JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Kevin from St. Augustine, FL
Zone, I can't get a feel for this team. How do you see them doing against the Bills? Give me some hope, Johnny.
It's not unusual not to have a great feel for an NFL team through two games, and the Jaguars indeed have been slippery to define through two games of the 2024 regular season. They are 0-2 with losses to the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns. They could have won both games, but they played poorly enough in spots that it's hard to make the argument they should have won both games. The NFL is about big plays in big moments. The Jaguars right now don't play well in big moments. That's why they're not good – and that's the best "feel" I can give for this team. They can improve in this area, but they must prove that they will do so by … doing so. As for how they will fare against the Buffalo Bills Monday, I expect them to play well early. There was an urgency to the week of preparation – as there should be when a team is 0-2. I wonder if they can sustain energy enough to beat a very good Buffalo team – and a very good Buffalo quarterback – on the road in prime-time. This is a game where even a good team playing well can lose. I think Buffalo's that good. That doesn't mean that's automatically how it will go. It means that's my sense.
Jesse from Texas
What do you think is Doug's reasoning for not revealing who is calling the plays? Have you ever covered another team in the past that it was kept a secret from the fans?
I think Head Coach Doug Pederson hasn't revealed who is calling plays because he doesn't think it matters much – certainly not as much as fans and observers seem to believe. I think Pederson knows he and offensive coordinator Press Taylor see this offense through the same lens, and that they work together to install it every week – and that there's little if any difference in the offense when Pederson is calling plays. I also think Pederson knows he called plays in the first half of games in 2022 with Taylor calling them in the second half when the offense often was better in the second halves. Mostly, I think Pederson feels as if he doesn't have to reveal this if he doesn't want to reveal it and therefore has chosen not to reveal it. Have I ever covered a team where the head coach didn't reveal it? No. Have I heard tell of other wayward, evil coaches doing this this dastardly deed? Indeed I have.
Pablo from Seville, Spain
JO- Do you think we end the debate about what a perfect preseason record will imply a strong start for the new season? My rose-colored glasses are starting to turn ebony black.
I wasn't aware of said debate – and would have considered it sort of silly. A perfect NFL preseason record in no way indicates a team will start a season strong just as a bad preseason record in no way means a team will start poorly. The preseason record means nothing.
Nick from Annapolis, MD
If the Jaguars actually have the team they think they have, they have the schedule to get back in the playoff race from 0-4. But they absolutely would need to be playing like the team they think they are in London and beyond. And they would have to beat a few good teams. But if you want be a good team, you have to beat some good teams. I guess this is just a message to the fans to say we don't have to throw the towel in on the season if they lose this week – or even the next two – so long as they show more than they did in the first half of the Browns game.
The Jaguars need to start winning and they need to play better to do this. I think they're a better team than they have shown thus far this season even though I didn't particularly expect they would be a great team this season. Can they get back into the playoff race if they start 0-4? Sure. The tough part about that often isn't whether an 0-4 team can get back into the playoff chase. It's whether the players on that team believe they can get back into the playoff chase. Belief and pulling as one are big deals in the NFL. Those things can be rare at 0-4. That doesn't mean they're impossible. It means they're rare.
Ken from VERO BEACH, FL
The Jags are predictable, which makes them boring. If they pass on first down you, can bet they will run on second down, and be forced to pass on third down. They seldom go over the middle or pass long. They can't get one yard when they need it because they don't have a big power back. And just once I would like to see them throw more than two passes in a row. {the last two minutes doesn't count.} Predictable and boring. Thanks for letting me vent.
Loyal O-Zone readers – and he knows who he is – know I was a huge fan of the Washington Football Team growing up and into the early 1990s. During the 1980s and early 1990s, this team was coached by Joe Gibbs – in the conversation for the greatest head coach in NFL history and one of the best offensive minds of his or any eras. This team set a record for points in a season in 1983 and had multiple great offenses in other seasons. My father and I often complained during this time about Gibbs' boring and predictable offenses. These times were usually when the team was struggling offensively and losing. We didn't complain as much when the team was winning. We fanned. It's what we did.
Brendan from The Moral High Ground
Tom Brady needed Bill. Bill needed Tom. You can't win games with bad play-calling and you can't win games with bad players. I'm glad to have cleared that up for any confused souls. (Rob)
Head Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady were a great combination that won six Super Bowls together with the New England Patriots. You can compete for the postseason and win a Super Bowl with OK quarterback play. History tells us it's very difficult to compete for a Super Bowl regularly and win more than one without great quarterback play. Belichick was a great head coach and I have no doubt he would have competed for a lot of postseasons without Brady. Would he have won as many Super Bowls? Likely not.
Gary from St. Augustine, FL
You'll suck at 0-3, too.
One would expect.
Biff from Overpopulated Baymeadows
In high school I was thankfully exposed to Ambrose Bierce. A recent re-reading of him found this quote: "PRESENT, n. That part of eternity dividing the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope." And with that, shall we toast to Monday night?
Indeed we shall.
Benjamin from Jacksonville, FL BWO Upstate SC
Why do the Jaguars have a perpetual quarterback problem and why does it take them so long and so much money to come to the same conclusion as even casual observers?
All NFL teams have a quarterback problem until they don't. The Jaguars, like many franchises, have searched for the answer at quarterback for a long time. Your question suggests that the Jaguars still have a quarterback problem. I don't know that that's accurate.
Nick from Annapolis, MD
I'm seeing a lot of comments implying quarterback Lawrence and the Jaguars' coaching staff have a conservative gameplan and are trying to limit risk, or something to that affect. Not sure what they are watching. Lawrence is comfortably in second place in air yards per attempt. I have seen nothing safe and conservative about the throws being made, overall.
When teams play poorly, such play understandably and expectedly spawns a great deal of analysis from observers and fans. While this analysis usually is "awesome" and on point, on the rarest of occasions – and I do mean rarest of occasions – the analysis can be a bit reactive and inaccurate. The Jaguars are running their offense this season. They are running quite a bit and are having some success doing it. Perhaps that gives the perception of the game plan being "conservative." I suspect this perception also is caused by the Jaguars not seeming "explosive." The biggest factor offensively is that the Jaguars haven't converted third downs well. That has caused them to run only 50 and 55 plays, respectively, in their first two games. That makes offensive seem clunky and conservative. If they start converting third downs better, they'll be able to get to more of the playbook. If that happens, I expect they will seem more aggressive and explosive.
