JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it … Thrill from Jacksonville:
Carl from Jacksonville has a great point. Sometimes GMs like having lots of picks not because they want lots of late-round players, but because it allows them flexibility to move up and get a player they really like that may have fallen some into the middle rounds.
John: This is true, and Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell has shown a couple of different approaches after the first round in the last two drafts. In 2014, he used later-round selections to move up to take guard Brandon Linder and wide receiver Allen Robinson. Those are two players who make that look like a very good draft. This offseason, he let the draft "come to him" on a couple of occasions. Although the Jaguars liked wide receiver Rashad Greene and defensive tackle Michael Bennett in earlier rounds, Caldwell kept his selections and managed to draft Greene and Bennett in the fifth- and sixth-round, respectively. No one would have criticized Caldwell much had he used a later draft selection or two this year and/or next year to move up for either or both players, but he stayed patient, kept his draft selections and was able to acquire both players.
Doug from Jacksonville:
O-man: let me clear something up for you. You aren't the problem. I hear every day about how I am the problem with my enjoyment of "adult beverages," my insatiable appetite for chicken wings, my habit of using up my sick days for the year by the Super Bowl and my "issues with commitment." I have heard this for years from many different people so....
John: Let me clear something up for you, Doug. You aren't the problem. In fact, after giving this some thought, I'm pretty sure you're the solution.
Peter from Initech:
The "Dead Zone" isn't all bad. Last year, I found out I need a cover sheet for my TPS Reports. Who knew?! I then went and saw an occupational hypnotherapist and life has been great. Dumped my girlfriend and now I'm dating a hot chick from Flingers.
John: I have no idea what you're talking about, but you might be the solution, too.
Andrew from St. Augustine, FL:
Please enlighten me, O'man, how does an arm gets broken trying to strip the football? Thanks for all the O'Team does enlightening Jags fans. Keep up the good work no matter what Big Bo, Sexton, the Cat, and Khan say about you.
John: You're asking about James Sample's fractured arm sustained Thursday in practice. It was a freak accident, but stripping the football was indeed how it happened. It's a tough break, though Sample is expected to return some time in training camp.
Marc from Jacksonville and Section 239:
Do the Jaguars have anyone on staff who specifically discusses, teaches and makes recommendations to the players in regards to nutrition and supplements? There is some research that suggests particular vitamins and nutrients can help reduce sport injuries. Reading that James Sample broke his arm after what sounded like minimal contact, it made me wonder – as a physician – if he has been getting enough calcium and vitamin D. There are even supplements that can strengthen ligaments (Dante Fowler, hint, hint). Do the Jaguars have a nutrition guru?
John: The Jaguars have people with knowledge of nutrition, and as you know – being a physician – injuries occur when big, strong people do physical things at high speeds. Many, many teams have people whose job it is to focus on nutrition and many of those teams have players who sustain freak injuries – like Sample. Those teams also often have players who sustain torn anterior cruciate ligaments – just like Dante Fowler Jr. It's professional sports. Injuries happen.
Tim from St. Petersburg, FL:
John: Is there a guy on the staff that is constantly working with Bortles on his mechanics such as a pitching coach in baseball who talks to the pitcher between innings if the throwing motion is off?
John: Yes, that's quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett, though offensive coordinator Greg Olson certainly would have thoughts as well. The bulk of Bortles' mechanical work is done in the offseason with quarterbacks guru Tom House. There theoretically could be confusion in that situation, but Olson and Bortles have said during this offseason that all parties are in agreement on Bortles' fundamentals. That's important.
William from Jacksonville:
This is not a question but a shout out from Abu Dhabi, UAE. I'm here representing and here they have a lot of Jaguar haters or "the-jags-won't-be-much"sayers. I just tell them, "Ok". I hope that the Jags make the playoffs this year so I can just grin at them. GO JAGS!
John: You go, girl.
Fred from Portsmouth, VA:
Is the live streaming of the Jags-vs.-Bills game something that the Jaguars organization pushed for?
John: It's more accurate to say that the Jaguars are very pleased to be a part of it than to say they pushed for it. The organization likes it because it can further the team's international brand, but how games are broadcast/presented is more of a league topic that goes beyond an individual team wanting it to happen.
Hugo from Albuquerque, NM:
I for one have been surprised the NFL has taken so long getting into live streaming of games. Any opinions on what could be behind the NFL being the only major sports league not live streaming their games?
John: Without drilling deep into detail, the revenue the NFL receives from its television contract for decades has been one of the biggest reasons for the league's growth and financial stability. When something is that critical to you financial stability, you tread lightly when you change it.
BCB Member Chris:
Hey Johnny O, I remember reading Oley was trying to tailor the offense to Bortles' strengths, which statistically was his intermediate to deep play balls last season. I also remember reading that last season Oley in Oakland ran a ton of short-yard screens and check-down plays; does this mean he is changing up his playbook to include more deep plays to really play into Blake's strengths? Thanks as always! Oh and of course #Duuuuuuuvaaaaaalllll
John: The idea of changing the playbook is a bit of a misnomer. Greg Olson will pretty much install his own playbook, then adjust those plays, his game plans and play calls to Bortles' strengths as well as the strengths of the rest of the offense. The Raiders ran short passes and screens last year largely because they had a young quarterback with an offense that was struggling. That's because Olson is big on protecting the quarterback and not putting the offense in negative down-and-distance situations. For that reason, I imagine you'll see some of the same elements in the Jaguars' offense. The better the offense performs, the more I think you'll see Bortles and Olson open things up and go downfield.
Kevin from Jacksonville:
Wading through the fountain, picking up loose change to buy a coke. #shadricksightings
John: Right.
Jay from Camp Lejeune, NC:
O: 71 years ago on 6/6/44 the greatest generation stormed the beaches of Normandy. Today: The top story is Bruce Jenner. Where did we go wrong??
John: An argument certainly can be made that those who stormed the beaches – and anyone who has served, for that matter – fought for Jenner to have the right to be a top story in precisely the manner she has become the top story. I don't know Jenner or enough about her story to comment much, and this really isn't the forum. I will say there always have been odd stories that fascinate people. Now, as is the case with sports coverage and all coverage really, there's just more of a 24/7, in-your-face media that the volume seems to be cranked up quite a bit.
Ed from Danvers, MA:
O-Zone, do kickers attend OTAs? Are you worried that Scobee might show up?
John: Scobee knows where to find me.
Mike from Jagsonville:
Too much weird irony in saying an injury occurred on the Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice Fields. How about just "at practice?"
John: I get emails a lot complaining when I use complete names, titles, etc. It seems to irritate some people, for instance, when I write out anterior cruciate ligament instead of ACL. I suppose accuracy and correctness always will bother some people. In this case, I understand the weird irony, but we'll just stick with the correct "Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice Fields."
Chris from Mandarin:
John: In your articles, you refer to non-rookie players as "veterans." For instance, you sometimes refer to a player as a "first-year veteran." I can see calling someone who has experience a veteran, but a second-year player? This makes no sense. Why do you do it?
John: NFL players who aren't rookies but who have not accrued enough games to be a second-year veteran are first-year veterans according to the NFL. I do this for the same reason I call anterior cruciate ligaments "anterior cruciate ligaments." Because that's what they are. I'm just nutty that way.