JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Gavin from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Hey, John. Keep up the great work. I've been a daily reader since the days of yore, back to the 14-2 season with the three Tennessee Titans losses, DAMN THOSE TITANS!! Anywho … is it possible given the young core, and the potential talent which has been evident the last two seasons prior to this one, that the whole team has hit a sophomore slump? With the lack of production from the free agents, I definitely think General Manage Trent Baalke needs to go, and Head Coach Doug Pederson, too, but maybe there's something to the sophomore slump...?

Anything's possible, I suppose – and given the Jaguars' 2-9 record and several days to "think on stuff" during the bye week, this indeed is a week for theories and "thoughts." I can't buy too much into this theory, though. The Jaguars from this view are kind of the same team this season they have been in recent seasons. They have good – but not great – talent and an offensive line that struggles to run block when it matters. They also have a defense that isn't stout enough up front to dominate opponents. The Jaguars' deficiencies have led them to at times get blown out against some good teams in recent seasons, and they play in a lot of close games. They won a lot of those close games for a stretch in 2022 and 2023, and this season they're losing a lot of them. They're a middling roster and don't have a good enough roster to be great. There doubtless will be a lot of theories offered up between now and season's end. That tends to be the norm in disappointing seasons. But from this view, that's the main paragraph.

Jeff from Atlantic Beach, FL

In the two most recent years that the Jaguars made the playoffs, they were considered to have had very good (maybe even great) free-agency signings. Meanwhile, their draft classes have been more miss than hit. So, is it unfair to assume that until they consistently are able to build through the draft we will have similar results?

You have a much better chance of being consistent building through the draft, because there's really no such thing as "great" free-agency signings. When you sign free agents, you're signing older players who their teams didn't want. This doesn't mean they're not good. It means they're older, more likely to get injured and less likely to be franchise-defining players.

Bruce from Saint Simons Island, GA

O, Even in the middle of a terrible season, I believe that (assuming quarterback Trevor Lawrence comes back healthy) that the Jags should be competitive in their last six games, and could win out. Is this crazy talk?

Kinda sorta yeah.

Alan from Ellington, CT

I've always heard that it can take a few years to adjust personnel from a 3/4 to a 4/3 defense. Especially the pass rushers. Do you think this might be part of the problem? Considering last year, they were terrible against the run. But this year the defense is terrible at every level.

Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker haven't been terrible this season. At all. Secondary play doesn't change much from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense and the secondary has struggled perhaps more than another area defensively. Perhaps.

Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK

Oh Mighty 'O' / King of all Funk, running back Fred Taylor makes the semifinalists but Jimmy Smith gets passed over again. Are Jimmy's off-field issues too much to get him a much-deserved Gold Jacket? His performances on the field are more than deserving.

Former Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith indeed was not among the 25 modern-era semifinalists announced for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week. This stinks and Smith absolutely is deserving. I don't get the idea Smith's off-field issues have much to do with his being overlooked. The sense here is it's more about his statistics gradually seeming less impressive to voters as the league becomes more and more pass-centric. He also had 67 career touchdown receptions, which hurts compared to many Hall receivers. The most unfortunate thing for Smith is he essentially "lost" three years at the start of his career and played relatively sparingly in 1995 – his first season with the Jaguars. He really didn't start producing Pro Bowl numbers until his fifth season. Had he had two or three more "peak" seasons" he undoubtedly would already be enshrined. It's unfortunate that he's not. Smith at his best – and he was at his best for 10 seasons – was undoubtedly an elite wide receiver.

Michael from New York, NY

A wise man once said that if a pro team played a college team, they could score at will and name the final. Hmm. I won't fail to acknowledge attempts at addressing the lines, but it has been poor and clearly not worked. From my view, I'd be picking for either side of the line in the first two rounds every year, until you're set, and then at least. one in the first three rounds forever. It's the lines.

Fair.

Tom from Charlottesville

Doug Pederson did win a Super Bowl in 2017. However, except for a blown call his team would have been facing the Jaguars and I think the Jags might have won that matchup! That winter we signed the quarterback that won that game (did not work out!) Three years ago, we signed the coach that would have been beaten by that 2017 team, coincidence or bad planning? We fired a Super Bowl winning coach twice in the past and awarded him a place in the Ring of Honor. Time for Mr. Khan to set his own path with fresh ideas.

It sounds like you're saying the Jaguars shouldn't have hired a coach because he might have been beaten in a Super Bowl by a team … that was as far as I got when my heard started to hurt.

Jim from Jagsonville

So excited to see Fred Taylor once again is honored as a top 25 finalist for the Hall of Fame. Looking at this year's competition, it seems he has a shot at the next level at least, if not going all the way. My question is do you get a sense that voting is affected by the current standings of the team they were known for? Will Eli Manning get fewer votes because the Giants are 2-8, for example?

No. A team's current record does not affect how Hall voters vote.

Colin from Sanford, FL

There was a quote from Coach Pederson in your most recent article on whether he regrets holding tough camps during training camp. He said he doesn't. Do you have an idea about whether the Jaguars' offseason practices are particularly "tough" compared to the rest of the league?

Pederson designed the Jaguars 2024 Training Camp to be tough. Players who had been with other teams and who had participated in past Jaguars training camp practices said they were tough compared to other camps. They were not tough at all compared to camps before the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement banned two-a-days and limited hitting. Get off my lawn.

Brendan from The Moral High ground

The "approach" to the D-line has been pay a career DT an exorbitant amount of money to play second-string defensive end snaps and take either Josh Hines-Allen or Travon Walker off the field while doing so. That "approach" sucks and is not normal.

OK.

Craig from Ponte Vedra Beach

I honestly don't see the Jaguars winning another game. It's been almost three straight months of a grueling schedule and there is no incentive for players to go out and give 100 percent knowing that there will be major changes at season ends. Forget the pride and the fact "these are professionals' rhetoric...this team is exhausted and playing like it.

The Jaguars played like a tired, exhausted team against the Detroit Lions this past Sunday. They hadn't played like that the four games before that. I expect the Jaguars to win at least another game or two this season.

Nelson from St. Augustine, FL

I'm used to the Jaguars losing. It's the only consistent thing they do year after year. I think what is beginning to bother me now is that I don't care if they win.

This is fair. The Jaguars have lost enough to make this an issue. It's the Jaguars' job to make you care. That's it. That's their task.

G DAWG from Waycross, Ga

If this organization decides to clean house this year, do you think it's possible they can get rid of that no good Senior Writer? I mean after all "HE SUCKS" day in and day out! I'm Sorry John, I truly apologize! It turns out I was momentarily possessed by Gary from St. Augustine, and let me tell you that was an eerie experience.

Gary's a visionary. Few dispute that.