JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Bruce from St. Simons Island, GA

O, Is the "dead zone" really over? It does not appear to be reading the recent posts. So here goes: Tom Coughlin should definitely be included on the Pride of the Jaguars. Now an after "Dead Zone" question: Any impressions concerning Mac Jones? In my opinion, Jones was a good signing. Finally, I just picked up some football magazines and I am impressed with the 2024 predictions accurately predicting the 2023 results!

Many thoughts, a few questions. I'll take them one at a time. Yes, the dead zone really is over. Sorry the posts aren't to your liking; we'll try to make your investment in this site more to your liking. Yes, Tom Coughlin definitely should be in the Pride of the Jaguars. This is why he will be enshrined at halftime of the Jaguars' Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts. Jones has looked good during 2024 Training Camp and I expect he will be a very capable backup quarterback to starter Trevor Lawrence. Finally: What's a magazine? Is this something I can find on the interweb? Is it new?

Don from Marshall, NC

Last year Parker Washington made a lucky but impressive catch in the end zone. For a shorter receiver, he can elevate and he is very elusive. I thought with one year of NFL training and conditioning he has a good chance. How has he looked in camp as far size goes?

Jaguars second-year wide receiver Parker Washington has drawn praise from coaches throughout the 2024 offseason. He has looked fine early in the non-padded, acclimation period of '24 camp. He looks in fine shape and looks as if he is running routes crisply and sharply. I expect him to make the team and be a valuable backup in the receiving rotation. If that happens, maybe when it comes to Washington, Don will remain "all in."

Bradley from Sparks, NV

Is there a Mel Blount on this year's squad?

Cute.

Jonathan from Formerly of Jax Beach

At this point it appears my memory is much better than yours at our respective ages. With all due respect, Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver hired Michael Huyghue to manage the cap, not Coughlin – even though he had final say on all matters – and the Jags didn't get into cap trouble until they were on Year 6. Carolina was depleted shortly after their two-year success to the point where Dom Capers was fired and hired as our defensive coordinator and led the D during the 1998-1999 highlight of our existence. Maybe you remember the Colts history a bit better, can't speak to that personally.

I thought I remembered enough about covering the Jaguars daily from 1995-2001 to have had a grasp of how things worked inside the organization, and I thought I had at least a foggy recollection that Coughlin controlled everything. I also thought I remembered that Capers was fired as the Panthers' head coach after 1998 and joined the Jaguars as defensive coordinator in 1999. I also thought I remembered you could see the Jaguars' salary-cap troubles in the 1990s coming around 1998 or so and that they kept ignoring those problems long enough that they became catastrophic. I can't remember the rest of the question.

Bob from Sumter, SC

I remember one year when I said to my son, "Blaine Gabbert has been looking great this preseason." Then the regular season started.

I do remember that. Weird.

Sean from Oakleaf, FL

So, you are saying when practicing in shorts and shirts the defense has the upper hand – and when pads come on the offensive side will dominate and impose their will?

I don't remember saying that. I remember saying it's hard to tell very much about NFL practices that take place without pads.

William from Savannah, GA

Dewey? Yes, we do!

Deeeeeeeeeeewy!

Nick from Milton, Canada

I remember when Jaguars fans called for then-Head Coach Jack Del Rio's firing all those years back after he had given the team some decent success, then we went through some reallyyyyyy dark years with various head coaches. Those questioning if Doug Pederson should be fired if the Jaguars miss the playoffs this year may want to rethink their stance.

Fans fan. It's what they do. Part of what they do is call for head coaches to be fired and quarterbacks to be changed even when calling for such things is very extreme. Of course Pederson has done a good job as head coach. Of course he has coached this team to its first back-to-back winning seasons in nearly two decades. Of course the franchise is on stabler ground than it has been on in a loooooooong time. That's a reasonable perspective. Fans aren't reasonable. Which is fine. That's not their job. It's my job. As long as the security code works.

CaptBob from J-ville

Just another demonstration of how fortunate we are to have the Jags here in Duval. Eleven teams still charge to attend open practice. San Fran charges the most at $20 a head.

Good stuff.

Jason from 'Da Hass

John, I had the fortune of attending family night at Lambeau Field about 15ish yrs ago. The whole town seemed to be at the stadium that night and it was cool hearing stories from some of the Packers fans. Anywho, the first play during the scrimmage, not practice, Aaron Rogers threw a Pick 6. Something really cool happened. The "stadium" began chuckling and laughing, that's the only way I can describe it. Even the stadium knew it was training camp and wasn't too concerned and I don't think we should be either unless Trevor's INT's extend into the regular season. Fair?

There's no doubt that's fair. It's also fair to remember that fans are going to remember that Lawrence has had turnover issues in recent seasons, and that he hasn't yet established himself as elite. As a result, his turnovers are going to cause concern – even if those happen early in training camp when it's "just practice." Just because the concern is overblown doesn't make it ridiculous. There's no reason to panic. We need perspective. But it's also understandable that fans worry about Lawrence until they see an extended body of work that tells them they shouldn't.

Rick from Franconia, VA

O, After thinking this over: Objectively speaking why should – or does – it matter whether you are signing a player you drafted instead of a free agent if they are at the same point in their career and you are paying market value? Couldn't an obsession to re-sign your own draft picks cause you to sign a lesser player just because you drafted him when a better option was available?

As with most such questions, the answer is somewhat case to case. It's absolutely dangerous to get over-obsessed with signing your own players, just as it's dangerous to get over-obsessed with anything. At the same time, as a guideline and an operational philosophy, there are major benefits to signing your own drafted players in the NFL. Players you draft have grown up in the NFL around your coaches and around your team. Those players therefore understand your culture and have a much better chance of fitting in with your franchise once they are signed because you already have seen them do so. When you sign a player from another team, there is an adjustment/adaptation period – and sometimes that adjustment never fully happens. You also know exactly what you're getting in terms of work ethic, medical history, scheme fit, etc., when you sign your own player. When you sign a free agent from another team, you by definition are acquiring unknowns. It doesn't mean the free agent from another team is destined to be a failure. It just means it's a riskier road to travel.

Zac from Austin, Tejas

I'm playing catch up reading the column to keep a feeble streak alive - so this is in response to a comment from late May. I know that Khan gets a bad wrap for hiring Urban Meyer (fair) but I think a small line of credit should be that he fired him midseason. That to me was shocking. You could say I was "stunned." They don't make it even, but I think that shouldn't be overlooked.

Jaguars Owner Shad Khan absolutely deserves credit for moving quickly so quickly regarding then-Head Coach Urban Meyer. Dismissing an NFL head coach before the end of a first season indeed is stunningly quick. No matter what level of disarray is involved, most owners will take the tact that more time is needed before making such a life-altering, franchise-shifting decision. Khan could have delayed in 2021. He didn't. One fer Khan there? Absolutely.

Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA

Can I request that fans do in fact shout "Get off the Lawn" in unison for change of possession? I once yelled get off the field to a team and that felt pretty satisfying.

I'd click on that.