JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Andrew from Halifax

I need to remember that the Jags have been without their leading tackler on defense for most of the year. This in addition to a healthy tight end, healthy running back, healthy safety room, etc., feels like a decent time to go on a run?

The Jaguars entering Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium indeed are inching closer to full health, with linebacker Foye Oluokun returning from injured reserve Sunday and with safety Andrew Wingard close to returning. They also have won two of their last three games, which indicates they are playing better than when they started 0-4. All of that does give you a sense they could go on a run. The problem is they're playing five contending, good teams – the Packers (5-2), the Philadelphia Eagles (4-2), the Minnesota Vikings (5-2), the Detroit Lions (5-1) and the Houston Texans (5-2) – in the next five games. They could play well in those games and not win a lot. This is a really difficult stretch.

Marcus from Jacksonville

This season rushing yards and yards per carry are up across the NFL. Do think that is an anomaly, or do you think it is the beginning of a trend? I've often wondered if there would be a tipping point. Teams for years have been building defenses to stop the pass. College players are raised up to stop high-octane passing games. If that's what your defense is built for, isn't it possible that offenses might take advantage of that and move back to more of a power run game? Or do you think these numbers will even out by year end and we will continue to have a pass-happy league?

Offenses without question are running more effectively this season than past seasons. The best theory I've heard is that so many teams are employing shell defenses – i.e., playing five and six defensive backs and playing back to prevent big plays – that teams are countering that by running against those looks. My thought isn't necessarily that this is signaling a return to "power" running as much as a return to selective running. Take the Jaguars, for instance: They are running well this season, but their struggles in short yardage make it difficult to call them a "power" team. However you describe it the NFL is a cyclical league, and we have seen the NFL cycle back to more running. I expect it will cycle away from this eventually. That's how cycles work.

Jason from North Pole, AK

Remember last season when we had no vertical passing game and every throw was over the middle? That's why you can't have two-to-three slot receiver-types on the field together. They struggle to get open deep one-on-one and it shrinks the field. Also: The more quarterbacks are throwing over the middle into tight windows, the more you are turning it over. Give me wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. running vertical over that garbage all day long.

Yep.

CJ from Fernandina

You mentioned the Jags would need to win about three of the next four games to remotely discuss playoffs this season. That seems like a tall order and the season will likely be a bit of a "we'll try again next season" season. I don't see any coaching changes or anything during the season. What changes do you see potentially being made? I think Head Coach Doug Pederson will still be here he has done a lot of good things for Jags. General manager Trent Baalke I think has done fairly well minus the free agents brought in this year. I could see one of the coordinators – or arguably both – gone.

Disappointing seasons in the NFL almost always mean change is considered on some level. Sometimes that change happens. Sometimes it doesn't. The Jaguars' 2-5 record is disappointing enough that this conversation is expected and understandable. There's noise in the system. If the Jaguars continue at their current pace and finish 5-12 or so, change could be sweeping. That's NFL reality. Precisely what such change could look like indeed is too far out with too many variables to accurately predict in late October. This answer isn't meant to avoid the question. But I try in this forum to attach some level of information and insight to speculation, and it's too early to have any accuracy here. There are plenty of places that will provide such speculation. Most are free.

Steve from Nashville, TN

What is the Jaguars' fourth-down conversion statistic so far in 2024?

They are 7 of 16.

Alan from Ellington, CT

Question about NFL rules. Why can't a team go for multiple field goals in a row? At the end of the game if you kick on first down to win the game but miss, why can't you kick again on second down?

Because those are the rules. If there is a missed field-goal attempt and the ball is not touched beyond the line of scrimmage by the receiving team, or in the end zone before the ball touches the ground, the receiving team gets possession at the spot of the kick – or at the 20-yard line. This is true whatever the down.

Holden from Callahan, FL

It seems like we've seen more two-high-safety looks this season across the league than in years past. As a result, we haven't seen many quarterbacks have 300-plus-yard games as often. I've also noticed Trevor taking what the defense gives him and not forcing things like in seasons past. Was Houston this year reminiscent of the Denver game in 2022?

We are definitely seeing more two-high-safety looks this season, with defenses countering productive passing offenses by making offense drive the length of the field and taking away deep passes. This seems to have prompted an increase in run production, with offenses running against defenses with fewer defenders near the line of scrimmage. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence does seem to be adapting to this, as are many quarterbacks. I don't know if the Jaguars' loss to Houston this season was that reminiscent of their 2022 loss to Denver, but Lawrence did struggle in both games and improved after both games. So maybe.

Brian from Round Rock, TX

Have you ever seen a team so talented struggle so mightily? The offense is stacked and should be tops in the league. Is this the worst coaching performance you've ever seen?

I'll assume for the sake of answering this question that the team you're referencing is the Jaguars. The offense from this view is improving significantly in recent weeks, with the notable exception of a Week 6 loss to the Bears when many talented players dropped many touchdown passes and fumbled at some very inopportune times. I think the Jaguars' offense has talent, and there are certainly a lot of capable starters. There are also some emerging players with a chance to be special, though I don't know that the group is so talented to be called "stacked" and I don't have any sense that it should be the league's best offense yet. I do know it's always coaching in the NFL.

Mario from West Kelowna, BC

Why do people want to get rid of players? Same reason why so many NFL experts write articles saying why teams should trade some players or who teams should draft without real knowledge of what goes on behind closed doors of teams.

"Experts."

Don from Marshall NC

I think Brian Thomas Jr. looks like Randy Moss because he does! I think Travon Walker looks like Reggie White. If that's what, I see then I would say that's special! It takes years of service to become great, but only a brief few seconds to become special. Special happens every game! Go Jaguars!

When it comes to being very excited about a couple of players with a chance to be very good – perhaps very, very, very good – Don remains enthusiastically and charmingly "all in."

Jim from Jagsonville

Bargain? More like you get what you pay for...

Fair.

Vince from St. Augustine, FL

I can't wait for the Jags' record to get to 4-7 or 4-8 because that's when they'll have their opponents right where they want them. Hey, it's worked before, right?

I suppose.

Jonathan from Formerly of Jax Beach

How many sixth-round picks do you see us acquiring prior to the trade deadline?

I don't know that the Jaguars are going to be as active prior to the 2024 trade deadline as many devilishly clever O-Zone emailers expect.

Boxcutter Bill from Mass

I read an article from News Jax 10 where they said Jaguars fans were voted the most polite, and I wondered if they read the O-Zone mailbag ever?

I don't know what "News Jax 10" is," and a lot – and I do mean a lot – of polls and rankings come through the inbox from various sources and pollsters. Whoever did this one probably doesn't read the O-Zone. This person is not alone.