JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it … Richard from Southside Belfort Manor:
Let me start by saying thank you for dealing with all of these daunting questions day in and day out. Some of the questions are great … others, well, we know are... "OK." My question: do you think it's appropriate for fans to give up all faith on the pass rush and stick to dealing with praying for heat to manage the Cheeseheads? I for one will be praying for 96-degree heat all week with 100 percent humidity. Here's to the Packers having to chew air on Sunday while our guys prowl about for 60 minutes.
John: I'm probably not the world's foremost expert on what's appropriate and what's not. I've been known to say the "unright" thing in multiple social situations that in retrospect shouldn't have been all that difficult to navigate. I'm also prone to a wardrobe malfunction on occasion. As far as the Jaguars' pass rush … no, absolutely people shouldn't give up on it. I understand the concern over it and it certainly didn't look as good in the preseason as would have been ideal. But regular-season pass rush is a different beast than preseason pass rush, and there are reasons to believe in the Jaguars' regular-season pass rush. While Dante Fowler Jr. may not be the triple-digit sack guy this season many gleefully predicted early in training camp, I do believe he will have an impact – and Malik Jackson/Sen'Derrick Marks absolutely should have an impact as interior rushers. Can the Jaguars sack Aaron Rodgers a bunch Sunday? Perhaps not; not many teams do. Can they bother him and make him get rid of the ball quickly enough to harass the Packers' offense? Absolutely, and the latter is as important as the former. So, sure, worry about the pass rush, but no way should you give up faith. As far as the crux of your question … yeah, heat Sunday would be great. An effective pass rush would be much, much better.
Jfbklyn from Neptune Beach, FL:
Zone … video mailbags are back … all right!!!
John: Are they?
Nolan from St. Augustine, FL:
Mr. O! Hoping for your thoughts on our kicker situation. Those missed field-goal attempts against the Colts last year … they still sting. The preseason kicking performance has been iffy at best. Would the Jags consider bringing in a veteran kicker? Robbie Gould is available. Just saying.
John: The Jaguars like Jason Myers' leg strength. They like that he kicked really well at the end of last season. They liked that he was really good on field goals last season overall. They didn't like that he missed two field goals at the end of the Colts game in Indianapolis, but they liked that he kicked 50-yard-plus field goals that beat Baltimore and Miami. They didn't like the seven missed extra points. Myers is the Jaguars' kicker and there was no real doubt about that this offseason. That's true. What's equally true is he won't be able to miss seven extra points and remain the Jaguars' kicker this season.
Craig from Jacksonville:
Your reply to writing multiple daily O-Zones is refreshing. With honest candor like that maybe you should consider running for office. How about a "Don't wanna platform?"
John: Stay tuned.
David from Oviedo, FL:
Ozone - In Game One, if the Jags decided to shadow Jordy Nelson with their best cornerback, who would that be?
John: It's close, and when I say "close," I mean very, very close. There's no doubt that would be Jalen Ramsey in the long run. In the short term, I'd put Prince Amukamara in that role by a nose over Davon House. Amukamara played well enough throughout the offseason, training camp and preseason to deserve the opportunity.
Michael from Port Orange, FL:
Mr. O, thanks for running my question. I was serious about keeping to football questions! You once again have proven you have a great sense of humor by actually running the question!
John: Hey, one fer O-Zone … sorta, kinda and not really!!
Seriously from Reality:
O, like it or not, you are the unofficial mouthpiece for the Jags. Therefore, you must be taken seriously. Your assessment of Paul Posluszny is such a joke that it borders on absurd. The guy is as big a bobblehead as Bryce Paup and is constantly out of position. More top-flight quarterbacks throw him off with eye fakes at the line that it makes my skin crawl to watch him on first down. Please come back down to earth. YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THAT COMMENT.
John: Hey, one not fer O-Zone – or fer Poz!
Mike from US Assure Club:
OK, I know it is time to move on and look ahead, but if you could have kept one additional player that was cut, who would you have kept?
John: If I were the Jaguars I would very much liked to have had defensive tackle Michael Bennett on the roster. The team placed him on injured reserve with a calf injury; had the injury not occurred, I think there would have been a much, much tougher decision to make along the defensive line. As far as players who were actually released, I think the team ideally would have liked to keep linebacker Ryan Davis. He became expendable because he wasn't going to be rushing the passer from the interior, but would the team have liked to have him on the roster as a Plan B? Yes, I think that would have been the preference.
Dave from Section 125:
Please let your readers know we haven't seen everything the Jags are going to do Sunday. I think we are in for some schemes we haven't seen in preseason both offensively and defensively. Can't let all the cats out just yet. WSY? DUVAL!!!
John: I thought I had let readers know this already, but here we go again. No, the Jaguars without question didn't show in the preseason everything they're going to show Sunday. There were in fact most likely many packages and looks used in preseason that the team won't remotely think about using in the regular season. Teams rarely show their entire repertoire in preseason. That's because it's preseason.
Tom from Virginia Beach, VA:
How much of the defense was vanilla during preseason? Knowing that Green Bay and San Diego are the first two games, did the coaches pull back on blitzes and exotic formations to keep them under wraps?
John: Shhhhhhh.
Jordan from Mandarin, FL:
Ryan Davis is a better football player than Denard Robinson. I still don't get it. With that said, this is the best roster we've had in a decade.
John: There's probably not a huge difference between Davis and Denard Robinson in terms of overall NFL ability. They are both players who probably wouldn't fit into very team and every scheme – and both players absolutely have skills to contribute in the right system. Remember, the Jaguars didn't really make a Davis-versus-Robinson decision. The Jaguars kept Robinson because of speed and ability to contribute on special teams. The decision to move on from Davis was because the role at which he previously has excelled at times – interior rusher in passing situations – wasn't going to be there for him with the addition of defensive tackle Malik Jackson and the presence of several other bigger interior rushers.
Ishouldknow from Jacksonville:
Gus is a choke artist and a loose cannon to boot. Agreed?
John: Ha. No.
Tommy from Pensacola, FL:
John, is a player's compensation affected if he is inactive on game day?
John: No.
Mike from Des Moines, IA:
I'll take the players voting Poz captain as a clear indication that they all disagree with the fans over Poz's value. I'm not a football insider, but my eyes tell me that Poz is as good as any middle linebacker in run defense. Also, is Myles Jack the starting weak-side linebacker against Green Bay? I'm not eager to see Telvin Smith on the bench, but Jack needs to be on the field.
John: Paul Posluszny will start at middle linebacker for the Jaguars against the Green Bay Packers and Telvin Smith will start at weak-side linebacker. Myles Jack will have a role Sunday, but I don't expect that role to be publicly known until later in the week – and I sort of don't think we'll know it until Sunday.
DTWD form Jacksonville:
After the Jaguars stomp the Packers, then the Packers fans will mutter, "Cheez, Louise!"
John: OK.
Steven from Woodbine, GA:
I am shocked you don't like college football. Where would we be without college football dude?
John: I prefer the NFL over college football, but I don't know that I ever said I didn't like college football. I do believe I said I didn't have a favorite college football team. There is often a difference between what is written and what is read.
DUVAL DOOM from Section 217:
I went back to see where I said wasn't gonna support the team, but I couldn't find it. Oh well.
John: Welcome to my world, Doom.