JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Kalani from Duval
John, normally I'd be terrified/optimistically excited in the leadup to a playoff game. With this team, I feel that – but also feel we're unstoppable. This is cool. I like it.
The AFC South Champion Jaguars (13-4) will play host to the wild-card Buffalo Bills (12-5) in an AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at EverBank Stadium Sunday – and the home team has earned its way to its fans having that cool feeling. The Jaguars from this view are the best team in a very good, very balanced AFC postseason. I expect they would win more often than not against any postseason AFC team. This means I believe the Jaguars would beat the Bills, say, six times if the teams played 10 times. The Jaguars and Bills will not play 10 times Sunday. They will play once and the Bills – like pretty much every team in the AFC – are absolutely good enough to beat the Jaguars. Feeling the way you feel is what being a fan of a good team is like in the postseason. It's the nerves and unknown that make this fun.
Jason from North Pole, AK
The clips I saw of Cole Van Lanen at practice Friday did not look good. What's your feel on this? Any chance we get Patrick Makari back at right guard and are at least able to roll out our Week One starting offensive line without Van Lanen?
Jaguars starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen was listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week Friday and that feels like a good assessment entering the weekend. Starting guard Patrick Mekari was listed without status Friday after missing the past two games with a back injury and he is therefore expected to be available Sunday along with starting center Robert Hainsey, starting right tackle Anton Harrison and starting left guard Ezra Cleveland. Walker Little, who started at left tackle the first 12 games of the season, is healthy and available to start at left tackle if Van Lanen can't play.
Adam from Round Here
I hate to be reasonable on here, but isn't the fact that CBS only has one window this week, and we are an AFC Matchup, feel like they feel we are the best AFC game? I'm glad we're not the Amazon game, even though most of us have paid for and know how to watch that by now.
Your reason and logic aren't welcome in these parts.
Mario from West Kelowna, BC
Respect. Respect. Respect. Respect. All this whining about no respect is preventing me from enjoying the moment, John. Who cares about respect!?
Loyal O-Zone readers – and he knows who he is – know I will tell you often that respect means nothing in the NFL. This is because the only things that matter in the NFL are victories and losses – and holding trophies on podiums in December and January. If you hold those, you will have respect. And if you don't have respect, it won't matter because you will be holding the trophies.
Josh from New Milford, CT
Zone, you get to spend a lot of time with players and coaches many fans would go nuts over. It got me wondering is there anyone past or present that you interact with that makes you "fan girl" a bit? I mean outside of Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli of course.
The King of All Funk does not Fan Girl.
Josh from Atlanta, GA
Zone, what are your three biggest factors in this game? If you had to pick three defining storylines, which make the biggest impact on who makes the Divisional?
The Bills' top-ranked running game versus the Jaguars' top-ranked run defense. Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Limo Bob from Neptune Beach / Piscataway
How much do players get paid for playoff games? Does this affect salary cap? Who pays this, the league or teams?
NFL players receive bonuses for the playoffs, with the bonuses increasing for each round of the postseason. These bonuses are separate from the salary cap and are paid from league playoff revenue.
Andrew from Halifax
Hey, O. I know we are all about not being respected this year, but my partner just texted me (we live in Eastern Canada) that she overheard people at her office saying, "The Jags may win, they are on such a hot streak right now." This team is both fun and relevant!
One fer Eastern Canada.
Lawrence from Blair, NE
While I think in the end it's going to be a key driver to him not making MVP, wouldn't it be amazing if Trevor won MVP and the season MVP wasn't voted into the Pro Bowl? Perhaps that will draw better attention to how broken it is. However, I was curious on how much you think that would factor into the minds of the voters? Media has been downright awful at bothering to cover the Jaguars appropriately, but is a criteria for selected voters related to their ability to objectively analyze things like this? Also, I've been away from the Zone most of the season, what the heck happened to Jarell?!? The world is so upside down now.
Lawrence not being named to the Pro Bowl won't be a key driver in the MVP voting. If Lawrence isn't named MVP, it will be because Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's statistics at the end of the season were better than Lawrence's and because the narrative that Stafford should be the MVP carried into December and overrode Lawrence's strong finish. Whatever happens, I doubt it will have much influence on Pro Bowl voting. Pro Bowl voting is broken because the league wants to have it open to fans and players. Having it open to fans draws interest because it gets fans involved throughout the season. Having it open to players gives the perception of legitimacy even though few players spend enough time with the process to have their opinions be educated. The criteria to vote for the most important MVP award – the Associated Press version – is that the voter be a credentialed media member covering the NFL regularly. I can't speak for what happened to Jerell, though it does seem from recent correspondence he is "all in" on the Jaguars and Lawrence. Down is up. White is black. Water is dry.
Rob from San Antonio, TX
KOAF, based on Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen's recent remarks about (not?) holding a padded practice, what's your opinion on their importance during the playoffs? I understand caution with injuries and preventing fatigue, but pads offers a more realistic practice situation.
It's always better to practice football in pads. In theory. Most coaches given the options always would practice in pads. Whether a team should or shouldn't work in pads late in the season and in the postseason is almost entirely based on a team's specific injury situation and therefore can't really be addressed in general terms.
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King of All Funk, how often does Coen come bursting into your office after a win yelling "How does that feel!!!" Part of me hopes he does that to the first person he sees when he walks into the building the day after the game. Win or lose this Sunday the future (finally) looks bright for the Jaguars. So bright, I may well need shades.
What's an "office?"
John from Jacksonville
It's been duly noted that the Pro Bowl is a broken system. One knock on former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor was that he only attended one Pro Bowl and was an alternate at that. If number of Pro Bowls is part of the selection criteria for the Hall of Fame doesn't that make it a broken system as well? Also, Fred's number of touchdowns is Tom's fault for taking him out and putting in James Stewart near the goal line.
The Hall of Fame system is a kinda sorta broken system. While improvements can be made, the system has strengths in the sense that most voters try hard to educate themselves and do everything possible to make the right decisions in a difficult job. The Pro Bowl system is just, plain broken.
Jim from Jagsonville
We are always talking about being nice here in the O-Zone. I would like to take a minute to remember Bob Nice, who passed away last Sunday. An avid Jaguars (and Gators) fan, season ticket holder for many years, but he'll be mostly remembered as the owner of Nice House of Music here in Jacksonville, which was a local staple from 1948 to 2015. So many lives in our community have been enhanced by him giving musicians a place to play and learn, and was every bit as nice as his name would suggest! People like Bob never truly leave us, but rather remain a song that will forever be carried in the wind.
Indeed.
