JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Bryan from Tampa, FL
Is Keelan Cole in danger of not making the 53? Based on your reports, it sounds like he hasn't been all that productive – and he has some competition for his spot from Tre McBride.
Jaguars third-year wide receiver Keelan Cole indeed is competing for a roster spot. With a few exceptions – including defensive tackle Taven Bryan, wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. and tight end James O'Shaughnessy – a veteran who has played in both preseason games is battling for a roster spot. Cole has played in both games, but I believe he will make the 53-man regular-season roster. He has the advantage of experience, and he has produced for this team in the past. He also is playing a role on special teams as a returner, which is key for non-starters trying to make rosters.
Adam from Jacksonville
Why is everybody trippin? Y'all need to chill
Word.
Mason from Palm Bay, FL
Do you think we end up keeping all three quarterbacks on the roster?
No. I think the Jaguars will keep Nick Foles as the starter and Gardner Minshew II as the backup with Alex McGough on the practice squad.
Iftach from Raanana, Israel
Big-O, left tackle Cam Robinson was activated from the PUP list just eight days ago. What are the chances he starts against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night? Isn't it too early bringing him back to play? I feel like if he was activated just a couple of days ago, the risk of reinjuring his knee is quite high and he might not be at full health.
This is an impossible question for a fan or senior writer to answer because we're not physicians or trainers or Cam Robinson, but there is nothing unusual about Robinson's recovery/return time. He sustained his injury in September and is returning essentially 11 months later. Players typically can return from ACL tears anywhere from nine months on, though full confidence in the knee and full explosion can take longer. The doctors and trainers have monitored Robinson throughout his rehabilitation, and they will continue to do so. They wouldn't have had him practice when he practiced if there was undue risk of re-injury and they won't have him play a game if there is undue risk of re-injury.
Dan from Cary, NC
John, I'm going to be the first one to come out and say it. Foles is a bust. The Jags should waive him and save the money. According to a "well-known national news site," Foles has zero completions for zero yards. He's obviously another high-profile name that can't deliver. Cut him and #PlayTheStache! #Fanning
Googling this.
CD from Fleming Island, FL
I get that pass interference is a judgement call, but I feel a lot of the reviewable calls have turned into judgement calls – i.e. fumble recovery, incomplete pass vs fumble, etc. The "irrefutable evidence" concept used to be a big part of the rule, but it seems officials have gotten away from that lately. We're often left to speculate why they didn't overturn a call.
I have had the same feeling in recent seasons that the league/officials have moved too far in the direction of letting replay officiate rather than confirm obvious calls. It seems this has happened a couple of times in the history of replay, with the league occasionally resetting the original spirit of replay – i.e., that irrefutable evidence is needed to overturn. Perhaps the league could use another reset. The original idea of replay was that if someone sitting in a bar with the sound down can see that a call was incorrect, then that play should be reversed. The further the league has strayed from that concept throughout the years, the more muddled and controversial replay has become. That's the inherent problem with reviewing pass interference, holding, etc. The review usually isn't going to produce an irrefutable result. If it doesn't do that, there's little point in reviewing.
Mike from Boscobel, WI
Zone, nothing against Minshew, but I enjoyed seeing McGough's mobility against the Eagles Thursday. Any chance we get to see more of him this coming week? Especially with the second team?
I doubt we'll see much of McGough in Miami until very late in the game, and I don't expect to see him with the second team. Minshew is the backup and I imagine he and the second team will get most of the reps once the starters leave the game.
Blake from Minot, North Dakota
Via NFL legends committee member, only 1,000 players all-time have ever played eight or more years in the NFL. Tyson Alualu is one of only 1000. I wouldn't call that a bust.
He wasn't a bust. Not even close.
Rob from Ponte Vedra, FL
You do not think that Terrelle Pryor Sr. will make the roster? I was surprised not to see him play so far in preseason and took that to mean the coaches were a little more sure about him than the others who were on the bubble and may even be holding him out to protect him from injury. Am I way off here? Is he still on the roster now or did I miss his release?
Pryor missed the first two preseason games for injury-related reasons. I think he has a chance to make the roster, but I would guess right now he won't make it. I don't see him among the top four receivers and to make the roster as a fifth or sixth receiver it helps to play special teams, which Pryor does not do.
Ed from Ponte Vedra, FL
I am not trying to be a smart ass with this question, but can you name two NFL wide receivers that had knee or ACL injuries in the last five years and came back after rehab and performed at the same or better level?
Keenan Allen of the Chargers sustained a torn ACL in 2016 and had the best two seasons of his career the following two seasons. Allen Robinson sustained one in 2017 while with the Jaguars and caught 55 passes for 754 yards and four touchdowns for the Chicago Bears in 13 games last season; those numbers weren't Robinson's career highs, but they represent a pace for Robinson to be close to 1,000 yards and six or so touchdowns. That probably is around his normal, productive level. I assume your question relates to Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee, who is returning from a knee injury in which he sustained a torn anterior cruciate, poster cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. Will he perform at the same or better level as he did previously? I have no idea. History would suggest it will be extremely difficult.
Tom from Charleston, SC
Suggestion for PI review. There are independent observers watching for possible concussions that can stop play to examine. There is also an official in the press box and in the NFL office. Why not let the observing officials (not the medical ones) stop play and review obvious missed calls such as the one that cost New Orleans the NFC Championship Game? Taking the PI review away from the coaches would keep the nitpicky calls from being reviewed.
I like this idea better than the current system, though you're still in an area where officials are determining what's "clear and obvious." The NFC Championship Game incident was a rare case in which everyone could agree on the call. The issue would be when officials thought others that weren't so obvious fit the category and then you're into an over-officiated game being called from the press box. I guess that would work, but I don't know that it makes for a better game.
Andrew from Duval
People complaining about "paying" for the preseason games that come with their season tickets are pretty dumb. The organization could easily make preseason games "free" for season ticket holders and raise the price per game of regular season games and the result would be the same. They get access to all games before the playoffs, which is what they agreed to when they bought the season tickets.
Fair.
Marcus from Jacksonville
Can you explain what a "first-year veteran" is? You've used that term several times with players, but you've also used "rookie" to refer to a first-year player. So, what's the difference?
A rookie is a player with no previous NFL experience – training camp, games played, etc. A first-year veteran is a player who is not a rookie but who has yet to accrue enough games or experience to be a "second-year veteran."
Emiel from Texas
Just give out a free snow cone at every preseason game. Problem solved.
I like Sno-Cones. I always got a free one after baseball games at Arlington Little League and Rondette Little League in the early to mid-1970s. Ah, yes … I remember fondly eating my Sno-Cone in the bleachers and my teammates' happily eating theirs on the other bleacher. I preferred the solitude. Really.