JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Mike from Neptune Beach, FL
I am as disappointed at the 0-4 start as anyone who supports the Jaguars but ... Head Coach Doug Pederson says "we have to coach better" and everyone wants him to talk about specific players and plays. Then, when he says that players need to make plays, everyone calls him out for throwing the players under the bus. Coaches on struggling teams are in a no-win situation. I know fans are going to fan but outside of a win, what do people want?
The Jaguars are 0-4 entering their game against the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium Sunday afternoon – and when a head coach is winless through four games, observers absolutely and understandably will grind through every quote that head coach utters in every media availability. It's difficult for a head coach to answer any question in that situation because the result automatically will be a chorus of, "See, see, see!" – with people interpreting answers to fit what they already believe to be true. Does this suck for the head coaches involved? Sure. Does it mean many issues getting overblown and misconstrued? Sure. Welcome to NFL head coaching.
Sal from Austin, TX
I hope you publish this because it needs to be said: This mess is nothing more than the chickens coming home to roost from when Shad Khan fired Head Coach Mike Mularkey after just one season. They went 2-14 with a roster that should've been 0-16. But they played with heart, and he held the locker room through all of that. He was working on building something and then was summarily fired by an owner who, at this point, has made it apparent he probably doesn't know what he's doing.
It has been 12 seasons since Mike Mularkey coached the Jaguars. If memory serves – and it sometimes doesn't at my age – the 2-14 2012 Jaguars endured many of the same locker-room fragmentation and "other" issues that plague struggling teams. Either way, it's the NFL. Head coaches get fired. It's a bit of a stretch to say what's happening now is about chickens roosting. But sure … why not.
- Keith from Saint Augustine, FL
The quintessential question surrounding Jacksonville football is, "What is wrong with the Jaguars?" The answer is complex. It begins with the procurement and retention of talent. The next problem is many players are not playing up to their potential. The failure of the offensive line begins to answer the next big question, "What is wrong with Trevor Lawrence?" After being beaten up last year and the beginning of this year (especially in Buffalo), Trevor is shell-shocked. He has been hurried up and his mechanics have suffered. Trevor is seeing and feeling phantom pressure. He is trying so hard not to make a mistake that he is not playing free and loose. Instead of having fun and being confident, he is under pressure to "live up to his contract." Trevor needs to remember who he is (uber talented) and tell the rest of the world to take a long walk off a short pier. The Jaguars also suffer from a failure to develop talent. Finally, the Jaguars have been hit early with some of their best players injured. What do you think is wrong with the Jaguars?
They didn't make plays at the end of two games. And the stuff you said.
JT from Palm Coast, FL
I haven't seen you answer a question similar to this yet, so I am going to try again to get it answered. This season Trevor keeps doing this "whirling dervish" thing when he feels pressure. Is he seeing ghosts? I have also noticed that he continually switches out of plays and most of the time that doesn't work out for us. John, he has regressed at a rate that I am not sure I have seen. He has no confidence in anything he is doing. Am I off-base on what I am seeing? Are you seeing similar things?
I'm not sure I see that much wrong with Lawrence that hitting a few plays at key times – and getting a bit better protection – couldn't cure. I also think there's some merit to the idea that he needs to relax and remember he's talented – and that he has won in this league.
Brian from Hopesonville
Are you saying this Sunday is the day, our lives will surely change? The day when things fall into place? I hope so but I can't escape this sinking feeling.
No. I'm actually saying I didn't wake up this morning because I didn't go to bed.
Damon from The Stine
O- I have read a lot of articles and listened to a few interviews offering advice on how the Jags can fix their current situation, some of them by what most people would consider knowledgeable football guys. My question is, do you know if the coaching staff has the time or desire to sift through a little of that stuff and use some of the ideas? Or are they too busy or proud to consider outside opinions?
I hope for their sake – and the sake of the Jaguars – that Jaguars coaches have neither the desire nor the time for this. It's not a pride thing. It's a reality thing.
Roger from London
Hi, John. Seems to me that, at 0-4, we are at a crossroads. The players can either look down the road that is signposted 'This season is already written off", or, the other way, "This season is now about achieving something that's never been done before, namely reaching the playoffs after starting 0-4." I know which of these I hope is in their heads. And with Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles as our upcoming opponents, any/all of these are winnable. One W, and maybe - just maybe - confidence and momentum shifts. But a L to the Colts this week would feel pretty terminal to me. What say you?
A Jaguars loss to the Indianapolis Colts Sunday would not be good. A victory would be better.
Chance from Tecumseh
The Jags have been banged up the first four games. Lots of starters missing lots of time. Is that any reflection on the strength and conditioning coach, or the coaching staff to get these guys more prepared? Or is it just rotten luck?
This is a common, understandable question whenever teams have a slew of injuries because people want to blame something or find a trend. The truth is strength-and-conditioning staffs can only do so much to prevent injuries – and sometimes they can do very little. The NFL is a violent, physical game. Injuries happen.
Fred from Naples, FL
If for no other reason this Sunday … do it for TC!
One fer Tom Coughlin? No doubt.
Rich from Dacula, GA
If it's not time for talk, and the players are the problem, shouldn't the team leaders standup and have a players-only meeting, or is it too early for that?
If the players want to have a players-only meeting, they should have a players-only meeting. They usually make news when they happen. Sometimes teams win after such a meeting. Sometimes they lose. They're often overblown. They make for a cool midweek story, though. I'd click on it.
Rob from Jacksonville
I realize preseason games do not matter. Question is, this team looked organized in the preseason and this is now not the case. How does the general level of being able to function as a real team fall off so quickly? There are basic things happening, i.e. not getting plays called in time, that are now appearing more and more frequently. You don't "forget" how to play football once the games become real, I don't think.
I believe the question was essentially what's the difference between a Jaguars team that looked good in preseason and one that hasn't looked that good in the regular season. The answer is that the regular season is a different beast in terms of competition, speed and pressure. Regular season counts. Preseason is practice.
Michael Fruit Cove, FL
You said Jaguars Owner Shad Khan hires football people, supports them and evaluates them. "This is the job" you say. No! The job is to hire the right football people and to win games!!! At some point you are what your record says you are. And his record says that Shad Khan is one of the worst owners in the history of the NFL.
People can see whatever they like through whatever lens they like. They also can use exclamation points if they like. If people ask me the role of an NFL owner, I'll answer the question. What they think of that informed answer is up to them.
Nick from Virginia Beach, FL
I know there are bigger and more important things wrong with the Jags right now. However, can we hope we will see these throwback jerseys more than once this year?
Stay tuned.
