JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it … MC Bobby B from Dellwood:
My excitement has grown since Day 1 of the Khan, Caldwell and Bradley Regime. Our weaknesses on the roster have decreased. Other than safety and linebacker, we seem to be loaded at each position. How can I make this month of torture go by faster? I have already listed my own depth chart five times! Please, John!
John: Bobby, Bobby, Bobby … or is it, MC Bobby, MC Bobby, MC Bobby? Whichever … don't wish your life away. Training camp will be here soon enough and the season soon will follow. And when they do arrive, the Jaguars indeed will have a deeper, better, more-competitive roster than in the first two years of this regime. That will be because of some offseason additions and – just as much – because of some maturation on the part of returning players. I wouldn't call the Jaguars "loaded" at all positions just yet; there are still questions at a lot of the positions we've been discussing all offseason. But I would call the Jaguars capable and potentially pretty good at all positions, including linebacker. That should make the season that will arrive in due time an interesting one.
John from Tampa, FL:
Did you really stay in a Holiday Inn Express? Did you?
John: I actually stayed in a van down by the river.
Keith from Palatka, FL:
"Establishing dominance over your wife" is an idea reserved for the young and/or the foolish. Have you established dominance over your wife and if so have you told her?
John: I established it early and have held it since. The cool thing is she has no idea. I'd tell her if the thought of doing so wasn't so terrifying.
Tom from Duval:
Who has been the most impressive undrafted rookie free agent throughout OTAs?
John: I'd pick Corey Grant and Nick Marshall as undrafted players who stood out in the offseason. A disclaimer here: it's far more common for young skill players to stand out in organized team activities and minicamp than it is for linemen because the nature of unpadded work is that athleticism is noticed while line play is often overlooked. Grant stood out because of his speed and Marshall stood out for his athleticism as he makes the transition from college quarterback to NFL cornerback. There's a long way to go for all undrafted rookies, but those two are worth watching.
Doc from Atlanta, GA:
"Love Me Do" I think it was? Well anyway, from there it didn't take him long.
John: No, that's one of the things that was noticeable about Johnny. He worked quickly.
Kyan from Le Mars, IA:
O-Man, with Curtis Dvorak, out as Jaxson is there a clear favorite for his replacement? Or is this starting to become one of the more interesting offseason battles for the Jags?
John: I'm not sure there will be a "battle." The Jaguars are looking for a replacement for Curtis Dvorak, who has retired from the position of Jaxson de Ville he held for 19 years. Replacing him won't be easy, but I'm sure there will be countless qualified candidates.
John from Boynton Beach, FL:
Aside from Gwen Stefani, I tend to picture Kate Upton and Salma Hayek when I read your article, but I don't think it has much to do with what you write in this article.
John: Or what I'm wearing when I write it.
John from Savannah, GA:
I remember when George Steinbrenner used to criticize Wade Boggs for hitting an "empty" .300. I think you can have an "empty" 10-sack guy. I'd rather have a pass rusher that forces other teams to have to game plan for him, or makes the whole defensive line better, than just a guy who gets his own 10 sacks and that's it.
John: No doubt. I value sacks just as much as the next guy, but I've also seen defensive ends have very effective games and even seasons with sacks numbers that weren't all that impressive. Also, offenses – particularly quarterbacks – can reduce a player's sacks total by double-teaming and/or chipping the player. Sometimes a defensive end can be plain unlucky when it comes to sacks. Show me the guy with consistent pressure forcing interceptions and incomplete passes and I'll show you a guy who's just as effective as the double-digit sacks guy.
Neil from Gloucester, UK:
Sir John Of Oehser. So this is the Dead Zone. New fan, always learning. Why are they called 'sacks?' I see no evidence of a sack being used as part of the process. Thank you.
John: There are at least a couple of stories about the origin of the word sack. The late David "Deacon" Jones, perhaps the best pass rusher of all time, claimed to have come up with the term, saying that sacking a quarterback was "just like you devastate a city or cream a multitude of people." Former Buffalo Bills Head Coach Marv Levy after Jones' death in 2013 told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that Jones got the term from former Redskins Head Coach George Allen. According to Levy, the night before the Redskins were to play the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Craig Morton, Allen said, 'Before we play those Dallas Cowboys, we're going to take that Morton salt and pour him into a sack.' Either way, Jones generally gets credit for popularizing the term.
Scott from Jacksonville:
You don't golf, either.
John: Yes, and somehow I've managed … then again, considering my current state of affairs … when do we tee off?
Joe from San Antonio, TX:
I am in very good shape, I am fast rope qualified, I have a Bachelor's in Business, I am handsome, great with the ladies and I am a funny guy. Does that make me over-qualified to the senior writer?
John: Either that or a liar.
Lou from Jacksonville:
What's the update on Dante Fowler Jr. after his surgery?
John: All reports were the surgery on Fowler's torn anterior cruciate ligament was successful. He wasn't on the field or in the locker room during media access during organized team activities or veteran minicamp, but he told reporters during that time he expected to be off crutches by late June. He also said he hoped to be able to watch training camp practices from the sideline.
Cristiano from Brazil:
Já que alguém escreveu em alemão e você publicou, resolvi escrever em português. Você sabia que, depois de Estados Unidos (obviamente) e México, o Brasil é o país com maior audiência de futebol americano?
John: I didn't know that. I do now.
David from Orlando, FL:
O-man, this is the final year of Andrew Luck's four-year 22.1 million dollar contract. I suspect he will become the NFL's highest paid player, somewhere in the ballpark of $25 million a year. As a Jag fan, I am glad that their cap will be stressed to the max. It will all be worth it if they can win a Super Bowl or two. If you were a betting man, do you think this will happen?
John: I think Andrew Luck will be an elite quarterback for another 10 years, and the odds are with an elite quarterback winning at least one Super Bowl. Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger. Luck shows signs of belonging in that conversation, so if I had to bet? Yeah, I'd bet that he would win one.
James from Jacksonville:
Hi John. Best football movie of all-time? Waterboy!
John: Best? Nah. Good? Definitely.
Pradeep from Bangalore, Indiana:
Hi John. If given a chance, which Jaguars player jersey number you would love to retire and why?
John: I'm not big on retiring numbers. I think the Jaguars have it right just not using the numbers of players such as Tony Boselli (No. 71), Maurice Jones-Drew (No. 32), Jimmy Smith (No. 82) and Fred Taylor (No. 28). If forced to retire a number, I would select Nos. 71 and 28. Tony Boselli and Fred Taylor were a close No. 1-No. 2 as the best players in franchise history; if you must retire numbers, retire those.
Troy from York, PA:
Hey O-man … I was just wondering what you thought about our linebacker depth. I was kind of disappointed that Dave didn't address the linebacker position in the draft.
John: There's a lot to like about the Jaguars' starting linebackers, and though many fans and observers see the area as thin, the Jaguars don't see it that way. They like what they have seen from LaRoy Reynolds as a reserve/special teams player, and the same is true of Jeremiah George. Is there a chance they sign a veteran late in training camp? Sure, but I wouldn't say the team is leaning that way.
Paul from Brazil:
Hey, O-man. In response to David from Oviedo, in many situations "you may be right or be happy." I think the first one is not an option for married men at home...
John: I was going to offer some thoughts on the second option, but I think I'll just go out on the porch and sit for a spell.