JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

William from Jacksonville Beach, FL

Am I crazy or are we overrating this team? Has everyone forgotten the Jaguars were 4-13 last season? What gives you so much confidence we're going to be so much better?

I don't know if you're crazy, though the possibility certainly shouldn't be quickly dismissed. As for whether "we" are overrating the 2025 Jaguars … that's difficult to say because I don't know exactly where people are "rating" them or what people are doing the "rating." I do know this Jaguars team appears to have a strong enough core of front-line players – defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. foremost among them – to give them a chance to be better than 4-13. Maybe even a lot better. The offseason focus on the offensive line and running game should help those areas improve even if the Jaguars aren't yet elite there. I also expect this team to produce more explosive plays and turnovers than it did last season; if the Jaguars improve even marginally in those areas, that could mean multiple more victories. The bottom line, of course, is that a lot of the potential improvement depends on quarterback Trevor Lawrence. If he at minimum gets back to how he was playing late in 2022 and early 2023, this team should at least be able to get back to around .500. If he accelerates past that level, then maybe the Jaguars can improve at a quicker pace than I expect. Does that answer mean I'm confident? I have no idea. I do know there are paths to this team improving relatively quickly and I know the people running the team think they can navigate those paths. Stay tuned.

Bobby from Jacksonville Beach, FL

Good Skynyrd list. Not great, though. What's your R.E.M. Top Five?

I reeeeeeeeeeeally struggle with musician/band Top Five lists. I tend to really like certain artists and tend to think of their entire body of work – or album – rather than individual songs. This is particularly true with bands that have meant a lot to me – and no band meant as much to me during my college years as R.E.M. But in the interest of answering your question, I'll take a swing and say: Sitting Still, Pretty Persuasion, Radio Free Europe, Auctioneer and I Believe. All early stuff. That's today's list. I expect tomorrow's list could be entirely different except for Sitting Still, which has been No. 1 for close to 40 years. I expect it will remain there. But from this view, any song from Chronic Town, Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant could be on the list on a given day. That was my band. Those were my albums.

Matt from Jacksonville

Being it's the dead zone and the Miller Electric Center is mostly empty, do you take the opportunity to sit in the "Big Guy's Chair"?

I'll assume by Big Chair you mean the chair of Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli. Or perhaps you mean Shadrick's chair. Either way, it doesn't have to be the dead zone for me to sit there. And yes … Boselli still knows where to find me.

Levi from Huntsville, AL

Wanted to get your thoughts on this scenario. If Trevor has another 22ish-touchdown to 13-ish interception season with about 2,500 yards and we win six-to-eight games and miss the playoffs, do you think the Jags will move on from him? Or will he get another year due to regime change?

I would be stunned if the Jaguars move on from Lawrence after the 2025 season – and I certainly think it would take a disastrous season without injuries to have it be even a remote thought. I expect Lawrence to be the Jaguars' quarterback for at least two more seasons – almost certainly longer.

David from Orange Park, FL

Where can a guy get a beer around here?

Next block over.

Scott from Aruba

Does Ezra Cleveland start the season and, if not, is his contract such that they may look to cut him? You can never have enough depth on your line but $8 million a year for a backup seems a bit steep. Are there any other players that played starting roles last year that could be on the cutting block if they aren't viewed as starters because of their contracts?

This is a worthy storyline as 2025 Training Camp approaches. Competition will be the norm – and very, very real – at all offensive line positions, and rookie third-round selection Wyatt Milum absolutely could push Cleveland at left guard. My thought is veterans such as Cleveland could be candidates for a trade if they aren't clear starters, but I tend to lean toward not trading quality starting-level players for late-round selections. This is because the NFL is a league of attrition. This is particularly true on the offensive line, where anything close to quality depth can be difficult to find once the regular season begins. At the same time, the Jaguars signed four linemen as unrestricted free agents – Patrick Mekari, Fred Johnson, Robert Hainsey and Chuma Edoga. This means there is more veteran depth than normal, which could allow for a veteran offensive lineman with a high salary-cap figure to be traded. As for other players who fit this category … pretty much any lineman who doesn't start. Beyond that, most players rotate enough that they have value even if they're not in the "starting lineup."

Dwayne from Jacksonville

The TL. You do know that was fake. Right?

I assume you mean the "OC." Because that was damned sure real – and spectacular. "Best. Show. Ever.

Bradford from Orange Park, FL

I am glad you had Gene Frenette on the O-Zone podcast. I had some time ago began to surmise that your rhetoric about and surrounding him being "a Northeast Florida cultural icon" was a thinly veiled shot over whatever it was between you and he. From the episode, however, it seemed there was anything but bad blood ... which, outside of someone having done something overtly being deserving of that (a la Doug Pederson), it's always nice for it not to be the case. Gene seemed like a good and likable dude. Shout out to and here's to him enjoying his retirement.

I indeed long have referred to former longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette with that description. O-Zone readers also have marveled at Gene's various talents, ranging from feats of strengths of speed to intellectual endeavors to talents on the stage and perhaps screen. None of this was ever meant to indicate that there was "bad blood" between us. I worked with Gene nearly 13 years at the T-U. Our cubicles were side by side for a time. We traveled together, roomed together at times and wrote deadline stories next to one another in numerous NFL and college press boxes. Gene from this view is equal parts legend and friend, and here's absolutely to him enjoying a well-deserved retirement. (I also don't know what former Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson did to deserve "bad blood," though I understand people love to hate former head coaches).

Brad from The Avenues

THANK YOU, GENE!!! Wow, how affirming is to be on the same page with former long time Florida-Times Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette? As I have mentioned before, the NFL in Europe just ain't gonna work. The travel logistics alone are waaay too much. Great minds do think alike. Or maybe mediocre minds just hit once in a while. My life is complete.

You go, girl.

4-Putt from Jax

No question, just a comment. I watched your OZone podcast with Gene. It was awesome. Loved his stories, and your questions brought out the compelling and interesting history that Gene shared. He was the Best of the Best. Great job!!!

The O-Zone Podcast with Mean Gene is available on Jaguars Media Channels and jaguars.com. I'm glad people seem to like it.

Brett from Shoalhaven Heads, NSW, Australia

A wise man once said there are two types of people on the planet, avoid both!

Wow. He was a wise man.

Scott from Aruba

Which players on Rookie deals right now are possible candidates to have their contracts extended during this coming season.

Pretty much any player in his fourth NFL season who has yet to sign an extension fits this category. Defensive end Travon Walker would be the most obvious choice. Linebacker Devin Lloyd – like Walker, a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft—would be a candidate, though he probably must have an uber-strong season for that to be a possibility. Those are the strongest candidates.

Kevin from Jacksonville

Welcome to the Dead Zone, O-Zone. See what I did there?

I'm not sure what you "did there," exactly – if indeed you did anything at all. But you are clever. Let no one tell you otherwise.