JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Dwight from Naples, FL

Think it can't get worse? Khan retains Baalke and Peterson and signs our Red Cross associate Kirk to a seven-year extension and Brian Thomas Jr. asks to be traded!! Could it get worse, O?

Few people – if anyone – know for certain the occupational fate of Head Coach Doug Pederson and General Manager Trent Baalke in the coming weeks, though the Jaguars' 3-12 record entering the final two weeks of the 2024 regular season certainly calls many such issues into legitimate question. As I've said and written on multiple occasions recently, and as I suspect I will continue to write and say until the end of the regular season, only Jaguars Owner Shad Khan knows these things. That's by design because Khan's approach is to keep such information very quiet until final decisions are made. As for your somewhat bizarre references to Jaguars rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and – presumably – Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk … I guess I don't particularly understand them. But can things get worse? Of course. This is the real world. Things always can get worse.

Ed from Jax by Lionel Playworld

The season is too long. Why not go back to 16 games in the regular season, and two extra weeks of playoffs? I can see the profits being better in that scenario, too. Would the league consider this? Do you think it's a viable idea?

You're right that the NFL regular season is too long. Sixteen regular-season games were fine. Hell, 14 regular-season games were fine. But extending the NFL postseason isn't viable because it would add teams to the playoffs, which would almost certainly mean adding multiple sub-.500 teams. Either way, the league isn't going to consider reducing either the playoffs or regular season. The league isn't going to skew toward anything less any time soon. More, more, more. Always more.

Sal from Austin, TX

Here we are, John, with our team having been taken out to the woodshed once again. Maybe now's a good time to give the O-Zone a break. I mean, just hear me out. None of us are asking or writing in with anything new. We all appreciate you giving us a space to vent, but really, how many different ways can we write, and you respond to, the same 20 depressing questions?

I expect I'll keep answering questions as long as fans ask them. That's the job. That's what this is.

Paul from Jacksonville

Is there a player you've covered in your career (Not named Peyton Manning) that you would put on the Jags' roster, and why?

I've covered the NFL 30 seasons – the Jaguars from 1995-2000, the Indianapolis Colts from 2001-2010 and the Jaguars since 2011. There are myriad players I would put on the Jaguars roster because I have covered myriad Hall of Fame players and the Jaguars don't have any players I would consider Hall of Famers. A list of players I've covered I consider elite who could help the Jaguars this season: Jaguars – Left tackle Tony Boselli, right tackle Leon Searcy, wide receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell, defensive end Tony Brackens and running back Fred Taylor; Colts – safety Bob Sanders, defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney, center Jeff Saturday, left tackle Tarik Glenn, running back Edgerrin James, wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark. There are others. Start there. Why? Because all were next-level players. The Jaguars don't have nearly enough of those.

Frank from St Augustine, FL

Johnny, have the Jags been eliminated from next year's playoffs yet?

Frank's got jokes.

Tony from Johns Creek, FL

O, sweep the Titans and forget the rest!

Old wounds cut deep. There are many, many Jaguars fans who dislike the Tennessee Titans enough that beating them once makes a season at least somewhat memorable. The Jaguars indeed have a chance to complete a season sweep of the Titans Sunday; for those fans, it would make a disappointing 2024 season a bit more memorable – and palpable. I don't know that I'm quite on board with the idea that you can forget all else about this season if the Jaguars sweep Tennessee. But to each his own.

Vince from St Auggie

Just sweep the Titans, and all will be forgiven — for the time being.

OK.

Mario from West Kelowna, BC

John, do you think team owners care more about a winning record on the field or a winning record in the bank? I mean, I would understand if Mr. Khan is more worried about the Jags' financial success as opposed to the team being a successful on the field. Both are definitely dependent on each other but after all the NFL is all about money (and coaching).

Team owners care about both money and winning – and they absolutely must care about financial success because it's intertwined with winning. Khan during his tenure as owner has spent on salaries and facilities to the point that it's inaccurate and unfair to say he doesn't care about winning. I understand people thinking to the contrary. Those people are wrong.

Matt from Jacksonville

What is this "Merry Krimma" thing? Also, in one reply you wrote "specialer". Did you get your degree from a K-mart Blue Light Special?

Welcome to the O-Zone. Glad you joined us. You'll catch up. Just be patient.

Taylor from Columbia, MD

I have been a Jags fan since I was six years old (1996) and have watched every game possible from 2010-present, going as far as spending hundreds of dollars when I was in college to get Sunday Ticket. I have influenced or converted a half dozen friends and family into Jaguars fans from my pure passion and love for the team. In that time, I have turned off no more than five games, the most recent being a loss in late 2020. I have done so twice this year, including Sunday, when a 4:25 p.m. kickoff and the record-based disinterest have conspired to make the outcome almost impossible to care about. That has to be bad, right? I didn't even ask for Jaguars gear for Christmas this year and I find myself hard pressed to want to care next year unless we change leadership. I appreciate the last two seasons, but even those weren't exactly good enough. Thanks. Will always love the jags. DTWD.

Apathy among fans is a danger at 3-12. It's actually pretty common. It's up to the Jaguars to make sure apathy isn't a long-term problem.

James from Titusville, NJ

I used to be one of those fans who cheered at the end of lost seasons for a higher draft pick. As you have suggested, it's not worth it for many reasons including the coaches and players are playing to win, so one might as well get on board. I no longer cheer for losing because losing seeps into the culture to which only winning can cure. It's better to win as soon and as often as possible to keep losing ever finding acceptance.

Fair.

Robert from Middleburg

Can we dispel this bizarre belief that the Jaguars have drafted well over the past four years under Baalke? Of the 38 total picks he has made, many of which have been premium picks in the top three rounds, they have exactly one player that looks like he could potentially turn out to be a top 5 player at his position (BTJ), one player who could conceivably be a top 10 player at his position someday (Walker), and maybe 5-10 other players who are solid to slightly above average players. The only reason that would look like good drafting to any Jaguar fan is because it's being compared to the even more atrocious drafting that took place around here prior to Baalke.

One not fer Baalke, evidently.

Mike from Lakeland, FL

Any thoughts on why it took Maason Smith so long to see the field? He looks like he belongs.

Jaguars rookie defensive tackle Maason Smith, who was inactive for six games this season, spoke about this on Monday and said: "I feel like at the beginning of the year, honestly before my ankle injury, I feel like I was kind of winging it to a point. Not necessarily getting in the facility as early as maybe I needed to or just going off of somebody else's routine that – no offense – isn't where I want to be. So, I had to take it into myself and find my own process and ask guys who have been doing it at a high level for a minute now what their process was and just configure my own, whether that's workouts, eating right, stuff like that. Rookies develop at their own pace on and off the field. It took Smith a while this season to "get it." That's not uncommon. It sounds as if he's getting it now.

Brian from ROUND ROCK, TX

The old logo is better, too. Fight me!

Nah.