JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Tudor from St. Augustine, FL
When you drive your car into a tree in 2024, do you also tell the cop you were a really good driver in 2022 and the first half of 2023?
My Scooby Sense – not my Scobee Sense – tells me you're making an analogy between the Jaguars' performance in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and something involving poor driving. I also assume you're connecting the performance/future of Head Coach Doug Pederson and General Manager Trent Baalke to the analogy – and while you're correct that two haven't driven as well of late, it's absolutely fair to remember the Jaguars' performance in 2022 and 2023 when considering this issue. That's indeed perhaps the most difficult aspect of analyzing the performance of this team and its football leaders – that there were some really important successes during the last three seasons. And there have bene some really good acquisitions. It's not fair to overlook that the Jaguars' two winning seasons in 2022 and 2023 mark their first back-to-back winning seasons since 2004 and 2005. It's just as unfair to overlook that they ae 5-17 in their last 22 games. It's also not fair to overlook that the Jaguars have a much better roster than they did in 2020 and 2021. It's just as unfair to overlook that it's a roster that is 5-17 in its last 22 games.
Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA
Apathetic fans, Shad Khan's vault like Scrooge McDuck, Change? Fans out of luck!
My Scooby Sense tells me you're suggesting that Jaguars Owner Shad Khan is somehow cheap and therefore doesn't commit the necessary resources to win. This is a patently absurd inference. The Jaguars can be criticized for many, many issues in the last decade. Hell, you can even criticize Khan. That's your right. Being criticized is part of being an NFL owner. But the idea that Khan hasn't spent to win is ridiculous and uninformed.
Tim from Jax
- "If you listen to the fans, you'll be sitting up there with them."
This NFL truism is almost as old as the NFL itself, and there may be no truism … well, truer.
Brian from Round Rock, TX
This will be a quick turnaround if they find a good coaching staff. Build the offense around Trevor and BTJ. Draft safety and interior offensive and defensive line ONLY. No free agents. Commit to young players' development. Is that the recipe?
Most NFL teams can go from struggling to contending relatively quickly. This is because "contending" means getting to around .500 and therefore being in range of at least a wild-card berth in December – and the Jaguars undoubtedly can get to that point quickly. They were, after all, at that point a mere 10 months ago. The thought here is that the franchise must make moves this offseason focused less on a "quick turnaround" and more on building toward long-term sustainable success. That indeed means focusing far more on the draft than free agency. That doesn't mean no free agents ever, but it should mean a far more measured approach to this area than we saw last offseason. As far as the draft, you don't want to focus solely on needs at the expense of drafting good players, but no question safety and the interior of both lines must be stouter and more dominant than is currently the case.
Boxcutter Bill from Mass
Thank you, O, from the bottom of my sad Jaguars heart. You're always there for us. Happy New Year!!!!
I am the king of all funk.
Frank from St. Augustine, FL
Johnny, watching the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers game Sunday and I couldn't help but notice the creativity of the offensive play-calling. I felt like their offensive coordinators and coaches called more creative and clever plays on each drive than Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor and Pederson have called all season. Is this because their coaching is better, their players are better? Is it better execution? My thought is that if we had truly offensive-minded coaches, some creative play-calling would put the defense on their heels on a regular basis.
Pederson and Taylor are offensive-minded. They are plenty creative. The Jaguars aren't a very consistent running team, and they frankly haven't converted third downs very consistently over the course of the season. When those two things are true, it's hard to be as creative offensively as would be ideal because you're not often in much of a rhythm offensively. Another thought here is that the Jaguars for the most part this season just haven't been very good offensively in any area – even at the basics sometimes. When you're not executing the basics, it's hard to execute creative stuff. That's my best effort at answering this question. Bottom line: The Jaguars have struggled everywhere this season. They're 4-12. The defense has been horrible. The offense has been a smidge better. When those things are true, it's all up for criticism.
Ron from Jacksonville
We as fans don't know who makes the final decision on who to acquire either through the draft or free agency. It could be the general manager or it could be that the head coach says I want a certain player and the general manager goes along with it. So it's hard to find fault if they make a bad decision.
Fair.
Benjamin from Jacksonville, FL BWO Upstate SC
We often see head coaches branded as having a background favoring one side of the ball or the other. Which would you say is easier to find or more valuable? Or does it even matter?
Neither offensive nor defensive background is harder to find than the other when seeking a head coach, and the thought here is neither is inherently "more valuable" in a head coach. This is because NFL owners far too often focus on this background – and the statistics "success" of an offensive or defensive coordinator at past stops – when searching for head coaching candidate. This success often is a miserable indicator of future success because the skills needed to coordinate an offense or defense have comparatively little do with running an organization. Coordinators "coordinate" – meaning they scheme, plan and call plays. Head coaches set a tone, steer the ship and focus on the big picture. While head coaches can be involved in coordinator activities at times, they cannot focus solely on those areas. But I digress – and while digressing, I'll add this: One area these days where it is an advantage to have a head coach with an offensive background is when the head coach brings a specific scheme and is calling plays. That allows a team – and its quarterback – to have continuity of scheme and system if the offensive coordinator leaves to become a head coach. This structure isn't a have-to for success, but it can be an advantage.
JG from Charleston
When will the entire coaching staff?
Happy New Year.
Don from Marshall, NC
Brian Thomas Jr. has been open every game. The quarterbacks missed him wide open so many times. He should have broken every rookie record. Go Jaguars!
When it comes to Jaguars rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., Don – somewhat uncharacteristically following the crowd on this one – remains "all in."
Bruce from Saint Simons Island
O, Happy New Year! I am glad the Jags won their last home game. I believe that the Jags should keep Jones because all NFL teams will need two competent quarterbacks going through LONG seasons. Watching the Commanders game, I saw the impact that special players can make to a team's success. Thomas is special, but few others on this Jags team. The Jags need to pick special players in next year's draft, regardless of position or need. Your thoughts?
First thought: I'm fine with the idea of the Jaguars keeping quarterback Mac Jones as a backup, though I imagine he will sign somewhere where he can at least have a chance to compete for a starting position. If he has that opportunity, it's difficult to turn it down. Second thought: If special is staring you in the face in the draft, you take it – and the more a team can lean toward special players over needs the better. It's not usually possible to ignore specific needs in the draft, but it's dangerous to overemphasize them.
P Funk from Murray Hill
When evaluating first-time free agents, do general managers value their pre-draft work or pro tape on players more?
This can vary from situation to situation. But a general manager/personnel official in this situation often will have an opinion on a player based on pre-draft work. That's human nature. But once a player has played in the NFL, more emphasis is usually placed on how the player has performed in the NFL.
Tony from Johns Creek, GA
O, one of the few good things that came about as the season progressed - Doug learned to kick the field goal and implement the quarterback sneak.
That's two things.
