JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Your momma from Jax
Nobody would consider his season a bad one? Pro Football Focus graded him at a 58, 69th out of 132. That is bad, if math also isn't your strength. And his signature pass-rush move is going backwards. How does someone whose job is to talk about football know absolutely nothing about football? That is my question.
My Scooby Sense – not my Scobee or Spidey Sense – tells me you are referencing Jaguars nose tackle DaVon Hamilton, with my Scobee Sense telling me this because someone by the name "your momma" asked about Hamilton in this forum recently. I never said "nobody" would consider Hamilton's season bad last season. I rarely, if ever, say "nobody" would say something. This is because life experience – and experience writing this column – tells me there's usually "somebody" out there willing to say what anyone knowledgeable would know better than to say. I'm not all that interested when writing this daily column whether "anybody," "nobody" or "everybody" agrees with or likes what I write. I learned long ago you can't please everybody in this forum, and I learned around the same time that pleasing everyone isn't all that much fun anyway. Either way, Hamilton was really good last season. He was a major reason the Jaguars' defense was good, too. How do I know this? I watch the games and talk to people who know more football than I do – on the rare occasions I can find such a person, that is. It's tough sometimes. Damned tough.
Steve from Wallingford, CT
Forget about the fourth-and-2. Can we talk about how Josh Allen was literally superman against us? Overcoming multiple injuries and being unstoppable. There had to be at least three times he got injured and I said to myself "Ouch. Oh, he's gonna be out of the game after that one" – only to return one play later.
O-Zone evidence this offseason suggests that we never in these parts will forget fourth-and-2 against the Buffalo Bills in the Jaguars' 27-24 Wild Card Playoff loss last January. The Jaguars failed to convert on the play, and the Bills drove the length of the field for a 10-7 second-quarter lead. But your point is a pertinent one – and that's that the difference in that game was Bills quarterback Josh Allen rather than a first-half sequence. He was dominant. He made big plays at key moments. He looked unstoppable at times. Allen may be the NFL's best player right now. Best players in the NFL have a way of being the difference in games.
Cliff from West of the Fields
Dude. Seriously?
No. Not seriously.
95er from Jacksonville
Sorry to say two of our original season-ticket holder group, Kathy and Jay, have died this month. We will miss them in the south end zone this year. While talking about old times it was interesting you have Charlie's Angel cards. Did the Culligan Girl ever have a card?
I had Charlie's Angels trading cards in 1977 because I was 10 years old in 1977 and when you saw Charlie's Angels trading cards in 1977 and you were 10 years old you bought Charlie's Angels trading cards. As for your final question … I don't know what you're talking about … and on the most serious of notes, one fer Kathy and Jay. RIP, friends.
Famous Headies from KY
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Well, don't you just sound like a real winner.
Stephen from 113 from Jacksonville via Pennsauken, NJ
John, As the Dead Zone winds down, I think it is about time for some "re-education." As the team goes from 90 to 53 plus X number of practice squad guys, could you review the roster procedures? First how many (X) guys end up on the practice squad? Is there an intermediate cut (90=>75=>53) –and if so, when is that? If a veteran (what defines a veteran? Three years active service?) is sent to the practice squad, can he refuse and become an unrestricted free agent? If we claim a guy off another practice squad (does preseason and regular season have a difference), do we need to keep the "claimee" on the active roster – and if so, how long does he have to stay on the 53-active roster list? I know that's lots of questions, but hopefully the theme of the question comes through. Thanks.
Teams may retain 16 players on the practice squad, 17 if one is part of the International Pathway Program. Six practice squad players may be veterans with any level of experience, with the other 10 spots limited to players with two or fewer accrued seasons. These practice squad rules are significantly expanded from the "pre-Covid 19" days when no veterans past two years experience were allowed – and the expansion has allowed the practice squad to be more a more functional extension of the roster. Teams must reduce rosters from 90 to 53 players by August 30 at 6 p.m.; there no longer is an "intermediate" date or roster size. A player on a practice squad is an unrestricted free agent and may sign with another team. There is no "offseason practice squad;" it is solely a regular-season roster designation. Practice squad players typically sign futures contracts with teams in early January and spend the following offseason on the 90-man roster. A team signing a player from another team's practice squad must pay and count that player toward its active roster for three weeks even if the team releases the player during that time period.
Zach from East Palatka
How is former running back Freddy Taylor not the most prettiest jaguar? No disrespect to you or former Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny. But c'mon.
/Raises hand again.
Kenneth from Jacksonville
Who's the best player in Jaguars history to don No. 84?
The push continues as we begin to see signs of the end of the exercise. Possibilities here include: Wide receiver/returner Reggie Barlow (1996-2000), wide receiver Keelan Cole (2017-2020), wide receiver Sean Dawkins (2001), wide receiver Ernest Givins (1995), wide receiver Jermaine Lewis (2003-2004), tight end Hunter Long (2025-present), tight end Chris Manhertz (2021-2022), wide receiver Chad Owens (2005-2007) and wide receiver Cecil Shorts III (2011-2014). Barlow, Cole and Shorts stand out here and it's hard to select between the trio. Cole, maybe. Or Barlow. Or Shorts.
Tom from The Mean Streets of Nocatee
No. 84, Reggie Barlow. Although in my son's old bedroom we had a closet with at least 4 Cecil Shorts jerseys.
OK.
Raymond Sis from Windermere
I think it's fair to say, in quarterback Trevor Lawrence's sixth season if he doesn't win the Super Bowl and win Most Valuable Player, he is a bust.
Of course not.
Brad from The Avenues
Ahh, Andre Rison, I remember it well. Well, I remember it anyway. I remember the uproar from fans when he was cut. I remember yelling at Tom Coughlin through the television, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING????" ... and then Jimmy went in.
To review: The Jaguars signed wide receiver Andre Rison shortly before 1996 training camp. Rison at the time was a very big name, though not quite the All-Pro level receiver he had been from 1990-1994 with the Atlanta Falcons. He made some decent plays in 10 games that season for the Jaguars. He by most accounts was a solid, positive influence on younger receivers such as Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith. He had a miscommunication and a subsequent argument with quarterback Mark Brunell in a 28-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Head Coach Tom Coughlin releasing Rison the next day. I do remember fans being upset with this. Fans fan. Even in '96. Rison's release indeed meant opportunity for Jimmy Smith. He was more than ready. The Jaguars didn't lose again until the AFC Championship Game and the Jaguars made four consecutive postseason appearances.
Al from ORANGE PARK, FL
Does this make the period between Saturday and Tuesday the Schroedinger's cat zone?
And we'll go marching on.
Daniel from St J
Ooh, all this belated birthday stuff gave me a great idea! (Happy belated birthday, John). So, who was the greatest Jaguar ever born on Jan 1? Too soon? Maybe we save it until next Dead Zone? Are we ready for some FOOTBALL???
Jaguars 2026 Training Camp begins July 28 at the Miller Electric Center, with the first practice scheduled July 29.
