JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Dan from Madrid
AFC Championship Game this year = toilet bowl.
The New England Patriots' 10-7 victory over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game in Denver, Colo., Sunday indeed was something of a "rough watch" for those who weren't fans of either team. Some of that was the Broncos having to play backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham because of an injury to starting quarterback Bo Nix. Some of that was both teams having good defenses and playing somewhat conservatively on Sunday. Some of that was the brutal, snowy conditions late in the game. Some of that also was the Patriots' nature being to play a style that isn't particularly pretty – a style that is very effective when it comes to winning. It was particularly tough for Jaguars fans to watch that game because the Jaguars easily could have been playing in the game game had a play or two gone differently in an AFC Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills two weeks before. The Jaguars, Bills, Houston Texans, Patriots and Broncos were all very capable of going to the Super Bowl. The Jaguars could have and maybe should be preparing to keep playing this week. That's tough and will hurt around here for a while.
Fred from Naples, FL
Good for Patriots Mike Vrabel and the Patriots … which leads me to my question. What in the world was Amy Adams Strunk thinking?
Many NFL teams part ways with very good head coaches for various reasons. It's an epidemic and one of the weirdest, hardest-to-understand aspects of professional football – and it's not remotely limited to one team or one owner.
Michael from Orange Park, FL
Who ya got in the AO?
It's hard to imagine Carlos Alcarez of Spain or Jannik Sinner of Italy not meeting in the men's final of the Australian Open, and the guess here is Alcarez will win. On the women's side, I have a hard time seeing Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus losing – though I've become a big Amanda Anisimova fan and think she will win a major tournament in 2025.
Nick from St. Augustine
Can we just forget about the analytics, the foregone points, and just gain two yards?
If only.
Brian from Round Rock, TX
I remember last year you saying all offseason that this team needed playmakers. ETN and Lloyd are playmakers, aren't they? They are also two of our best players, locker-room guys and homegrown Jaguars. Don't you have to re-sign these guys?
Running back Travis Etienne Jr. and linebacker Devin Lloyd indeed made significant plays for the Jaguars during their 2025 AFC South championship season. They were good players, good "locker-room" guys and players the Jaguars selected in the NFL Draft. The Jaguars have a lot of good players and you can't always re-sign all your good players. That's one of the burdens of success in the NFL.
Chris from Mandarin
Sure, John. Thirteen touchdowns is more than seven. No doubt, but when you consider the disparity in snaps played, Jaguars rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten had roughly 200-215 snaps as opposed to Etienne having over 650 snaps. Even you might be able to understand that Tuten's rate of touchdown scoring was actually higher than Etienne's. Don't question my methods.
Grrrr.
James from Titusville, NJ
I wish the competition committee would consider making defensive pass interference calls a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down ONLY within the last two minutes of each half. I hate how teams chuck up uncatchable passes and bait officials to throw a flag to determine the outcome of a big game. It's no fun and takes true competition away from the sport. But they won't because defense isn't what $ell$.
I've come around on this idea – or at least some version of it – at least somewhat lately. I still don't love the idea of making pass interference a 15-yard penalty because it will encourage defenders to purposely interfere in situations to save longer gains. But the more defensive pass interference penalties seem to decide games, and the more the penalty seems to be the default call when defenders are anywhere close to the receiver on incomplete passes, the more it seems something must change.
Charles from Riverside
Hello, John. Regarding analytics, aren't they "true odds," the exact probability of an event based on all possible outcomes? Sometimes confused with "payout odds" (or house odds) as the amount returned to the player for a winning wager, or the "spread" on the score for two opposing teams. Having the ability to predict a fourth-and-1, knowing the percentage of probability of that conversion, sounds like a powerful tool to me? Guess football is not immune to the digital age, either?
What?
Rob from Orange Park, FL
Our pass rush appeared to be ineffective against the Bills. Did most teams have issues rushng Allen or do the Jaguars need some sort of pass rush help? If so, what sort?
Bills quarterback Josh Allen is something of a superhuman presence. He's difficult to rush. The Jaguars could use better interior pass rush.
Adam from Round Here
The Culligan Girl was looking at you. Oh, no, no. I don't think so, she was looking at me.
Fair.
Sam from Orlando, FL
Do you see Pro Bowls becoming less important in the Hall of Fame voting process?
There is no official list of criteria for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which means voters can vote for players for whatever reasons they choose. I expect over time some voters will deemphasize the Pro Bowl, while others will continue to allow them to influence their thoughts.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
I'm sure the data that goes into NFL analytics is AI powered and ever improving but my guess is there are many 53-47% scenarios that are basically a coin toss, particularly over 17 -to-20 games. That being said, Head Coach Liam Coen's first-year coaching performance was absolutely elite level.
Yes, it was.
Dave from Southwood by way of Miami from Jacksonville
Remind me please KOaGF, didn't Tom Coughlin give the Houston Texans several core players at their expansion? I believe Tony Boselli was one of them although his shoulder kept him from playing much. There was a lot of fanning then as I recall, but it was primarily to gain cap space. Those who ignore the past are due to repeat it...
The Jaguars indeed allowed multiple front-line players to be in the 2002 expansion draft, and the Texans selected defensive tackle Seth Payne, defensive tackle Gary Walker and left tackle Tony Boselli. The reason for this indeed was to gain cap space, with the Jaguars at the time so far over the cap that that they would have had to play the season with fewer players than the 53 allowed on the roster. By allowing the Texans to draft those players, they regained cap room because the Texans took on the burden of their contracts. That was an unfortunate situation in which the cap was mismanaged to an unfortunate degree, but the situation won't be repeated.
Charles from Riverside
Hello, John. We will all be sorry to see Etienne leave the Jags – if, in fact, he does. He has been exceptional! So, we still have at least two decent running backs that might step up and the draft? It seems these days that running backs go at the end of the first and in later rounds of the draft? Selections of running backs in the first round have dried up recently. Only one running back went in the first round in the last three years. Since 2013, only three drafts saw multiple selections in the first round. I can't get over this draft demise due to the continued emphasis and importance of a balanced running game? If it's all about a 50/50 offense of run/pass, why the drop off in draft urgency and roster retention from the past? Of all our free agents wouldn't Etienne be the one to keep?
The running back position has been de-emphasized by the NFL in recent seasons. One reason is that outside of absolutely elite players along the lines of Saquon Barkley and Bijon Robinson, backs are viewed as somewhat interchangeable. There also is a belief that you don't generally get that much more value from a first-round back than a fourth-round back – at least not enough to merit selecting backs so early. These last two sentences do not define the entire discussion, but that's a generally belief in some NFL circles and it helps explain why fewer backs are selected early in the draft than in past eras. That's the general part of this answer. Specific to Etienne, the Jaguars like him very much and appreciate his value to the offense. They also appreciate him as a professional and a person. As for whether the Jaguars will be able to re-sign Etienne … that remains to be seen.
James from Titusville, NJ
Nobody knows where to find you.
Or cares, really.
