JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it … Jags Lifer from Duuuuvvallll!!!:
What was that you said about us not putting together a complete game? Take it back! Go Jags!
John: I indeed have said often throughout this season I didn't know if the Jaguars could put together a complete game this season. Actually, I said quite often I didn't believe they would or could do so because they were simply too young and too inexperienced on offense at this stage of their development – and that they didn't get enough pass rush consistently – to do so. After the 51-16 victory over the Colts at EverBank Field on Sunday, I must admit that I was wr … I was wro … OK, I was sorta, kinda wrong. The Jaguars didn't put together a complete game, but that was one heck of a final 31 minutes.
Chad from Jacksonville:
… ok maybe not so nauseating Sunday.
John: Well, I guess that's something.
Michael from Newport News, VA:
At the end of the year we may look back at a few of the games and say, "What if?"
John: Well, of course we will, Michael. Of course we'll look at the first game against the Colts and the game against the Titans last week and three or four other games and say, 'What if?' But the Jaguars weren't ready to win those games. OK, maybe they were ready to win in Indianapolis, but so many of the other games were about the offense not being mature enough and the defense not getting enough pass rush, etc. etc. One overarching theme is that the Jaguars are looking like an offense that can move the ball and score consistently, and another is that there are good, young players starting to form a good, young core. This team looks improved, and if you can't see it then you aren't looking or just being stubborn. Will we say, "What if?" Sure. But if we can say, "I like what I see coming …" that's what you want from this season.
Ronald from Section 118:
We … We believe … We believe in … We believe in victory! We believe in victory! We believe in victory! We believe in victory!
John: Sing it loud, Ronnie. Sing it, proud.
Kyle from Ohio:
I'm still very frustrated. It should feel amazing destroying the Colts until you realize this team just laid an egg against the Chargers and Titans in the previous two weeks. Those teams are 6-20 combined. We take care of business in those games and we lead the division. All this win does is provide two days of joy and hurt our draft position.
John: Yes, Kyle, if the Jaguars had taken care of business they would be leading the division. But if you can't see the overall improvement and can't be happy about Sunday … well, Kyle if you can't enjoy a game like that I'm afraid that for the most part being an NFL fan is going to be a very difficult experience for you.
Sid from Jacksonville:
Blake Bortles with another big game: 30 passing touchdowns on the year and counting. Good yardage totals as well, and it isn't a fluke. His consistency is getting better and how he handles himself as a quarterback is very professional. It seems unreal. I almost thought we would be a running back-dependent team forever. New feelings setting in, John...
John: Those feelings are hope, Sid. It's a quarterback league. The Jaguars appear to have a quarterback. Not much more needs to be said on that topic.
Todd from Jacksonville:
And how long has it been since we've had a punt return for a touchdown?
John: Mike Thomas returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown against the Colts in 2010.
Jeff from Atlantic Beach, FL:
Is this the most impressive win for this regime? They rebounded from a pathetic first half and dominated in every facet. Oh, and they scored 51.
John: Yes, it is the most impressive victory for this regime. It's not close. The Colts had won 16 consecutive AFC South games and were leading the division in December. They needed this game and the Jaguars took it from them. That's impressive.
Jorge from Edmonton, Alberta:
Rashad Greene is cool... I like him!!
John: There's a lot to like. He has added a big-play element to this special teams unit it hasn't had since I don't know when. Maybe ever? He has turned in huge plays in the Jaguars' last two victories – Sunday and the 19-13 victory over Tennessee on November 19. He is averaging 20.9 yards a return. It also seems the punt-return team is holding its blocks a bit better, which often happens when the return team believes the returner is capable of making a big play. There are many, many young players to like on this team. But don't forget Greene. He has a special feel.
Brian from Ponte Vedra, FL:
I don't mean this as a commentary on what we should do at kicker but I will say this: It took guts for Myers to come back and make the next six extra points after getting booooed from the time he missed the first one all the way through the ensuing kickoff.
John: Myers strikes me as mentally tough. I say, "strikes me," because it's hard to praise him as being rock-solid tough having missed so many extra points. Still, for every miss it seems he comes back and makes a big kick and for every miss, he runs off a stretch where you think, "Maybe he's starting to get it together." I don't know what the future holds for Myers. I know you can't keep missing an extra point a game and play in the NFL for a long time. I also know I don't believe the Jaguars are going to make a change right now. But for all I don't know, I know I don't see mental weakness as an issue for Myers.
Jared from Madison, WI:
Nothing like hearing Bob Costas saying, "suddenly-relevant Jacksonville Jaguars" this deep in the season …
John: Well, if Bob Costas said it …
Alan from Maine:
Andre Branch keeps playing like this he might just keep his job.
John: Credit must be given where it's due and Branch's play on the 49-yard fumble return for a touchdown was a huge play Sunday. Without it, the Jaguars' comeback would have been far, far more difficult. One game doesn't change the fact that the Jaguars' Leos – particularly Clemons and Branch – have struggled this season, though. Either player almost certainly will have to play a lot better down the stretch to be guaranteed being a part of this team's future.
Chad from St. Augustine, FL:
How is drafting three Pro Bowlers in the same draft? BB5, A-Rob and Telvin – a grand slam for our young general manager.
John: It looks that way more weeks than not these days, and don't forget that the Jaguars selected Brandon Linder in the third round of that draft. He's a Pro Bowl-level player, too.
Abe from Fairfield, CT:
It must be nice being John and running the O-Zone today!
John: No, it's not nice being me – but that's every day.
Donnie from Ponte Vedra, FL:
John, I have to find something to nit-pick. The audio levels are all over the place in the post-game press conferences; some reporters are loud and clear while others are unintelligible. What are Gus and Dave doing to address this glaring shortcoming?
John: The postgame press conference is held in a big room. Reporters are all over the room and they are not miked. We at jaguars.com stream the press conferences on this free website so that fans may see them live. I'll mention this issue to Dave and Gus, though. I'm sure they'll move it right to the top of the list of their concerns.
Gabe from Washington, DC:
That move that A-Rob put on his defender to get open for the touchdown was really something else. As someone who was a little too young to really remember the Smith/McCardell glory days, it was probably the best route by a Jaguar that I can remember watching. Robinson is getting better and better right before our eyes, and the chemistry with Blake is really starting to show.
John: Robinson is getting better before our eyes, and his improvement in the red zone in recent weeks has been striking. That's a sign of a young player growing into maturity, and that's what's going on in the red zone for the entire offense. Fans want these things to happen overnight, but it doesn't work that way. As for Robinson, I thought Sunday's game showed a lot about him. It wasn't an easy situation for him. With Vontae Davis shadowing him, he had just one reception, but it was a huge four-yard reception for a touchdown. He managed to contribute on a difficult day. Think of it: the Jaguars' offense scored six touchdowns last week without Allen Hurns in the game and scored five touchdowns Sunday getting four yards receiving from Robinson. This offense is getting to the point where it has enough weapons that not all of them have to have a huge game. That's a good sign.
Derek from Brunswick, GA:
That was cool!
John: A lot of people liked it.
Stan from Jacksonville:
What were you thinking at halftime?
John: Why the #*@& is this line to this restroom so long?