JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Charles from Riverside
Hello, John. The Jaguars improved from 25th in 2024 in yards (308.2 per game) to 11th in 2025 and from 28th in scoring (18.8 points per game) in 2024 to sixth in 2025. I realize there is always room for improvement, but regarding the offense, maybe we should be satisfied with having a repeat year of production? Shore it up as necessary and concentrate on the defense in the off season?
I don't expect the Jaguars to be "satisfied" offensively entering 2026 season – or ever – and I expect them to make some offseason moves in this area accordingly. I expect far more personnel emphasis on defense than offense in the next few months. Remember, too: Improvement in the NFL often comes from within – a fact many teams and observers tend to overlook in the oft-silly frenzy of March. Players improve. Chemistry develops. Knowledge of the scheme and experience often combines for improvement. The Jaguars should improve because of these factors in 2022 – particularly offensively.
John from Jacksonville
Personally, I loved the "Snow Bowl." Both teams have to play in the same conditions. If Sean Peyton did the smart thing and taken the easy three points, that game could have been at the end of regulation. It was quite possible either team may not have scored again. Would we have seen unlimited overtime periods?
We're referencing Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton's decision in the second quarter in last Sunday's AFC Championship Game to go for a first down instead of "taking" a field goal on fourth-and-1 from the Patriots 14. The Broncos indeed lost to the New England Patriots by three points, so that means Peyton suddenly made a "dumb" decision? What if the Broncos had converted, scored a touchdown on the drive and won in regulation? Would taking the field goal have been smart then? This same Sean Payton opted for an onside kick in Super Bowl XLIV when coaching the New Orleans Saints. It worked and changed the momentum of the game. The Saints won. Payton was rightfully considered brilliant at the time. If it had failed and the Indianapolis Colts had taken advantage of field position by scoring a touchdown and winning the game, Payton would have been something not as cool as "brilliant." Payton, incidentally, has said since the AFC Championship Game that he regretted the play call – but NOT the decision. Good plays work. Bad plays don't. If the AFC Championship Game had gone to overtime, the teams would have played overtime periods until a winner was decided. It theoretically could still be going – albeit with a lot of tired players and coaches.
Troy from Dover, PA
We could eliminate all of the fans complaining about coaches gambling on fourth downs by just getting rid of kickers and punters completely. Teams would have four downs to get a first down with no option to punt or kick a field goal and after a score, the opposing team would start at their own 20 with no kickoff. What do you think of that idea, KOAF?
Roger Goodell, hire this man!
Stokes from Orange Park, FL
In hindsight, do you think - being Travis Hunter was unavailable, since roundabout midseason - that the Jaguars would have had a healthier chance of still playing, or making it further having drafted Mason Graham? I love Hunter, but the Graham strategy would have plugged a bigger hole on defense and would have been accompanied by a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Graham, a defensive tackle selected by the Cleveland Browns No. 5 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, was healthy at the end of the season. Wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, selected by the Jaguars No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, was not healthy at the end of the season. Because a healthy player can contribute more than an unavailable player, Graham probably would have helped any team at the end of the 2025 season more than Hunter. I don't know that Graham's presence would have meant the Jaguars beating the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Wild Card Playoff. Would he have gotten a pressure or two more than the players playing? Maybe. Would he have fixed the communication errors in the secondary that allowed the Bills to score twice in the fourth quarter? Probably not. The Jaguars went 13-4 and won the AFC South last season. They're going in the right direction as a franchise. There are always going to be micro-decisions to pick apart. In the "macro," these are good times around this team and optimism should be high.
Limo Bob from Neptune Beach
Do you think cheating should disqualify you from the Hall of Fame?
This is a more nuanced discussion than your question might indicate.
Travis from Jacksonville
The pass interference issue is pretty straightforward. There should be two types. Both will require judgement but can be managed better. Intentional interference and incidental interference. The incidental should be 15 yards. The intentional spot of the foul, or the 1-yard line. Taking away the 1-yard line means teams will intentionally take down receivers because they can with not a real penalty, especially late in game. Incidental contact could be defined by two key factors: The defender was playing the ball/head turned and interfered in some way with the receiver in the process of looking back etc. Non-incidental contact would be "back/head turned" disruptive contact. The NFL used this model for this with the facemask. They can do a two-year study to understand the effects. Bear in mind, teams will always use the rulebook just like the sidelines. The rules must attempt to be balanced. Of course the NFL may just decide to do nothing, like not nominating one for the greatest coaches ever to a first ballot, in an embarrassing turn of events.
This pass-interference idea, while not a poor one, runs counter to how the league usually handles officiating by introducing increased judgement into the rule. The NFL in recent seasons has leaned away from this on multiple occasions when changing or modifying rules. For example, the league in 2008 eliminated the old "forceout" rule under which an official could rule a pass complete if in the official's judgment a defensive back "forced" the receiver out of bounds after catching the ball in the air. The league in this case didn't want officials having to judge whether the receiver would have come down in or out of bounds. The NFL in 2008 also eliminated the five-yard "unintentional" face mask penalty for the same reason. Would your idea result in the "correct" call being made on occasion? Of course. But it also would create a lot of gray area between intentional and incidental – and the league wants less gray area in officiating, not more. Also: The "NFL" didn't "not nominate" Belichick for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The league doesn't control the process. Voting in a flawed system produced a flawed result.
James from Titusville, NJ
Well, Mr. O. When it comes to you, here's one not for changing the field goal rules!
One fer me doing something or not. Sort of. Maybe. What?
Big Jags Fan from Jacksonville
With the anticipated healthy return to the team of several 2026 draft picks (specifically wide Hunter, safety Caleb Ransaw and linebacker Jalen McLeod), and 11 choices in this spring's draft, is this a good opportunity for General Manager James Gladstone and Co. to pare higher-paid veterans from the roster by replacing them with lower-paid younger players to help free up additional cap room to re-sign or extend players from the 2025 team?
I expect the Jaguars to part ways with a higher-paid veteran or two(ish) this offseason and replace them with younger, drafted selections. That's a fairly common and necessary practice in the NFL – hardly exclusive to the Jaguars and the 2026 offseason. The Jaguars moving forward will continue to focus on the draft, trying to draft as well as possible and develop those players. That should increasingly be the core of how this team is built if they do this at a high level. That doesn't mean they will ignore other means of acquiring players.
JAY from THE BURG FL and Middleburg, FL
We all grew up in the fourth quarter of that Houston game. We all got sick of being punched in the face and everyone laughing about it. Tony Boselli had that fire back in the day. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has it now. I hope we re-sign running back Travis Etienne Jr. That man is tough as nails. He knows what a champion is made of. Who do you think that leader is on defense to set the standard? Or do we have to go find him?
Standard-setters on defense: End Travon Walker, end Josh Hines-Allen, defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, cornerback Jourdan Lewis, linebacker Foye Oluokun. Start there.
Joe from Jacksonville
Tony Bocelli? As in, Bocelli Modern Italian in Tampa? Solid. Generous portions, drinks are overpriced, but it's how Tony does things.
All Hail Bocelli.
