JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Your Momma from Jax

Is there any fire behind the BTJ smoke? I do not think he has much value at the moment and would not trade him for anything lower than a third, but the current regime has earned our trust. If I was in his camp, I would tell him he is in the best position possible. He is with a good organization, good quarterback, great culture and he needs to get it together if he wants a second contract from any team.

I don't know if the Jaguars will trade wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. – though it certainly was an online storyline during the team's Week 7 bye week last week. I expect it will remain an online storyline moving forward unless Thomas is traded – or until the NFL's November 10 trade deadline passes. Just as I don't know if the Jaguars will trade Thomas, I don't know if they yet know if they will trade the third-year veteran. As with many such questions, the answer may depend at least somewhat on demand. Is there a possibility he will be traded? Sure, particularly considering he didn't play in the second half in the Jaguars' last game – a loss to the Houston Texans in London – after two first-half drops/missed opportunities. I don't know what his "camp" is telling him. I do know the Jaguars believe he's a very good teammate, team-first player and a good culture fit – which means there is not a tremendous amount of internal urgency to trade him. Could some team make a great offer for Thomas that the Jaguars take? I suppose. Either way, this is not a matter of Thomas not wanting to be good or the team not liking him. It is a matter of a player struggling. Stay tuned.

Ray from Newport News, VA

This might not be nice but talk about a great week. Somehow, we won.

The Jaguars entered the bye week 4-2 with a two-game lead in the AFC South. The Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans – AFC South rivals all – all lost Sunday, with the Texans losing in overtime to the New York Giants and the Colts losing to the Minnesota Vikings and the Titans losing to the Cleveland Browns. The Jaguars' lead is now two-and-a-half games over the Colts and Texans, with the Texans off Sunday and the Jaguars playing host to the Colts. Another big week coming up. Onward.

Reese from Loyal Jaguar Fan in Va

That's exactly what we needed from our division opponents, now we have to capitalize and do our job on November 1. Go Jags!!!

Sunday against the Colts is another big game. There are many big games still to be player. Onward.

Joel from Wausau in Dairyland

Mr. O. I completely understand that you and everyone else involved with the Jags' organization don't or won't subscribe to conspiracy theories, but until I see a string of four-to-five games in a row against great and popular teams like the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc. – as well as not so great or popular teams – and the Jags are allowed to legitimately be the overwhelmingly dominant team they are this season without suddenly being the most penalized team in the game all for "engaging storylines"... I simply cannot see any reason to believe the league is not working against them because they are not as huge a draw on ratings or as popular as other teams. As of right now, it is like the League said, "No, we can't have quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jags humiliating more popular players and teams like they did with the New England Patriots." The League seems to be working against the Jags ever since. I laughed at the storylines last week talking about Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (who's a more popular player and on a more popular team with the fans and staff of this league) being the "better" quarterback in the AFC South now and the storyline question still of "who's the better AFC South team?" Also, can the Jags actually get a favorable coin toss and be able to defer to the second half like most every other popular winning team is able to do so far this season?

First, I don't know that the Texans are all that popular with the fans and staff of the NFL and I don't know that Stroud is objectively more "popular" than Lawrence. I'm not arguing, I just never have had that sense that any AFC South teams are all that much more popular than the others. Second, I expect there are many within the Jaguars' organization who absolutely subscribe to conspiracy theories regarding officiating. This is because I never have been around a team or a fan base – and I have never heard of a team or a fan base that isn't absolutely and positively convinced that the league office and league officials aren't conspiring against them. It takes a lot of work for those conspiring at the league office to not only do their own jobs but to focus on unfairly sabotaging all 32 teams. Somehow, they manage. Maybe they skip lunch.

Josh from Atlanta, GA

I do not understand where this sense of entitlement is coming from. We have won more games over the last 23 games than this franchise won from 2018-2022. That's four entire seasons for the comments section. We have won as many games over the last 23 games as this franchise won from 2012-2017. Again, that is five full seasons. This franchise has been one of the most dreadful in the NFL the past two and a half decades, so because we won 13 in a pretty magical run a year ago this team is the same old Jags for losing to a-14 game and a 12-game winner a year ago. It's moronic. We had four wins two years ago. Fans fan. I get it. It just blows my mind we're apparently supposed to already be full of Hall of Famers and have All-Pros aplenty two years into the regime.

Fair.

Allan from Jacksonville

New helmets look like "harry high school!" Our helmets and uniforms are great. Leave them alone. Smells like Nike again. Always selling.

The Jaguars will wear their "rivalry" uniforms Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium. There is accompanying merchandise available. Of course the uniforms are about selling said merchandise. What else would be the motivation?

Keith from Saint Augustine, FL

I was sad to learn that Pete Banaszak passed away. I used to love to listen to Cole Pepper and him on the Fifth Quarter while driving home with my sons after Jaguar games. When thinking about "telling it like it is," no one did it better than Pete. He was one of the toughest guys to ever play the game. Banaszak's original Oakland Raiders Head Coach John Rauch said, "Give me 40 Pete Banaszaks and I'll win you the Super Bowl."

One fer Banaszak.

Michael from Jacksonville

Why are the Jags sucking so bad?

The Jaguars this season are 4-2 in the highest level of professional football and have lost two games in which they have led. Both of those losses are two teams that were in the postseason last season – the Denver Broncos and the Texans – and that likely will contend for the postseason this season. They lost their last game on a last-play field goal. They are not "sucking so bad."

Nicholas from Fort Hood, Texas

KOAF: Since it's the bye week, let's make the greatest play in Jaguar history by yards gained. I will go first: One-yard plays: Prince Poke against the Chargers in the playoff comeback on the two-point conversion.

This is a 100-day series for a seven-day bye week. Check back in a few months.

John from Jax

Hi, KOAGF. Last season, it didn't seem that the crowd noise mattered much when the Jags played away games. This season, it seems to be more of an issue. Even the Eagles fans in London, which wouldn't be as loud if the Jags were playing at the Eagles home stadium, seemed to cause some grief. Have you noticed the same thing and, if so, any insight?

I haven't noticed that the crowd noise is more of a factor for the Jaguars this season than last, though I don't know that it's accurate to say that the crowd noise in Philadelphia would have been more of a factor than it was at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Chris from Tampa

It could be argued that a Titans win over the Browns would have been better. You would have to consider the Titans less of a threat in the division than the Browns are in the conference. Oddly, I was watching that game while on vacation in Nashville. Even more odd, I toured the Ryman the day Jason Isbell played there. I missed you by that much.

And to think I used to think the only luck I ever had was bad.