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The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Greg Olson as their new offensive coordinator to replace Jedd Fisch and the move was met with mixed reviews, but largely negative reviews. Part of that stemmed from the fact the Olson was on staff for the worst season in Jaguars history but the other part was that he was the offensive coordinator in 2014 for the only offense that ranked lower than the Jaguars.
There were a lot of moving parts and factors that went into that, and we took a look at some of his offenses in the past, but he does come with a ringing endorsement from Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
"Being under coach Olson and learning from him, I'll have a protection plan for the rest of my life," Carr told Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union. "Just spending that one year with him. There won't be a look or a pressure that I'll see where I have no clue what to do. I'll know exactly how I want to pick it up and exactly how to pick it up, because of how he taught me and what he taught me."
"Day One, as soon as Blake gets with coach Olson, all they're going to talk about is protection," Carr told Carlyon. "All they'll talk is blitzes."
I don't necessarily know if calling protections was an issue for Bortles, but getting sacked was. Some of it was from free rushers, others were from holding the ball and others were just guys getting beat. The Jaguars gave up 71 sacks total last season, 55 of those were with Bortles at quarterback.
Conversely the Raiders were one of the least sacked teams in the NFL, but they did allow a lot of pressures on the quarterback. This means, as Carr mentions, that Olson taught him how to recognize where pressure is going to come from and how to either fix it, or exploit it. This is something critical for Bortles to be able to do, especially considering his ability on the move.
Bortles and Carr have been friends since after their college careers, often training together and talking back in forth and it seems Carr has nothing but glowing reviews for the Jaguars new offensive coordinator.
"I talked to Blake about him and told him ‘Dude, you got a good one,' because I love coach Olson. He's a friend I'll have for the rest of my life. I think Blake will really enjoy learning from him," Carr said.