Bortles' five INTs point of concern for Marrone
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles turned in one of the worst practices of his career Saturday night by throwing five interceptions, including two to a player who last played in an NFL game in 2015.
Bortles threw two interceptions in 7-on-7 drills and three others in 11-on-11, one of which linebacker Telvin Smith returned for a touchdown. Cornerback Tyler Patmon, who spent time with the Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers last season after playing in two games with Miami in 2015, intercepted Bortles twice in 11-on-11. Linebacker Josh McNary (7-on-7) and safety Tashaun Gipson (11-on-11) also had interceptions.
Coach Doug Marrone was clearly disappointed after the two-and-a-half-hour practice, the team's first in pads.
"I think any time someone doesn't perform to what you want to do, you're concerned about it," Marrone said. "He's not the only one that's out there. There's some good things.
"We're going to look at it. We're going to look at those plays. If there's any struggle or things we don't like, then obviously we're going to be smart enough to throw that crap out."
Marrone said he didn't try to encourage Bortles on the field or after the practice because, "If I've got to do that now, then we're going to be in trouble."
Smith's interception return for a touchdown drew cheers from the 4,015 season-ticket holders who attended the night workout on the practice fields adjacent to EverBank Field. However, the crowd barely reacted to Bortles' other four interceptions, but that might be partly because they're used to seeing those kinds of mistakes.
Turnovers have been a problem for Bortles since he entered the league in 2014. He leads the NFL in turnovers (63) and has thrown the second-most interceptions (51) the past three seasons. He also has thrown 11 pick-sixes, which also is the number of victories he has as a starting quarterback.
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