JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Myron from Livermore
John, A recent article on NFL.com suggests Travis Hunter will be more impactful as a defensive back this year than at receiver. The arguments are that defensive back is easier to learn and the Jags have greater need there than at receiver. They suggested he is getting more receiver reps so far because he needs them more, not because that is going to be the focus. You know more than they do. Could we see Hunter play all snaps on defense and fewer snaps on offense than we loyal readers have been expecting? Congrats on your son's wedding as well.
The understandable fascination with Jaguars rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter is such that observers and fans are analyzing and reanalyzing how he will be used ad nauseum – all the while seeing it as a mystery. There is currently in fact little mystery involved here. The Jaguars plan to play Hunter full-time on offense and in packages on defense. He will prepare for this role in training camp and the plan is for him to prepare in that capacity during the regular season. It's a dynamic plan, and because no player has tried to play offense and defense extensively in the NFL in nearly three decades, there's no great precedent or blueprint. Hunter would like to play every play on both sides of the ball. I expect he will work very hard in an effort to do this. If he shows he can do this, I expect the Jaguars will allow him to do this – all the while monitoring and tweaking the plan as needed.
Rob The duuuuuuuuu
Hey, John. How cool would it be if THE comes up with a new dance to help bring some hype to Jagsonville? I am thinking something like the Duval Diggity! I know people will hate on the dancing, but they also hated on the trash talking in 2017. Sometimes a little something fun that players can share and have fun with provides some extra glue that makes them play hard for each other. What do you think? Is something fun the players share good for glueing them together or just a distraction? I'm looking forward to a LOT of dancing which would mean good things are happening. Moodachay! (Also a cool name for a jag dance!)
I don't know that Hunter will work on a new dance for this reason, but I expect he will dance because that's his personality. If he were to develop such a dance, I wouldn't expect I would hate it or love it. If it happens, it happens. If it happens organically, it's cool. If not, it probably wouldn't have much staying power. Forcing such things feels awkward and meh more often than not.
Stuart from Cottonwood AZ
Referencing Josh from ATL recently, I'm thinking a net increase of nine points (combining a gain of offensive points and a drop in defensive points) is obtainable.
That would be good for the Jaguars.
Mike from Daytona Beach, FL
Can we now reasonably expect men in bars to increasingly attempt to impress women by claiming to be a writer, star athlete, bull rider, etcetera?
The first technique is "iffy," at best. The second could work more often than the first. As for the third … if it worked for Bud Davis, I suppose it can work for others.
Kei from Kitakyushu, Japan
Do you see a day when the Jaguars are back to playing every home game in Jacksonville again? And regarding the talk about the Jags wanting to "build a second fanbase in London," how successful have they actually been at that endeavor? (Full disclosure: I asked these same questions to Albert Breer for his mailbag recently; he answered it, to his credit, but I think you'd have a far better grasp of the situation than he might.)
I expect the Jaguars to play a home game in London most seasons for the foreseeable future. They have built some interest in the United Kingdom. It's a process.
Deane from Hill AFB via Daytona Beach, FL
Yo, O-Zone. Since the Dead Zone has jumped into esoteric literary discussions, I would tie in a little Lord of the Flies and Greek mythology. "Maybe there is a beast...maybe it's only us." So, speaking of a beast … there was Cerberus, which was a dog; but there was an unknown cat named Jag-berus. It's fierce faces were of Travon Walker, Josh Hines-Allen and Arik Armstead! Who would you put on your Jag-berus. O-Zone?
What?
Rob from St. Augustine, FL
Please don't wear black on Monday night.
I haven't thought through yet what I'll wear for the Jaguars' Week 5 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. I expect it will be khakis, whatever shirt is cleanest and maybe a blazer. I doubt I'll wear a black blazer, but we'll see.
Stokes from Orange Park, FL
Would it be a stretch to blame Gabe Davis for not having dough we otherwise would have had to have not had to release Evan Engram? Ask me if I'll reconsider that position even if you tell me "yes," and I genuinely believe you.
I think all of any NFL team's salary cap and "dead money" influences all of that team's roster decisions on some level. It's all intertwined. I think the Jaguars keeping tight end Evan Engram would have been at least somewhat more likely – maybe a lot more likely – had it not been for the contract wide receiver Gabe Davis signed last offseason.
Reese from Loyal Jaguar Fan in VA
Please correct me if I am wrong. Go Jags! Or Go Jags? Thank you?!
It's either – usually depending on the mood.
Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA
Why no running back questions? I feel that running back is being highly overlooked and may surprise. Truth is that a dearth of quality tackling in the current NFL surely will lead to a running back boon!? Our Cerberus at the position should worry defenses of any team steppin', on our lawn! #jackedsonville
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee Sense – tells me you kinda, maybe like the Jaguars' running back position entering 2025. At least that's what I think your first sentence was saying. And yes … with rookie Bhayshul Tuten, veteran Tank Bigsby and veteran Travis Etienne Jr. there's a lot there with that position. It could be deep. And it could be a strength.
Nathan from Utah, US
I say the "Urban" Year was distractingly more about first-year head coach Urban Meyer rather than that coach's rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft/first-team All-American/FBS Champion Trevor Lawrence. That year set Lawrence back. The following few gave a chance to recover, learn and grow, Now in a fresh system of like-minded individuals headed in the same direction …
Here we go, Jaguars.
Tony from Johns Creek, GA
O, "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Great Expectations" were hard reads. "The Great Gatsby," I found exceptional. And yes, Hemingway is greatness.
"Great Expectations" was from this view a difficult read. "Grapes of Wrath," though a long read, from this view was an easier read because John Steinbeck's style – like Ernest Hemingway's – emphasized clarity, readability and simplicity. The harder a reader must work to read, the less "great" the work.
Ryan from Green Cove Springs, FL
Dead-Zone question - When it comes to cap management and budgeting for players and position groups, do general managers budget the way an individual/household would budget? Where there is a target percentage of the cap that's intended for each position group. For example, Housing (quarterbacks), 35 percent; food (offensive line), 15 percent; utilities (running backs), 10 percent; transportation (wide receivers), 15 percent; savings (buffer for mid-season transactions), 10 percent, etc. … Just like personal budgets, the categories can ebb and flow (rookie starting quarterback versus Patrick Mahomes will greatly impact the quarterback budget). Or, is every contract situation so unique that you lock down what you can first and just make do with how the chips fall on the cost distribution of the team?
General managers and those managing the salary cap absolutely aim for an ideal cap distribution each season – and as your question indicates, there are different ideals for each team based on circumstance. A team paying a franchise quarterback must structure one "ideal" way whereas a team building around elite receivers and a quarterback would structure their ideal cap with more designated to those positions.
Josh from Atlanta, GA
What are your Top 2 or 3 favorite vacation spots? This does lead with the expectation you indeed have been on vacation before, so there's that.
My wife and I honeymooned in Maine. That was cool. My family and I stayed in a place on the ocean in Moclips in Washington State when I was six or seven. That was cool, too. I have been to Disney many times. That was cool, but not as cool as other stuff because I'm no longer seven.
