MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Let's get to it …
Roger from Houston, TX
If you get a sack, but then get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a brainlessly offensive celebration, do you still get credit for the sack? Asking for a friend.
This was defensive end Yannick Ngakoue's sequence early in the game Saturday when he sacked Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins for an 11-yard loss and gave the Vikings 15 yards with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the celebration. Post-sack penalties aren't not particularly typical of Ngakoue. Let's trust it was a preseason thing. And yes … tell your friend you do indeed get credit for the sack.
Rob from Jacksonville
We wouldn't have to wait five years to have teal numbers, right? Because it's not a "uniform change." Can we still tweak our unis? Please?
Nah. We good.
Chris from Mandarin
Was Corey Grant injured in the first half? Haven't seen him and was not listed as inactive.
No, he was not injured. The Jaguars were running plays and packages that featured Leonard Fournette and T.J. Yeldonbecause that's what they wanted to work on in this game. Remember: the preseason, particularly in the first two weeks, is about practice far more than it is about scheming or necessarily game-planning to win. Grant will have a role in the offense, and there will be plenty of packages for him this season.
Renee from Duval
Hey John, I guess it's gonna to be Duval against all Y'all! GO JAGS!
When is it not?
JT from Fort Worth, TX
This lowering-the-head penalty is going to cost many teams some games this year. Taking football out of football.
The Jaguars were perhaps fortunate that no leading-by-lowering-the-head penalties were called in the preseason opener. They were far less fortunate Saturday, with cornerback A.J. Bouyeand tight end Niles Paul both being called for it in the first half. It's a tough spot. I don't know how Bouye could have avoided a penalty, though he said afterward he spoke to the referee and believes he can avoid it next time by getting his head to the side. I get the thought among some fans that the league is taking the football out of football – and this rule is almost certainly going to cause controversy if the call on Bouye Saturday is one that's going to keep getting called. At the same time, the league must do something to make the game safer. This is a real dilemma, but this is the league's approach right now. It's not perfect. I don't know what approach would be perfect. I imagine they'll keep trying to make this thing work. We'll see.
Jerell from Columbia, SC
Blake is trash. Why did Jalen omit that? I won't he is trash!!! Straight facts.
I am tempted to tell Jerell to watch the entire game. Alas, it's probably not worth it.
Lewis from Section 408
I sure would hate to be the equipment person that forgot to pack the game unis. How embarrassing. Did they send him back on a slow bus?
I'd be glad to be the guy who packed the ones that made it, though. The white on white looked good – very good, in fact.
Andrew from Indianapolis, IN
Don't know what's worse, the lowering of the helmet rule or Blake's performance on Saturday. Definitely a lot of room for improvement.
Bortles had a bad interception. He also led a touchdown drive and finished 12-of-20 passing for 159 yards with the interception and no touchdowns. He wasn't awful. He was OK.
JT from Fort Worth, TX
Is Bortles really looking this bad in practice? Is that why he played the whole first half? He looks like he regressed in this game, John.
Breathe, breathe. Breathe …
Kyle from Palm Harbor
I sure hope this lateral running style Leonard Fournette is employing is just his way of trying to stay healthy for the regular season. That first half looked very much like a practice. What do you think was the main goal was for the first team in this game? What were the coaches hoping to see?
The goal for the Jaguars early in the preseason is to get good work and look as good as possible. The Jaguars' first-team offense appeared to work on a lot of things they wanted to work on – and they looked good enough to score a touchdown against a really good Vikings defense. As far as Fournette's running style, I'm guessing it hasn't changed all that much since last season. He struck me as relatively aggressive then, no?
Don from Ponte Vedra, FL
It looked like both teams had a good week of work because they both looked tired to me. That's two strong and fast teams.
There probably was some of that. It's also the case that these are two very good defenses and good defenses have a tendency tomake good offenses look out of sync and tired. The Jaguars' defense didn't look particularly tired Saturday. Come to think of it, neither did the Vikings' defense.
Eric from Jacksonville
Wow!
Thank you.