ATLANTA – Preseason Week 4 Ozone Late Night.
Let's get to it …
Kevin from Ponte Vedra, FL:
Myles Jack has to play, right?
John: If there is a Jaguars storyline for the final week of the preseason, this may be it. The Jaguars moved Jack to weak-side linebacker this week and he started there Thursday. He played well and stood out for his quickness, pursuit to the ball and tackling ability. Jack had worked at second-team middle linebacker throughout training camp and three preseason games, and it now appears the Jaguars are looking for a way to get Jack on the field. The most likely way to do that appears to have him playing weak side. What that will mean for weak-side linebacker Telvin Smith remains to be seen, but I don't get a sense the Jaguars want to take middle linebacker Paul Posluszny off the field either in base or nickel. Stay tuned on this one.
Nimrod from Toronto:
JACK!!!
John: Yeah, good point.
Trent from Fernandina Beach, FL:
It is very obvious watching this game that Brandon Allen is better than Chad Henne.
John: It's easy to see why people think this, and it was particularly easy early in the game Thursday when Allen came out looking very sharp. He completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Shaq Evans in the first quarter, a play that showed confidence, arm strength and real zip. At the same time, he also threw an interception in the second quarter and showed some not-unexpected rookie quarterback stuff after the touchdown. I believe Allen will be on the roster this season and that he's probably the team's backup quarterback of the future. I don't believe that future is now.
Rob from Orange Park, FL:
What can the Jaguars' first team do in the next week to prevent the crippling number of penalties that they couldn't seem to do anything about between Preseason Games 1 and 3?
John: Play smarter. Realistically, the Jaguars are going to have some penalties of aggressiveness. That's particularly true the way they play defense, but the penalties after the whistle? The silly mistakes that have shown up through the preseason? You can prevent those by … not doing those things.
Jerry from Ponte Vedra, FL:
Is it time to move the defensive signal receiver to Tashaun Gipson's helmet since Poz's days as a full-time player seem numbered?
John: No, for a couple of reasons. One is that the signal receiver is usually in the middle linebacker's helmet, so I would expect it to move to Myles Jack or another middle linebacker under your scenario. The second reason is that I don't see your scenario playing out this season. There's nothing to indicate that Posluszny won't be a full time player this season. And when I say "nothing" I mean "nothing."
Brian from Greenwood, IN:
Hindsight is 20/20, but looking back, Dave Caldwell's 2013 has become somewhat of a mess. Do you agree?
John: The 2013 NFL Draft overall was considered one of the weakest in memory. The Jaguars don't seem to have selected a slew of core players in that draft. I imagine you can remove "Jaguars" from that sentence and insert a lot of other teams.
Brandon from Duval:
O, I'm a little concerned about Dante Fowler Jr. and his film study. Shouldn't that have been the one positive coming out of his injury last year is he can still be in meetings and watch film with NFL coaches? Did he not focus enough last year and is now realizing how important the mental aspect is? Or did he have to get on the field to realize how important it is? Or am I just overreacting?
John: Studying in the NFL and honing the fundamentals of pass rushing are learned skills. Fowler did study last season, and I imagine – as is often the case – that he is learning with far more urgency this season now that there is a real test to be passed at the end of each week. I imagine he will continue to improve at this as time goes on. Just because he needs to get better at these things doesn't mean he didn't do them last year. It just means there's a whole lot more urgency involved.
Tony from Morrilton, AR:
Do you think John our run game will depend on the right side of the offensive line since it is the stronger side? During the first three preseason games it seemed that's where Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon were prone to go, if I saw correctly.
John: I think the Jaguars probably will enter the season with a lot more confidence running behind right tackle Jermey Parnell and right guard A.J. Cann than left tackle Kelvin Beachum and left guard Luke Joeckel. That's because Cann/Parnell have played together for nearly an entire season while Beachum/Joeckel have played together for nearly an entire half.
