JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Bryan from Stumptown
Yo, Grizz! I realize no one knows what The Mustache is thinking, but how likely is a split decision on the football leadership? Like send Baalke to live with Cousin Larry and keep Doug and the staff? Or vice versa (please no)? Or do you think it's a housecleaning or keep everybody? Care to speculate wildly?
I receive multiple emails along these lines every day these days and I expect that will continue through the last four games of the 2024 regular season. When a team is 3-10 and fails to meet expectations to the degree the Jaguars failed to meet expectations this season, the No. 1 issue around that team will be – and must be – the future of the general manager and head coach. That means General Manager Trent Baalke and Head Coach Doug Pederson will be topics until Owner Shad Khan clarifies the future, which likely will happen sometimes soon after the season. But while speculation is rampant – not only among fans, but media – what Khan thinks on these matters is all that matters. There's no way to even speculate accurately if you don't know what he's thinking, which is why few around the team even bother guessing. Housecleaning? Keep everyone? Fifty-fifty split? Any are possibilities until we know. And we don't know until we know.
Arthur from Glassboro, NJ
It doesn't matter where we pick in the draft if we keep the same front office or staff. We're a dysfunctional organization and arguably the worst franchise in professional sports for the past two decades.
Many people feel this way. No one yet knows how Khan feels about Baalke and/or Pederson moving forward following the season – except, perhaps, Khan. This is what the first few days after the regular season will be about.
Paul from Washington, D.C.
Just saw the article for seats in the Stadium of the Future. When will the Jags work on the Team of the Future?
Every day and always, Paul. Every day and always.
James from Jax
Didn't Mac look better? His two picks were forced on long third downs, so were more like short punts. I thought those were good times to gamble. He hit the check downs well, something Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence could learn to do. With more time to develop, we can win with this guy.
Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones has had some good moments in the last two games. He took advantage of an opportunity this past week to get the Jaguars in position for two fourth-quarter scores. I don't know if he's going to develop into a starting level quarterback that "we can with" consistently against good teams. I don't know if he has the arm strength for that. I do think he is a capable backup quarterback.
Vera from St. Louis
GO JAGS.
No doubt.
Rob from Jax
What happened to Cisco? I liked him out of college, I thought he was developing into a key piece. Now you can't imagine him coming back. I understand a player from college not making it or not working out in the NFL. I can also see an OK player taking a few seasons to be good or great. But what causes a player to seemingly peak in Years 1 and 2 and then start to decline? Any insights? Thanks O.
Just because I can't imagine a player not being here next season doesn't mean he won't be here next season. I like Jaguars safety Andre Cisco. But he has made some critical mistakes in coverage this season and safety is one of the tougher positions to re-sign. If a player is going to get re-signed to a long-term extension at safety, he needs to be developing into an elite player. Cisco has been OK at times. He hasn't at all been elite.
Ray from Jax
John: Draft position is not everything. Other than the first pick in the draft, the Super Bowl champion picks right before the worst team. Yes, the worst team has a better chance of landing a quality player, but first overall picks warrant that position only about half of the time at best. I'd rather have the champion's general manager picking 32nd than the biggest loser taking a player 33rd in the draft.
OK, I think. Wait … what?
Rob from the duuuuuuu
Defensive end Arik Armstead AND wide receiver Gabe Davis BOTH have over $20 million dead cap hits for next year!?!? How is that possible!? Davis and Armstead ContractGate is waaaay worse than PlaycallGate in my opinion. These contracts stick us with underperforming highly-paid players and will prevent us from improving via free agency and will prevent us from re-signing our own talented players. It's a two-to-three-year setback in the worst of times. You said before the season you were concerned about the older free-agent signings … man, you were right! I was drinking the Kool-Aid at the time and thought for sure they would lift this team. I'll never again believe in an older free agent until I see him play in the regular season. What was Baalke thinking?
Free agency is a risky game – and the older the player, the greater the risk. The Jaguars were thinking last offseason they needed to improve at those positions. They had some success in free agency in 2021 and 2022. This past offseason wasn't as successful.
Marlin from Greenway Palms, FL
Remember when we wanted to tank the 2020 season so we could draft Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft. Remember when the Jets won their first game of the season (we had won in Week One) in week 15 and then a second game in Week 16, dropping them out of the top spot? TLaw was the next great quarterback, the "can't miss" prospect. He was Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck all rolled into one. We were so excited. This would be the changing of the guard in the AFC South, this would be the start of a franchise rebirth! While TLaw has been pretty good, he has not turned out to be the generational quarterback we all that he was. Overall, maybe it would have been better in 2021 to draft later after the three "generational" quarterbacks had been selected and pick Ja'Marr Chase, or even Kyle Pitts? 20/20 hindsight is great. Picking second didn't help the Jets, either. I don't know who we will pick in the 2025 Draft, but I almost guarantee in 2029 we will look back and say – why didn't we draft so-and-so instead of who we did? Am I being too pessimistic?
It's true that Lawrence hasn't yet become Brady, Manning or Luck and that he must continue to develop. I don't know that I agree with the idea that the Jaguars would have been better off selecting a different player in the 2021 NFL Draft. As for the draft, there almost always is a player you "could have drafted" instead of the player you drafted. The idea is to get significant, front-line production out of first-round selections and hit as high a percentage after that as possible. If you do that, you give yourself a chance to succeed and be consistent over the long term.
Brad from the Avenues
Okay, John. I try not to lose my cool on things that so-called experts say at times. But watching this past Happy Hour has gotten me really ticked. When Pete Prisco said that the fans have checked out, my first response was... OK I can't say that on here, either. Now he did go on to clarify that not all fans have checked out, just the smart ones. Well, I guess that makes me a stupid fan. Now I don't get my information on Twaddle or Ex or whatever it's called like Pete apparently does, but I do read the O-Zone every day. And even though feelings are mixed it's clear that many of us fans still want to see our team win. That's why we keep watching. That's why we keep cheering. But what do I know? I'm just a stupid fan. GO JAGS!
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports is a high-end NFL analyst. He understands front-office, coaching and personnel goings on as well as any NFL analyst I've ever been around – and as well as many executives and coaches. I wouldn't say he's in touch with all fans on this topic.
Daniel from St Johns
Rob was right on! I remember the first season. Our 1st win ever in believe was against the Oilers. Last home game of the season, my buddy brought a broom and we swept the Houston Titans. We got good mid season the following year. Another Oilers/Titans sweep and an Indy sweep would sure feel like the beginnings of a championship team growing up!
My memory's not great, either. It's good enough that I absolutely know the Jaguars didn't sweep the Houston Titans in 1995.
