’s Michael Silver the week leading up to the loss to the Houston Texans. “I totally understand that I’m like the scapegoat for this team. When we play good, ‘The defense played well, the running back did good, the receivers made great plays.’ And when we play bad, ‘Blake Bortles is the worst quarterback on the face of the planet.’
”And I get it. Obviously, that’s not what I would have chosen for myself. And I’m sure it’ll never stop. But I couldn’t care less. I just want to win football games with this team.”
I’ll give Bortles the benefit of the doubt here, since we can’t hear the tone of what he’s saying... but using the word “scapegoat” probably isn’t the best word to use.
Plus, he’s simply wrong.
He gets a ton of praise when he has a great game, it’s just his great games have been few and far between recently. Go back and google the recaps or articles for any publication after the win over the New York Jets and New England Patriots, there’s plenty of praise. Plus, being a “scapegoat” inherently implies that it’s not deserved blame and/or criticism... which in Blake’s case, it usually is and has been.
Even with all the criticism he’s still looking to get to the Super Bowl, which is exactly what he should be looking to do.
“Obviously, we’ve gotta get back to that and gotta get back on track and rolling, but we will. And I know this: All I can do is worry about what I can control, and I’m gonna do everything I can do to help this team win football games,” Bortles added. “And once we win the Super Bowl, I’ll enjoy the s--- out of that with the guys in this locker room, and that’ll be enough.”
After being benched for turning the ball over and the offense generally being ineffective the past three weeks, the hope is with Carlos Hyde in the fold and a huge wake up message to Bortles, he can get back on track and the team can end their losing skid.
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