Blake Bortles isn’t interested in fan input when it comes to play calling.
Jacksonville Jaguars fans have been harping on offensive coordinator Greg Olson’s play selection following the team’s opening day loss to the Carolina Panthers. Bortles wishes they’d stop.
“I don’t know, it’s like a kindergartener saying something to a college kid,” Bortles said, via Greg Frenette of Jacksonville.com.
Bortles has a point.
There are variables that NFL coaches taken into consideration on every play that most fans couldn’t begin to conceive of, and there are aspects of game planning they couldn’t begin to consider without having been part of the plans to begin win.
On the other hand, out of the mouth of babes, and whatnot.
Bortles’ comments didn’t go over well with fans — predictably, as Frenette points out.
But he also put the comments into better context with an extended version of Bortles’ initial comments regarding fans trying to criticize a game plan.
“I think it’s unbelievably hard. For me, it would a lot of ‘all go’s’ would probably be the easiest call and you can do a lot of things off of that. I think [Olson] is unbelievable. I think the plan and preparation throughout the week that he puts together is perfect.
“It allows us to exploit what our mismatches are and how we can get into certain areas. I couldn’t imagine calling a game. That’s a difficult task for sure.”
Another thing fans should consider before getting too heated about any play-calling mishaps is the simple fact that the Carolina Panthers feature one of the league’s most feared defenses. Jacksonville won’t be the first team to put together a stinker of an offensive performance against the Panthers this year.
That said, Bortles should know better than to make derogatory statements against his fans, which aren’t exactly large in number at this point.