JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Duval from 706 to 904
What are your thoughts on BTJ stepping up to be more of a vocal leader and how do you think it will impact the rest of receiver core? I saw in the Bahamas video where they were trying to train Travis Hunter out of the Shedeur Sanders mannerisms from having all the touchdown dances. BTJ and Dyami Brown said, "No, we only have to have one and focus on scoring."
I expect Jaguars second-year wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. to be more of a leader moving forward – both within his position group and throughout the entire team. I don't expect him to be overly vocal or outspoken in public/media settings, necessarily, because that's not particularly his nature. I do expect him to be more of a leader both vocally and by example among teammates. That's the natural progression for a player of his stature. It also seems to be well within his personality. While he's not all that big on media availabilities, he's absolutely a confident player on the field and in the locker room. He's one of the faces of this team and I expect him to have no problem with the role.
Tony from Johns Creek, GA
O, it's subjective comparing coaches from different eras. Lombardi had maybe a third of assistant coaches as Bill Belichick. NFL back in the day didn't need many.
It's subjective comparing anything in the NFL – whether it's era to era, year to year or even team to team. And you're absolutely correct that teams didn't employ nearly as many assistant coaches in the era of Vince Lombardi in the 1950s and 1960s, or even into the 1970s and early 1980s. We somehow in the last four decades have decided that was once a simple game is so overwhelmingly complex that we need armies of assistant coaches, run- and pass-game coordinators on offense and defense, special senior assistants on this side of the ball and that – along with every position coach needing a special assistant, with those special assistants sometimes needing advisors or assistants. Where does it end? I don't know. Where does "need" end? When does it all become a bit much? Those are fair questions.
Scott from Aruba
How far back into the email do you go to pull questions?
No earlier than 2011. That's a hard, fast rule. I have standards.
William from Jacksonville
We've done books and music in the dead zone. If memory serves, we've never done best movies? What do you got?
We're revisiting the theatre of the impossible with this one because how do you really choose a top five from all movies ever seen? And I don't spend all that much time ranking these things. Oh, well. I'll take a swing and go with the Top Five movies that I loved at the time of viewing and have watched repeatedly. 1, Rain Man. 2, Zelig (Woody Allen). 3, Sixteen Candles. 4, Christmas Vacation. That's four. For a fifth, let's go with A Bronx Tale. I don't know if it's one of the greatest movies ever, but it might have one of the best scenes ever. Now yous can't leave.
Brendan from Earth
Can fate excuse the unthinkable?
Can I mumbo dogface to the banana patch?
Ed from Jax by Lionel Playworld
No commentary on All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren? That was popular reading at Bishop Kenny High School when the Jaguars used to practice there.
Not my jam.
Ty from Fleming Island, FL
O-Zone, in a theoretical game between arguably the two most successful teams in franchise history, the 1999 Jaguars and the 2017 Jaguars, who do you think would win and why?
The caveat to any discussion such as this is it's very tricky – if not impossible – to accurately project what teams would beat what teams across eras. And while an 18-year difference may not seem like an "era," the game unquestionably changes in such a time. The NFL was not the same game in 2020 as in 2000 as in 1980 as in 1960. With that caveat thusly stated, I would go with the 1999 Jaguars to win the matchup. Yes, the 2017 defense was great – probably the best in franchise history. But the 1999 defense was at the very least very, very good and the '99 offense featured three Hall of Fame-level players – Hall of Fame left tackle Tony Boselli, wide receiver Jimmy Smith and running back Fred Taylor. The '99 team also was a bit more balanced than the '17 team, so I would lean toward that team winning more often than not if the teams played.
John from Jax
Hi, KOAGF. Were you a fan of space food sticks, Danish go rounds, marathon bars or whip n chill? Can we rewind the clock to the good ole days?
I got nothing.
Mike from Daytona Beach, FL
What could make the dead zone go down easier? Imagine an 18-ounce ice cold "beverage" that comes in a frosty goblet. Such a beverage can be found in Waco, Texas at the iconic George's restaurant. It is called a "Big O!" (Our own All-Pro long snapper, Baylor grad Ross Matiscik, might be able to confirm this.) Regardless, here's one fer you "Big O" for making the dead zone go down easier.
I am the king of all funk.
Keith from Saint Augustine, FL
Why do so many of the younger generation think that the older generation is not as smart as they are? I don't know how old Bill from Neptune Beach is, but he recently said, "I can't see putting Lombardi above [former New England Patriots Head Coach Bill] Belichick, for example, because the game is so much more advanced now." While at St. Cecilia's, Lombardi not only coached but also taught Latin, chemistry, and physics. Just spit-balling here, but I think you have to be rather intelligent to teach those subjects. I'm sure a man of Lombardi's intelligence could have mastered the nuances of "modern football." Football, even in the modern era, is not rocket science.
The younger generation doesn't think the older generation is as smart as they are because the younger generation always believes it invented everything good and that nothing that came before could be as good as what is now. This is not unique to our time. It is how it was when we were young, and when our parents were young, and when their parents were young, and when their parents were young and so on. Many of his generation will always believe Lombardi the greatest coach of all-time. I always will believe it to be Joe Gibbs. Children of the social media age will skew their noses, ask "who is Joe Gibbs?" and believe, say, Andy Reid, invented the NFL. In twenty years, someone will believe Lombardi is simply a name on a big trophy and that someone of their era invented the sport. To everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn – and our parents were always idiots. Always.
Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA
I think pessimism can be jolly good fun, try Coming Up for Air, another Blair!
Wow. You really didn't have much to do.
Mike from Zaragoza, Spain
Since it's fun fact time, I have an even more fun fact. Humans are terrible at risk assessment. We are afraid of spiders when something like three people die annually from spider bites while on the lower end 100,000 people die every year from snake bites globally. Deaths from things we are afraid of like skydiving or shark attacks are very rare. It's things that we don't think about that cause fatalities. Just getting into water increases your risk of death exponentially. It isn't the terrifying things that kill us, it's mundane things like going for a swim or heart disease that are much more likely to be the end. The more you know.
The party invitations are not getting lost in the mail.
Scott from St. Johns, FL
In a recent O-Zone the band Rush, and their drummer Neil Peart, were mentioned. John, suppose that you are the general manager of a classic rock band. Your drummer sustains a season-ending wrist injury just before a long concert tour. Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, John Bonham and Neil Peart are unsigned free agents. Their salary demands are very similar. Who would you sign?
I'm signing Moon – and not just because my friend and favorite local drummer Steve Bauknecht would be mad at me if I didn't. I'm not a huge "Who" fan," but watching and listening to Moon on early Who makes me appreciate a skill I can't quite comprehend.
Stephen from 113 from Jacksonville via Pennsauken NJ
John, I really liked the Columbo reference in Saturday's Dead Zone. It was pretty old school of you. Who is on deck, Jim Rockford, Joe Friday or maybe Steve McGarrett?
At the tone, leave your name and message. I'll get back to you.
