JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
Wanting to know if you are at all curious how the Netflix Australia game (San Francisco 49ers versus Los Angeles Rams) on Thursday, September 10 (10:30 a.m. Friday morning in Melbourne) will play out from a logistics, delivery and success point of view? Do Australians tailgate pregame?
I confess I am not intensely curious about this topic. I mean that in the sense that I will not spend much time worrying or thinking about it in advance. I expect it will be well-watched because the Rams and 49ers are both really good teams – and if it's well-watched, I suppose it will be considered successful. I expect playing in Australia will be inconvenient and imperfect for the teams involved, which is sort of normal – though not tragic – for teams playing in international countries for the first time. I expect it also may be imperfect in delivery, though not so imperfect to be negative – and I expect it will be better and smoother as time moves forward. I expect the NFL to continue to expand its brand internationally, and I therefore expect more games in more countries as time moves forward. I guess I don't have a passionate thought on the subject of more international games either way. This is mainly because this is the direction the NFL is going – and since there is not much I can do to change it, I suppose I will just watch and see how far/fast it goes in that direction. International growth is the future of the NFL – and in time, I expect the NFL will grow in popularity in other parts of the world because that's what tends to happen with this league.
Thrill from The 'Ville
I have long advocated for alternate viewing angles for NFL football. I remember the early days of football video games were from the sideline perspective, and everything changed with the Madden style point of view - behind the quarterback on offense and behind the middle linebacker on defense. With today's technology, there is no reason that these views could not be provided for fans. I would certainly pay a premium to view from these perspectives during a live game. Do you think the NFL would ever consider or pursue this as a possibility?
My thought here is the only reason the NFL – i.e., owners, front office, team presidents, etc. – would care about this enough to pursue it is if they thought providing more angles would increase revenue. The same is true of television networks. Also: The NFL does make its All-22 angle – i.e., end-to-end and high-angle – views available via its NFL+ subscription. I would not expect "mainstream" television broadcasts to expand too much toward All-22 angles unless there would be some financial incentive. That is just a thought on my part.
JAY from THE BURG, FL
You see words like trend, edge and copycat used a lot when it comes to the NFL, but the word that should be used is necessity. The college game has produced many good quarterbacks groomed in shotgun, spread formation read option. In the NFL, size and speed matters. Coaches knew you could not run the option in the 70s and 80s because if your quarterback ran, he would be knocked out of the game. That is what happened with many of these promising young quarterbacks. Steve Young: He played his entire 15-year NFL career and never took a snap from shotgun formation. But still threw the ball on 82 percent of his total offensive snaps and was considered one of the best rushing quarterbacks of all time. He had the personnel; all his skill players could run, block and catch. Using run formations to set up the pass creates hesitation from the defensive line resulting in better passing lanes and fewer tipped balls. Staying unpredictable with two-back sets, defenses always had to favor the run, then in the red zone he would spread the defense out with audibles and motion. I'm not saying Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen is going to do away with the shotgun or read option entirely, but this is the National Football League. It's not college. And as an organization as a team if you only go as far as your franchise quarterback can take you, and the best ability is availability, out of necessity strange things are coming.
OK?
Your momma from Jax
I am ready for the annual DaVon Hamilton looks great and is going to have a great year again from you only for him to suck again all season. Let's have it.
Jaguars nose tackle DaVon Hamilton was one of the NFL's best players at his position last season and a major reason the Jaguars led the NFL in run defense. He by any definition had a great season last season and I expect he will be very good this season. He is critical.
Kenneth from Jacksonville
Who's the best player in Jaguars history to don No. 82?
There are numbers that are easy and enjoyable in this discussion of best Jaguars players to wear specific numbers, and No. 82 is among them along with No. 71 (left tackle Tony Boselli), No. 8 (quarterback Mark Brunell) and No. 28 (running back Fred Taylor). That is because No. 82 was worn by wide receiver Jimmy Smith, who not only predated the aforementioned three players but predated all but 10 or 11 players in franchise history because he signed as a street free agent early in the 1995 – inaugural offseason. One fer Smith here – then, now and always No. 82.
Fred from Naples, FL
Can we just move on to No. 83?
Fair.
JAY from THE BURG, FL
No. 82 ... Smooth/Lightning. #HOF
One fer Smith.
Ryan from Apopka, FL
The answer is Jimmy Smith!! We can put No. 82 in the same bucket as Nos. 71, 28, and 8! Hope he can one day wear that gold jacket as well!!
Indeed.
Brother Dave from Orlando, FL
Zone, while tight end Kyle Brady was probably the right pick for No. 80, I have to give a shout out to Wille Jackson as he was the distant Thunder before Thunder arrived!
I don't know if former Jaguars wide receiver Willie Jackson was "distant thunder," but he was a productive player – and fun to watch – in the early, expansion, days of the franchise. Good memories. One fer Jackson.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
Did you know out of the current NFL head coaches that Liam Coen has the lowest playoff win percentage? Were you aware that Liam Coen is tied with the lowest playoff win percentage of all time? Do we still need to question his decision? Sorry, I found the recent opening question and his arguments asinine. I personally think Coen is a top-tier head coach but each NFL playoff game is its own uniquely distinct entity and as such should not have every coaching decision run through the computer.
I don't know what "run through the computer means." I do know the Jaguars missed a first down on fourth-and-2 from the Buffalo Bills 9-yard line by an inch or two in a 27-24 loss AFC Wild Card Playoff loss this past January. I know fans have every right to question whatever they want to question when it comes to head coaches. I know Coen doesn't regret the decision and didn't consider it a difficult one. I know I expect him to go for it in that situation more often than not moving forward. I know sometimes you eat the bear and I know sometimes it eats you.
Adam from Round Here
Who is the best Jaguars writer to ever dominate the Press Room? I bet that person could be a cultural icon.
Possibilities here include former longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette. One fer Gene.
Crash from Glen Saint Mary, FL
Obi Wan! This is the year. The Jags will win the Super Bowl. My Trevor Lawrence rookie card will jump in value. Go Cats Go!
I long ago lost track of much of the sports card market and how it works. My rather extensive collection of football, baseball, basketball, Elvis and Charlie's Angels cards sits rather idle in an upstairs closet – though I am glad to see the hobby is in something of a resurgence of late. I think. I don't know if the Jaguars will win the Super Bowl this season. I do know there's a good, solid feeling around this franchise – the same feeling that began being cemented into place last January/February when the team hired Coen, General Manager James Gladstrone, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli. The Jaguars built on that foundation as last season continued. The build continues. Stay tuned.
David from Five Points
Isn't there a setting in the app to filter out comments on the Buffalo Bills game and/or fourth-and-short?
It's in development.
