JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
William from Jacksonville
Say it ain't so, Zone. Is this the dead zone?
I fear I have disheartening news, fair O-Zone reader. We indeed have stormed through the regular season, free agency, pre-draft period, organized team activities and minicamp. Which means we now find ourselves in the arid desert of the dead zone, the time between the end of the offseason program and training camp. This is the time when football-centric questions here in the O-Zone often dwindle and leave us to discuss offseason off-field topics ranging from former longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette to Shadrick Sightings to Wimbledon to just why this certain senior writer is also known as the King of All Grizzly Funk. And more. Many O-Zone readers bemoan this time and blame the senior writer for what they perceive as "not-great" O-Zone content. Friendly reminder here. People ask questions. I answer. That's the format. If you want answers that interest you, ask pertinent questions. If not, we're going to talk grass courts, Gene and Funky Stuff. We might talk about grass courts anyway. Off we go.
Paul from Jacksonville
Unreal.
This email arrived late Thursday evening/early Friday morning, so I assume it references Thursday's Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers, 5-4, in overtime in what indeed was an unreal game, tying the series 2-2 with Game 5 in Edmonton scheduled for Saturday. The Oilers staged a remarkable comeback Thursday, rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the second period already down 2-1 in the series. It was gutsy, dramatic and nail-bitingly tense – all the things that make the NHL playoffs the best postseason in team sports. It baffles me how this sport isn't more popular. Unreal? Damned right.
Richard from Jacksonville
Is Tuten Common?
Rich's got jokes.
Bill from Ponte Vedra, FL
I got curious about Travis Hunter's 40-yard time, so I googled it and found that it seems to be a mystery. One of two things must be true: either that metric is not very important or the Jags made the trade without important data.
Here's what the Jaguars did: They watched Hunter play, researched him and concluded what most NFL people concluded leading to the 2025 NFL Draft – that Hunter was the best secondary and wide receiver prospect in the draft. Hunter is fast. He plays fast. He's good. He makes plays. This Jaguars regime certainly considers those factors more important than a 40-yard dash time.
Joel from Mandarin
Great and Powerful O, I know you have the inside scoop on most everything Jaguars. Can you tell me if Jaxson de Ville prefers dry kibble or wet cat food when he's getting ready for a game?
He usually eats whatever's left on the floor. Like the rest of us.
Greg from Jacksonville Beach, FL
This is why people can't trust you. The offense was by any measure awful in the offseason and you once again deny this at every opportunity. Ridiculous.
There are plenty of reasons people can't trust me, none of which has much to do with anything said or written in this forum. But while I inherently lack integrity, this doesn't apply to the Jaguars' offense during the 2025 offseason program. Yes, the defense outplayed the offense in a few open-to-the-media practices. And Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen as an offensive coach understandably didn't love it. But Coen also repeatedly said that this time isn't about evaluation – and he couldn't be more correct. This is a time for teaching, practicing and preparing – not for declaring something awful or great. Besides, the offense wasn't "awful" in the offseason. The Jaguars were installing a new scheme and quarterback Trevor Lawrence by all accounts improved his understanding of the scheme dramatically. He also is rapidly improving the footwork necessary to play effectively in the scheme. We don't yet know how this offense will fare in 2025. But how it will fare wasn't decided during the offseason program. That will happen as we move through training camp and into the regular season. That's when they start keeping score. Until then, it's all so much practice.
Bill from Hawthorn Woods, IL
To the one loyal reader (whoever he ism because I am certainly not him) who wonders at time if we are in the dead zone … welcome. You made it. You are officially in the dead zone. Players are gone, Liam is playing golf in Europe and JO still sucks, just in a lower volume way. The trade machine is shut down for maintenance, and HR is closed so there is no "hiring this man' until training camp. May all the Sbarro, Gene Frenette, and tennis commentary be plentiful!
Good eye.
Don from Marshall NC
Ray Guy was a legend! Unbelievable legend! Go Jaguars!
When it comes to knowing his NFL history, and knowing his punters, Don very knowledgeably and very characteristically remains "all in."
Bradley from Sparks, NV
Urban Cowboy is hilarious.
Bud 'n Sissy, 4ever. Amirite?
Rob from Jax
Finally, a bridge too far O. Name a better mechanical bull riding movie.... go ahead, I'll wait.
Sometimes even a cowboy's gotta swallow his pride to hold on to somebody he loves.
Mason from Palm Bay, FL
I'm sure this has been asked in prior Dead Zone periods, but what is it like around the Miller Electric Center between now and the start of training camp? Are Tony, James, and Liam still coming into the office every day? Players still using the gym and facilities? Or is it just you and J.P. hanging out? I bet you two have some intense paper football games going on.
It's very quiet around the MEC the next five or so weeks compared to the rest of the year. Football operations people such as Coen, General Manager James Gladstone and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli and their reports generally speaking are around sporadically – if at all. Players may use the facility, but they're also scarcer than usual. Shadrick and I are as scarce as our schedules will allow, which is to say "very." It is, after all, the dead zone.
Stuart from Westfield, IN
Can I be your illegitimate apprentice?
No.
Mason from Palm Bay, FL
If Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile is happy with the production he's getting from cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Jarrian Jones outside, and cornerback Jourdan Lewis at nickel, is there chance he would put Travis Hunter in at safety? I'm curious how that rotation is going to look, especially if Jarrian and Tyson look to be as good, or better than Travis on the outside.
We're getting into a lot of theoreticals here. I would be surprised if Hunter plays safety and I have heard nothing indicating that will be considered. Hunter was considered the best cornerback in the 2025 NFL Draft. It's unlikely he won't be one of the top two or three cornerbacks on the Jaguars' roster. I expect Campbell to start at one corner, with Lewis starting on the other side and moving to nickel in situations in which Hunter is playing. I expect Jones will be working in training camp to work his way into a contributing role.
Benjamin from Jacksonville, FL BWO Upstate, SC
As we approach the true dead zone, I have a writing/editing question for you. I've noticed a trend lately where articles have a few introductory paragraphs below the headline, followed by another sort of headline and then the full article. Have you seen this and, if so, do you know why this is becoming a thing? My only guess is it has something to do with formatting to allow for more ads.
I suspect it has to do with search engine optimization or something else to do with drawing traffic on the interweby thingy.
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King Of All Funk, I thought if you could change one NFL rule it would be that all games are to start at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Fair.
Michael from Mean Streets of Arlington
Word is that Gladstone beat Boselli in 1 on 1 basketball. Y'all going to let him live that down?
The word is correct. Gladstone indeed beat Boselli in one-on-one basketball recently, a result that was unknown to the general public until Coen revealed the outcome on the Pat McAfee show this week. Boselli and Gladstone went into deep, deep, deep, deep detail on the game on the latest episode of the E.V.Podcast, which will post on Jaguars Media channels soon. It's worth a listen, if only to get a breakdown on Gladstone's hoops prowess. I'll preview the E.V.Podcast by revealing that quickness, agility, clutch shooting, want-to and savvy played a huge role in Gladstone' victory. Boselli's spirit seemed understandably broken when discussing the topic. As it should have been. I'm not sure Boselli will recover from this. Stay tuned.
