Let's get to it . . . MoveDemChains from Section 410:
I love the new logo. When are we gonna see the new jerseys?
John: To paraphrase Shad Khan, "Stay tuned."
James from Orange Park, FL:
I hate it.
John: This sort of summed up the inbox in the moments just after the logo announcement Tuesday, to which I must say, "People, people, people . . ." Let's take a deep breath. Very few people like change in the immediate, and that's understandable, but this franchise has undergone a series of significant changes in the past year, most notably new ownership. A new owner means an entirely different era, and is it wrong for that new era to have a different logo and brand? And let's face it: at the very least, some change – symbolic or otherwise – has been needed in this organization. There are fresh faces, a fresh direction . . . is a fresh look so out of context? Within the overall scheme of things, this is not a change of foundation-shaking, run-for-the-hills-screaming proportions. This is probably best seen as pretty reasonable alteration. The name didn't change. Even the logo didn't change entirely. It's still a Jaguars head, with basically a mix of the old with a look forward to the new. The logo could have been dramatically changed. Shoot, the name theoretically could have changed. It didn't. They're still the Jaguars. The tongue is still teal. There are still spots. It's still black, gold, teal and white. The backdrop you're reading is still black with white letters. Slow it down, people. Take a few days, even a few weeks if needed. Let it grow a little and see what you think.
Ryan from Boynton Beach, FL:
Was that you I saw running across the screen at the end of the State of the Jaguars to get those appetizer and drinks?
John: If you mean the guy running at a dead sprint, pushing ladies to the side, grinning from ear to ear and screaming, "This is the greatest moment of my life . . ." then, no, that was J.P. Shadrick.
John from Jacksonville:
I have lived all over the country. I hope Jag fans realize how lucky we are to have an owner like Shahid Khan. I feel like this is the year the franchise finally becomes his. He is an exciting guy who is making our organization respectable again. I'll always have a great deal of gratitude towards Wayne Weaver, but frankly, he was holding this franchise back. I am pumped up for the future of the Jaguars.
John: The impact of change isn't always felt immediately. That's particularly true in a competitive business such as the NFL, with many other teams spending and competing for the same prize. I have believed since Khan bought the team that the transition would eventually lead to consistent success and be beneficial for the franchise. That didn't show up last season for various reasons, but it takes time to find success in a new industry. A year feels like a long time to fans who have been struggling with their team for a decade, but in reality, it would have been stunning – if not impossible – for Khan to step in, make three months' worth of moves last offseason, and singlehandedly, immediately turn the Jaguars into a contender. The NFL doesn't work that way. It's a process, and Khan seems to be steadily taking the steps toward making that process successful. That's all you can expect, and it's more than many owners do.
Charles from Midlothian, VA and Section 410:
Well, the team played like a high school team this year, so it's appropriate that they now have the logo of one now, too.
John: Oh, Charles . . . not you, too?
Jeremy from La Plata:
How has the logo change affected your inbox? Good or bad?
John: So far, the reaction has been mostly to the negative, but that's not a huge surprise. Many people believe change is inherently evil, and in most cases, I agree. In this case, I imagine it will be like most logo changes – some immediate pushback, followed by the gradual process of getting used to something new and different.
Nick from Annapolis, MD:
You've responded to my question three out of the past four days. Did we just become best friends?
John: No.
Gary from Jacksonville:
Will someone buy Caldwell a Jaguars cap to wear?
John: Maybe, but it won't be me.
Bill from Section 408:
In response to Doug from Sunday's column: I think the excitement about Matt Flynn stems from the fact that he was able to throw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in a game which the opposing Lions were fighting to clinch the No. 5 playoff seed. That performance also happened to break all-time Packers records. Sure, there are some factors that might have aided in the performance, but when a guy goes out and did what Flynn did, it's hard not to see why some people get excited over the guy.
John: No question that's why people get excited, and that's part of what makes the NFL so difficult to project. At a position such as quarterback, a player such as Flynn can look very good for a game or two and because he is playing quarterback – a position where only one player usually plays extensively – that can be the player's entire body of work for a two- or three-year span. That may be the only position in sports where that's true. And yet, the quarterback position is so valuable that teams will take chances on those players – very expensive chances – based on those one or two games only to sometimes find that the quarterback doesn't translate nearly as well to another system. Sometimes in the NFL, there's some guesswork involved in scouting, and at the quarterback spot, there are consequences to guessing wrong.
Tony from Section 133:
It had been many years since the Jags scored late in games on big, game-changing plays to take the lead. It happened twice with Blaine at the helm in 2012, which makes me believe if he looks down the field more, or has better protection, it would happen more often. I just think this kid needs more time to develop, and the proof was in Minnesota & Indy. Thoughts.
John: I think those two games are two of the most persuasive "pro" arguments.
Wallace from Jacksonville:
There's one element of the Ravens' success that's being largely overlooked – good-free agent acquisitions. Think the Ravens are Super Bowl champs without Anquan Boldin and Jacoby Jones on the roster? Most successful NFL franchises combine timely free-agent acquisitions with better-than-average drafting over the years. You agree?
John: It can certainly help, and in the case of the Ravens, it did. I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary to be successful in free agency to have success. The Giants rarely do much in free agency, and the Packers don't, either. The Colts didn't do much in the Bill Polian/Peyton Manning era, while the Patriots do indeed use it fairly regularly. It's more about getting good players that fit what you do and doing it in a way that doesn't crush you financially. As with most things NFL, there's no hard, fast path to follow. If there were, everyone would follow it.
Chris from Crestview, FL:
The problem with running quarterbacks is they shorten the career of the most valued position. By running and taking an extra 5-15 hits a game they, are becoming running backs. Which we all know don't do well past 30. What happens to RGIII when that speed stops? Some like Young, Elway – heck even Brunell – learn to stay in the pocket and throw. Yes, they aren't the same threat but it's too important for them to be on the field.
John: Yep.
Jordan from Leesburg, FL:
Despite what General Manager David Caldwell has said do you think the pressure from the Jaguars fans will make him try to make an offer on Tim Tebow?
John: Nope.
Scott from Gilbert, AZ:
O-Man, I know we passed on Aaron Rodgers for Matt Jones, as well as many other boneheaded moves over the years, but for some reason that '08 draft really came back to haunt the Jags again on Sunday. Hoping for better days with Debonair Diamond Dave at the helm.
John: We can revisit past drafts and past seasons, and certainly we will. And it's true that this site, jaguars.com, is a logical setting to do just that. At the same time, you can drive yourself crazy looking back at drafts and asking, "What if we had done this or that?" It takes a lot of drafts and a lot of circumstances to get to 2-14. That's a given. David Caldwell's charge is to ensure that the direction is new and that a philosophy is in place to minimize the chances of that happening again. Is this a guarantee that it won't? No. In the NFL, as in life, there are no such guarantees, but Caldwell has been around good drafting and good approaches in the past, and he'll use those experiences to help organize and plan the approach moving forward.
Al from Jacksonville:
Who did the Jaguars management consult concerning the new logo? They said Nike and their marketing team along with fans agreed on this. But it's clear that they have dropped the ball on the logo. I hope it's not a picture of things to come. Because I am fed up with Jaguars mediocrity.
John: Breaths, breaths, breaths . . .