JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

John from Ramsey, NJ

So happy to see the team getting healthy and playing like a legit contender. How dominant can this team be down the final stretch? Seems like the turnovers returned when linebacker Devin Lloyd returned. I don't see us ever blowing another 19-point lead … at least not this season. Go Jags!!

The inbox is stuffed these days with giddy optimism, which makes sense considering the Jaguars (9-4) have won five of six games entering Sunday's game against the New York Jets (3-10) at EverBank Stadium. And the Jaguars indeed are getting healthy and playing like a legitimate contender, with three victories by 17 or more points during their current four-game winning streak. The thought here is the Jaguars absolutely are a contender – for not only an AFC South that they currently lead by one game ahead of the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, but for a prime playoff seed. I have no idea how "dominant" they can be down the stretch. NFL teams don't really think in those terms because true dominance is rare in professional football. You play as well as you can, try to win however you can and leave worrying about margin of victory to teams playing in the Southeastern Conference. But yes … the Jaguars are good – good enough to make the giddy optimism very reasonable and perhaps even sustainable.

Marcus from Davenport, IA

Hi, John. I have noticed a trend with the Jaguars, as well as a number of teams in the college ranks –including Ohio State and Iowa State, among others – that I wanted to ask your opinion about. The trend is head coaches going for a fourth-down play from scrimmage when in field-goal range. I have read that analytics now favor the "aggressive" decision, but I often get frustrated when teams don't just kick the field goal – especially when it is a "chip shot" and they have a reliable placekicker. What can you offer about the analytics side of the equation as to why coaches, including Jaguars Head Ciach Liam Coen, often make that decision? It worked out for the Jaguars last Sunday against the Colts when they turned the ball over on downs, then immediately got a safety, followed next by a successful field goal the next series. But I always worry about such decisions. I recall that the New York Giants won the 1990 NFC Championship game with five field goals and no touchdowns.

I can offer that analytics tell you that over an extended time your chances to win are better going for first downs on fourth-and-short situations in field-goal range as opposed to kicking field goals. This is a "general" statement and there are exceptions based on game situations, time remaining and specific down-and-distance. Yes, there are situations in which it doesn't work out. And coaches will be criticized for decisions in those situations. I, like you, am an old-school football soul and there are many situations in which I say to myself "Kick the field goal, coach …" when a younger, analytics-driven head coach is going for it on fourth-and-short from the opponent's 35-yard-line. But this is 2025, not 1990. The NFL is different and Matt Bahr's not walking through that door.

Marc from Orange Park, FL

DO you think that the Jags will re-sign wide receiver Jakobi Meyers at the end of the season>

Yes, if not before.

Donald from Orange Park, FL

Yo, KOAF!! Why don't players on the field and sidelines hold their own water bottles? Seems someone is always there to squirt it for them?

Players don't carry their own water bottles in games or practice because there are people paid to do it for them. There are people paid to do it for them because this is professional football and not recreational softball.

Bryan from Tampa, FL

I know the conversation is a bit premature, but the question about Travon Walker's future contract got me thinking. While he is a very good defensive end, it isn't like he's a premier pass rusher. He won't merit contracts in the realm of today's best, most elite quarterback sackers. Right?

I don't know if Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker's second contract will be at the absolute highest of the highest end of pass-rushing contracts. I do know it will be at a very expensive place. He's a premium player.

Colin from Sanford

Hey, John. How do you see the tight end room shaking out behind Brenton Strange moving forward? Has Quintin Morris secured his spot for the year? Which of the other two (Hunter Long and Johnny Mundt) do you think will be active for a playoff game if the Jags hold on to a spot?

I do expect Morris to me active if healthy because he is a high-end special teams player and very good blocker. Whether Long and/or Mundt will be active in addition to that likely will depend on health, matchups and how the duo is playing at the moment.

Cliff from Everywhere with helicopter

I typically focus on the offensive line during each snap but watching the "Mic'd Up" segment featuring Brenton Strange was still an eye-opener. He had those Colts defenders on roller skates. "Trench bully" indeed.

Strange is one of the NFL's best players at his position. If such honors went to complete tight ends rather than pass-catchers, he likely would be an All-Pro selection this season. He indeed was the subject of this week's "Mic'd Up" on Jaguars Media. It's well worth the watch. He's special.

Richard from Jacksonville

Tom Coughlin (via Louis Pasteur) once said "Chance favors the prepared mind." It was the team motto one year. Every player hit a sign that was above them when coming out on game day. Does Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen have "team motto?" Is there any ritual the Jaguars perform before coming on to the field before a game or did it go the way of individual player introductions?

I don't know that there's a notable pre-game Jaguars "ritual" in the sense to which you prefer, but Coen's "motto" is playing "FAST" – Fundamentally Sound, Attacking, Situational Masters and Tough (physically and mentally).

James from Socorro, NM

After seeing what's happening to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts, what the Jaguars are doing is really impressive and surprising, especially considering they had four wins all last year.

Winning is hard. The Jaguars are winning because they're good.

Tony from Johns Creek, GA

O, here's hoping the Jags won't make the Jets rookie quarterback, Brady Cook, a future Pro Bowler.

The Jaguars have won five of the last six games and four consecutive games. They have won three of their last four games by 17 or more points.

Jason from North Pole, AK

You recently answered with some reasons why the run defense is so much better. One thing I think that is overlooked is how the offense being good impacts the run defense. Jaguars were dead last in time of possession last season. They currently rank 7th in time of possession this year. That's a lot less wear and tear on a defensive front.

That certainly helps the ranking.

Josh from Danielson, CT

Defensive Josh Hines-Allen might not be my favorite Jags player. That title belongs to former running back Fred Taylor. But he just might be my favorite human in franchise history especially after the latest episode of The Hunt. Hope he plays his whole career here.

A lot of good dudes have played for the Jaguars and a lot play here now. Hines-Allen is a very, very good dude.

Wes from Ponte Vedra, FL

Does the league have restrictions on the dates that a player on an expiring contract is allowed to sign a new contract with his current team? We have more than a few players I'd love to see extended right now rather than nail-biting all the way to the opening of free agency. Any indication from the front office when they plan on getting running back Travis Etienne Jr., Lloyd, Meyers, et al. locked down?

Teams can re-sign their own players until the start of the NFL League Year in March. The team has plans for signing and negotiating to re-sign players they hope to re-sign. This is not something team officials typically discuss much publicly because there is little to be gained from doing so.

John from Jax

Hi, KOAGF - The Jags risk not winning the division with one loss. When the playoffs start, they go on vacation with one loss. The way I see it, only winning is allowed at this point forward. The cool thing about it is, with the coaches/players and how they prepare, there is this high confidence each week now that makes me think a win is coming. The weekly doubt of winning is fading. The Jags now seem like that other team that used to pull out the victory.

John is ready for some football.