JACKSONVILLE – Krimma with the O-Zone.
Let's get to it …
Allen from St. C, OH
Was that game as difficult for you to watch as it was for us? I don't recall ever seeing such a sloppy and ineffective game (both teams) at the NFL level ever.
We'll lift the Look-Ahead Wednesday rule a bit today. It is, after all, Christmas – and yeah …. Sunday's 19-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was a tough watch. Such is often the nature of games between bad teams with no playoff implications around the holidays. This is why my answer to the question would be a very definitive, "Yes, Allen. I have seen many such games." You likely have seen them, too. The memories seem to mercilessly fade with time. The Jaguars have another such game against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium Sunday. Perhaps this one will be less tough. We'll see.
Alex from Michigan Formerly Florida
Hi, J.O. - a general NFL inquiry. I think NFL players on the field should be allowed to remove their helmets more frequently just so fans can see more of what they look like and remember them better. Sometimes the helmets blur a person's unique facial features and they are reduced to numbers and jerseys. Sometimes I'm surprised by a man's appearance when they do interviews or so. In soccer or baseball, you really can see a person's appearance. Not so much in the NFL or college football. Has this ever been brought up in your work as a NFL journalist?
The idea that football players are a bit more anonymous than players in other sports is discussed time to time by broadcasters, publicists and the like – and there's no question the helmeted aspect of the NFL contributes to this. One thought: I have seen many unhelmeted NFL players and I can assure you the experience is "no great shakes." Another though: I wonder with the increasing trend of pregame and airport runway fashion shows if there is really a pressing need for more emphasis on player exposure. But I know that's the old man in me and once I get the meddling kids off my lawn, I don't feel all that passionately against athletes as pre-game models. I still don't know that we need rules encouraging players to remove helmets during games. I've always thought of the game as somewhat sacred. I'm not a fan of halftime interviews, for example. Either way, I don't see a need to promote players removing helmets. This doesn't mean there won't be some rules implemented. It wouldn't surprise me. I rarely get my way.
John from Jax
Hi KOAGF - I think I know who invented the saying. "It's OK for a grown man to cry." The three wise men/guys Shad, Trent, and Doug. Can I cry now? Is it Krimma yet??
- I guess. I'm not sure. Whatever.
Bruce from Green Cove Springs, FL
I'm way past the emotional "fire them all and start over" stage. I am trying to see things objectively and focus on facts and figures. I, of course, am merely a fan. But outfits like Pro Football Focus are much smarter than I and are fairly objective. How many Jaguars does PFF rate in the top 10 percent for their positions? Top 20 percent? Top 50 percent? Looking at it this way, it appears that while we have some really good players, the average talent level is unfortunately below average. The issues don't seem to include lack of effort or passion. Is bad coaching a factor? If it is, then how does one explain the fact that a team lacking talent still finds a way to be competitive, losing many games by only one score? If my theory is correct, and the team's woes stem mainly from not having nearly enough top-notch players, then we have to look at who is responsible for player personnel.
I don't know what Jaguars players rank where according to PFF. I like the PFF guys. They work hard and they have valuable information. It's just not my NFL bible. I do know the Jaguars have a lot of good players who could play and start on good teams. I don't know how many great, difference-making players there are on the roster and that's usually what separates good, bad and OK teams from great ones.
Tony from Jax
With PE firms now permitted to invest, if we band together with Cleveland, Carolina, and NY fans, any chance that you think we could convince the NFL to institute a fan mercy rule, where any franchise that radically underperforms over the course of 7-10 years must sell majority share?
No.
Al from Orange Park, FL
Don't you just wonder what the end of last season and all of this season would have looked like without the injuries to TL and a couple of other key players? I know, I know, "injuries are a part of the game." Still...
I believe last season would have been dramatically different had quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Christian Kirk stayed healthy through the final six games. I do sense the team lost something during the 1-5 finish it never regained. It doesn't seem from this view that injuries are an overriding story for the 2024 Jaguars.
Marty from Jacksonville
John, I've never seen a team enter a season with such high hopes and have a total meltdown like this one. I am totally baffled. For example, I see a running play called, and three defenders are in the backfield before the runner can take two steps. And I ask myself, why did we call that play? Who designed that play? Who is coaching the players to execute that play? Who drafted those players who can't seem to execute that play? Then I see an opposing wide receivers who is wide open, and I ask myself, who designed this defense? Who coached those players to play it that way? Who drafted those players who can't seem to grasp their assignments? In 30 years of watching the Jaguars, I have never seen anything like this. Are you as baffled by all this as I am?
Not particularly.
Benjamin from Jacksonville, FL BWO Upstate SC
It has been a long journey, but we've finally made it to what I can only imagine was the planned destination all along; it is more entertaining to root for mistakes and blunders than to hope for success. Obviously, it's a coping mechanism to avoid the disappointment, but what else are fans supposed to do? I would disown them if I knew how to be anything other than a Jags fan.
Getting fans to root for mistakes and blunders rather than rooting for success wasn't remotely the goal for this Jaguars season. The Jaguars' goal this season was to contend for the AFC South title and/or a playoff appearance. They obviously have fallen far short of the goal, but that was the expectation. That was the goal.
Mario from West Kelowna, BC
Hi. All I want for Christmas is for everyone who calls for staff of the Jaguars to be fired to, well, be fired from their jobs. Why? Because it's not nice to wish someone be fired from their job.
True.
Fred from Naples, FL
When Arik Armstead made his second sack in 15 games, he started to rub his pockets then caught himself and started his signature belly rub. Why his pockets? Oh … that's not hard to figure out.
I honestly wasn't watching the celebration. It wasn't interesting to me. The Allegiant Stadium press box had a nice spread.
Crash from Glen Saint Mary
OZ! The pain is too much. I had to up my dosage. Now I'm drinking the Bourbon Barrel Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale.
OK.
Hilarious from Funnytown
Spoiler Alert: There's no way Khan cleans house, hires the coach of the future, and then asks said coach to put up with what we're about to go through for the next couple years. He either rides this coach through the stadium rebuild or hires a two-year change of pace. My gut says he sticks with coach and turns up the "heat/rhetoric" in the press about expectations and then we see a long term change of direction when they turn the keys on the new house.
I don't know what decisions Jaguars Owner Shad Khan will make regarding the futures of General Manager Trent Baalke or Head Coach Doug Pederson. Your email suggests he wouldn't try to make the best decision possible for three more seasons. I don't expect that to be the case at all.
Matt from RADFORD
Merry Christmas to you and yours. Hopefully some festive cheer with family away from this super disappointing season
Merry Krimma.
Daniel from Westside
No question. Just a thank you for keeping me connected to my team. I am very grateful. Merry Christmas and God bless you.
Merry Krimma.
