JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it . . . Trevor from Jacksonville:
With all this talk of picking or passing on a potential franchise quarterback, it made me realize that general managers seem to get fired for picking quarterbacks who fail, but seem to get a pass for passing on ones that turn out great elsewhere. Sup with that?
John: General managers get a pass in your scenario in one sense, but in another sense they don't. It is true that general managers often get fired in the wake of a highly-drafted quarterback failing. That's usually because the failure has happened in lockstep with the franchise not winning, which ultimately is the real reason a general manager is dismissed. While a general manager might get a pass by passing on a quarterback that turns out great elsewhere, he won't get a pass indefinitely if his team isn't winning. And toward that end, he needs to find at least some sort of workable solution at quarterback. Actually, when you think about it, a general manager never really is going to get a "pass" for long. He has to win. Otherwise …
Jared from O-Town:
Hey, John – do you think Mr. Khan would mind if I played Madden on the new Jumbotrons? Not during a game, obviously. I could come in on a Tuesday night or something if he wants. I don't need a chair, either. I'll just sit in the pool while I play. It would be like I wasn't even there.
John: There might be an issue with connectivity. But if you have one of those little wires that stick in the back of the Xbox One, I think we're good.
Sean from Fleming Island, FL:
Do the players look at the away schedule and immediately think about the different state tax returns they are going to file? The AFC South is a player-friendly division with Texas, Tennessee and Florida with no state income tax.
John: I don't know if that's the first thing on their minds. But it no doubt comes up at some point.
Kevin from St. Johns:
Johnny Manziel is a younger, faster Brett Favre with just slightly less velocity on his ball but still amazing accuracy. He is the no-brainer quarterback of this draft and of the decade for that matter. He may make some stupid mistakes (picks, fumbles, sacks) but he will be a joy to watch because like Favre HE ENJOYS THE GAME. That's why I'm certain he will succeed. Football, much like life, is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. If Johnny Football was 6-foot-5 and weighed 230 pounds but could still run and move and throw like that I'm pretty sure the Texans would already have the paper in on who is their first pick. But what these draft experts forget at the combine is that it's not the size of the dog in the fight that counts; it's the size of the fight in the dog. Manziel is a fighter and a winner, he will find a way.
John: Your enthusiasm and argument for Manziel is impressive, and who knows? You may be right in your assessment. But Manziel could be exactly as big as you say and scouts would still wonder why he leaves the pocket without pressure in many, many situations and why he misses certain reads at the line of scrimmage that should be second-nature. Those questions may or may not keep him from being successful, but they're as concerning to scouts as Manziel's size.
Marcus from Jacksonville:
Is there a limit to how many times you can use a franchise tag on a player? For instance, if Justin Blackmon came back and played 16 games in each of the next two years and became a Top 5 wide out, but the Jags were still concerned with giving him a long-term deal with Top 5 money, could they franchise him every year indefinitely until his skills faded and he didn't warrant that much money anymore?
John: You can franchise a player three times. The second time you do it is significantly more expensive than the first and the third time is so astronomically expensive that it hardly ever happens.
Maurice from North Potomac, MD:
Just watched the live jags radio show. I noticed you said, "I am not sure how people are gonna react when they can't tweet pictures of Johnny Manziel." By 'people' are you referring to Jags fans? As in, they are not going to be happy because you feel the jags are going to pass on him? Or am I just blowing that comment out of proportion?
John: You actually watched Jaguars.com LIVE! on jaguars.com. While most Jaguars fans are indeed people, I wasn't on Wednesday implicating that the Jaguars would pass on Manziel. I simply meant that once the draft occurs a lot of fans of a whole lot of teams would probably stop tweeting so much about Manziel. In retrospect, I could have been a lot clearer – not to mention a lot funnier, probably.
Bruce from Gotham:
The transformation the team has gone through since Mr. Khan took over is simply amazing. He really has made this team his own from management, feel of the team and look of the team. Watching the Khanstruction on the cams is cool and really gives an idea of how big and different things will be. Not only that but what he has done for the city as a whole in such a short time is almost inKhanceivable. Not everyone who has billions could have achieved that. It takes vision and guts. If this Khantinues I see a street being named after him and the keys to the city. I think he Khan...how about you Mr.O?
John: I Khant think about this right now. But Khanceptially speaking, you could have a point. I'm going to stop now. I can't in good Khanscience keep this up.
Al from Fruit Cove, FL:
If things turn out the way you projected in your first 2014 mock draft, and Teddy Bridgewater drops to 26, should the Jags consider a trade up to get into the late first-round for him? What would it take to move up to No. 24 or No. 25?
John: It could probably be done for a couple of fourth-round selections or a third-rounder. As far as "should they?" … sure, if they like him.
Keisha from Annandale, VA:
O, does the spot where a player is drafted have any relevance when negotiating a follow-on contract? For instance …
John: You wrote more, but the answer is, "No." Whether a player was drafted No. 1 overall or went undrafted, his next contract will be based on what he has done and what he is still projected to do.
Sherry from St. Augustine, FL:
Why is drafting a QB in the Top 10 rolling the dice any more than picking another position there?!? It's just your way of preparing us for another letdown this year. With the exception of the boneheaded Gabbert pick, the Jags neglected the position for nine years. Why should this year be different?
John: You seem upset. Being upset can be … well, upsetting. There is little indication the Jaguars are going to "neglect" the quarterback position in this year's draft. There is a chance they may not address it in the first round. There's a difference in those two concepts, though I do understand given the Jaguars' quarterback history if some fans feel differently.
Andrew from Crawfordville, FL:
When a team trades down and does not get all draft selections in the current year does the team trading down get extra value (higher draft position) in the future year draft?
John: A team in your scenario often does get a little earlier draft pick than if they received a pick in the same draft. Usually that's to ensure the team gets adequate value. The 32nd selection of a round is not as valuable as the first selection of a round, so a team might demand an earlier-round selection to ensure they don't get a devalued selection.
Greg from Jacksonville:
Eventually, David Caldwell is going to have to hitch his career as the Jaguars general manager to a franchise quarterback. How long will Khan give him to do so?
John: Until one is found. While it's conventional wisdom that a general manager must "hitch his career" to a franchise quarterback, each individual case is different. Seahawks General Manager John Schneider, for instance, searched for a franchise quarterback for a while, then after third-round pick Russell Wilson worked out, that became a very attractive quarterback to whom to hitch. I believe Caldwell will keep searching for a quarterback, but I don't think he'll reach for one early unless he's really, really confident that the quarterback is special.
Benjamin from Jacksonville:
Who can forget that episode of MAS*H where Hawkeye and Trapper/Hunnicutt participated in some kind of hijinx? Meanwhile there was a semi-serious event in camp and it all got resolved by the end of the episode. What a script!
John: It was almost as good as that Charles in Charge where Charles helped the impish-but-in-the-end-good-hearted kids out of a pickle. Classic stuff.