JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Jeremy from Riverview
I'm sure you will get a lot of "The Jaguars should have been in the Super Bowl" comments after that showing by the Patriots. And you know what? I hear you, but you want to get to the big dance, you have to win your playoff games. The Jaguars' offense would probably put up more of a fight, but the same could be said about the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers and others. We didn't earn the right to play in it and New England did.
The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots, 29-13, in Super Bowl LX Sunday – and while I indeed received a few emails stating that the Jaguars may have fared better than the Patriots, the tone of these emails wasn't that the Jaguars deserved to be playing Sunday. And the Jaguars indeed didn't deserve to be in Sunday's game. They could have beaten the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Wild Card Playoff and they could have advanced through the AFC playoffs, but they didn't – and the Patriots very much deserved to be there. They went 14-3 and navigated the postseason – and when you do that, you're deserving. My overriding thought Sunday was that the Super Bowl verified what I thought much of the final weeks/months of the season – that while the Jaguars, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, Bills, Chargers and Patriots all would have been worthy AFC representatives, the NFC's top teams were a notch or two better than the AFC's top teams. The league had that feel much of the season, and the Super Bowl from this view only confirmed that. Credit to the Seahawks. A lot of credit. They felt like the best team much of the last two months and it's OK when the best team wins. That's a wrap. On the offseason.
Mike from Ponte Vedra
Did you hear during the Super Bowl broadcast what Seattle did less than any other team? Answer: Go for it on fourth down! They took points. I actually said "oh no" when T-Law scrambled for eight yards to make it fourth-and-2, because I knew Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen would foolishly go for it. He didn't consider our previous failures in that situation and didn't even look at the body language of the players on the field. I hope they add the Super Bowl Champs not going for it on fourth down to these so-called metrics.
I didn't hear that during the broadcast, but it's not particularly surprising. The Seahawks as much as any NFL team this season were an old-school team with a front-line defense – enough so that their style sometimes resembled a 1970s approach of emphasizing field position, with field goals more a premium than usual are in the modern NFL. More simply … if your defense is as dominant as the Seahawks was this season, "taking the points" is a very sound strategy. If not …
Jesse from Texas
Well, the Jaguars get the unique distinction of being the one team in the playoffs that lost to the team that lost to the team that lost to the team that lost to the champions.
You're right. The AFC was really balanced this season. Any one of five or six teams easily could have made the Super Bowl.
Nomad from Ayacucho, Peru
Straight up trade: Cam Little for Super Bowl MVP. Who says no?
I admit I was a bit confused at this question, mainly because Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl LX Most Valuable Player and Cam Little kicks for the Jaguars – and you don't generally trade kickers "straight up" for running backs. You usually don't see kickers traded … well, for any position. I would consider Walker an upgrade for the Jaguars at running back. I suppose Little might be a slight upgrade for the Seahawks at kicker, though former Jaguars kicker Jason Myers has been really good for the Seahawks for a long time. Beyond that …
Jeff from Jacksonville Beach, FL
How about one for Jason Myers setting all time scoring mark?
One fer Myers, I suppose. I guess. OK.
Yeti Daddy from Somewhere and Yet Nowhere
Mighty "O," we all know it is Coaching in the NFL, until it is not. Then it is plays, until it is not. Then it is players, until it is not. So, it seems that consistency at all three is needed. Skilled coaches, collaborating with skilled players executing NFL level plays. So, isn't that what we are seeing with Sam Darnold of Seattle? It is a combination of a quarterback with slightly above average physical skills who has grown with experience combining with a coaching staff with slightly above average skills, calling not particularly innovative plays that are executed consistently. And if so, doesn't that bode well for the Jaguars? Our coaching staff is above average and a bit innovative, and I would say that our quarterback is well above average in physical ability. Next year Baby!
We can and often do drive ourselves crazy trying to analyze NFL quarterbacks and NFL teams. One of the easier ways to reach "crazy" is to focus on one team or one situation and try to copy/paste their situation into that of another team'. What Darnold and the Seahawks did this season is remarkable. From this view they are the NFL's best and most-balanced team, and Darnold fits what they're doing. I don't know if the Seahawks are currently the NFL's most-innovative team, but they're damned efficient and effective offensively. They're also dominant on both lines, and that's often better than being innovative. I don't know how much of what Seattle is doing correlates with the Jaguars. I know quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks like an elite player and this team believes in the direction of this franchise. There's a feeling around the Jaguars that they're just getting started. Stay tuned.
Fred from Naples, FL
Since you are not going to the Scouting Combine in Indy don't forget to cancel your St. Elmo's reservation … what a shame. I heard Shadrick was buying.
Sure he is.
Bruce from Saint Simons Island, GA
O, I expect you watched and/or heard Sonny Jurgensen growing up. Sonny threw a perfect spiral pass that was amazing. I was there in RFK when the Redskins beat the New York Giants, 72-41. I believe this is still the highest-scoring NFL game. But while Jurgensen was a great quarterback, he was also the radio voice for the Redskins for many years and added such knowledge and fun to the broadcasts. Just wanted to mention the fond memories.
Jurgensen, who died Friday at age 91, ranks deservedly as one of the greatest pure passers in NFL history. He played 50 years too soon and I expect he would have been one of the NFL's best quarterbacks of the last few decades had he played in this pass-centric era. My memories are more of what I heard than what I saw, but what I saw and heard was legendary stuff. Do yourself a favor if you know little of Jurgensen. Go on YouTube. Watch the highlights. The man could throw.
Bill from Hammock, FL
Zone, when answering the question about how the Jaguars improve next year potentially without ETN and Lloyd, you failed to mention having Travis Hunter and Ransaw back. Don't you see this as a significant benefit?
I confess I don't answer every question perfectly or in ideal detail. This is yet another flaw Mrs. Ozone can add to her list. I mentioned in the answer you're referencing that the Jaguars could improve next season by reducing big plays allowed. This could be done by improving the secondary. If cornerback Travis Hunter and safety Caleb Ransaw are what the Jaguars expect them to be, their return indeed would improve the secondary next season.
Daniel from St Johns
Who? No, you did not who an important question about Jaxson!!! You do realize that only Jaxson and your 20,000-day streak are what held most of us lifelong fans through the dark ages. I'll be in the front of the line to buy your book, and get Jaxson to sign it!
What?
Tom from Jacksonville
Will the Culligan girl be invited to the Ozone festival?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Kenneth
Patriots suck, like you, and Drake Maye is no Trevor Lawrence. What a joke of a Super Bowl. We are in the driver's seat in the AFC next year.
The Patriots don't suck, though they weren't as good as the Seahawks – and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye didn't play as well in the postseason as he did during the regular season. The Jaguars should enter the 2026 season as one of the favorites in the AFC. That means nothing. You start new every NFL season and the Jaguars will start 0-0 next season.
Gary from St. Augustine, FL
You suck as much as that Super Bowl.
On to the offseason.
