JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Michael from Orange Park, FL
Fiiiiiiiiiiiight! 'Bout time, zone.
I'll assume you're referencing a fracas/fight/skirmish that occurred late during Monday's Jaguars 2024 Training Camp practice at the Miller Electric Center. The incident occurred after cornerback Montaric Brown leveled wide receiver Gabe Davis after a short reception during an 11-on-11 period late in practice. The hit was harder than a usual practice hit, and Brown stood over Davis a bit longer than normal for a practice. Veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk, who was not in the play or wearing a helmet, came off the sideline and hit and leveled Brown. Offensive and defensive players joined the incident. It was quite the scene by modern NFL training camp standards, and it was notable from this perspective that the normally lower-key Kirk got so immediately involved. I interpreted it as a team being very ready to play a game – and being a little testy after some intense practices. The "situation" ended quickly, with little-to-no issues afterward. Did Head Coach Doug Pederson love the occurrence? Probably not. Most head coaches these days see practice fights as a waste of time and energy. Did part of Pederson kind of like the feistiness and players coming to the aid of others? Yeah … deep down, I expect the old-school football guy in Pederson was OK with it. It was, from this perspective entertaining and pretty harmless stuff.
Julio from The Keys
I came across an editorial saying that the Jags should trade quarterback Trevor Lawrence for New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. I could physically feel my IQ dropping as I read it. I don't really have a question, but just pointing out that no matter how bad someone's opinion can be, there's always a far dumber one. I hope you and the Jags faithful are doing well.
I feel your pain here. We have reached the point on the interweb that there are so many "experts" and "analysts" spewing hot takes that it has become understandably difficult to discern educated opinion from a presumably well-intentioned soul throwing thoughts against an arbitrary wall and sending those thoughts into the abyss. My presumption is whoever advocated this trade was one of the well-intentioned souls. I can't in good conscious criticize this soul or call him dumb. We have guideless here about being nice, after all.
Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA
How 'bout we all yell what we want on whatever plays we feel, just let 'em hear ya ROAR! The best one will stick. I do smile every time I visualize the D mowing as they leave the grass though!
Go for it, my friend.
Tim from Atlanta, GA
So, the Jaguars go from division champs one year to third place in the South the next season. No way they're beating the Colts and Texans. SMH. Sounds like progress to me. Hmmmmmmm.
You certainly give the impression of having gotten right to the bottom of things. A couple of thoughts on your thoughts. One is that the Jaguars won the AFC South in 2022 and finished second in the division the following season with a loss in the final regular season game. And while it also seems you're assuming the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are "ahead" of the Jaguars for some reason … this seems a premature evaluation. Remember: When the Texans and Jaguars last played, the Jaguars beat the Texans in Houston. The Jaguars also swept the Colts twice last season. While it has become vogue this offseason to praise the Colts and Texans – particularly the Texans – shouldn't we wait until the regular season to print the AFC South Champions hats and T-Shirts?
Johnny from Westside (free website side)
You've referenced jaguars.com quite often as this "free website." Is there a paid version? This is the NFLs official website for the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think, in fact, the NFL limits its teams' websites to one each. It's unfair to act like we could go to some other website like we can change the channel. It's more like JEA: if you want power in Jacksonville, it's JEA. If you want Jags it's jaguars.com. So why do you do it? And is there a better paid website for Jaguars news, interviews, etc?
There's no paid version of jaguars.com. I reference jaguars.com as a free website to note that it's a free website. Are there better websites out there for Jaguars news, interviews, etc? I suppose it's possible. I concern myself with this free website. If people are unsatisfied with it, they are free to seek others as they so desire.
Daniel from Johnston, IA
One player, at least to these eyes, that hasn't seemed to have much of an impact is Muma. What's your take on him and will we see more of him on the field this year?
Linebacker Chad Muma, a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has started four games over the last two seasons. He also has been a very good special teams player. My take is that Muma essentially has been what the Jaguars expected and wanted upon his selection – i.e., valuable depth and special-teams production. Muma, like most Jaguars defenders, is getting a lot of repetitions in various situations during camp. The Jaguars' defense under first-year coordinator Ryan Nielsen is expected to have multiple personnel packages in multiple back-seven looks behind a four-player front. The thought here is Muma's role on defense will be more extensive. As a third-year veteran, he should be ready for the role. He's a big, strong, fast linebacker who appears to have a chance to contribute. This season matters a great deal for him.
Jonathan from Formerly of Jax Beach
Gotta disagree, my friend. Hamilton has not lived up to the preseason hype in any season and it's not because I don't know what I'm watching, quite the opposite. Also, you're saying fans don't know Aaron Donald, Grady Jarrett, Dexter Lawrence, Jarren Reed, Michael Pierce, Vita Vea and others go unnoticed? That's certainly not an accurate assessment. Even removing Donald from the list, since he was a DPOY multiple times and there are still big names with big production on this list.
I guess we're watching different teams or perhaps our levels of emotional commitment to this issue simply differ. This is always possible. The reality is Jaguars nose tackle DaVon Hamilton never has been particularly "hyped" during any preseason until last preseason after he signed a long-term contract. His performance last season was severely limited by a back injury. What I'm saying is Hamilton has been a good player for two seasons and really good at the end of the 2022 season. I guess you can disagree. Or not. It's fine either way.
Paul from Lake City
One fer Shatley.
Veteran guard/center Tyler Shatley indeed has told area media that the 2024 season will be his last in the NFL. If it plays out that way, his final season will be his 11th in the NFL – all with the Jaguars. Signed as a collegiate free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft, Shatley has been a valuable offensive lineman throughout his career. He's a good guy. A reliable player. A career-long Jaguar. One fer Shatley? Absolutely.
Sebastian from Saint Johns
Hey, John. How do you see the draft decision of the Jaguars to select Travon Walker instead of Aidan Hutchinson? Walker is good at times but consistency is his biggest issue. What say you, do the Jags wish they had selected Hutchinson?
Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker was good as a rookie in 2022 and very good in his second season in 2023. He was consistent in both seasons. If you're judging him solely on pass rushing and sacks statistics, he appeared to be markedly better late in 2023 than at any other time in those two seasons. If you're watching him play the entire game, you've seen a player steadily improve and be dominant at times at the point of attack and against the run. I have never had any impression that the Jaguars wish they had selected Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson over Walker with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Greg from Jacksonville Beach, FL
Zone, with the preseason opener Saturday, I gotta ask: Are we seeing some of the last preseason games?
I understand the question because it feels more and more as seasons pass that the NFL is getting closer and closer to eliminating preseason games. The league moved from four to three with the implementation of the 17-game schedule in 2021 and I would expect the league to move to two if/when it moves to 18 regular-season games. Could it ever move to one or zero? Anything is possible, I suppose. Moving to zero anytime soon is moving way too quick. But as much as I dislike covering preseason games, there is too much value in terms of evaluation and preparation to eliminate them entirely. But that's just my thought, and that thought increasingly makes me the minority.
