JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it … Rob from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
Why put Myles Jack on the weak side and not the strong side? I think you are aware that us fans are fanning toward the Jack/Poz/Smith combination and you can see how this would be upsetting to hear. The action suggests the organization or coaching staff would prefer Skuta/Poz/Jack with Telvin Smith in a reserve role or on passing downs. Is that the plan? It feels like a waste of talent not having Telvin on the field. Is he (Smith) really such a liability against the run – or is this a way to get Jack prepared to back up multiple positions in case of injury? Moodachay.
John: There's no question many fans want/expect Jack to play either on the strong side or in the middle when he moves into a starting role – or even into a more extensive one. Nothing is written in stone yet, but at this point I can't imagine him starting over Paul Posluszny in the middle at any time this season. It also seems evident that if Jack was going to play Otto (strong side) over Dan Skuta early in the season he would have played Otto this week. There's little reason to have put him at weak-side linebacker Thursday unless there's a possibility he will play there this season. I don't know when or if that will happen, but it would be naïve to not believe it's possible. If that happens, it indeed will mean him taking snaps from Smith. The reason the coaches would do this is fairly simple – that they believe playing Jack on the weak side helps the defense more than playing him somewhere else. Smith has struggled at times in coverage and he has given up some big plays. He also has made a lot of big, eye-catching plays that understandably have made him a favorite among fans. I don't see a scenario under which Smith doesn't have an important role on this team, but this team is trying to get Jack on the field – and it appears he's going to earn his way onto the field sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.
Jaginator from Section 124:
For most of the offseason, it seemed we would have Telvin, Poz and Skuta on regular downs - and Telvin, Jack and Skuta on passing downs. Has this now switched up to where we could have Poz, Skuta and Jack (at the weak-side spot) on regular downs and Telvin, Jack and Skuta on passing downs?
John: I don't know that Paul Posluszny is coming off the field on passing downs.
Matt from Maidstone, England:
With Nic Jacobs being cut do you think it paves the way for Neal Sterling to make the 53?
John: I don't want to say absolutely, positively yes, but I think there's a much better chance of Sterling on the active roster this season than I did a week ago.
Wayde from La Mirada, CA:
Oh, no, O-Man … Brandon Allen didn't lead us to a 70-0 shutout …. Fire Bradley! Fire Caldwell! Fire everyone! We must rebuild WE MUST REBUILD!!!! ....
John: I'll pass this along.
Bryan from Yulee, FL:
Why is Chad Henne on the team again? Brandon Allen looks great! Also, good to see Jason Myers is getting into regular-season form by shanking one. #dtwd
John: Chad Henne is on the team because of experience and trust, but yeah – Allen absolutely looked good. As for Myers being in regular-season form … he missed from 57 and 49 yards. The 57-yarder is understandable and hardly a shank. The 49-yarder? Um, yeah … you'd like to see him hit that.
Bill from Jacksonville:
John, how long until Blake Bortles learns to not throw a screen pass to a running back five yards behind the line of scrimmage when the play has clearly been blown up by the defense? He has to throw those out of bounds. We're in Year Three now. Isn't this something he should have learned by now? Thanks! Go Jags!
John: Bill! Whaddup!!? There may be something to that! #DTWD
David from Nichols from Jacksonville:
Seems to me both the Jags and Luke Joeckel might be better served by trading Luke to a team that needs a solid left tackle. Who do the Jags have to slide into the left guard position? Thanks.
John: I wouldn't waste time or energy waiting for Joeckel to be traded. But if he's not at guard, I expect Chris Reed to be the first option there.
Ken from Jacksonville:
The helmets are cool. I like them.
John: Hey … one fer the helmets!!
Tyler from Jacksonville:
Will Greg Olson finally coach a Top 10 offense this year? Tenth times the charm, right?
John: I thought Greg Olson did a remarkable job with a young Jaguars offense last season, and I don't think I was remotely alone in that assessment. I have no idea where the offense will be ranked this season and I don't particularly care. I do think it will be a better unit than it was last season, and I think it will be far better running the ball and scoring in the red zone. If those things happen, I don't think Olson or anyone else will care about the ranking much more than I do.
Logan from Wichita, KS:
Is there any chance we can just skip Week 1 of the regular season? I really don't want us to start 0-1, but even more so I don't want to start 0-1 with a huge blowout as the "1." We are a young team and I feel if we get destroyed by Green Bay, the young kids will give up on the season and it will all be downhill from there. If we can keep it close win or lose against a team as good as the Packers we can say, "Ok, we can compete with anyone and win now.' But a loss by more than 20 will destroy any hope of a good season.
John: I Googled this. There is no chance of skipping Week 1 of the regular season.
Kyle from Palm Harbor:
I have to agree with C.C. from Duval. I don't think Johnathan Cyprien is terrible, but I think he will have to step up quick or the Jags will be looking for his replacement next season. Having said that, what's your assessment of the Jags 2013 draft selections? Ace Sanders is long gone, Demetrius McCray was just released, Luke Joeckel seems to be in the same position as Cyprien and the rest of the 2013 selections are backups. We didn't really hit any home runs in that draft in my opinion.
John: OK.
Tom from Jacksonville:
Seven seconds to go against Green Bay … down by two … ball on plus-30 ... would you bet your job on Jason Myers? Me, either ... I hope Gus does not have to bet on Myers.
John: To say that Myers has the confidence of the fan base would be inaccurate. To say that he has done much to inspire confidence in the fan base also would be inaccurate. I admit I was a little surprised the Sam Ficken-Myers competition didn't feel more like a competition. Missing a 57-yard field goal as Myers did early Friday … no big deal. Missing a 49-yarder as he did late … well, if you combine that with his struggles last season … yeah, the 49-yard miss wasn't good.
Keith from Palm Valley, FL:
Early in the season, teams come down here from the north in much better physical condition and push our boys around because they don't need to be as limited in their workouts as we do in this climate. Do you think the addition of an air-conditioned workout facility will help us in this regard?
John: Are you serious, Clark?
Jimmy from St. Marys, GA:
I really find it hard to believe Luke Joeckel is the best option the Jags have for the left guard slot. If that is the case, what does it say about our second- and third-string guards?
John: It says the coaches don't believe they're as good as Joeckel. Look, Joeckel is going to start at guard and his body of work suggests that a few things will happen. One is that for the most part he will do OK there. Another is that he will have a few plays that look really bad. Still another is that fans will forget the "OK" part because his few plays look bad. That's not ideal and it won't put Joeckel in the Pro Bowl, but it also isn't a big enough problem to curtail the offense.
CC from Duval:
Does Gus Bradley's time management bother you any? For example (I know it's just preseason but we've seen this routinely with Gus), 2:12 left in the fourth quarter: you stop them cold on 1st-and-10. Shouldn't you call a time out and force them to run another play before the two-minute warning?
John: With 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter Thursday, I was watching my 22nd preseason finale. As such, I was ecstatic that Bradley let the clock run. Frankly, I was Googling frantically to see if I could nominate him for some sort of award.